Midtown Radio Dramas

Every Sunday at 7pm on midtownradio.ca

Tune-in every Sunday during November and December to listen to our series of original radio dramas. All of these plays were made possible with a grant from the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund. They feature local writers, directors, and performers.

This season we recorded the series live in front of a studio audience at The Apollo Cinema.

Broadcast schedule for 2023 season:

Nov. 5 - The Cage - by Steven Elliott Jackson

A young man copes with the traumas endured in WWI, years later finding solace in caring for the pigeons outside his window.

Nov. 12 - No Public Transit, 54th Ave - by Heather Morrow

Three strangers become unlikely friends and help one another through the pandemic.

Nov. 19 - And Then She Tasted Cerulean Blue - by Paddy Gillard-Bentley

The ghosts of murdered women get back at their murderers the only way they can - misplacing small objects and messing with electronics. CONTENT WARNING: themes may be disturbing to some listeners. Not suitable for children.

Nov. 26 - Eruption at the Breithaupt Block - by Ciarán Myers

Examines a tragic accident and how we, as a community, deal with the fall-out.

Dec. 3 - An Invitation to Murder - by Tristin Deveau

A good ol'fashioned murder mystery complete with gasps, musical stings, and fake semi-British accents.

Dec. 10 - The Ghost Light Society - by Maria Colonescu

In a silent, empty theatre, a single light keeps the darkness at bay. In the middle of the stage, it shines and calls a gathering of The Ghost Light Society.

Series directed by Maria Colonescu. Ads and series wrap-around narrative written by showrunner Tristin Deveau.

Featuring lead performances from Sam Mercury, Jenn Weatherall, and Brennan Windsor. Foley and Sound Design by Gary Kirkham. Special appearance from Ciarán Myers.

We will also rebroadcast two plays from our 2021 season:

Dec. 17 - Will You Be My Friend - by Janice Jo Lee

In Will You Be My Friend, Janice Jo Lee guides her audience through a journey inspired by her personal experience as a person of colour in KW. The show explores themes of empowerment, strength, and cultural identity as Janice Jo Lee uncovers a recipe for true friendship while exploring her place as a Korean woman in a dominantly white cultural space.

Starring Janice Jo Lee, Directed by Matt White (Green Light Arts)

Dec. 24 - Radio Leacock presents Caroline's Christmas

It's Christmas Eve, 1943. In a snowbound radio station somewhere in southwestern Ontario, the annual broadcast of a Stephen Leacock Christmas story is about to begin. But most of the actors can't make it into the station. The show must go on - but how?

Created by Lost & Found Theatre; Starring: Jennifer Cornish, Gary Kirkham, Andrew Larkin, Kathleen Sheehy, and Reid Spencer; Audio Production by Alexander Boudreau.

Season 2 Bios

Maria Colonescu - Series Producer, Director, Playwright

Maria holds an MFA in Advanced Theatre Practice from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. She is an award-winning playwright and has been an active theatre-maker and interdisciplinary artist for almost fifteen years. She has worked in both theatre and film as an actor, director, writer, designer, editor, and producer. Although life and work have taken Mario through a few different countries across two different continents, strong roots keep her grounded. Born and raised in Transylvania, this solid cultural core influences many aspects of her practice.

Tristin Deveau - Series Showrunner, Playwright

Tristin Deveau is a writer, screenwriter, and director originally from small town Alberta, currently residing in Kitchener. He wrote and directed the award winning short horror-comedy The Goatman of Kananaskis and his short story Decay was published in Volume One of Love Letters to Poe. He is a recent graduate of the Toronto Film School - Writing for Film and Television program.

Paddy Gillard-Bentley - Playwright

Paddy Gillard-Bentley, playwright, director, and producer, is the founding Artistic Director of Flush Ink Productions, and past president of the International Centre for Women Playwrights. Over 100 productions of her plays have been performed in England, Ireland, Australia, France, USA, and Canada, including, A Rose Upon the Blood (toured Ireland 2016), Shaking the Dew from the Lilies, Bingo Wings, Shaking the Trees, Accidental Fish, Sanguine Sonata, and Quantum Entanglement.

Steven Elliott Jackson

Steven Elliott Jackson is a Dora-nominated award-winning playwright originally form Minto, Manitoba and now living in Kitchener, Ontario. In 2017, he won Best New Play at the Toronto Fringe for The Seat Next to the King. In 2020, he won Best New Play for Three Ordinary Men at the Hamilton Fringe. In 2023, his play A Stage of Her Own premiered in Brandon Manitoba; his play The Will of a Woman premiered at the Toronto Fringe; and his new work The Funeral to End All Funerals makes its Ontario premier as the Kitchener Waterloo Little Theatre's season opener.

Heather Morrow - Playwright

Heather Morrow is a playwright, screenwriter, and ESL teacher in Edmonton. Her plays include Crushed, Take a Bite, and the solo show It Started With An Allergy. Her play Alex and Michael and Hannah received Honourable Mention for the 2021 Herman Voaden Playwriting Prize, and was a finalist for the Alberta Literary Award for drama. Her plays have been produced at the Fringe festivals of Edmonton and Calgary in Canada, and in Edinburgh, Scotland. Nowhere Normal, a short film she wrote and produced, screened at the New York City Short Comedy Film Festival and Edmonton International Film Festival. She is working on her first feature film.

Ciarán Myers - Playwright, Actor

Ciarán Myers is a doting dad living in Kitchener. He holds an MFA in Writing from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. While studying in the UK, he had two plays premiere in Edinburgh and Off West End, respectively Touch (5/5 stars) and The Adding (4/5 starts). Select plays produced in Canada include the Green Light Arts productions of Touch and House of Fun, Emergency Only which was performed by women+ incarcerated at the Grand Valley Institution (Theatre of the Beat), Hamburger (Registry Theatre's Playground Festival; Toronto Fringe; Midtown Radio Dramas), and most recently, Stories from the Next Generation (Registry Theatre).

Gary Kirkham - Foley and Sound Design

Gary Kirkham is an award winning playwright and projection installation artist. He is an artistic associate with the MT Space and has worked in collaboration with the company on several shows including AMAL, Body 13, and The Last 15 Seconds. He has authored several plays including Falling: A Wake, Pearl Gidley, Queen Millie of Galt, Rage Against Violence (with Dwight Storring) and Pocket Rocket (with Lea Daniel). His plays have been produced by over 100 theatre companies across Canada and internationally. His script have been translated into French, Italian, Spanish, and Arabic.

Sam Mercury - Actor

Sam Mercury is an actor/writer/aspiring producer with a passion for stories that make the world a better place. A graduate of the University of Waterloo-'s Theatre and Performance program with Distinction, her recent credits include It's the End of the World As We Know It (Potato Potato Presents via Theatre Gargantua), we could be (Green Light Arts), and Play THIS: Hamilton (Tottering Biped Theatre). Her show mixed(er), co-written with Alten Wilmot, is set to premiere in 2024 and is inspired by her experience growing up bi-racial in the Waterloo Region.

Jenn Weatherall - Actor

Jenn is an actor, playwright, artist, muralist, and mother. She spent her twenties attending George Brown Theatre School and running away to NYC. In her thirties she made two beautiful babies. And in her forties she recovered from "adulting" and got back to who she is at her core...an artist.

Brennan Windsor - Actor

Brennan Windsor is a creator in a wide variety of media. Since working on stop motion movies with clay, Lego, and paper as a kid, he's ventured out into other forms of filmmaking, including live action and animated films. While in university, he does professional voice work and is also working on creating his own card game.

Danielle Deveau - Executive Producer

Danielle Deveau is the co-founder of Midtown Radio, a not-for-profit community media organization. Since 2013 she has taught in the Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Waterloo where she is currently a Continuing Lecturer, teaching academic and professional writing, storytelling, and media studies. Danielle produces and hosts the weekly radio show Midtown Conversations and leads granting writing and project development at Midtown Radio. In May 2023 she became the Chair of the Board of Directors at the Kitchener-Waterloo Art Gallery.

Sara Geidlinger

Sara Geidlinger is a photographer, filmmaker, and podcaster living in the Waterloo region. She is the Vice President of Bonn Park Media Inc, a groups that specializes in sharing real stories about real people. She is the host of the award winning podcast Bonn Park and the current Podcaster-in-Residence at the Kitchener Public Library. Her documentary Paytime: The Movie was a break-out success on the local indie theatre scene, selling out consecutive shows at Princess Cinemas. Her latest documentary, The Ref Didn't See It, shines the spotlight on wrestling referees in Ontario. She is currently working on Hip Hop Hope, a documentary profiling the local hip hop scene.

David Harmes

David is a co-founder of Midtown Radio and current Executive Director of Midtown Radio Incorporated - the not-for-profit organisation that operates Midtown Radio. David is responsible for the development and implementation of the station's strategic plan; ensuring compliance with legal and regulatory requirements; and building relationships with community partners and stakeholders. David also provides technical and marketing support to live-on-location broadcast events, and hosts a weekly program on the art and science of freeform radio. Outside of radio, David teaches Public Relations and Communication Management, is a past Chair of the City of Kitchener’s Downtown Advisory Committee, and father of two (aspiring) local musicians.

Matt Rappolt

Matthew Rappolt is the day-to-day station manager for Midtown Radio handling music acquisition, program publishing, and web design. Matthew has almost a decade of experience in community media working first as a print journalist for Peterborough’s Arthur community newspaper before being elected its editor-in-chief. In radio, he has hosted the freeform arts show Dead Waves for Trent Radio 92.7FM, co-hosted the Midtown Bookshelf podcast, and is currently the technical producer and engineer of the Dog Friendly KW podcast. Outside of media, he is heavily invested in building Kitchener-Waterloo as an urban community and has sat on the Downtown Kitchener Working Group. He is one quarter of the local alternative folk group I, the Mountain and teaches French in the Waterloo Region District School Board.