Introducing our 2024/25 Recommender Grant Recipients:
Sara Farb & Aaron Jensen – CREATURE
Sara Farb will be playing Rosalind in this year’s Stratford Festival production of As You Like It. She played Delphi Diggory in the original Canadian company of HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD after making her Broadway debut in the same role. Other performance credits: Sophie in INTERIOR DESIGN (Tarragon Theatre); six seasons at the Stratford Festival with roles including Juliet, Anne Frank, and Cordelia; Willow in LIGHT (Tarragon Theatre); Medium Alison in FUN HOME (The Musical Stage Company/Mirvish, Dora nominee, TTCA winner); Brigid in THE HUMANS (Canadian premiere at Citadel/Canadian Stage); productions at Soulpepper, Theatre Calgary, Tarragon, Theatre Passe Muraille, Segal Centre, YPT, and others. Sara and Britta Johnson’s original musical KELLY V. KELLY made its world premiere in Toronto this past spring with Musical Stage and Canadian Stage. Sara and Britta’s short musical, HE IS COMING (Musical Stage/AGO) received a Dora nomination for best new musical. She is currently working on a new musical with Anton Lipovetsky for YES Theatre.
Aaron Jensen (he/him) is a Toronto-based composer, writer, and producer. His music has been performed by GRAMMY and JUNO award-winning artists, choirs, and symphony orchestras around the world. Aaron acted as musical director and arranger for the EMMY-winning TV series, Schitt’s Creek. His musical ARMCHAIR CONFIDENTIAL is a finalist for the 2025 National Music Theater Conference, it enjoyed a 2025 Theatre Sheridan CMTP production, was shortlisted for the 2023 Tom Hendry Best New Musical Award, and was workshopped in 2022 by Arts Club Theatre. His mini-musical, THE TRIAL OF BASTIANO DI BOLOGNA, was the #1 download of the New York City podcast, Bite-Sized Broadway. Jensen contributed music and lyrics to HENRY BOX BROWN which was optioned for Broadway by TONY-winning producers. He’s currently adapting THE CAT’S MEOW into a musical with L.A. playwright Steven Peros, based on Peros’ 1997 play and 2002 Lionsgate film. www.aaronjensen.ca
Griffin Hewitt & Kelsi James – LAPWING
Griffin Hewitt is a theatre actor, playwright, and director, originally from Regina, Saskatchewan,
now living in Toronto. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Theatre Performance from Sheridan College, and is currently entering his fourth year as part of Talk Is Free Theatre’s Artists BIG cohort, as part of the Theatre Innovators Program. His work focuses on finding intersections between his identities as a queer, western born, working class person, and the things he loves – musical storytelling, immersive audience experiences, and investigations of myth, fantasy, and other popular-cultural storytelling. Creating interactive audience experiences from scratch, Griffin has written and directed many site specific pieces, including CYCLOPS: A SATYR PLAY, WRITTEN IN BLOOD, and OUTHEIS. Griffin currently lives in Cabbagetown in Toronto, where he can often be found pacing, listening to atmospheric Spotify playlists, and trying to solve a creative problem out loud.
Kelsi James (they/she) is a white queer and asexual theatre creator, producer and performer, who works most often from the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil- Waututh, and from Tkarón:to. Kelsi has a degree in Musical Theatre from Sheridan and a certificate in ASL & Deaf Studies from VCC. Kelsi has composed for Driftwood Theatre (KING HENRY V) and Theatre Rusticle (THE TEMPEST), and has been a Creative Producer for Dreamwalker Dance since 2021. She is the founding creative producer of Art For Ace Week, and has developed queer centred work through programs at the Paprika Festival, Arts Club, Tarragon, Sound Off, and the frank. The questions that compel Kelsi as a creator are: how do I blend theatre with community gathering? How do I build accessibility into the bones of my work? How do I honour the queer ancestors, and how can I empower the next gen queers?
Marcia Kash & Leslie Arden – THE GIRLS
Trained as an actor, Marcia Kash began her career at the Royal Court Theatre in London, England. Her first play, the highly successful WHO’S UNDER WHERE? written with Douglas E. Hughes, has been translated into 10 languages and received over 150 productions around the world. Other plays with Mr. Hughes include: A PARTY TO MURDER, TOO MANY COOKS, JACK OF DIAMONDS, SOMETHING FISHY (PGC Tom Hendry Award for Comedy), and DEADLINE. They are currently working on a psychological thriller named SUCCOUR.
Working solo, Marcia’s credits include the popular DISCOVERING ELVIS and her family drama FOR THIS MOMENT ALONE. Together with collaborator Mary Colin Chisholm, Marcia wrote the screenplay, A BELLY FULL, which received two development awards from Telefilm Canada. It has recently been optioned. Adapted into a stage play it received its world premiere at The Mill at Sonning in the UK in 2019. In addition to writing and acting, Marcia is also an accomplished theatre director with over 100 credits.
Leslie Arden has written and composed over a dozen musicals, including the critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning THE HOUSE OF MARTIN GUERRE and the Chalmers Award winning THE HAPPY PRINCE. She’s been commissioned by many North American choirs, as well as spending six seasons as a composer with The Stratford Festival. From 2019 – 2023 Leslie was the inaugural writer-in-residence at Queen’s University’s Dan School of Drama and Music, where she was commissioned to write and compose a new musical, THE LANCASHIRE LASS, which premiered in the spring of 2023. In 2024, Leslie was invited to the United Arab Emirates to develop a new musical with and for the students of the Sharjah Performing Arts Academy. In 1990 Leslie was one of thirteen professional musical theatre writers chosen from around the world by Cameron MacIntosh to study with Stephen Sondheim at Oxford University.
Saleema Nawaz & Scott Christian – THE BLUE CASTLE: THE MUSICAL
Saleema Nawaz is an accomplished TV writer, novelist, playwright and librettist, whose most recent novel, SONGS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD, was an instant national bestseller. She is also the author of the novel BONE AND BREAD (a finalist for Canada Reads), the short-story collection MOTHER SUPERIOR, and she is a winner of the prestigious Writers’ Trust of Canada/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. A former columnist for the Montreal Gazette, Saleema has held creative residencies at Yaddo and the Banff Centre and is currently a writer on CBC’s MURDOCH MYSTERIES.
Scott Christian is an award-winning composer, musical director and pianist. His original musical A MISFORTUNE, adapted from the short story by Anton Chekhov, debuted at the Next Stage Festival in Toronto and was part of the 2017 Charlottetown Festival season. His first two original musicals were both part of the Toronto Summerworks Festival – HERO & LEANDER (2011), and THROUGH THE GATES (2012). He composed the score for the TYA musicals RED LETTER DAY, NOBODY’S CHILDREN, and STICKY FINGERS for Yellow Door Theatre Project. As a musical director, he has worked at theatres all across Canada including Neptune Theatre, The Charlottetown Festival, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Theatre Passe Muraille, and Tarragon Theatre. When he’s not doing music, he runs the indie video game company Hilltop Studios which released the critically acclaimed LIL’ GUARDSMAN in 2024. His favourite singer to collaborate with is his wife Tringa Rexhepi.
Alicia Payne – WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
Alicia Payne is a multidisciplinary storyteller whose work has been presented at events like the Toronto Fringe Festival, Atlanta Black Theatre Festival, Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. Readers’ Theatre of New Work at the International Black Theatre Festival, and Valdez Theatre Conference. Alicia’s memberships and professional development include ACTRA, CAEA, Dramatists Guild of America, Playwrights Guild of Canada (former President), Gros Morne Playwrights Residency, A Room of Her Own (AROHO) Retreat; Tapestry Opera Composer Librettist Laboratory, and BIPOC TV & Film Writing for Kids TV Bootcamp and Incubator. Group art exhibitions include Toronto for Everyone, The Honest 6ix Artist Residency; Canadian Forces Artist Program Exhibition,Group 6 (2012-2013); and The Bentway Tiny Games. Alicia is a Metcalf Foundation adaptive facilitator who also facilitates workshops for youth and adults in community and organizational settings. Alicia is the audiobook narrator of FLOWER DIARY by Molly Peacock and a co-founder of Arbez Drama Projects. www.arbezdrama.com
Vivek Shraya – DEATH THREAT: THE MUSICAL
Vivek Shraya is an artist whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, literature, visual art, theatre, TV, film, and fashion. A three-time Canadian Screen Award winner, Vivek is the creator and writer of the CBC Gem Original Series HOW TO FAIL AS A POPSTAR, which had its international premiere at Cannes. She was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize and has collaborated with musical icons Jann Arden, Peaches, and Jully Black. Her best-selling book I’M AFRAID OF MEN was heralded by Vanity Fair as “cultural rocket fuel.” Vivek has been a brand ambassador for MAC Cosmetics and Pantene, a guest host on The Social and CBC’s q, and she is a director on the board of the Tegan and Sara Foundation.
Introducing our 2024/25 Recommender Grant Recipients:
Sara Farb & Aaron Jensen – CREATURE
Sara Farb will be playing Rosalind in this year’s Stratford Festival production of As You Like It. She played Delphi Diggory in the original Canadian company of HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD after making her Broadway debut in the same role. Other performance credits: Sophie in INTERIOR DESIGN (Tarragon Theatre); six seasons at the Stratford Festival with roles including Juliet, Anne Frank, and Cordelia; Willow in LIGHT (Tarragon Theatre); Medium Alison in FUN HOME (The Musical Stage Company/Mirvish, Dora nominee, TTCA winner); Brigid in THE HUMANS (Canadian premiere at Citadel/Canadian Stage); productions at Soulpepper, Theatre Calgary, Tarragon, Theatre Passe Muraille, Segal Centre, YPT, and others. Sara and Britta Johnson’s original musical KELLY V. KELLY made its world premiere in Toronto this past spring with Musical Stage and Canadian Stage. Sara and Britta’s short musical, HE IS COMING (Musical Stage/AGO) received a Dora nomination for best new musical. She is currently working on a new musical with Anton Lipovetsky for YES Theatre.
Aaron Jensen (he/him) is a Toronto-based composer, writer, and producer. His music has been performed by GRAMMY and JUNO award-winning artists, choirs, and symphony orchestras around the world. Aaron acted as musical director and arranger for the EMMY-winning TV series, Schitt’s Creek. His musical ARMCHAIR CONFIDENTIAL is a finalist for the 2025 National Music Theater Conference, it enjoyed a 2025 Theatre Sheridan CMTP production, was shortlisted for the 2023 Tom Hendry Best New Musical Award, and was workshopped in 2022 by Arts Club Theatre. His mini-musical, THE TRIAL OF BASTIANO DI BOLOGNA, was the #1 download of the New York City podcast, Bite-Sized Broadway. Jensen contributed music and lyrics to HENRY BOX BROWN which was optioned for Broadway by TONY-winning producers. He’s currently adapting THE CAT’S MEOW into a musical with L.A. playwright Steven Peros, based on Peros’ 1997 play and 2002 Lionsgate film. www.aaronjensen.ca
Griffin Hewitt & Kelsi James – LAPWING
Griffin Hewitt is a theatre actor, playwright, and director, originally from Regina, Saskatchewan,
now living in Toronto. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Theatre Performance from Sheridan College, and is currently entering his fourth year as part of Talk Is Free Theatre’s Artists BIG cohort, as part of the Theatre Innovators Program. His work focuses on finding intersections between his identities as a queer, western born, working class person, and the things he loves – musical storytelling, immersive audience experiences, and investigations of myth, fantasy, and other popular-cultural storytelling. Creating interactive audience experiences from scratch, Griffin has written and directed many site specific pieces, including CYCLOPS: A SATYR PLAY, WRITTEN IN BLOOD, and OUTHEIS. Griffin currently lives in Cabbagetown in Toronto, where he can often be found pacing, listening to atmospheric Spotify playlists, and trying to solve a creative problem out loud.
Kelsi James (they/she) is a white queer and asexual theatre creator, producer and performer, who works most often from the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil- Waututh, and from Tkarón:to. Kelsi has a degree in Musical Theatre from Sheridan and a certificate in ASL & Deaf Studies from VCC. Kelsi has composed for Driftwood Theatre (KING HENRY V) and Theatre Rusticle (THE TEMPEST), and has been a Creative Producer for Dreamwalker Dance since 2021. She is the founding creative producer of Art For Ace Week, and has developed queer centred work through programs at the Paprika Festival, Arts Club, Tarragon, Sound Off, and the frank. The questions that compel Kelsi as a creator are: how do I blend theatre with community gathering? How do I build accessibility into the bones of my work? How do I honour the queer ancestors, and how can I empower the next gen queers?
Marcia Kash & Leslie Arden – THE GIRLS
Trained as an actor, Marcia Kash began her career at the Royal Court Theatre in London, England. Her first play, the highly successful WHO’S UNDER WHERE? written with Douglas E. Hughes, has been translated into 10 languages and received over 150 productions around the world. Other plays with Mr. Hughes include: A PARTY TO MURDER, TOO MANY COOKS, JACK OF DIAMONDS, SOMETHING FISHY (PGC Tom Hendry Award for Comedy), and DEADLINE. They are currently working on a psychological thriller named SUCCOUR.
Working solo, Marcia’s credits include the popular DISCOVERING ELVIS and her family drama FOR THIS MOMENT ALONE. Together with collaborator Mary Colin Chisholm, Marcia wrote the screenplay, A BELLY FULL, which received two development awards from Telefilm Canada. It has recently been optioned. Adapted into a stage play it received its world premiere at The Mill at Sonning in the UK in 2019. In addition to writing and acting, Marcia is also an accomplished theatre director with over 100 credits.
Leslie Arden has written and composed over a dozen musicals, including the critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning THE HOUSE OF MARTIN GUERRE and the Chalmers Award winning THE HAPPY PRINCE. She’s been commissioned by many North American choirs, as well as spending six seasons as a composer with The Stratford Festival. From 2019 – 2023 Leslie was the inaugural writer-in-residence at Queen’s University’s Dan School of Drama and Music, where she was commissioned to write and compose a new musical, THE LANCASHIRE LASS, which premiered in the spring of 2023. In 2024, Leslie was invited to the United Arab Emirates to develop a new musical with and for the students of the Sharjah Performing Arts Academy. In 1990 Leslie was one of thirteen professional musical theatre writers chosen from around the world by Cameron MacIntosh to study with Stephen Sondheim at Oxford University.
Saleema Nawaz & Scott Christian – THE BLUE CASTLE: THE MUSICAL
Saleema Nawaz is an accomplished TV writer, novelist, playwright and librettist, whose most recent novel, SONGS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD, was an instant national bestseller. She is also the author of the novel BONE AND BREAD (a finalist for Canada Reads), the short-story collection MOTHER SUPERIOR, and she is a winner of the prestigious Writers’ Trust of Canada/McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize. A former columnist for the Montreal Gazette, Saleema has held creative residencies at Yaddo and the Banff Centre and is currently a writer on CBC’s MURDOCH MYSTERIES.
Scott Christian is an award-winning composer, musical director and pianist. His original musical A MISFORTUNE, adapted from the short story by Anton Chekhov, debuted at the Next Stage Festival in Toronto and was part of the 2017 Charlottetown Festival season. His first two original musicals were both part of the Toronto Summerworks Festival – HERO & LEANDER (2011), and THROUGH THE GATES (2012). He composed the score for the TYA musicals RED LETTER DAY, NOBODY’S CHILDREN, and STICKY FINGERS for Yellow Door Theatre Project. As a musical director, he has worked at theatres all across Canada including Neptune Theatre, The Charlottetown Festival, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Theatre Passe Muraille, and Tarragon Theatre. When he’s not doing music, he runs the indie video game company Hilltop Studios which released the critically acclaimed LIL’ GUARDSMAN in 2024. His favourite singer to collaborate with is his wife Tringa Rexhepi.
Alicia Payne – WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
Alicia Payne is a multidisciplinary storyteller whose work has been presented at events like the Toronto Fringe Festival, Atlanta Black Theatre Festival, Garland Lee Thompson, Sr. Readers’ Theatre of New Work at the International Black Theatre Festival, and Valdez Theatre Conference. Alicia’s memberships and professional development include ACTRA, CAEA, Dramatists Guild of America, Playwrights Guild of Canada (former President), Gros Morne Playwrights Residency, A Room of Her Own (AROHO) Retreat; Tapestry Opera Composer Librettist Laboratory, and BIPOC TV & Film Writing for Kids TV Bootcamp and Incubator. Group art exhibitions include Toronto for Everyone, The Honest 6ix Artist Residency; Canadian Forces Artist Program Exhibition,Group 6 (2012-2013); and The Bentway Tiny Games. Alicia is a Metcalf Foundation adaptive facilitator who also facilitates workshops for youth and adults in community and organizational settings. Alicia is the audiobook narrator of FLOWER DIARY by Molly Peacock and a co-founder of Arbez Drama Projects. www.arbezdrama.com
Vivek Shraya – DEATH THREAT: THE MUSICAL
Vivek Shraya is an artist whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, literature, visual art, theatre, TV, film, and fashion. A three-time Canadian Screen Award winner, Vivek is the creator and writer of the CBC Gem Original Series HOW TO FAIL AS A POPSTAR, which had its international premiere at Cannes. She was nominated for the Polaris Music Prize and has collaborated with musical icons Jann Arden, Peaches, and Jully Black. Her best-selling book I’M AFRAID OF MEN was heralded by Vanity Fair as “cultural rocket fuel.” Vivek has been a brand ambassador for MAC Cosmetics and Pantene, a guest host on The Social and CBC’s q, and she is a director on the board of the Tegan and Sara Foundation.
Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators
This third-party recommender program assists Ontario-based professional theatre creators, and informal collectives of creators, by funding them to create and/or further develop new work. While the funding comes from the Ontario Arts Council, applications are made to, and funding decisions are made by, the theatre companies enrolled in the program. The Musical Stage Company is proud to be enrolled as a Recommender.
Please refer to the Ontario Arts Council website for more information, and stay tuned for the next round of applications.