The Darkest Dark
Cast & Creative Team

HANNAH FOREST BRIAND as Jane (Apprentice Director)
Hannah is a queer artist trained at George Brown Theatre School in Toronto. When she’s not bringing stories to life on stage or screen, you can find her in rehearsal spaces, cozy cafes, or anywhere where her imagination runs wild. Hannah has been seen in a lead role in Les Liaisons Dangereuses (TFT); a recurring role in Échec & Moi (TFO); and a lead role in the feature film Camping Trip (Fuica Productions). She’s also had a blast in productions such as Les Filles du Roi, Les Zinspiré.e.s, and Flush at Théâtre Français de Toronto. Now, she’s excited to revisit the adventure of The Darkest Dark at Young People’s Theatre! When she’s not acting, Hannah is busy writing, producing, and dipping her toes into the world of directing. A proud Francophone artist, she loves sharing French works across Canada while also growing her career in English.

ZISKA LOUIS as Chris
Ziska (he/him) is a multidisciplinary actor, musician and physical theatre performer. Born in Switzerland, raised in Wales, now residing in Tkaronto. Select theatre credits include: Russell’s World (Young People’s Theatre); On a Night LikeThis (Soulpepper Theatre); The Walk-Up (Soulpepper Academy 2023); and Factory Theatre’s 2023 Training Enhancement Program.

RON PEDERSON as Dad
Ron (he/him) is an actor, improviser, director and writer who has worked across Canada with many theatres, including: The Stratford Festival, Soulpepper Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, CanStage, Coal Mine Theatre, RMTC, Alberta Theatre Projects, Arts Club Theatre, Vancouver Playhouse, Theatre Passe Murielle, The Belfry and The Citadel Theatre. As an improviser, Ron has collaborated with companies in Berlin, Oslo, Vienna, Amsterdam, Chicago and NYC. Ron’s television credits include three seasons on MADtv (Fox); The Late Late Show (CBS); Murdoch Mysteries (CBC); Degrassi (CTV); SideKick (YTV); New Eden (Crave); Private Eyes (Global); When Hope Calls (Hallmark); The Next Step (NBC Kids). Ron is the recipient of multiple Canadian Comedy Awards, a Dora Mavor Moore Award, The SummerWorks Performance Award and the RBC Arts Professional Award. Ron is a proud citizen of The Métis Nation of Alberta.

ANTHONY PERPUSE as Herbie
Tony is a Dora Award-winning Toronto-based Filipino-Canadian performer. Selected acting credits include RJ in The Waltz (Factory Theatre); Ollie in Storybook Search 2023, Emmett in Storybook Search 2022 (Bad Hats); RuDaGold in Orestes (Tarragon); Koyo/Kapre in Through the Bamboo (Fringe); Eli in Eraser (Riser Festival) and Jorge in Theory (Tarragon). Selected film credits include CBC’s Workin’ Moms and Save Me. Directing credits include An Utterly Stupid Indefensible Thing, The Brothers Gentle (Fringe); Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Wolf Manor); and Posthumous Friends (inspiraTO). Tony received training as a Factory Theatre Mechanical, graduated with a BFA from Ryerson Theatre School and received the Perry Schneiderman Comedy Award.

SHAQUILLE POTTINGER as Keith
Shaquille is a graduate of the University of Toronto, Sheridan College, and the Soulpepper Academy. He hails from the various plots of suburbia that North America has to offer, but distinctly caught the acting bug in Barrie, Ontario. When he isn’t acting, Shaquille also enjoys writing for stage and screen. Selected credits include: It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (Young People’s Theatre); White Muscle Daddy (Pencil Kit Productions/Buddies in Bad Times); Peggy Pickit Sees the Face of God, King Lear (Soulpepper); Ragtime (Theatre Calgary/Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra); The Lost Heroes of Oro (Theatre by the Bay); and There is No Word for Wilderness (Animacy Theatre Collective).

LISA RYDER as Mom
No stranger to adventures in space, Lisa was the starship captain of the Eureka Maru as Beka Valentine for five years on the TV series, Gene Roddenberry’s Andromeda (StackTV). Other TV/film credits include Gen V (Amazon Prime); From (Paramount+); Endlings (CBC Gem); Murdoch Mysteries (CBC), and Jason X. Theatre credits include Craze, Orestes (both for Tarragon Theatre); Helen Lawrence (Canadian Stage/International Tour); Possible Worlds (Theatre Passe Muraille); and A Blow in the Face, which she also wrote and co-produced with Nightwood Theatre. Lisa is delighted to be performing at YPT for the first time.

EVELYN WIEBE as Cindy
A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada (Montreal), Evelyn has had the pleasure of working with a number of directors and coaches, including Philip Akin in his production of 7 Stories, and David Latham in his production of Macbeth, in which Evelyn played the role of Lady Macbeth. Evelyn has appeared in CBC’s Murdoch Mysteries, and is the lead in the short film I Wanna Be Famous (Humber Film School). Recent theatre credits include Mary’s Wedding (Lighthouse Festival Theatre); The Other Place and The Judas Kiss (Talk Is Free Theatre).

CHRIS HADFIELD, Co-Author
Arguably the most famous astronaut since Neil Armstrong, Colonel Chris Hadfield is a heavily decorated astronaut, engineer, and pilot, who has become a worldwide sensation. His rendition of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” has been viewed by over 75 million people online and was called “possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created,” by Bowie himself. Chris is a uniquely experienced leader who shares best practices and tactics on leading teams through complexity and change, while also sharing the marvels and wonders of science and space to everyone he encounters.

Formerly NASA’s director of operations, Chris spent more than three decades working for NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. Throughout his distinguished career, he has flown three space missions, built two space stations, performed two spacewalks, crewed the Shuttle and Soyuz, and, in 2013, commanded the International Space Station for six months. His many awards and recognitions include the Order of Canada, the Meritorious Service Cross, and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal.

Chris is the author of five internationally bestselling books: two non-fiction books, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth and You Are Here; a children’s book, The Darkest Dark; and two fiction books, The Apollo Murders and The Defector. He has also released a musical album, Space Sessions: Songs from a Tin Can — the first album to be recorded in space. In 2023, The Darkest Dark was turned into a play for young audiences about overcoming fears and embracing the unknown.

Chris is acclaimed for making outer space accessible to everyone. He is frequently featured on national and global media outlets, and co-created and hosted the internationally acclaimed BBC series Astronauts: Do You Have What It Takes?. He also co-hosted National Geographic’s One Strange Rock, directed by Darren Aronofsky. An advisor to SpaceX and Virgin Galactic, and chair of the board of the Open Lunar Foundation, Chris was also asked to advise and assist King Charles III in exploring sustainability in space in 2023. He is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Waterloo.

KATE FILLION, Co-Author
Kate Fillion is a bestselling author and journalist who lives in Irvington, New York.

JIM MILLAN, Director/Co-Writer
Jim Millan has a long series of innovative creations in theatre, comedy, magic and variety that has taken him from Canada to the West End, Radio City Music Hall, Broadway, Las Vegas and beyond. After founding Crow’s Theatre in Toronto it quickly became one of Canada’s new play innovators and incubators. Jim began a decades-long collaboration directing The Kids in the Hall comedy group for all of their live shows since 2000. Jim most recently directed Bruce McCulloch in his new one-man play, Tales of Bravery and Stupidity. Among his more explosive creations, Jim co-created Mythbusters Live, which sold out across North America and toured Australia and New Zealand; and served as the original Creative Director for The Illusionists, which set an all-time record for a magic show on Broadway. He has also been a creative producer of the Governor General’s Awards Gala in Ottawa, creating original stage tributes for entertainers such Michael J. Fox, Martin Short, Sandra Oh, Andrew Alexander, Catherine O’Hara and Ryan Reynolds. Throughout his career, Jim has directed comedy, dramas, magic and musicals on five continents in 38 countries and 17 languages, and has premiered over 185 new works.

IAN MACINTYRE, Co-Writer
Ian is a Toronto-based writer for TV, stage and video games. He’s written on Degrassi: Next Class, for which he won a WGC award, as well as animated shows such as Inspector Gadget, D.N.ACE, and Saving Me. Ian contributes to The Beaverton, and has developed a series for Nickelodeon and CBC. Currently Ian is the Senior Narrative Designer on Ava’s Manor for Uken Games. Ian is originally from Nova Scotia and is currently thinking about donairs.

DAVID BEN, Magic Consultant
David was bitten by the magic bug at the age of 12 and now, 52 years later, he is still smitten with the craft. David has performed across Canada, the United States and numerous venues around the globe. His shows include The Conjuror (Shaw Festival, Theatre ROM, Soulpepper); The Conjuror’s Suite (ROM, Charlottetown Festival); Tricks (Artworld, Soulpepper); Natural Magick (Luminato); Card Table Artifice (Luminato); and Hocus Pocus (Soulpepper). As a magic consultant, David has worked with the Shaw Festival (Ragtime, One Touch of Venus); Soulpepper Theatre (Of Human Bondage, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Travesties and Sisters); and the Stratford Festival (GrandMagic, Possible Worlds, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and The Scarlett Pimpernel). David has also been the magic consultant on a variety of films, television shows, novels and museum exhibitions including Kit Kittredge: An American Girl, Murdoch Mysteries, Michael Ondaatje’s novel Divisidaro, and Grand Illusions – The Art of Magic (McCord Museum, Art Gallery of Ontario). He is also author of several books including the biographies of Dai Vernon, and Canadian media mogul (and amateur magician) Allan Slaight. David is the co-founder and Executive Director of Magicana, an organization devoted to the advancement of magic as a performing art. He has been recognized within the magic community with a Masters Award from the Milbourne Christopher Foundation (2013) and is a co-recipient of a Media and Literary Fellowship from the Academy of the Magical Arts (2018). David is a recent inductee into the Order of Canada (2024).

ANNA TREUSCH, Set & Costume Designer
Anna is a Set and Costume Designer for Theatre, Opera and Musical Theatre. Her education is in Theatre Production and Visual Arts. A few recent design credits for Young People’s Theatre include: The Fixing Girl, Russell’s World (set and costumes), Under the Stairs, The Secret Garden (costumes). Other select credits: Christmastown, A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline (set and costumes, Capitol Theatre); Miss Caledonia (Set, Thousand Islands Playhouse); Sweat (Costumes, Canadian Stage); Between Riverside and Crazy (Set, Coal Mine Theatre); Figaro’s Wedding (Against the Grain); Tiny Treasures (Manitoba Theatre for Young People); Much Ado About Nothing (Costumes, Canadian Stage); The Father (Coal Mine Theatre); The Magic Flute (Set, Glenn Gould Opera School); Mamma Mia (Theatre St. Johns); The Canadian (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Trigonometry (Timeshare); Sir John A: Acts of A Gentrified Ojibway Rebellion (National Arts Centre); Calpurnia (Set, Nightwood and Sulong Theatre); Up the Garden Path (Obsidian Theatre). Anna is a recipient of three Dora Awards and is the recipient of the 2022 Virginia Myrtle Cooper Award for Costume Design. She is a proud member of Associated Designers of Canada, IATSE local 659. 

BONNIE BEECHER, Lighting Designer
Bonnie is a lighting designer from Toronto, Canada. She has designed the lighting for over 400 productions for theatre, opera and dance. Her work has been seen in most theatres in Canada including The Shaw Festival, The Stratford Festival, The Canadian Opera Company, Opera Atelier, Soulpepper Theatre, The National Arts Centre, The National Ballet of Canada, Tarragon Theatre, The Segal, The Citadel and Ballet British Columbia. International work includes lighting designs for Dutch National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, The Glimmerglass Opera, The Versailles Royal Opera, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Royal Shakespeare Company, New Zealand Opera, Ballett Dortmund, Royal Ballet of Flanders, The Opéra national du Rhin Ballet in Mulhouse, The State Ballet of Georgia, and Ballet Im Revier in Germany.  Bonnie also designed the lights for seven world premieres for The Stuttgart Ballet, and collaborated with the Kevin O’Day Ballet in Mannheim, Germany for 14 seasons from 2002 to 2016 where she designed the lighting for more than 25 world premieres for the company. Bonnie has received 15 Dora Award nominations and has won the award twice.

DEANNA H. CHOI, Composer & Sound Designer
Deanna (she/her) is a Composer and Sound Designer. Deanna has written original music and designed soundscapes and sound systems for over 120 stage productions across Canada, the US, and the UK. Her scores for film and television are available on CBC Gem, Netflix, and AppleTV including Relax, I’m From the Future and The Nature of Things. Her favourite films include Ratatouille and Muppet Treasure Island. Deanna received the Pauline McGibbon Award for Design and two Dora Awards. Her favourite quote from the show is, “The darkness out there is really just things we don’t know about yet.”

DANIELE GUEVARA, Projection Designer
Daniele is an award-winning designer whose artistic practice combines lighting and projection design, stage design, sculptural installation, and creative technology. Credits for Young People’s Theatre include: Hana’s Suitcase and The Darkest Dark (2023 Dora Award for Outstanding Design). Recent credits include The Mars Project (Fall For Dance 2024, Danse Danse 2025); Nae Project (Harbourfront Centre, 2023); Guided by Starlight (Luminato Festival 2021); and assisting the design team of Mulvey and Banani on Little Canada (2021). From 2015-2022, Daniele was the Lighting Supervisor for the Canadian Opera Company. She has worked with companies including Rubberband Dance, Wayne McGregor Random Dance, Theatre Gorlitz, The Royal Opera House, The Shaw Festival, Buddies In Bad Times Theatre, and The Blue Man Group. Daniele is a Dark Sky Advocate and a passionate bird rescue patroller for FLAP Canada. To date, she has helped rescue 185 migratory birds in Toronto. She is a proud member of Associated Designers of Canada, IATSE local 659.

IMOGEN WILSON, Associate Lighting Designer
Imogen is a Toronto-based Lighting Designer who has designed across Canada for The Stratford Festival, Canadian Stage, Crow’s Theatre, The Segal Centre, Chemainus Festival, Crow’s Theatre, Banff Centre for the Arts, Tarragon, Against the Grain, Summerworks, and Toronto Dance Theatre. Imogen has also worked as an assistant lighting designer for Mirvish, Canadian Opera Company, Stratford Festival, Musical Stage and Canadian Stage. She is also a scenic painter, proud member of ADC 659, and loves to go for a canoe at sunset. 

RIVER OLIVEIRA, Associate Sound Designer
River (they/he) is a queer, trans and disabled multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto. Over the past year and a half, he has had the privilege and the pleasure of working as a designer, playwright, and performer on projects that have centered, uplifted, and amplified queer and trans voices. River contributed sound design to YPT’s 2021 production of rihannaboi95. River has most recently worked as assistant sound designer for Cockroach 曱甴 (Tarragon Theatre); and associate sound designer on The First Stone (New Harlem Productions/Great Canadian Theatre Company). Along with Max Cameron Fearon, they are also co-creating How the Wolf Says Goodnight with generous support from the Ontario Arts Council’s Recommender Grant for Theatre Creators Program.

RAHA JAVANFAR, Assistant Sound Designer
A musician, theatre performer, lighting/projections designer, and educator, Raha is a multi-faceted artist, working on and behind stages across Canada and internationally. She is a Slaight resident artist at Soulpepper Theatre, front-woman and bassist of the blues/R&B band, Bad Luck Woman & Her Misfortunes, and was one of six co-creators of the Dora-nominated Now You See Her. As a lighting designer she’s been nominated for Dora Awards for Brothers Size (Soulpepper) and Is God Is (Canstage/Obsidian). She has toured internationally with the renowned Baroque Orchestra, Tafelmusik, as projection designer, and currently teaches lighting design at Toronto Metropolitan University.

DANIEL TESSY, Assistant Projection Designer
Daniel is an Iraqi-Jamaican-Canadian multidisciplinary theatre artist, technician and educator. He has produced original scores and soundscapes for companies such as Renegade Arts Society, Holy Crow Arts, Green Thumb Theatre, United Players of Vancouver, Dirt Road Productions, Capilano University and more. His work outside sound and music includes lighting design, projection design, directing, stage management and technical direction. He had a long collaboration with UBC’s Creative Writing department, supporting new works by their faculty and students with directing and production design work. He’s just relocated to Tkarón:to to participate in its vibrant and diverse arts community, and is a sessional lecturer at the University of Toronto.

LAURA BAXTER, Stage Manager
Laura’s selected theatre credits include: Black Boys, The 20th of November, Arigato Tokyo, Obaaberima, The Maids, The Silicone Diaries, Breakfast, (Buddies in Bad Times Theatre); nowhen, Sweat, Love and Information, nine seasons at Dream in High Park (Canadian Stage); Indecent, Oslo, My Name is Asher Lev, My Night With Reg, You Will Remember Me, NSFW, God of Carnage, Clybourne Park (Studio 180); Pipeline (Soulpepper); Actually (Obsidian/Harold Green); The Story, Tails From the City, Happy Days (Common Boots Theatre); Trout Stanley, Little Pretty and the Exceptional, Age of Arousal (Factory Theatre); 11:11, Elle (Theatre Passe Muraille); Soliciting Temptation, More Fine Girls (Tarragon Theatre); The Berlin Blues, Ipperwash (Blyth Festival); Speaking in Tongues, Festen (The Company Theatre); A Christmas Carol, The Story, Macbeth (Caravan Farm Theatre). Laura is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, 2005. Thank you to my amazing wife Shawn and our baby Amari for your unconditional love and support.

TROY TAYLOR, Assistant Stage Manager
Troy is excited to experience The Darkest Dark all over again, and hopes you do too! Troy works as a Stage Manager in Toronto for dance, theatre and live events. He has worked for the National Ballet of Canada, Soulpepper Theatre, Fall for Dance North, Dance Immersion, Canadian Stage, Ross Petty Productions, The Shaw Festival, Dance Ontario, Nightwood Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Factory Theatre, Mirvish, Human Body Expression, The Stratford Festival and Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra. When not at the theatre, Troy likes to spend his time at the dog park with his dog Jupiter, and his partner Craig. Much love to friends and family.