Ruth Alexander. Co-Artistic Director.
Since graduating from Rose Bruford college of Speech and Drama in 1994 she has worked as an actor, musician, and theatre-maker across the UK, Europe and Canada.
Acting credits include A Christmas Carol, Once, the Musical ( Citadel Theatre ) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Freewill Shakespeare Festival) The Children (Wildside Productions) The Birthday Party, TWO (Edmonton Fringe), Les Miserables (UK Tour), Richard III (Northern Broadsides), Sweeney Todd (Bolton Octagon) Rasputin ( Hamburg)
Credits as Musical Director include Uptown Girls (Citadel Theatre) The Invisible, Vigilante (concert performance and cast recording) & Nevermore (Catalyst Theatre), Little Women, Romance, Romance (Opera Nuova) Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (London Revival) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Vienna’s English Theatre).
Ruth was Lisa Dalton in Coronation Street and appeared in countless plays for BBC radio drama. She also works as an educator in some of the world’s leading institutions including The Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts, The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Mountview Theatre School & The Institute of Arts, Barcelona. She worked alongside Max Rubin at Lodestar Theatre company for many years where she co-produced, composed, performed in and musically directed shows including Macbeth, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, The house that dripped Horror, Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet & The Master and Margarita.
Max Rubin: Co-Artistic Director.
Max is a director from Cornwall in the UK.
From 2000 – 2008 Max was an actor / musician with credits ranging from a definitive interpretation of Dudley the Duckling (The Ugly Duckling) to a flirtatious shark (Moby Dick).
In 2006 he co-founded Lodestar Theatre Co which produced a wide range of work including The Liverpool Shakespeare Festival. Lodestar worked in cathedrals, quarries, nightclubs, cemeteries, crypts and theatres, partnering with Shakespeare’s Globe, The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Liverpool CUC and Unity Theatre among others. Highlights include Macbeth at Liverpool Cathedral, Hedwig and the Angry Inch at The Kazimier Nightclub, The Master and Margarita at Unity Theatre and Romeo & Juliet, The Labyrinth of Light at Liverpool City Hall. Before moving to Canada, Max directed as a freelancer around the UK, Norway and Spain. He also taught and directed at various drama schools.
Directing credits include A Midsummer Night's Dream (Liverpool Royal Court) James (National Tour) Lear, Coram Boy, The Country Wife, A Clockwork Orange (LIPA), Spring Awakening (Oslo), Silence (Barcelona) Black Snow (Unity Theatre).
Canadian credits include Two, Private Lives – Varscona Theatre, A Midsummer Night’s Dream / The Proposal – Lodestar, Dead In The Water, The Pillowman - Theatre Yes.
Monica Gate. Producer.
Monica is a neurodivergent, LGBTQ+, actor, producer, playwright, and performing arts instructor based in amiskwaciwâskahikan (Treaty 6, Edmonton). She's worked with theatres across Canada such as Workshop West, Theatre By The Bay, Grindstone Theatre, Talk Is Free Theatre, and Thou Art Here Theatre. As a multidisciplinary artist, Monica is forever grateful that she gets to have her fingers in all the pies, and is a firm believer that everything you do informs the rest of your work. She feels luckier every day that she gets to make a living being silly on stage, writing silly roles for other silly people, or teaching less silly people to be super silly people. Monica advocates for making theatre accessible to every individual, and for creating meaningful art that fosters lasting connections across communities. You can find Monica on Instagram @monicaagate to follow along on her projects, or collaborate on a new crazy piece!!