When Ron was performing in the Studio 180-HGJT production of My Name is Asher Lev, I was struck by the fact that audience members refused to believe that he wasn’t as Jewish as the role he’d played onstage. But that is precisely what defines Ron Lea, an actor who so completely inhabits the characters he plays, whether on stage, on film or television.  In our conversation, Ron walks us through his professional and personal life with the simple, straightforward approach that he seems to take...

Of all my guests this first season series, I have known Janelle Hutchison the longest. We met in the early 70’s when we were cast as understudies for the cabaret revue, What’s a Nice Country Like You Doing in a State Like This? I was hired to understudy Martin Short and Janelle covered for Andrea Martin. Janelle has long since added considerably to her professional CV – perhaps most celebrated of her stage appearances was as Mme. Thenardier in the Canadian production of Les Miserables....

Sterling Jarvis began his performing life as a singer – bands, receptions of all kinds. But that wasn’t how I met him. In fact, I first worked with Sterling on The Overwhelming, a play about the Rwandan genocide – not exactly The Lion King or We Will Rock You, the two theatre productions he had just completed. Sterling discusses his rather atypical career path -- touring with The Book of Mormon and his subsequent run in the Broadway production and then the sudden lockdown in 2020. What...

Early in my conversation with Tracy Michailidis, as we discuss professional training, she jokingly refers to herself as ‘an impostor’ because, rather than attending a conservatory programme, she chose a liberal arts education. And as we chat further, Tracy details the depth of study, the vitality and shared passions of her cohort, friends she has worked with and maintains to this day. All joking aside, it’s abundantly clear that Tracy hasn’t been hobbled by her decision. We discuss Tracy’s...

It’s hard to believe that Michael Healey, playwright of The Drawer Boy and The Master Plan (and several original and adapted projects in between), spent the first ten years of his career as an actor before writing for the stage became his principal passion. Which is not to say that he gave up his acting career.  On the contrary, I first met and worked with Michael on the Studio 180 Theatre production of Stuff Happens, in 2008 and 2009, and a few years later on Clybourne Park. Michael’s...

Sarah Orenstein was a touchstone for me during the pandemic lockdown. We’d meet outdoors, drink coffee and inflict ourselves and our anxieties on each other. We also found time to laugh at the insanity of the world around us. Sarah works, and has worked, at every major theatre in the country, including both the Stratford and Shaw Festivals. We met in 2008, when Sarah joined the Studio 180 Theatre production of Stuff Happens, one of those watershed moments that we cherish. And among the gifts...

Meeting Jeff Miller is a guaranteed good time. Possessed of a great sense of humour and delighting in the absurdities of life, Jeff is a model of the actor’s playbook: you commit passionately to each project and when the acting work isn’t coming fast and furious, you commit passionately to teaching theatre and a wide range of life-sustaining jobs. But in spite of the inevitable dry periods, Jeff’s resilience is inspiring. Jeff and I first worked together in the early 90’s, and more recently...

When I begin talking with Sheila McCarthy, I know that I’m in for a good time – and so will you be. In addition to discussing her stage debut at age 6 in a production of Peter Pan, her years at the country’s leading theatres, her first feature film, I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (Best Actress in Canada AND the Charles Chaplin Award at the Cannes Film Festival), and so much more, Sheila talks easily and openly about a career that is always evolving and challenging. ---- NOTE: please...

A great way to launch LIFE IN STAGES is with our first guest,  Mark McGrinder. Mark and I met in 1990 at the University of Waterloo – he was entering first year and I was newly arrived as the Chair of the Drama Department. Over the next four years we spent a lot of time together in class and in rehearsals. Jump to 2002, eight years after he graduated, and Mark and I, along with three other UW alumni, met to consider a large project that could include many UW alum who were still carving out...

Here’s a preview of what you will be hearing in the first series of LIFE IN STAGES, conversations with many of our most accomplished Canadian actors, writers and directors.  Joel Greenberg sits down with our guests to learn how and why they have devoted their professional lives to such a precarious career. THE FIRST EPISODE DROPS SEPTEMBER 26, so go to wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe/follow LIFE IN STAGES. And please take a moment to pass this on to friends, colleagues, family,...