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 assistant staff of emerging artists in the field. 

Our Artistic and Music Director

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

Shelly Meichenbaum is a graduate of Sheridan College’s Music Theatre Program as well as having an Honours Degree in Fine Arts from York University. She has taught drama and musical theatre for the Toronto District School Board for the past 10 years. Currently, she is taking a year off but will return to Sir Oliver Mowat Collegiate in September 2010 where she teaches drama and music theatre full time. Shelly has taught for many other theatre programs in and out of the city such as the National Music Camp, The Brampton Theatre School, and Stirling Young Company.

When it’s possible Shelly combines her love of teaching with her love of performing. Most recently, she was seen as Jacqueline in “Don’t Dress for Dinner” with the Curtain Club. She has performed in many other settings such as the Kawartha Lakes Summer Playhouse, the Orillia Opera House, The Alumnae  Theatre and for Norwegian Cruise Lines. Favourite roles include  Marge in Suds, Mary in Run for Your Wife, the Baker’s Wife in Into the Woods, Sister Amnesia in Nunsense II, Cassie in A Chorus Line  and Miss Hannigan in Annie.  
Shelly has been involved with No Strings Theatre over the past couple of years, conducting masterclasses and was a part time coach for their production of “Into the Woods” in the summer of 2008.  She is excited to return this summer as director and looks forward to working with the incredible staff and talented young people that make up No Strings Theatre. 

Our Choreographer

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

Assistant Music Director

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

Assistant Music Director

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). In 2007, she appeared in the Fringe Festival hit Lord of the Rings: the Musical: the Musical (Mother/ensemble). Elizabeth has been involved with the Civic Light Opera Company for the last ten years playing a variety of roles, most recently Magnolia in Show Boat and Marsinah in Kismet. This season, she played the title role in Thumbelina, and is currently playing the roles of the Mother and Grandmother in Little Red Riding Hood with Solar Stage Children’s Theatre. Also this year, Elizabeth played the Woman in the two-person play Romantic Fools at the Queen Elizabeth Dinner Theatre in Aurora. She has taught classes in movement, music, and drama with Arts Express and Toronto Parks and Recreation. She is currently pursuing teaching and performing opportunities.

 

 

Chandler Jolliffe

Production Stage Manager

Chandler Jolliffe, although a young man of 18, has over 5 years theatre experience on and off stage.  He has experience in all areas of production (lighting, sound, set design, and stage management).  Production credits include, Stage Manager & Co-Lighting design for Theatre Mowat’s Seussical the Musical (2008), assistant stage manager, sound design/operation, co-set design for Theatre Mowat’s Anything Goes (2007), assistant stage manager and sound design/operation Theatre Mowat’s Cabaret (2006).   In high school Chandler was the 3 year Technical Director and founder of the schools stage crew.   He has also received awards from the Ontario Sears Drama Festival (2006-2009), including, an Award of Excellence in Sound design/operation, and an Award of Merit, Sound & Lighting design.   Chandler was the recipient of the Pilot award for outstanding youth leadership in a community, as well as the Principals Leadership Award (Sir Oliver Mowat) and the Jim McQueen Excellence in Education award (2009).  Currently Chandler does Sound Design & Operation on a contract basis through multiple organizations and personal contracts.  These include various musicals, concerts and talent shows.

 

 

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.

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.