Our Staff

Ray Hogg is the Artistic Director of The Musical Stage Company in Toronto, Canada.

He is an award-winning Black theatre artist known for creating and presenting virtuosic, visually stunning, viscerally moving theatre and live performance. He has over 20 years of artistic, educational and leadership experience in the most celebrated opera, dance, and theatre companies around the world. His work as a dancer, actor, master teacher, producer, director, and choreographer has taken him across Europe, The United States, and Canada.  He has created for stages as diverse as Neptune Theatre in the east, The Arts Club Theatre Company in the west and many others in between. From 2012-2017 Ray served as Artistic Director of Rainbow Stage. In addition to his work at The Musical Stage Company, he is also an Associate Artistic Director at Halifax’s Neptune Theatre, and the founding Artistic Director of Prime Mover Theatre Company, which is dedicated to the advancement of marginalized artists and their work on Canada’s most prestigious stages from coast to coast.

His work as Director includes: CONTROLLED DAMAGE  (The Grand Theatre London),  DA KINK IN MY HAIR (Arts Club Theatre Co); THE TEMPEST (Company of Fools); CATS, THE PRODUCERS, SISTER ACT, SHREK, LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (Rainbow Stage); FIVE GUYS NAMED MOE, DREAMGIRLS (Neptune Theatre), LOVE AND INFORMATION, AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE, DAMN YANKEES & CHICAGO (Sheridan College). He has choreographed for the Shaw Festival, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Neptune Theatre, the Segal Centre Montreal, and more.

Follow:
@rayhogg
@primemovertheatreco
www.rayhogg.com
www.primemovertheatre.com

Kate is a fundraiser and arts administrator who hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba and her career has taken her onstage, backstage and to the office. An Honours graduate of the University of Winnipeg’s Department of Theatre and Film, Kate has worked as Production Associate for Rainbow Stage, in both Audience and Fund Development for the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, and as Development Manager for the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. Additional work includes Assistant Director for Winnipeg Jewish Theatre, producer for Bravura Theatre, work with the Pantages Playhouse, and, like so many others, it all started with the Fringe.

Paul is a Toronto based arts leader and producer. A graduate from the Toronto Metropolitan University’s Performance Production program, he began his career stage managing with Mirvish Productions, Luminato, Tarragon Theatre, Soulpepper, and The Musical Stage Company for the 2012 production of Caroline, or Change. Paul also produced multiple award-winning international productions for the Luminato Festival over his 6 seasons with the organization. For five years, Paul acted as the inaugural General Manager for the barrier-free, arts-education organization, The Artists Mentoring Youth Project (The AMY Project). He currently serves as the Managing Producer for Vita Brevis Arts, the artistic engine behind the ambitious Fall On Your Knees theatrical adaptation that toured eastern Canada in early 2023. Paul also sits on the board for Prime Mover Theatre Company and Vita Brevis Arts.

Emma Westray (she/her) is an arts administrator and artistic producer living and working in Tkarón:to. She is committed to uplifting artistic voices that question the status quo and developing new work that meets audiences where they are, with a focus on community-building and accessibility. An Honours graduate of the University of Windsor and an alum of Generator’s Artist Producer Training program, Emma has over a decade of experience working with arts organizations, including the Paprika Festival, Theatre Passe Muraille, Nightwood Theatre, Theatre Direct, the Toronto Fringe Festival, and more. Emma was most recently the Festival Producer for the SummerWorks Performance Festival and continues to develop independent theatre projects across Canada.

Chase (he/him) is a theatre practitioner with over a decade of experience across disciplines. Holding degrees in Theatre and Writing from the University of Victoria, he has worked as an administrator, producer, writer, director, and fundraiser for companies including Pacific Opera Victoria, Blue Bridge Theatre, Atomic Vaudeville, Intrepid Theatre and the Victoria Fringe Festival, Theatre SKAM, Impulse Theatre, and most recently, Buddies in Bad Times. His writing has been presented by the rEvolver Festival, Theatre SKAM, and Impulse Theatre. Like so many theatremakers, his love for the art form started with musicals. He is delighted to be building and maintaining partnerships that will facilitate the work of The Musical Stage Company as this team continues to provide the highest level of creative support for the luminous Canadian theatremakers whose stories and songs inspire, uplift, and transport. 

Natasha Ramondino (she/her) is a queer, cis theatre artist and arts worker based in Tkaròn:to. She has an extensive background in administration, marketing, and communications. She graduated from the Theatre and Drama Studies program at Sheridan College and the University of Toronto, and is an alumni of Factory’s TEPS Acting Cohort, Nightwood Theatre’s Innovators Program, and most recently worked as the Marketing Associate at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. A few notable theatre companies she has performed with include: Pencil Kit Productions, Tarragon Theatre, Convergence Theatre, Shakespeare BASH’d, 4th Line Theatre, and fu-GEN Theatre.

Colette Richardson (she/her) is a multi-hyphenate theatre artist originally from Vancouver, BC. She recently relocated to Toronto from New York City, and holds both a Bachelors in Arts Management from the University of Toronto and a Certificate in Musical Theatre Performance from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. Colette has worked on theatrical projects all across North America, and virtually, including founding and managing a completely remote independent theatre company that operated during the pandemic and served audiences from Alaska to Indonesia. Her current independent producing venture is Shifting Ground Collective, focusing on spotlighting emerging musical theatre artists.

Colette is particularly interested in conversations about how new technologies, systems and ways of thinking have the power to revolutionize practices, and bring the theatrical conversation into the mainstream pop-culture zeitgeist. When she’s not making theatre (which, let’s be honest, isn’t very often), Colette loves experimenting with new recipes, getting increasingly competitive about strategic board games, and mapping out the best way to beat an Escape Room. She’s always in the mood for a geeky theatre chat – so don’t hesitate to say hello!

Robert currently serves as the Director of New Musical Development for The Musical Stage Company.   

For Musical Stage: Robert directed Fun Home, Life After, The Wild Party, Falsettos, The Light In The Piazza, both productions of Caroline, or Change, as well as ReFramed, a collaboration with the Art Gallery of Ontario and You Are Here, with 1000 Islands Playhouse.

Robert recently developed and directed Jake Epstein’s Boy Falls From The Sky which played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto and on tour, the new musical Pollyanna with Aquarius Theatre/Yonge Street Productions. 

Other directing credits include the New York premiere of Forest Boy, a new work by the Scottish writing team of Claire McKenzie and Scott Gilmor; Capriccio for Pacific Opera, The Magic Flute for Vancouver Opera; La Boheme for The Canadian Opera Company; Where Elephants Weep at the Chenla Theatre Phnom Penh; Carousel for the Galaxy Theatre in Tokyo; The Immigrant for The Harold Green Theatre and Man of La Mancha for the Stratford Festival.    

He was also the Associate Director of the Broadway production of the musical Mamma Mia and Resident Director for Hal Prince and Susan Stroman’s production of Show Boat. 

Robert wrote and performed The Real Poems at Here For Now Theatre, The Stratford Festival Forum and at the H.B. Playwrights theatre in New York. 

Robert has worked on the development of new musicals and opera in both Canada and the US for companies that include Yonge Street Theatricals, Sheridan University, The Arts Club Theatre, Vancouver Opera, The Canadian Opera Company, The O’Neill Centre, Connecticut, H.B. Studio, New York. 

Robert is on faculty at H.B. Studio in New York, Western University in London Ontario and is an Associate Artist at ArteStudio in Mexico City where he works with writers, composers and lyricists on the development of new Spanish language musicals.

Kevin is a composer/lyricist, musician, arts worker, and lawyer.

Prior to this position, Kevin undertook an internship with the Musical Stage Company in Artistic Direction with the generous support of the Metcalf Foundation. Kevin also previously served as General Manager on Musical Works: A Festival Celebrating New Musical Theatre (Musical Works in Concert/Theatre20). As a musical theatre writer, his works include Recurring John: A New Song Cycle, STAR!(ving): A Collection of Songs, The Preposterous Posthumous Predicament of Paulie Peel (book: Julie Tepperman, Reframed, The Musical Stage Company/Art Gallery of Ontario in partnership with Yonge St. Theatricals, Dora Nomination), MISPRINT (book: Lauren Toffan), and Drama 101 (co-written with Steven Gallagher).

Training/Education: NoteWorthy (Acting Up Stage Company), Composium (Theatre20 Academy), Violin/Theory (Royal Conservatory of Music). University of Windsor (LL.B.), University of Western Ontario (B.Sc.).

Kevin is a member of the Canadian Musical Theatre Writers Collective (CMTWC), Dramatists Guild of America, and Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC). He is also one third of Asian Riffing Trio.

A recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Mitchell is a cultural entrepreneur and creative city builder based in Toronto.

Mitchell was the Founding Artistic Director and CEO of The Musical Stage Company – Canada’s leading not-for-profit musical theatre company. Over eighteen years, he grew the company from a start-up into an internationally respected arts institution and one of the largest independent not-for-profit theatre companies in the history of Canadian theatre. Under his leadership, the company transformed the Canadian musical theatre landscape, attracted over 30,000 patrons per year, established national and international partnerships, and received 105 Dora Award nominations, 23 Dora Awards and 19 Toronto Theatre Critics’ Awards.

Outside of The Musical Stage Company, Mitchell was the Associate Producer for the inaugural six years of Luminato, producing over 100 productions and events for one of the preeminent international arts festivals in North America. Mitchell has been the Creative Producer for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize, the producer of the Dora Awards and a principal organizer of four years of the star-studded It’s Always Something Variety Show for Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto.

Mitchell has held teaching positions in the arts management departments at the University of Toronto and Ryerson University. As a volunteer, he has served on committees for the Philip Akin Black Shoulders Legacy Award, the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts, Alphabet’s Sidewalk Labs, Paul Penna DJDS, Sheridan College, Centennial College, the Canadian Musical Theatre Writers Collective, the Metcalf Foundation, and the Laidlaw Foundation.

Mitchell is the recipient of The Leonard McHardy and John Harvey Award for Outstanding Leadership in Administration, a Harold Award, and was a finalist for the Roy Thomson Hall Award from the Toronto Arts Foundation recognizing his contribution to Toronto’s musical life.

David’s activities include entertainment and real estate. Producer or Executive Producer credits include The Odyssey Theatre (Los Angeles),  Showtime Networks (Los Angeles), CBC, Cineplex, Metaphor Productions, VisionTV, Chesler/Perlmutter Productions, The Musical Stage Company and Dreamers Renegades Visionaries (all Toronto). Palais Royale, A Promise Kept, The Fantod, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Caroline, or Change, The Light in the Piazza, among others, have been nominated and/or won Gemini, Genie, Dramalogue, American Video and Dora Mavor Moore awards. He is an advisor to  Shakespearience, The Actor’s Fund , Crow’s Theatre and Solar Ship Inc. He is also a principal in Daniels Capital Group and Sustainable.TO Architecture + Building. In 2010, he received the inaugural Gilda’s Award from Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto. David lives in Toronto with his wife Kate, kids Maddie and Jasper, a dog and a fox. The fox lives in the backyard.