Ensemble
Stewart Arnott (Enemies, From A Distance)
Stewart Arnott has been an actor and a director for over 40 years. As a director, favourite credits include Marjorie Prime (Coal Mine: 5 Dora Award nominations, 4 wins including Best Production and Direction); Bed and Breakfast (Lighthouse Festival); Risky Phil (YPT: 5 Dora nominations); Seminar (Royal MTC and Mirvish Productions); Title and Deed (Nightfall Theatrics/Tarragon Workspace); Tragedy: a tragedy (Summerworks); The Swearing Jar (Prairie Theatre Exchange) and Pobby and Dingan (YPT). As an actor, his recent credits include Room (The Grand Theatre); Hedda Noir (Theatre NorthWest); Waiting for Godot, Halaj and Stories from the Rains of Love and Death (Modern Times Theatre). Film and TV projects include The Shape of Water, Law and Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, Schitt's Creek, Murdoch Mysteries and Suits. Stewart is also a respected teacher and coach.
Susan Coyne (From A Distance)
Susan is well known as both an actor and a writer. As an actor, she has played leading roles across Canada, including the Stratford Festival, the Tarragon Theatre, and Soulpepper Theatre, of which she is a founding member. She is the author of a bestselling memoir, Kingfisher Days which she also adapted for the Tarragon stage. She has also adapted plays by Turgenev and Chekhov for the Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival and Soulpepper. For television, she co-created, and co-starred in the award-winning series Slings and Arrows. Most recently, she was a writer and producer and Emmy nominated for the Amazon series, Daisy Jones and the Six.
Brenda Robins (Enemies)
Last year, Brenda played the Narrator in Chekhov Collective’s production of The Darling. She is happy to be reprising that role here. Brenda has performed in theatres across the country from Victoria to Fredericton. She has been a regular member of Soulpepper Theatre Company and has appeared in productions with Canadian Stage, Tarragon Theatre, Factory Theatre, Nightwood Theatre as well as the Shaw and Stratford Festivals. Brenda is also a playwright. She co-adapted the award-winning play Parfumerie which received four productions at Soulpepper Theatre. She is hoping to have other scripts produced in the not too distant future. Fingers crossed!
Rena Polley (Enemies, From A Distance)
Rena is an actor, writer, producer and teacher. She has performed in The Chekhov Collective's The Seagull, The Cherry Orchard, A Midsummer Night's Dream and I Take Your Hand In Mine which toured Washington D.C. Rena has been involved for over 20 years with the acting techniques of Michael Chekhov (Anton’s nephew) and is a founding member of Michael Chekhov Canada as well as The Chekhov Collective. She sits on the board of The Michael Chekhov Association in NYC and is part of the Michael Chekhov Studio Co-op of independent studios from around the world. She has also taught at George Brown College and the Canadian Film Center. She recently acted in Don Shebib's new film "Night Talk" which premiered at TIFF.
David Storch (Enemies)
The Grasshopper, presented by the Chekhov Collective in early February 2020, was the last project David worked on before the pandemic. During lockdown, he recorded “Questions Posed by a Mad Mathematician” as part of the collective’s audio programming. In 2022, he was part of The Darling, the collective’s return to live performance. Just before lockdown, he acted in The Boy in the Moon for Crow’s Theatre, and directed Lynn Nottage’s Sweat for Studio 180/Canadian Stage, and, locked down, played the problematic title character in Studio 180’s online production of Ali Joy Richardson’s Dad. Most recently he directed Daniel MacIvor’s Never Swim Alone for Canadian Repertory Theatre. He plays Senator Henry Styles Bridges in Showtime’s Fellow Travellers.