• Kayla Cardinal - Kayla is 19 years old and was born and raised in Prince George, BC. Kayla entered her
struggle with addiction at a young age and has been on the road to recovery since July 2005.
After making the choice to go to detox, Kayla became very involved with theatre because it allows
her to explore and express her beliefs in a safe environment. She believes theatre is very powerful,
and wants to use her experiences in life to help people see the truth. She has been working around
forum theatre for about four years and through her experience has had the opportunity to participate in
countless shows, rehearsals, and training workshops throughout BC in addition to doing work in Ontario and NYC.
Kayla was part of the original production of Shattering and is thrilled to be working with Headlines again
and having the opportunity to expand her horizons and give back to communities. In acknowledging
a circumstance, the smallest change can have the most profound affect.
• Jordan Fields - Jordan was adopted as a baby and was immediately uncomfortable with his reality.
His feelings of being unconnected and alone carried into his early teen years,
where he started using drugs as a way to numb intense emotions and as a
way to try and fit in. In later teen years his drug use exploded into heavier
drug use within very dangerous environments.
He spent many years in the underground rave scene which lead to the streets.
Once on the streets crime and crystal meth became his only means of survival.
After extreme deterioration of health and extended jail sentences he finally hit
rock bottom. It was in this very vulnerable state that he was able to be
introduced to detox and recovery.
It has been almost three years now since he has used meth and since he has had to
learn a whole new set of life skills. He now holds a new appreciation for life
and works very hard as a part of his community and a member of society.
• Cody Gray - Cody is 17. He is an ex-addict who has been clean for about 22 months as of November, 2006. He had very rough experiences during his addiction including a psychotic experience that led to heart failure. Since he quit he's been trying very hard to give the knowledge he's gained through life experience to others. He has been acting in Forum Theatre for about two years and enjoys writing and creating music. He hopes you enjoy the show because Truth is Knowledge.
• Betsy Ludwig - Betsy is a mother, grandmother, sister, aunt who is concerned with the well-being of people and believes that education is better than punish-ment, as education prevents a lot of suffering through drug and alcohol addiction. Her own experience with addicted loved ones has shown her that addictions are carried down through generations. As a mother Betsy spent a lot of time teaching life skills at home and now she spends her time in the community sharing her life experiences. She wants to make a difference in the community. Betsy was an extra in the movie Clan of the Cave Bear, and acted in Annie Get Your Gun, and Reclaiming Aboriginal Languages. She also teaches Gitxsan language and culture.
• Sophie Merasty - Sophie is of the Dene and Cree Nations originating from Reindeer Lake in Northern Manitoba. Her own personal experience with a loved one's crystal meth addiction is what makes her involvement in this project much more meaningful and important. Sophie has worked extensively in the performing arts since 1983 and has performed across Canada including the Yukon. She was an original cast member of the 1992 Headlines production and tour of Out of the Silence. Her experience involves producing, directing, workshopping and developing new plays. She has also performed in film, TV, video and radio drama. Sophie is committed to making a difference in communities, particularly with aboriginal peoples, using her craft and skills in the field of performing arts.
• Herb Varley - Herb is 24 years old from the Nuu-chah-nulth nation of B.C. Herb has been acting for eight years in Vancouver. Many of the productins he has been invovled in have been community issue based. Growing up in Vancouver he has met many people struggling with addiction. He has seen the negative effects that addiction can have on human relationships. He hopes that the people that attend this play will be able open their minds to new ways of approaching the subject of addiction in their own lives. If even one person can make a meaningful change in their lives he feels that the whole process creating and performing the play was worth it. He is delighted to have the oppurtunity to perform this play again with the cast and crew of Shattering.
• Dafne Blanco - Community Outreach Coordinator Dafne has been involved with several grassroots organizations and art groups since she arrived from Mexico in 1996. Some of these groups include Latin American Connexions, an analysis community newspaper, and Building Bridges, a human rights observer's training organization. Using her visual arts background, Dafne has put together several multimedia presentations to promote popular education on the areas of First Nations struggles, Racism, Globalization and other social issues.
• Christopher Bromley - Publicist Christopher is well known for providing publicity and marketing expertise
to clients across a wide array of industries for the past eight years. Early
in his career he recognized that his diverse experience in entertainment
marketing, art direction, public relations and design allowed him a unique
understanding of communications management and he is excited to be bringing
these talents to the Headlines Theatre team.
Some of his career highlights include working with Peace Arch Entertainment,
the largest distributer of feature films in Canada as the publicist on such
productions as Shred, Shred II, Ace of Hearts and the upcoming Whistler
miniseries Features. He has also headed up campaigns for The Beaver
Magazine, Omega Nutrition Flax Oil and Canada Goose Jackets to name but a
few.
Christopher completed his education in Communications Design at York
University and Sheridan College in Toronto.
• Tim Cardinal - Technical Director/ Lighting Designer Tim has been working on theatre in Vancouver for 18 years. He toured with Headlines' 1992 production, Out of the Silence, and is pleased to be working with Headlines again. When not plying his trade, Tim can be found watching hockey games, cheering for the Canucks.
• Lincoln Clarkes - Slide Designer Lincoln is an award winning photographic designer in book, magazine and cinema. His acclaimed Heroines series is published by Anvil Press. A Bravo! documentary on the series is distributed by the N.F.B. In 2003, Lincoln created stage images featured in Practicing Democracy, produced by Headlines Theatre. Recently, Northern Electric (Universal) released a new book on Clarkes' photographic career entitled Views, with an original CD soundtrack.
• Jackie Crossland - Financial Administrator Jackie Crossland has many years experience in Vancouver's arts community both as an administrator and as a theatre artist. She combines her administrative and artistic skills to make a unique contribution to the organizations that she has been associated with over the years. In addition, she has been to clown school so your company is safe with her.
• David Diamond - Director/ Joker David grew up in a 1950's Winnipeg home that was layered with alcohol and drug addiction. The research and development of Shattering has been both a personal and professional journey.
David is a cofounder of Headlines. Since 1981 he has directed over 360 community specific theatre projects on issues such as racism, gender roles, violence, addiction, self-esteem, First Nations' Residential Schools, globalization, language reclamation and many, many others, throughout BC, Canada and the USA, as well as in Namibia, New Zealand, Germany, Austria, Italy, Singapore and Finland. David has also pioneered the development of live, interactive Forum Television and Web casting. In 1996 he was the first individual recipient of the City of Vancouver's Cultural Harmony Award. In 2001 received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University College of the Fraser Valley. He is hoping you will keep your eyes and ears open for his first book, a mixture of theatre and science called Theatre for Living available in March/April, 2007 through www.headlinestheatre.com
• Jane Henry - Costume Designer Jane started her career in leather jacket design in the mid 80's and found herself drawn to costuming in theatre in the early 90's. Theatre then led to film where the bulk of her work was Assistant Costume Design. The last 4 years have taken her down a dramatically different path; that of raising her child. She's happy to be back in theatre and especially so with this dynamic project Shattering.
• Adeline Huynh - Production Manager Adeline is a writer and filmmaker using art as a tool for community development. She has organized and facilitated writing and filmmaking workshops for several advocacy groups including "Antidote", a multi-racial immigrant youth organization. In addition, she has been commissioned to produce films on anti-racism experiences. Her work has gained notice from the National Film Board of Canada, the Knowledge Network and CBC, as well as appearing in the Vancouver International Film Festival, Toronto International Reel Asian Film Festival, as well as throughout Canada and abroad.
A graduate of the University of Manitoba where she completed a degree in Political Science, she went on to study Creative Writing and Film at the University of Victoria. Her experience in community development includes work in the areas of literacy, anti-racism and anti-poverty at both the grassroots level and internationally.
• Yvan Morissette - Set Designer Originally from Quebec, Yvan has made Vancouver home for the last 20 years. He has worked as an Actor, Director and Stage Manager, but since his graduation from Studio 58 ten years ago, his main focus has been designing sets for theatre. His work has been seen on most stages around Vancouver, including the Vancouver Playhouse, the Arts Club Theatre, Bard on the Beach, Touchstone Theatre, Electric Company, Neworld Theatre, and Headlines Theatre, where he has previously designed THIR$TY. His designs have been nominated 10 times for Jessie Richardson Awards. His work will also be seen this year in productions for Rumble, Touchstone Theatre, the Push Festival and the Belfry Theatre in Victoria.
• Robyn Volk - Crew Person Robyn has been working in theatre for many years and in different capacities. This is her second foray into the wilds of Canada with Headlines Theatre, the first being with the 2007 tour of Shattering. She enjoys making props and costumes, set painting, stage managing and being on a running crew. Most of her time is spent working at The Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver but she also works with Radix Theatre and various performance artists with their props and costumes.