No Strings Theatre is headed by a team of seasoned professionals in Dance, Drama and Singing with over 25 years of working experience as well as associate staff of emerging artists in the field. 

 

Our Artistic and Music Director, Denise Williams

Denise Williams is a professional singer, actress, and music educator. She has an international performance career encompassing the concert stage, opera stage, theatre stage, television, commercials and was in the cast of Mirvish's North American Premier of The Sound of Music at the Princes of Wales Theatre. Denise has founded No Strings Theatre with a desire to aid youth in developing their skills in music theatre as well as grow in their team skills for life. As a music educator, she has directed children and youth choirs for the Toronto District School Board, Royal St. George's College School, Suzuki and Thornhill Music Camps, and many other community organizations. She has also led several choral workshops for the Canadian Amateur Musicians (CAMMAC) and was an assistant director for The Royal Conservatory of Music's Repertory Chorus. Denise has been a private voice teacher for over 15 years and is a member of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television, and Radio Artists (ACTRA), Canadian Actors Equity  Association (CAEA)National, the Association for Teachers of Singing (NATS), The Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association (ORMTA), the Royal College of  Conservatory Examiners (RCM).   

 

Our Stage Director, Timothy Askew

 

Timothy Askew has worked for the last twenty years as a freelance actor, director and writer, as well as various administrative jobs for arts organizations. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Acting and Theatre Arts from the University of Akron, graduating with honours. While in University, Tim was a founding member of New World Performance Laboratory, a movement-based “experimental” company based at The Cleveland Public Theatre.

 

After several years of working with NWPL as an actor, assistant director, and musical director on successful productions and tours to Europe, NY, Los Angeles, Tim relocated to Chicago where he worked as an actor at Shakespeare Repertory, European Rep, and The Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. At that time, Tim also joined Shakespeare’s Motley Crew, a Shakespeare-dedicated company with whom he worked as an actor, and briefly as Technical Director.

 

In 1999 Tim was a member of the inaugural Stratford Shakespeare Festival Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre Training. Since then, Tim spent 11 seasons at Stratford as an actor, Associate Director for Richard Monette, Assistant Director, casting associate, and fight captain. In the summer of 2008 Tim was a participant in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival Director’s Summit – a three-week director masterclass/workshop with Jonathan Kent, Garry Hines, Mike Alfreds, William Gaskill, and Christopher Newton. Most recently, 2009/10, Tim served as Interim Associate Director to Bob White and Robert Blacker in Stratford’s Dramaturgy and New Play Department.

 

Over the years Tim has worked closely with Michael Langham, Sir Jonathan Miller, Richard Monette, Des McAnuff, Don Shipley, Marti Maraden, Joseph Ziegler, Matthew Jocelyn, Christopher Plummer, Simon Callow, William Hutt, Colm Feore, Martha Henry, Brian Bedford, Geraint Wyn-Davies, and Paul Gross among others, and has been awarded the 1999 Joan Chalmers Playwriting Award, a 2001 Derek F. Mitchell Artistic Director’s Award, a 2007 Jean Gascon Director’s Award, and a 2007 Tyrone Award.

 

Tim is currently teaching acting and studying for an MFA in Theatre Directing at York University. In July 2012, Tim will be directing the musical Curtains by Kander & Ebb for No Strings Theatre at the Al Green Theatre in Toronto.

Timothy Askew appears with the permission of Canadian Actors' Equity Association.

 

Our Choreographer, Victoria Slager

Victoria Slager is an enthusiastic participant in the Divine Dance of Life and has been sharing her love and passion for movement for over thirty years. She is a gifted choreographer, dancer and dance educator as well as a movement workshop facilitator. She has used her talents to choreograph numerous works for dance, music theatre, festivals, films, videos, choirs and fashion shows. She is presently on the faculty of teachers at Mayfield Secondary School in Brampton, where she is a dance educator in the Regional Arts Program, and busy training dancers and choreographing for both the dance and drama departments. She has been the Artistic Director of a number of dance companies, including We Dance/Nous Dansons, The Runaway Brides and The Blue Ladies. She continues to to choreograph and perform as a freelance artist. Some of her credits as a choreographer and/or director include musicals such as Sweeney Todd, Camelot, West Side Story, Seussical, Footloose, Les Miserables, Gypsy, Bye Bye Birdie, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Children of Eden, Grease, The Lion King, Oklahoma and Hair. She has taught and choreographed at The Etobicoke School of the Arts, Earl Haig Secondary School (Claude Watson Program), French Woods Performing Arts Camp, The National Music Camp, Te Amim Theatre Company and No Strings Theatre Company. She has facilitated workshops for organizations such as Future Aces, the Elementary Teachers Association, The Rotterdam Anger Management Corporation, the Sweet Adelines, Building Blocks Speech Pathology Association, and many more. She has been comissioned to choreograph works for the Toronto Symphony, Hamilton Art Gallery, the Canadian Children's Opera Chorus, Orangeville Music Festival, Guelph Contemporary Dance Festival, Louville Art Gallery and the Simon Wisenthal Center in Toronto. Victoria - "It has always been and continues to be my joy and my passion to move and create movement and to share my love of it all!"

Sean Mayes

Associate Music Director, Conductor

Sean Mayes is a student at McGill University in Montreal, where he studies Music and Education as an Organ Major at the Schulich School of Music. In addition to studying music and teaching privately, he also holds the positions of Music Director at St. Michael’s and All Angels Anglican Church (Pierrefonds, QC) and Band Director at Union United Church (Montreal, QC).

A native of Toronto, Sean has a deep passion and involvement in music and theatre arts. Prior to moving to Montreal, Sean attended Wexford Collegiate School for the Arts in Toronto, where he was extensively involved with the Music Theatre Performance Program, performing many various shows, including musicals such as Urinetown, Grease, Fiddler on the Roof and The Music Man. Sean has also worked extensively as an organist and pianist in multiple settings, and has conducted and accompanied choirs, performers, vocalists and instrumentalists in numerous rehearsals, auditions and recitals.

Sean is very excited to return to Toronto this summer to be joining No Strings Theatre for the first time as an Assistant Music Director for their production of Les Misérables!

 

Aleh Remezau

Associate Music Director, Pianist

Aleh Remezau is currently a student going into his second year of the Music Education program at the Faculty of Music in the University of Toronto.  Although Aleh is majoring in oboe at the Faculty of Music, he always looks for piano playing opportunities in the musical theatre world of Toronto. Aleh accompanies numerous instrumentalists and vocalists around the University of Toronto and is currently a rehearsal and show pianist for a community group called The Yorkminstrels Show Choir.
Having played for shows such as Into the Woods, Rent and The Wedding Singer, Aleh is very thrilled to join the No Strings Theatre and their production of Les Misérables as the assistant music director for this summer.

 

Elizabeth Morriss
Associate Director

Elizabeth Morriss is a graduate of Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts, and has degrees in Music Theatre (Acadia University) and Education (Nipissing University). Elizabeth has been involved with the Civic Light Opera Company for the last twelve years playing roles including Magnolia in Show Boat, Marsinah in Kismet, and most recently Hope Harcourt in Anything Goes.Elizabeth has also appeared in the 2007 Fringe Festival hit Lord of the Rings: the Musical: the Musical (Mother/ensemble), in shows with Solar Stage Children’s Theatre, in the two-person comedy Romantic Fools at the Queen Elizabeth Dinner Theatre in Aurora, and earlier this year played a singing vampire in Dracula at Casa Loma! She has taught classes in movement, music, and drama with Arts Express and Toronto Parks and Recreation. Elizabeth is currently pursuing teaching and performing opportunities.

 

Sally Roberts

Stage Manager

Sally Roberts is a first year Performance Production student at Ryerson University. She started her interest in lighting and technical theatre about three years ago at her high school: Earl Haig Secondary. She became head of the school’s lighting crew in her grade 12 year and was responsible for lighting shows like Dance Night and Eden Fashion Show 09. Sally was also crew on Earl Haig’s productions of: Jesus Christ Superstar 2007, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest 2008 and assistant stage managed on Anything Goes 2009. Outside of school, Sally has also assisted with lighting for St. Anne’s Music and Drama Society’ The Sorcerer. Her experience in Stage management began with the Toronto District School Board’s Cabaret Singers who she has worked with for the past three years.
Sally is currently an assistant program co-ordinater for Canadian Stage’s SHOP! youth program and has been a part of their Youth Arts Advisory for a year.
This is Sally’s first year with No Strings Theatre and she is very excited to be their Stage Manager for Les Miserable: School Edition this summer.

The Extended Faculty

 

Steve Wilsher,

Stange Combat and and Stunt coach

Steve Wilsher February 2011 will be his 40th year in the entertainment industry. He

works primarily as a stunt coordinator/performer for television and film, a theatre fight

director and teacher of film and stage combat.

Prior to coming to Canada he taught at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama,

Cardiff for sixteen years where he introduced stage and film combat as an integral part of

the curriculum. He has also taught guest lectures or examined at all of the major

drama schools in the United Kingdom.

Recent credits include: Hamlet for Resurgence Theatre, Eugene Oneigin for The

Canadian National Ballet and the television series XIII

 

Anita Nittoly,

Fight Director

Anita Nittoly is a graduate of the Humber Acting for Film and Television program.  She started her career as a dancer and choreographer, and during her time in college found a natural talent for film combat and stunts.  She attained her Advanced Actor Combatant certification from The Academy of Dramatic Combat and has since undertaken film and television stunt work, as well as theatrical fight direction with Havoc Stunts.  Her recent credits include “Blood”, “Boss of Me”, Book Club”, “The Statement”, “Charon’s Obal”, and “Under”.

 

Matt Craig,
Pianist

Matt Craig teaches science and math at the Community Hebrew Academy of Richmond Hill but has been known to hijack random pianos while out on the prowl. A pianist since the age of six, Matt has recently been teaching music theatre and accompanying performers at the National Music Camp of Canada and Living Arts Centre Mississauga. He has also assisted the musical direction of Scarborough Community Theatre productions of "Cabaret" and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". Outside Music Theatre, Matt accompanies Jazz and Classical singers and has also performed classical piano recitals.