John Spurway - Playwright

John started writing for theatre in 1999 and was thrilled to get his first professional production at LFT last summer with the hit comedy Between Friends. He is looking forward to seeing Grounded, his second play and second world premiere, produced at Lighthouse Festival Theatre this summer. When not writing plays, John works with a clean energy technology company in his home town of Fredericton, New Brunswick. He and Margot have been married for 30 years and have two grown children.

Chris McHarge - Director

Chris has been directing in Canada for more than 20 years.  He is the Artistic Director here at Lighthouse Festival Theatre, and is the former Artistic and Executive Director of Theatre on the Grand in Fergus, Ontario, as well as a former Artistic Associate at Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton. Chris has worked throughout Canada, in Europe and the United States. He has directed over 80 productions, including close to 30 world premieres and two Ontario premieres.  Chris is best known for his work in new play development with established and emerging playwrights.  Chris has been nominated for a number of awards including the Eleanor and Lou Siminovitch Prize in Theatre (2001 & 2004), the Canada Council John Hirsch Award, and the Pauline McGibbon Award for directing.  Chris is most proud of his role as Dad to sixteen-year-old Caitlyn, eleven-year-old Erin and eight-year-old Quinlan.

Brad Austin - Tony

Brad is pleased to be making his debut on the lighthouse stage.  Celebrating his eighteenth year in the biz, he has been seen in the TV series Doc, Twice in a Lifetime, Wild Crad, Forever Knight, and Kevin Hill, as well as the television movies, Talk to Me, Recipe for a Perfect Christmas, and most recently in Anne of Green Gables.  Stage credits include Laertes in Hamlet, and Dominic in Wrong Turn at Lungfish at the Gryphon theatre. Film credits include Habitat, Danger Beneath the Sea, and Focus. Brad lives in Hamilton with his beautiful wife Stacey, and their new puppy Finn.

Maria is thrilled to be returning to the Lighthouse Theatre Festival.  Maria last appeared at Lighthouse in the world premiere of Norm Foster’s Jenny’s House of Joy where she played Natalie.  Since then Maria has performed at The Grand Theatre in The Graduate as Elaine.  Television credits include “Ricky” in The Boarder (CBC), and Catherine in The Best Years (Global).  Maria has a BFA in Acting from the University of Windsor and this past winter Maria studied with the SITI Theatre Company in New York City.   Maria loves Port Dover and is so happy to be spending her summer here!

Linda Goranson - Marion

Linda is thrilled to be returning to Lighthouse Theatre, last appearing here in the 2005 hit Kitchen Witches. She has worked at theatres across the country; recently in Steel Magnolias (Drayton Entertainment & Stirling Festival Theatre); Kitchen Witches and The Glass Menagerie (Theatre Northwest); Cinderella (Sudbury Theatre Centre); Noises Off (Atlantic Theatre Festival). Extensive film & TV credits include Owning Mahowny, Mr. and Mrs. Loving, Harrison Bergeron, Lucy Maud Montgomery and The Rowdy Man. She is the voice of Hermia in the cartoon series Friends and Heroes. She has won the Best Actress Award at the Canadian Film Awards and the Yorkton Film Festival, an ACTRA nomination for Best Supporting Actress and starred in The Painted Door, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short.

Debra Hale - Elizabeth

Debra’s previous LFT credits include Emma in Norm Foster’s Storm Warning and the Irish Barkeep/mime artist in Colleen Curran’s In the Country of the Blue.  It’s great to be back in this fabulous theatre and town.  Other stage highlights include Sexy Laundry and Looking (1000 Islands Playhouse), Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet (Magnus), Something Drastic (Tarragon Extra), Noises Off (Gryphon), A Flea in Her Ear (Drayton) and 7 Stories (Sudbury Theatre) and many farces at many theatres. Her playwriting includes the comedy/thriller I Won’t Tell a Soul (five productions) and Heads Will Roll (two festivals), and the fringe hit Freedom 85!, which is playing off off-Broadway in New York early in 2009.

Steve has designed sets and lighting for more than 200 productions of theatre, dance and performance art throughout his 20 year career.  His work has mainly focused on new and original plays, designing the world premieres of many shows, including Breath[e], Tequila Vampire Matinee, 2 Pianos, 4 Hands, and The Stompin' Tom Show.  He has been nominated for several of Canada's most prestigious awards including the Simonovitch Prize, the Pauline McGibbon award, and 29 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations.  In 2005, Steve moved to a little slice of heaven north of Shelburne, where he lives with his wife Jennifer and their son Griffin, his greatest design yet.

Claire is excited to be returning to Lighthouse for her second season as wardrobe and first season as a designer. She is a graduate of the Ryerson University Theatre School and recently was costume designer for Metamorphoses. Outside of school she has worked as assistant costume designer for Fu Gen’s Banana Boys at Hart House. She has recently done wardrobe work for So, You Think You Can Dance and The National Ballet. Claire has been coming down to Port Dover and Long Point for as long as she can remember and is ecstatic to spend another summer by the beach.

Wendy loves coming back to Port Dover every summer to spend time with the folks at LFT!  She has designed numerous LFT productions including most recently Mary's Wedding and A Stranger in Our House.  Wendy is the Lighting Coordinator for the Canadian Opera Company, a position which has included work as Associate Lighting Designer for productions of Carmen, The Handmaid's Tale, Faust, Eugene Onegin and the complete Ring Cycle. She has received Dora nominations for Outstanding Lighting Design for The League of Nathans (Factory Theatre) and in the Best Independent Production category for Our Country's Good (Theatrefront). Elsewhere design credits include Agamemnon, Electra, The Flies, The Trials of Ezra Pound, Good Mother and Oscar Remembered (Stratford Festival); The School for Scandal (Chicago Shakespeare Theatre); Glass Menagerie (The Globe Theatre); Miracle on 34th Street, It's a Wonderful Life, Cherry Docs and Annie: The Musical (The Grand Theatre).  When not spending time in the theatre, Wendy loves nothing better than to grab her paddle and hit the water with her Dragon Boat Teams.

It is a real privilege to work on a premiere production, and Daniele is very excited to be working on Grounded. She has been a part of twelve seasons at Lighthouse theatre, and has worked on a lot of great shows including Jasper Station and Tour, A Christmas Carol, Bedtime Stories, Having Hope at Home, and Mini-Putt.  Other selected SM and ASM credits include: Dreamgirls at Theatre Aquarius, Sexy Laundry and One Moment at Theatre Orangeville, The Graduate, Stones in His Pockets and Moonlight and Magnolias for the Grand Theatre in London. Daniele and her husband Simon Joynes are strongly encouraging six-year-old Fiona to run away and join an engineering firm.

Five years ago, Rob became a member of the Lighthouse family.  In the years since 2004 when Rob was originally employed as the house technician, Rob has been the Assistant Stage Manager for productions of Sitting Pretty, Jenny’s House of Joy, Jasper Station, Ethan Claymore, Bedtime Stories, The Long Weekend, and the Southern Ontario Tour of Jasper Station.  This season, Rob is excited to work with all of his talented friends (old and new) on Sexy Laundry, and Grounded.  Elsewhere, Rob has stage managed Rope’s End for Theatre Aquarius, Mary’s Wedding and Playwrights’ Cabaret for The Grand Theatre, The Long Weekend for Theatre Orangeville, and Mambo Italiano for C-Factor Inc.  Memorable shows include:  Seussical The Musical – Theatre Aquarius, Carmela’s Table – Centaur Theatre,  Mary’s Wedding – Grand Theatre,  My Fair Lady and CATS (tour) – Drayton Entertainment.  This August, Rob will celebrate his fifth wedding anniversary with his lovely wife Julie to whom he owes a debt of thanks and gratitude for her never ending support and understanding.

Danielle Dean-Alton - Apprentice Stage Manager

Danielle is extremely excited to be involved with Lighthouse Festival Theatre for her first season. Highly active in the Hamilton theatre scene, Danielle’s stage credits in their various capacities include The Wiz (MMT), Pippin (MMT), Cabaret (MMT), Dead Certain (BBF), A New Brain (Hammer Entertainment), Jekyll and Hyde (HTI), The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge (BBF), Closing the Door (Hammer Entertainment), An Ideal Husband (MTC) and Footloose (MMT) as well as working with the McMaster Summer Drama Festival, the Hamilton Fringe Festival and the Emerging Artist Series with Black Box Fire. Outside of theatre, Danielle is a graduate of the Honours Music program at McMaster University, dotes on her beloved nephew Jacob, and religiously follows the best of Canada’s national sports, lacrosse.