Editors

Megan Mooney – Editor-in-chief

Megan loves being in the thick of all things theatre, but her ultimate goal is to promote theatre to the world of non-theatre people.  Whether it’s as the theatre writer for blogTO, the Fringe Correspondent for CBC Radio One‘s Here and Now, or as the editor of the publication Mooney on Theatre.  Her basic belief is that there is theatre/performance out there for everyone to love, they just need to find it.  This is not to be confused with the idea that everyone should love theatre for theatre’s sake, in fact, as obsessed as she is with theatre, even *she* doesn’t love all types of theatre.

Megan started writing about theatre for blogTO. She was in it for the free tickets. In the end she got way more than just the opportunity to see some free theatre, it reignited her passion for theatre. It’s really no surprise that passion returned eventually, her childhood was filled with performing plays for teddy bears and stuffed bunnies (these days she only does that on very rare occasions). After seeing theatre performed for an audience with a circulatory system she was hooked. When she grew up she headed to university to learn more about theatre. And now, after a hiatus to do mundane things like paying back student loans, she’s made her way back to theatre and carved herself out a little corner of the internet here.

.

Mira Saraf – Assistant Editor.

.

.

Writers

Adam Collier
Adam wants to learn as much about theatre as he can, to become a better playwright. Going to new works and having a chance to think over them again is essential. He doesn’t believe there’s such a thing as the perfect play, and isn’t particularly interested in judging work in relation any criteria. What interests him most is how a play explores the world – whatever the world of a particular play happens to be – how that world impacts on characters, and how characters impact one another. This is the art of theatre. It continuously fascinates Adam and is the reason he pursues this art as strongly as he can.

Crystal Wood
Crystal loves to write; Crystal loves theatre.  So, Crystal eventually put 2 + 2 together and got this sweet gig writing for Mooney on Theatre.  She loves most kinds of indie theatre, but will always give bonus points for shows with spontaneous dance numbers.  When she’s not checking out live shows, Crystal can be found writing cartoons for children (sometimes for money, even!), and scouring Toronto’s used bookstores and cupcake shops.

Dana Lacey
Dana Lacey is a freelance writer living in Toronto, meaning she’ll work for food or bike parts or theatre tickets. Working for Mooney on Theatre joins her two loves: writing and criticizing. Dana’s brain doesn’t carry an ounce of theatre theory: she exhausted her acting career in high school, where she spent many nights failing to memorize her lines before realizing she’d be better off on the other side of the stage, the side that just sits there and passes judgment. Journalism school was a natural extension of this. It equipped her with the ability to write about stuff she loves but knows nothing about.

George Perry

Leanne Milech
Leanne was the Associate Editor of Mooney on Theatre, but has moved on to peruse her children’s books.  She is a lawyer turned writer, or a writer turned lawyer turned writer.  She is obsessed with all things artsy and literary – even copy editing (if copy editing can be called literary)!  Her first loves as a child were writing and acting.  If you look back in time, through a peephole, you can see her in her room, seven years old, with a sprinkle of freckles across her nose, writing her own plays and acting them out.  She played all of the parts, but she most enjoyed playing identical twins.  Now she plays herself and writes and edits for Mooney on Theatre, blogs for Precedent Magazine as a cultural critic and runs her own children’s book publishing company.

Lucy Allen
Lucy’s just gotten back into the theatre world, one of those ways is by writing for Mooney on Theatre.

Michelle Barker
Michelle is currently studying theatre at Ryerson University in Toronto.  As such, she has little or no concept of money or its value in life.  She does, however, have a love for all things theatre and all things that force people to inadvertently pay attention to her.  Having been raised in a small farming town largely populated by cows, Michelle is thrilled to live in downtown Toronto and to embrace all that the theatre community has to offer.  Apart from theatre, Michelle loves sushi, long walks in the city, Daniel Day-Lewis, Redbull, Blackberrys, good grammar, the concept of shoe horns, and palpable sarcasm.

Sam Mooney
Sam has just moved back to Canada after living in the south of France for 7 years. Everything she knows about theatre she learned from her amazing daughter Megan – the Mooney in Mooney on Theatre. She’s one of those people who used to find theatre intimidating. Not the big shows, but anything a little less than mainstream. When she isn’t visiting Toronto she lives in Priceville and makes web sites.
Her top two theatre memories:
- Taking a 7 year-old Megan to see Charlie’s Aunt at one of the lavish old rococo theatres in London. After looking around at the gilt, the ornate plaster, and the velvet Megan said “I didn’t know that ordinary people could come to a place like this.”
- Going to a matinee performance of Fences on Broadway in 1987 when at least half the audience was suburban Baptists. They talked to the characters, shouted encouragement, disapproval, and warnings. When the play ended and the audience was standing waiting to leave the woman in the next seat hugged her and said, “That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen. Wasn’t that the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen?“

Previous Contributors

Alex Rayment
Alex got involved in theatre during his early years of high school. The productions were always enjoyable to put on but mostly Alex just liked making people laugh. Since then, his career taken him away from performing and into everything from architecture and visual arts to now film production and writing. Alex has kept a distant hand on theatre via amateur improv and small local plays, deciding that a behind the scenes role was more suited to his tastes. Now given the opportunity to write about his once mistress his infatuation returns. Alex writes solely for personal fame and fortune at the expense of anything and anyone that gets in his way. He is also coming to the realization that he is therefore in the wrong business.

Darryl D’Souza
Darryl was the Assistant Editor at Mooney on Theatre from October 2009 to February 2010.  His main experience with theatre has been through opera and classical theatre but joining MoT has expanded his repertoire to include more contemporary work.

Erin Klee
Erin began her career in the performing arts in 2000 when she quietly slipped into the construction shop of Madison’s University Theatre. She approached the person who seemed to be in charge and confessed her love of performance – and her sincere interest in (and total ignorance of) technical theatre. She offered to sweep floors, make coffee, or do any other menial tasks that would allow her to be immersed in the arts. He laughed – and immediately hired her as a spotlight operator. Here it is, 2008, that love of performing arts hasn’t faded, Mooney on Theatre presents yet another avenue to explore that.

John Bourke
John’s been a theatre junkie since he was a kid. He was well ensconced in theatre in high school, enough that he immediately headed out to work for a theatre lighting company so he could ‘stay in the biz’. He soon learned that he wanted to learn more about the why behind theatre, not just the ‘what’, so he headed off to get a degree in theatre. He has a 9-5 job, but still likes to keep himself involved in theatre when he’s not at work. He may or may not be writing for this publication just to see shows for free…

Henry Smith
Henry is not an actor or writer.  He is a musician who for years also wrote a popular blog (under a pseudonym), which is how he met Megan.  Surrounded by his more-artistic friends has given Henry an appreciation for theatre, while being too uninformed to become a snob.  If Henry took up a career treading the boards, he would be best suited following a broom.  The man-on-the-street opinion, if you will.

Kathy Morgan
Kathy’s crazy busy as an actor, singer and waitress extraordinaire.

Olya Ryabets
Olya is completing her Masters in theatre.

Ryan Oakley
Ryan has no career in theater, no love of it and no particular interest in it. He does, however, love getting dressed up and looking at things. He has been called “shallow,” “cold,” “misanthropic” and “Satan” by people who like him and unprintable things by those who don’t. He waits tables, tends bar and washes dishes for money, writes ultra-violent science fiction for fun and keeps a blog, The Grumpy Owl, for no reason at all.

Trent Scherer
Holding a B.A. from UBC and a M.A. from University of Toronto in Theatre , Trent was a co-Artistic Director for 3 Men of Sin Theatre Productions producing over forty plays within its eight year lifespan.  Trent has taught Acting at the University College of the Cariboo, History of Costume and History of Canadian Theatre at George Brown, Theatre courses at the secondary level as well as coordinated and created children’s theatre for The ’Loopy Players.  Trent is a member of C.A.E.A. and has stage managed for theatres in BC and Ontario.  He also has a small photography business doing headshots and portraiture.