THIS IS AN ARCHIVE OF AN EVENT THAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED.
Audience appreciation and feedback for UNSUNG was heartfelt and passionate. From January 25th until February 12th, they shared with us their thoughts and feelings on how UNSUNG moved them. Here are just a few reviews Workshop West was pleased to receive:
"Run, don't walk to this brilliant piece of theatre. It's risk taking, honest and immersive story telling at its finest...the UNSUNG team have created something that will stick with you long after you've left the building."
“Thank you for fine theatre, excellent storytelling, and great insight to make the stories visible. As the one physician says, being a hero is NOT what all the work and worry and political warring was about - it was about doing one’s job! And their one story represents thousands across the country and elsewhere. Thank you again!”
"It was such a stunningly impactful experience. From the staging, in that I felt like I was in the hospital overhearing conversations, to the demand of the actors to perform in the same way we ask our healthcare providers, to the lack of applause, to the perfect casting. And of course, the stories that we never heard behind it all."
"Such a beautiful and important piece! Thank you for making it happen with such grace and care!"
"I just wanted to give a hug to each actor."
WORLD PREMIERE Produced by Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre in Partnership with Theatre Yes and Ground Zero Productions
Unsung: Tales From the Front Line
Created by Heather Inglis in collaboration with Darrin Hagen
PRESENTED BY UNITED NURSES OF ALBERTA
“We’re at a really important juncture with health care in Alberta and in Canada,” says Inglis. “It’s essential that the moment and the concern and the changes and the ideas are documented.” - Edmonton Journal Preview
“Something significant happened and it changed our lives forever.” Preview 12thnight.ca
“They’ve been up against it, these workers in a war where they’ve faced death and destruction, and been undermined by their own leaders. / You need to hear from them.” -Review 12thnight.ca
Photos by DB Photographics.
Step inside a series of living portraits
Unsung will celebrate the contributions of Alberta's health care workers in a one-of-a-kind immersive performance event. Drawn from interviews with real Edmontonians, Unsung invites audiences to experience the inspiring stories of the local health care workers who lead us through the pandemic. We invite you to step into this series of living portraits that document the lives and contributions of the people of who risk their own safety to look after ours.
“Theatre happens in many forms. Sometimes it allows audiences to move a little closer and physically step inside the lives of the characters. I wanted to bring audiences a work which invited them into the world of one of the things we hold most dear in Canada - public health care. Unsung is a tribute to the contributions of some of the remarkable Edmontonians who stood on guard for us, through the worst humanitarian crisis of our era.”
Online Purchases in 3 Tiers:
I’m doing Ok - $25
I’m doing fine. - $33
I’m doing great! - $40
(Tickets at flat fee of $33 at the door)
Ticket Promos:
Previews are pay-what-you-can at the door, or $20 online.
January 31st and February 7th. $20 tickets for health care workers and artists.
Creators
Heather Inglis is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and is an award-winning director, producer, and dramaturg whose career has taken her across the country. In 2019, Heather was nominated for the Playwrights’ Guild of Canada’s Bra D’Or Award, recognizing her support and promotion of Canadian women playwrights. Heather has directed and assistant-directed over 40 productions, many of which have been new Canadian works. Credits include: The Shaw Festival; Citadel Theatre; Workshop West Theatre; Northern Light Theatre; Azimuth Theatre; Theatre Junction; Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre (SK); Live Five (SK); The Doppler Effect Productions (NS); Alberta Playwrights Network; Saskatchewan Playwrights' Centre; Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre; The Notable Acts Festival (NB) and Universities in Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon. Heather has received a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award (2014), the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund (twice), the Celebration of Women in the Arts Award (twice), and the Telus Courage to Innovate Award (Edmonton). Nine of Inglis’ productions have been nominated for 17 Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards, including 7 nominations for Outstanding Independent Production and nominations for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Fringe Director. Heather received a special Sterling Award for Outstanding Innovation in Theatre in 2014. During her time as Artistic Producer for Workshop West, she has directed Here There Be Night (2020), Metronome (2021) and Tell Us What Happened (2022). This December, Heather received Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Medal for her contributions to advancing writers in Alberta.
Darrin Hagen uses verbatim technique to present real life events in plays, stories, essays and documentaries, assembling various narratives and archival sources to make history come alive.
Notable among Hagen’s verbatim-inspired works are the award-winning The Edmonton Queen, which emerged from eulogies created for funerals of Edmonton’s underground royalty during the plague decade; Witch Hunt at the Strand (2016, Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre), which gathered letters from private archives, media, and court transcripts to present the 1942 gay sex scandal that rocked Edmonton’s theatre community; The Empress & The Prime Minister (2019, Theatre Network), which gathered personal interviews and historic political speeches, media, and debates to tell the story of the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969; and the extensive Pisces essays for Edmonton City as Museum Project, which weave newly-released police records with eyewitness accounts to illuminate the infamous Pisces Bathhouse Raid of 1981. Most recently he curated / created the acclaimed Guys In Disguise production of The Pansy Cabaret at the 2022 Fringe Festival, gathering and revamping century-old culture from New York’s Pansy Craze era.
He is currently writing and directing two different documentaries on pivotal queer historical events in Alberta.
Content That Provokes
At Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre, we often create theatre that deals with challenging content.We do believe that theatre should be surprising – it should be exciting, it should create discussion, and it should delve into situations and ideas that are unexpected.
While keeping you and our actors safe, our shows may contain coarse language, emotionally charged scenes, and deal with subjects that may challenge you.Unsung: Tales from the Front Line features short monologues from a variety of health care workers which deal with COVID-19. You are invited to take care of yourself and enter and leave the exhibit on your own time.
Creative Team:
Pat is so happy to be returning to Workshop West, having been a part of the outdoor theatrical experience Here There be Night . Pat is an Edmonton-based actor and is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting program and MFA Directing programs. Pat is a two-time Sterling award winner. She was last seen on stage at the Citadel in Shakespeare in Love and A Christmas Carol, Atlas Theatre’s Going to St. Ives and Teatro la Quindicina’s The Finest of Strangers. During 2020 Pat was lucky to be working - first with Catalyst theatre on Until the Next Breath, and then in 2021, Pat was part of a filmed version of Something Unspoken with Northern Light Theatre. Last spring Pat made her Theatre Calgary debut in Steel Magnolias and she has been busy directing and teaching at U of A and Concordia University.
PatRICIA Darbasie
“Hospital Manager”
Having been a frontline worker at a Covid isolation facility for the houseless during the pandemic, Trevor holds a lot of respect for the people behind these stories and for all of those who worked alongside them. Theatre credits include Space//Space (Northern Light Theatre), In a World Created by a Drunken God (Theatre Arts Generator, Theatre Aquarius, Theatre Orangeville, Eastern European Tour), and Cottagers & Indians (Shadow Theatre). Film credits include the movie adaptation of In a World Created by a Drunken God (Best Actor American Indian Film Festival, Gemini Nomination), a series regular on Blackstone (APTN/Prairie Dog Film), and the feature Hey, Viktor! Trevor is a graduate of the UofA BFA in Acting program and has an MFA in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts. He lives in Edmonton and teaches at Yellowhead Tribal College and The Learning Centre Literacy Association.
Trevor Duplessis
“Paramedic”
Rebecca Merkley is a multifaceted theatre artist whose original work has earned her 4 Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award Nominations, and the first recipient of the Gerald Osborn Playwriting Award. Select Credits include: Jesus Teaches Us Things (Edmonton Fringe/Play the Fool), The Key of Me (Skirtsafire), Springboard Cabaret (Workshop West), Romeo & Juliet: Two Show Day & Lost on Whyte (The Foxden Collective), Thorgy and the Thorchestra (The Winspear Centre), Klondykes (Guys in Disguise/Theatre Network), Anxiety & Slight of Mind (Theatre Yes/Citadel Theatre), Bone Wars (Punctuate! Theatre), 10 out of 12 (Wildside Productions) Coraline (Impossible Mongoose), 5 South (Dammitammy Productions), 4Play (Catalyst Theatre), Never Never (Promise Productions) and Jack and the Beanstalk (Capitol Theatre). Her compositions can be found in the sound design for Pisces, by Darrin Hagen (Theatre Network). She is currently composing a new musical that will debut at the Edmonton International Fringe this summer! She’s thrilled to be included in this production! www.dammitammy.com
Rebecca MerklEy
“Recreational Assistant”
Davina is an award-winning actress, improviser, director and graduate of the U of A BFA Acting program. She’s been fortunate to have worked with many of Edmonton’s theatre companies. Selected credits include; Sexy Laundry, Deathtrap (Mayfield Dinner Theatre) Cottagers and Indians, Vanya, Sonia, Mash and Spike (Shadow Theatre); Squeamish, Something Unspoken (Northern Light Theatre); Pia & Maria (Concrete Theatre); Witch Hunt At The Strand (Workshop West Theatre) Cocktails At Pam’s, Pith, The Vile Governess (Teatro Quindicina); Marion Bridge, A Beautiful View (Theatre Network); BitchSlap! (Guys In Disguise); An Ideal Husband (Citadel Theatre).
Most recently, she directed The Hunchback Variations, All In The Timing- Sure Thing, Salsa Lesson (Edmonton Fringe), Prettier Woman (Spotlight) and appeared in; It’s A Wonderful Christmas Carol (Spotlight & Yeg Xmas Market) , Woman Caught Unaware (Edmonton Fringe & Victoria Fringe).
Davina is one-third of the hit info-tainment extravaganza Hey Ladies! , which will be returning to live in-person performances in the near future. Find out more at Hey Ladies! on Facebook.
Davina Stewart
“ICU Physician”
Sheldon Stockdale is an actor from Edmonton Alberta. He is a graduate from the University of Alberta's BFA in acting. His recent credits include Bear Grease (Indigenous Angels); Fags in Space (Low Hanging Fruit); A Midsummer Night's Dream (Lodestar Theatre). Sheldon would like to thank Workshop West for having him on board and hopes the audience enjoys the show.
Sheldon StocKdale
“ICU Nurse”
Jade is a mixed-race artist who was born and raised in amiskwacîwâskahikan (colonially known as Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory. She received her BFA in Acting from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), and is a National Gold Medalist in Canada for Speech Arts & Drama Performance. Select credits include: Smoke (Tiny Bear Jaws), Hecuba (dir. Brett Dahl), Monkey King (Enrichment Works), Appropriate (CalArts), CHAMP (Kerning House Pictures), Georgie Romero is Done For (Shea & Greenberg Podcasts), and Phantom Limb: Falling Out (Center for New Performance).
Jade Robinson
“Health Care Aid”
Melissa Thingelstad received her BFA in Acting from the University of Alberta and has worked as a professional actor in Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton) for twenty years. Her acting portfolio includes stage work, film work, and voice-over. She has had the great privilege of working in Edmonton, Banff, Winnipeg, Washington, DC, London, England, and Halifax and is the recipient of three Elizabeth Sterling Haynes awards for acting. Melissa has also collaborated on new works for a number of multidisciplinary festivals in the city including: Visualeyze Festival, Storefront Cinema Nights, The Expanse Movement Festival, and The Kaleido Festival. She has taught in the Department of Drama at the University of Alberta for the past 8 years. Selected Theatre Credits Include: Slight of Mind, Viscosity, The List (Theatre Yes), Stupid F@#cking Bird and Fatboy (Edmonton Actors’ Theatre), The Fever and Proud (theatre no.6), An Accident (Northern Light Theatre), Here There Be Night and Kill Me Now (Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre), Three Sisters (Broken Toys Theatre), Age of Arousal and The Supine Cobbler (The Maggie Tree).
Melissa Thingelstad
“ER Physician”
Heather Inglis is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and is an award-winning director, producer, and dramaturg whose career has taken her across the country. In 2019, Heather was nominated for the Playwrights’ Guild of Canada’s Bra D’Or Award, recognizing her support and promotion of Canadian women playwrights. Heather has directed and assistant-directed over 40 productions, many of which have been new Canadian works. Credits include: The Shaw Festival; Citadel Theatre; Workshop West Theatre; Northern Light Theatre; Azimuth Theatre; Theatre Junction; Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre (SK); Live Five (SK); The Doppler Effect Productions (NS); Alberta Playwrights Network; Saskatchewan Playwrights' Centre; Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre; The Notable Acts Festival (NB) and Universities in Edmonton, Calgary and Saskatoon. Heather has received a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award (2014), the Edmonton Artists’ Trust Fund (twice), the Celebration of Women in the Arts Award (twice), and the Telus Courage to Innovate Award (Edmonton). Nine of Inglis’ productions have been nominated for 17 Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards, including 7 nominations for Outstanding Independent Production and nominations for Outstanding Director and Outstanding Fringe Director. Heather received a special Sterling Award for Outstanding Innovation in Theatre in 2014. During her time as Artistic Producer for Workshop West, she has directed Here There Be Night (2020), Metronome (2021) and Tell Us What Happened (2022). This December, Heather received Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee Medal for her contributions to advancing writers in Alberta.
Heather Inglis
Director & Co-Creator
Darrin Hagen uses verbatim technique to present real life events in plays, stories, essays and documentaries, assembling various narratives and archival sources to make history come alive.
Notable among Hagen’s verbatim-inspired works are the award-winning The Edmonton Queen, which emerged from eulogies created for funerals of Edmonton’s underground royalty during the plague decade; Witch Hunt at the Strand (2016, Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre), which gathered letters from private archives, media, and court transcripts to present the 1942 gay sex scandal that rocked Edmonton’s theatre community; The Empress & The Prime Minister (2019, Theatre Network), which gathered personal interviews and historic political speeches, media, and debates to tell the story of the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1969; and the extensive Pisces essays for Edmonton City as Museum Project, which weave newly-released police records with eyewitness accounts to illuminate the infamous Pisces Bathhouse Raid of 1981. Most recently he curated / created the acclaimed Guys In Disguise production of The Pansy Cabaret at the 2022 Fringe Festival, gathering and revamping century-old culture from New York’s Pansy Craze era.
He is currently writing and directing two different documentaries on pivotal queer historical events in Alberta.
Darrin Hagen
Co-Creator & Sound Design
Brian Is excited to be back at Workshop West Playwrights Theatre working with such a talented group of folks old and new. He is a Sterling Award winner and has multiple nominations for his Set and Costume designs.
Brian’s design work has been seen around Edmonton and across the province, including Theatre Network, Alberta Opera, Players De Novo, Red Deer College, Festival Players, Theatre Yes, Grande Prairie Live Theatre, Opera Nuova, Teatro la Quindicina, MacEwan University, and The Mayfield Dinner Theatre. Of his favourite productions he has designed include: My Name is Rachel Corrie, The List (Both nominated for Set Design), Race, Into the Woods, The Enchantment, Glorious, Spring Awakening, Ten x Two (Sterling Winner – Costume Design), Little Shop of Horrors, Xanadu, A Little Night Music, As You Like It, White Christmas, 12th Night, Cinderella and The Colour of Flesh (Both nominated for Costume Design), Mary Poppins, and My Fair Lady.
Brian recently designed the Set for Tell Us What Happened with Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre and Costume Design for the upcoming production of London Road for MacEwan University.
Brian Bast
Set & Costume Design
Nyssa is thrilled to return to WWPT for this production of Unsung. She is an Edmonton-based stage manager, pursuing a life backstage for the fame and the money. Some of her recent credits include; The Wrong People Have Money, The Mountaintop (Shadow Theatre); Measure for Measure (Freewill Shakespeare); Jane Eyre (Citadel Theatre); Two-Headed/Half-Hearted (Northern Light Theatre); Here there be Night (Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre); The Invisible - Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Catalyst Theatre). Some of her upcoming productions include Pride and Prejudice (Citadel Theatre) and Nevermore (Catalyst Theatre). Special thanks to Nyssa’s family, friends and partner for their support and continued sanity.
Nyssa Beairsto
Stage Management
Lora (she/her) is thankful to make her home and practice her craft here in Amiskwaciwâskahikan (Edmonton). Select theatre credits include: Tell Us What Happened (Assistant Director, Workshop West Theatre), The Fiancée, Sweat, A Few Good Men, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Citadel Theatre), Bust and Let the Light of Day Through (Theatre Network), Circle Mirror Transformation, The Liars, and Three Days of Rain (Shadow Theatre), The Invention of Romance (Workshop West Theatre), Fat Pig, Mo and Jess Kill Susie, Heroines, and The Ugly Duchess (Northern Light Theatre), Comedy of Errors (Freewill Players), and productions with Theatre Yes, Azimuth Theatre, Concrete Theatre, and many of our community’s excellent independent companies. Lora is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting Program.
