MEET MARK AND THE MUSICIANS!

MARK CONNOLLY - HOST

Mark Connolly was the host of Edmonton AM, CBC radio's morning show for 30 years.

He spent 22 years as a sportscaster with CBC radio and Television before taking the job as news anchor at CBC News Edmonton from 2010-2013. Mark grew up in Edmonton, and in his teens actually worked at CBC Edmonton as a janitor. In this job, he gained exposure to the CBC sports department, and discovered what he felt was the perfect career – a job that appeared to involve little work and plenty of time to attend sports events. Perfect!

Mark's first full-time job was in radio in Fort McMurray Alberta, where he was the play-by-play voice of the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He then worked in radio in both Red Deer and Edmonton before starting a weekend job at CBC Edmonton in December 1988, which has evolved through the years to his position today as Host of Edmonton AM. In his decades with CBC, Mark has covered seven Olympic games including the Beijing Olympics, numerous world championships, and the 2002 Commonwealth Games. Mark and his wife Alyson have two boys, Patrick and Jack.

CATHY DERKACH - PERFORMER

Select theatre credits include A Christmas Carol, Into the Woods, Little Shop of Horrors (The Citadel); Jupiter (Theatre Network); The Occulist’s Holiday (Teatro Live!); Bluebeard’s Castle (Edmonton Opera); A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder (Grindstone Theatre); Billy Bishop Goes to War (Edmonton Repertory Theatre).

Cathy was in Christmas Carol (2000/01), her first Citadel show being in 1987. She plays piano at MacEwan University where she is a Sessional Instructor in the Music Theatre Program. Big love and gratitude to daughters Kaiya and Lucie.

DANA WYLIE - PERFORMER

Dana Wylie is a singer of rare gift and a crafter of deeply felt and sharply observed songs. Penguin Eggs magazine once called her the only artist about whom they have “felt comfortable comparing favourably to Joni Mitchell in the scope of her talent EVER.” Cutting short a promising career in the Canadian theatre scene at 23, Dana moved to the unlikely locale of Taiwan, where she cut her musical teeth playing with jug bands, blues bands, bluegrass bands and cover bands, singing jazz in hotel lounges, and doing some of the most bizarre corporate gigs you could possibly imagine. Moving to the UK in 2005, she formed her own band and toured steadfastly for five years, releasing three critically-praised albums in the process. She then landed back in Canada in 2010 to pursue graduate studies in musicology.

Dana’s 2017 record The Earth That You’re Made Of earned her a Canadian Folk Music Award nomination for Contemporary Singer of the Year, and was described by journalist and programmer Peter North as “one of the finest contemporary roots recordings to have ever been produced in Alberta, period.” She debuted her critically acclaimed theatrical song-cycle Makings of a Voice in 2021, released her sixth solo album How Much Muscle in early 2023, will release an album of original country duets with Sammy Volkov in June of this year, and her soul/rock/roots group Secondhand Dreamcar released their debut album last October.

DARRIN HAGEN - PERFORMER

DARRIN HAGEN is an award-winning playwright, author, composer, performer, and Queer historian, and is also the artistic director of Guys In Disguise. He has created over 40 plays, and dozens of published essays and articles, many dealing with the history of sexual minorities in Alberta. In addition to the full-length documentary Pride vs. Prejudice: The Delwin Vriend Story, he has created and directed the award-nominated music video for Only Here on Loan by King of Foxes, the dance film Shadow of a Doubt with Gerry Morita, the silent experimental short Presence in the Third Space, and the comedy short The Foxy Lady Disco Dancing Lounge Rhinestone Turkey Baster Relay Marathon. He also hosted the web series Queer Places, produced by TelusOptik.

Plays by Darrin include his award-winning 1996 debut, The Edmonton Queen (published by Brindle & Glass Publishing, now in its fourth printing). Other published work includes Tornado Magnet: A Salute to Trailer Court Women. More plays include the Sterling-nominated  Buddy, Witch Hunt at the Strand, The Empress & The Prime Minister, Metronome, 10 Funerals. as well as the international hit BitchSlap!, and With Bells On which was adapted into a musical by New York City’s Live & In Color.

He has received 7 Sterling awards for his work in Edmonton theatre, and the AMPIA for Best Male Host for the series Who’s On Top? In 2005 he was named one of 100 Edmontonians of the Century. In 2013 he was inducted into the Q Hall of Fame Canada for his contribution to Queer Canadian culture, and was named by the Alberta Foundation for the Arts as one of the 25 Most Influential Alberta artists in the last 25 years.

CHRISTINA NGUYEN - PERFORMER

Christina is so excited to be back at WWPT! Recent credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream: The 70’s Musical, A Christmas Carol, The Sound of Music, Jersey Boys, Clue, Jane Eyre (Mainstage, Citadel Theatre); Going Solo (House Series, Citadel Theatre).  Civil Blood: A Treaty Story, But Hark! A Voice (Thou Art Here Theatre); Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing, Winter's Tale (Freewill Shakespeare);  Alina, Michael Mysterious (Pyretic Productions);  Here There Be Night (Workshop West Playwrights Theatre).  Upcoming: Everyone is Doing Fine (WWPT). Christina is a graduate of the University of Alberta's BFA Acting Program. 

EVAN DOWLING - PERFORMER (Die Harsh: The Musical)

Evan Dowling is an artist born and raised in Manitoba and studied theatre at Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto where he met his Wife and partner of 15 years, Sarah. He finally got to return to the prairies in 2017 after 7 years working and touring, and two more years performing with Sarah on Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines production casts. Outside of theatre, Evan has been pursuing a degree in theatre business development, entrepreneurship & innovation at NAIT, helping raise his 2-year-old daughter, sitting on the board of directors here at WWPT, and continually collecting hobbies in whatever free time manages to squeak in the gaps. You might be familiar with Evan's work in: Die Harsh: the Christmas Musical (on now!)(Grindstone Theatre); The 11 O'Clock Number (Grindstone Theatre); The Full Monty (Mayfield Dinner Theatre); CHARADE (Twin Flames Theatrical Productions/Edmonton international Fringe festival); and more. Thank you Sarah and Winnie for literally every moment. Follow Evan on socials he uses @ebrandoubleding

GRAHAM MOTHERSILL - PERFORMER

Graham is an Albertan actor based in Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton). Select theatre credits include: MOB, WILDCAT (Workshop West Playwrights' Theatre - Sterling Nomination for MOB); A Harvest Truce (Studio Theatre); KaldrSaga: A New Queer Old Norse Cabaret (Cardiac Theatre); A Christmas Carol (Citadel Theatre); Romeo & Juliet, Twelfth Night (Freewill Shakespeare Festival); Strange Familiar, The Curing Room, How to Leave (Theatre Outré); Tune to A (Expanse Festival); A Christmas Carol, The Crucible, The Tempest (Theatre Calgary); Fortune Falls (Catalyst Theatre/ATP); until the next breath (Catalyst Theatre); CTRL – ALT – DEL, The Antyssey (Concrete Theatre); The Trophy Hunt (Broken Toys Theatre); The Apple Tree (Plain Janes Theatre); Romeo & Juliet (Toy Guns Dance Theatre); The Brothers Grimm Operetta (Opera NUOVA); The Fall of the House of Atreus (Impossible Mongoose Productions); Good With People (Trunk Theatre - Sterling Nomination). Film/television credits include: Wynona Earp, Like Right Now, Dive, King Crow, The Trespassers. He is a graduate of the BFA (Acting) program at the University of Alberta. 

MAUREEN ROONEY - PERFORMER (Morningside Road)

Maureen loves the challenge of creating new works and bringing theatre to unusual places including; classrooms, universities, campgrounds, large conventions, living rooms, hospitals, prisons, churches, streets, restaurants, Quonset huts, dementia wards, comedy clubs, parking lots, cabarets, community centres, hotels, libraries, parks, festivals, weddings, and at a museum for the Queen, touring Canada and abroad! Thankfully she gets to do that with her wonderful husband Paul Punyi (Rooney Punyi Productions recipients of the 2013 St Albert Mayor’s Lifetime Achievement in the Arts Award), even better, they have two grown-up kids, Matthew & Jeff who are kind humans with wonderful partners.

Recent credits include: Jeanette in The Full Monty at Mayfield Dinner Theatre, as well as recent films: Meet Me at The Christmas Train Parade (Netflix), Soul’s Road, Bad Orphan (Prime), Making Beauty. Maureen recently made her Shadow Theatre debut in Morningside Road with gorgeous music by Mhairi Berg and Simon Abbott, on the same stage where she played Juliet 4 decades earlier. She goes way back with WWPT during Gerry Potter’s time, and again most recently with workshops and Springboards. She is a regular on Die-Nasty every Monday, and recently guested on The Blank Who Stole Christmas with Rapid Fire. Maureen will soon be playing Marjorie in Marjorie Prime at the Varscona with Amy DeFelice’s Trunk Theatre.

MARTIN GALBA - PRODUCER/WWPT GENERAL MANAGER

Martin comes to us with a 25-year history in theatre, opera and musical theatre as a producer, administrator, performer, singer, director, choreographer, designer, and playwright. With equal focus on the business side of show business, Martin's passion for producing and administering theatre stems from his formal education in business, administration, and accounting. Combining those with his experience in the Arts sector, he brings with him a fine-tuned and uniquely relevant combination of skills. Martin has served on the Boards of numerous theatre companies in Edmonton. His formal education is at the Business Academy from Slovakia, an applied Bookkeeping Certification through NAIT, Certified QuickBooks Online Advanced ProAdvisor through Intuit, and Foundations of Leadership through Mount Royal University. Martin is also the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal for his work in Canadian Theatre. He is excited to continue his career in the arts working alongside Heather and the rest of the team at Workshop West Playwrights' Theatre.

JEN MAGEL - TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

Jen is excited to be working on her first show with WWPT. She has been involved in the technical theatre world for over 30 years in multiple capacities, with Stage Management being a big focus. Jen is thrilled to be working alongside a great team both behind the scenes and onstage. Some favourite SM credits include Next to Normal (Miles From Broadway), Ragtime, La Cage au Folles, Miss Saigon, Jane Eyre (with TOWTTBP), and Anything Goes (with Walterdale). Thanks to her husband, daughter, and son for allowing her the opportunity to pursue her artistic passion for technical theatre. Big thanks to Martin and Heather for the amazing opportunity to help bring WWPT shows to life. She hopes you enjoy this stellar season and incredible performance.