Deborah Allen

Role: Mrs. Fezziwig, Charity Woman, Ensemble.

Neptune: Oliver; Sound of Music; Anne; Our Town; Stone Angel; World Without Shadows; The Crucible.

Other Theatre: Ivor Johnson’s Neighbours (Ship’s Company); The Heart That Knows, For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again (Live Bait); Alan Bennet Monologues (Lunasea); Spin (Mulgrave); Anne of Green Gables (Charlottetown Festival); Americans Are Coming (TNB); Self Help (Festival Antigonish).

Film/TV: Snow Angels; Red Rover; Little Kidnapper; Life with Billy; Recipe for Revenge; Black Harbour; Clean Sweep (CBC Radio).

Dunnery Bond

Role: Peter Cratchit, Boy Scrooge, Ensemble.

Neptune: Sound of Music (Kurt), Evita, Oliver! (Orphan, u/s Oliver); Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Chip).

Other Theatre: Charlotte’s Web (Unicorn, Wilbur).

Film/TV: Featured performer and winner on the first season of YTV’s The Next Star – a national competition for singers under the age of 16.

Training: Grade 9 piano, RCM; seven years of voice at the Canadian Conservatory; three years at the Maritime Dance Academy.

Etc: www.dunnerybond.com

Laura Caswell

Role: Belle, Clara, Ensemble, Choreographer.

Neptune: Debut

Other Theatre: Batboy (Toronto); Forum, Little Shop, Leading Ladies (STC); Charlie Brown, Broadway Gold (ACT); Buddy, Rock ‘N’ Roll Drive In (Port Hope); Man of La Mancha (Stirling) Choreography: Buddy, Frog and Toad (STC); Birdie, West Side Story (BTS); Urinetown (Georgetown Globe, ACTCO Nomination).

Training: AMDA (NYC), MA in Performance (Mountview, London, UK)

Etc: Laura is inspired by her tremendously supportive friends and family.

Gwyneth Christoffel

Roles: Gertrude, Ensemble.

Neptune:  Annie.

Other Theatre: Do the Right Thing (DTRT Productions); Merrily We Roll Along, Danton's Death (DalTheatre); Flapper,  The Wild, Wild Wildest West (Cornwallis Jr. High); Principal in Aquateam (Arcadia Entertainment, Discovery Kids)

Amelia Cruddas

Roles: Alex, Ensemble, understudy Tiny Tim, understudy Ignorance

Neptune: Debut

Other Theatre: J-Tel Presents Canadian Folk Songs (Atlantic Fringe Festival); Pinkalicious (Children's Wish); Dear Santa (EFT); Seussical (Saints Alive).

Training: MITE for Families (theatre); Dartmouth Girls' Choir

Etc: Love to Mama, Daddy, Josh, "Swissters," Grandpa, Nanny, and Grampy. Thanks to Neptune. Enjoy!

Sheldon Davis

Roles: Ghost of Christmas Present, Mr. Fezziwig, Ensemble.

Neptune: Debut.

Other Theatre: The Producers (Stage West); Dear Santa (EFT); Little Shop of Horrors, Urinetown (CanStage); The Last Resort, The Foursome (Drayton); Mesa (Globe); A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline (STC); Assuming I'm Right, The Company Store (Mulgrave Road); The Red Ball, Just So Stories (Mermaid).

Training: Dalhousie University's Department of Theatre.

Nathaniel Dooks

Role: Nate, Ensemble.

Neptune: Oliver

Other Theatre: Annie, Grease, Hairspray (Youth Peforming Arts Program).

Training: Jazz, tap and hip hop training.

Etc: Nathaniel plays trumpet in his school band, sings in his school choir and takes drum lessons with the Canadian Conservatory.

Gabrielle Doucet

Role: Grace, Ensemble.

Neptune: Debut.

Other Performance: Cape Breton Step Dancer in the 2006 Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo; Mouse in Alice the Ballet; First place in the musical theatre category at the 2008 Kiwanis Music Festival.

Etc: Gabrielle is 11 years old and in grade six. She lives with her mom, dad, twin sister Lauren, baby sister Ella, and dog, Rufus. Gabrielle is delighted to be cast in A Christmas Carol and loves the spirit of the season. “I believe!”

Ian Gilmore

Role: Bob Cratchit, Toff 1, Ensemble

Neptune: The Producers; White Christmas; Cabaret; Gypsy; The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas; Cats, Chicago; Evita; Annie; Choreography – Kilt

Other Theatre: Warbrides: A Musical (Masquer’s); Glorious!, Dead Guilty, Geometry in Venice (Festival Antigonish); Annie Get Your Gun, Grease (Stephenville); Rocky Horror, My Fair Lady (Ballyhoo Prod.); Gaslight Follies (Dawson)

Film/TV: Wake (Art Director); The Conclave; The Event.

Training: Canadian College of the Performing Arts.

Etc: Ian received a 2007 Merritt Award for his volunteer work with Saint’s Alive! Theatre

Benjamin Hussey

Roles: Tiny Tim Cratchit, Ensemble.

Neptune: Debut.

Benjamin is a grade five student who enjoys paintball, video games, playing with friends, singing and acting. He is very excited to be part of this production!

Dominique LeBlanc

Roles: Belinda Cratchit, Ensemble.

Neptune: Debut.

Other Theatre: Mamma Mia, Sound Of Music, Hairspray (Upstage Studios).

Training: Voice, Maritime Conservatory of Performing Arts – Andrea Jeffrery; Piano – Peggy Harrison; Violin – Susie Eisan

Etc: Dominique is thrilled to join the cast and is truly living her dream! Big hugs and kisses to family and friends and Merry Christmas to everyone!

Cliff Le Jeune

Role: Marley’s Ghost, Undertaker’s Assistant, Ensemble, u/s Scrooge

Neptune: Over 18 shows, including The Producers (Merritt Nomination); Oliver; Angels in America; Lés Miserables; Our Town; Man of LaMancha; War Brides; DRACULA…a chamber MUSICAL

Other Theatre: Rockbound (TOTG/Chester); Stan Rogers: A Matter of Heart (EFT); Berlin to Broadway (Chester) (Merritt Nomination); Pélagie (Canstage/NAC); Beauty & the Beast (Globe); Emily (Charlottetown Festival); Sincerely, A Friend (Belfry, Magnus, Neptune)

Etc: His solo show, If It Be Your Will….songs of Leonard Cohen has toured Eastern Canada and Ontario. Released as a disc in 2005, it continues to sell worldwide. He is working on a new Cohen revue for 2010. 

Duncan MacDonald

Roles: Grant, Ensemble.

Neptune: Debut.

Other Theatre: School House Rock, Historical Hawthorn (Hawthorn School); Bennie and the Jets (St. Peters Church); Something from Nothing (Operation Peace, St. James)

Training: Four years at Neptune’s Theatre School

Etc: Duncan plays piano, violin, recorder, ukulele and the trombone.

Marla McLean

Roles: Ghost of Christmas Past, Martha Cratchit.

Neptune: Government Inspector; Cabaret; Gypsy.

Other Theatre: Albertine in Five Times, After the Dance, Stepmother, A Month in the Country, St. Joan (Shaw Festival); It’s a Wonderful Life (Canadian Stage); Mary’s Wedding (Theatre Orangeville); The Diary of Anne Frank, Fire (Persephone Theatre); Mamma Mia (Mirvish Productions); The Miracle Worker, Three Sisters, Into the Woods (ATF); Evita (Theatre Calgary, MTC).

Etc: Marla grew up attending classes at Neptune Theatre School. She can be seen next at Shaw in The Ideal Husband and Caryl Churchill’s Serious Money.

Jon Osbaldeston

Role: Scrooge.

Neptune: Debut.

Other Theatre: The Woman in Black (Feb. 2010, LTP); Narnia (TNB); Les Miserables, Kiss of the Spiderwoman, Leonardo, Fiddler on the Roof  (West End, London, UK).

Other UK credits include: Uncle Vanya; The Rivals

Radio: Afghanada (CBC); The Adventures of PG Woodlouse (BBC); Anchor/actor Oneword Radio, including Pocket Shakespeare and The Great Detectives

UK Writing: Hard as Nails (UK Best New Play Award)

Training: BA Honours Rose Bruford College (UK), MFA Scholarship Texas Tech University (US)

Emily Power

Roles: Eliza (Want / Fezziwig Party Guest)

Neptune: Debut.

Other Theatre:  Anne of Green Gables, 101 Dalmations, Charlotte’s Web, The Jungle Book (Unicorn Theatre)

Film/TV: Darwin’s Darkest Hour (PBS), The Harton Interviews (post-production), Halo (post-production), There Are Monsters (NSFF), Prism (NSFF), The Circuit (ABC), Relative Chaos (ABC)

Training:  Intensive Training Program - Level 3 (Halifax Dance), Voice, Piano, Flute

Emily Robertson

Roles: Child Fan, Ensemble.

Neptune: Debut.

Other Theatre/Performance: High School Musical (Milford Station); Scotia Festival of Music; Truro Youth Singers.

Training:  Voice at the Maritime Conservatory of Music; piano lessons; classes at Dance Zone; Neptune Theatre School.

Etc: Emily is the winner of the Helen Crieghton Voice Award from the Halifax Kiwanis Music Festival and the Halifax Ladies Music Club Scholarship, among other vocal awards

Margot Sampson

Roles: Mrs. Cratchit, Ms. Fezziwig, Ensemble

Neptune: The Sound of Music; Evita; Oliver.

Other Theatre: Boeing, Boeing, Joni Mitchell – River, Relatively Speaking (FA); Canada’s Songbird – Anne Murray; Singalong Jubilee (EFT); A Closer Walk With Patsy Cline (SF, TA, TG, DE, CF, TG); Plaza Suite, Grease, Dads in Bondage (SF); Little Shop of Horrors, Songs from the Mira (FOTB).

Etc: Margot is happy for any excuse to savour a humbug or two…or ten…

Andrew Scanlon

Roles: Fred, Young Scrooge, Ensemble, u/s Marley, u/s Undertaker’s Assistant

Neptune: Debut

Other Theatre: Toy Story: The Musical (DCE); Cinderella (STC); Over the River and Through the Woods, Dogbarked (Globe); Much Ado About Nothing (Driftwood); Forever Plaid (Showboat); as a playwright: Come Fly With Me (Smile, Showboat, Lunchbox)

Training: BFA in Music Theatre, University of Windsor

Mahalia Smith

Roles: Madeline, Ensemble.

Neptune: Debut.

Other Theatre/Performance: Judy Savoy’s Musical Christmas Show (ARK); Guest Performer (2009 Halifax Jazz Festival); Spoken Word performer (2008 Africville Reunion)

Film/TV: Searching for Soul: The Making of the Keystone Choir (Vision TV documentary).

Etc: Mahalia is a grade 5 student at Nelson Whynder Elementary School.  She loves dancing, acting and reciting poems and has been singing since the age of four.  Her goal is to become an actress.

Chris Zonneville

Roles: Dick Wilkins, Topper, Ensemble.

Neptune: Debut.

Other Theatre: Toy Story: The Musical (DCL); The Buddy Holly Story (STC); The Fantasticks (Riverbank Prod.); Anne and Gilbert (TIP); The Mikado (Drayton).

Training: Graduate of Sheridan’s Music Theatre Performance Program.

Geofrey Dinwiddie

Role: Sets/Props Designer.

Neptune: The Game of Love and Chance.

Other Theatre: 26 shows at STC, including Blythe Spirit, Sweeney Todd, Patsy Cline. Resident Designer of the Yiddish Theatre of Montreal; A Shtetl Wedding toured New York & Israel. World Premiere of the Opera The Shivaree. Geofrey has designed everything from plays to musicals to operas to a mime show based on the work of George Orwell.

Eric Hughes

Role: Composer/Lyricist.

Music has always been an important part of Eric’s life.  He studied drama at Queen’s University in Kingston where he had the good fortune to sing with all the school’s choirs as well as several community groups.  Upon graduating, he continued studying, composing and coaching in Toronto.  His first composition was for Sudbury Theatre Centre’s production of Pinnocchio.  He also wrote original music for STC’s version of Jack and the Beanstalk as well as the score, lyrics and orchestration for the musical version of The Jungle Book. Last season at STC he provided additional orchestrations for A Year with Frog and Toad as well as the musical and vocal arrangements for Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd.

George Pothitos

Role: Director.

This is George’s first season as Neptune Theatre’s new artistic director. Prior to his arrival George spent nine seasons as the Artistic Director of the Sudbury Theatre Centre in Sudbury, Ontario. While at the Sudbury Theatre Centre George supervised over 90 productions and directed 40. Other theatres include The National Arts Centre, Ottawa; the Tarragon Theatre, Passe Muraille and the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Mirvish Productions, Toronto. Regional theatres: the Manitoba Theatre Centre and Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon. He also toured North America with Classical Kids and appeared at the Kennedy Centre with the National Symphony Orchestra, The Seattle Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony and the Toronto Symphony.

Crystal MacDonnell

Role: Stage Manager.

Neptune: The Game of Love and Chance.

Other Theatre: Four years as resident stage manager for Sudbury Theatre Centre including such shows as Ain’t Misbehavin’, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Romeo and Juliet, James and the Giant Peach, A Year with Frog and Toad; Outlaw (Lighthouse); Discovering Elvis (VPP); Caught in the Net, Lost in Yonkers (Drayton); Same Time, Next Year (Showboat); Little Women – The Musical, Billy Bishop Goes to War (Theatre Orangeville).

Matthew MacInnis

Role: Assistant Stage Manager.

Neptune: Disney’s High School Musical; Bluenose; Brainstorm.

Other Theatre: SM - Blue Champagne (Drayton); ASM - Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew, Palmer Park (Stratford Shakespeare Festival, 2008); Production Assistant - Stratford Festival (2007); ASM - Could you Wait? (The Grand Theatre); ASM - Glory Days!, Sexy Laundry, CATS, Amadeus, Seussical – The Musical (Theatre Aquarius); SM - Bluenose Billy, The Hobbit ( Festival Antigonish Young Co.).

Training: Sheridan College – Theatre Arts Tech Production Program.

Lara Mattison

Role: Apprentice Stage Manager.

Neptune: Lilly, Alta (PPTP); The Devil’s Disciple.

Other Theatre: Ferry Tales, Ivor Johnson’s Neighbours (Ships’ Company); The Gravesavers (Halifax Theatre for Young People); The Leisure Society (DMV Co-op); The Laramie Project, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Three Sisters (DalTheatre); Molly’s Veil; Boeing Boeing (FAST).

Training: Graduated with Honours from the University of King’s College with a BA in Theatre (Technical Scenography).

D’Arcy Morris-Poultney

Role: Costume Designer.

Neptune: Disney’s High School Musical; Plaid Tidings; The Love List; Little Years; Tuesdays With Morrie; A Gift to Last; Betrayal; Blue Orange; The Marilyn Tapes; Collected Stories; I Love You You’re Perfect Now Change; Vigil; Rumours; Blood Brothers.

Other Theatre: Eastern Front; One Light; NAC; TNB; Blyth; Huron Country Playhouse; The Piggery.

Film/TV: The Event; Beefcake; Quality Viewing; Songwriter’s Circle; Drum; Shattered City.

Teaching: Lecturer and Assistant Professor

Training:  TS, Banff, NSCAD, Bishop’s

Etc: Outstanding Costume Design Nominee The Veil; Best Art Direction Recipient The Event and Beefcake.

Leigh Ann Vardy

Role: Lighting Designer

Neptune: Most recently The Game of Love and Chance; Doubt: A Parable; Masked; Frost/Nixon; The Devil’s Disciple; The Retreat from Moscow; The Miracle Worker; Disney’s Beauty and the Beast; The Price; The Little Years; A Few Good Men.

Other Theatre: Leigh Ann has worked with many companies across Canada, including the Stratford Shakespeare Festival; GCTC; NAC; the Mirvishes; Buddies in Bad Times; Factory; Saidye Bronfman; MTC and Soulpepper.  Recent projects include Three Sisters at Stratford; The Syringa Tree at MTC and The Way of the World at NAC and Soulpepper. 

Etc: Leigh Ann is an instructor at the National Theatre School of Canada.  She has won four Merritt Awards and was nominated for the Siminovitch Prize. She is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada.

Anne Davison

Role: Cello

Anne has a flair for cross-pollination.  Her reputation as an interdisciplinary artist began in 2002 when she debuted a genre she calls ArModa (short for "Art Music Meets Modern Dance"), in which she simultaneously plays cello and dances.  Past theatre projects include acting/singing/playing electric cello in Deluxe Hot Sauce's rendition of Euripides' Medea, and composing/performing the score to Théâtre la seizième's production of Cendres de cailloux.  For more, visit www.annedavison.net. 

Isabelle Fournier

Role: Violin.

Neptune: Debut Canadian violinist Isabelle Fournier has performed extensively throughout Canada, the USA, Great Britain, Europe, Japan, and Taiwan as a chamber musician and soloist. Since her return to Canada in 2002, Isabelle continues to perform regularly and is frequently heard on CBC Radio and Radio-Canada. She is presently Concertmaster of the McGill Chamber Orchestra; works regularly with Symphony Nova Scotia and is in great demand as a teacher and adjudicator. Isabelle is currently Professor of Violin and Viola at the University of Moncton and has taught for three years at Acadia University. She makes her home in Halifax.

Chuck Homewood

Role: Musical Director, Keyboards.

Neptune: Disney’s High School Musical After 40 years in the “biz”, Chuck has musically directed 60+ shows in Canada. He has toured internationally and played almost every regional theatre nationally. A passion for teaching has lead him to Ryerson University, George Brown College and currently Dalhousie University. In addition, Chuck has also served the theatre community as a General Manager and Executive Director of several companies and Producer of the Classical Kids Symphony Orchestra series. In the New Year, Chuck returns to Dalhousie University for Medea and Neptune to musically direct Peter Pan.

Etc: A big thank you to all my new friends at the Neptune Theatre and in Nova Scotia.

Adam Theriault

Role: Keyboards.

Neptune: Disney’s High School Musical; Plaid Tidings; The Producers; Irving Berlin’s White Christmas; Disney’s Beauty and The Beast; Oliver!; Evita; The Sound of Music; Chicago; Annie; Cats.

Other Theatre: Festival Antigonish; Halifax Feast; Synthesizer Programming: Pélagie (TPP). Original Composition: Bluenose (Neptune YC); Humble Boy (FAST); If You Could Wear My Sneakers (FAST YC).