Archive for the ‘Staff’ Category

Leslie Bland – Artistic Director

Friday, December 4th, 2009

lblandAn award-winning director, actor, and playwright, Leslie has worked for many theatres across the country including the National Arts Centre, Theatre Calgary, the Citadel Theatre, Gateway Theatre, the Ottawa Children’s Festival, Chemainus Theatre, Stage Polaris, the Playwrights Theatre Centre, and Theatre Network among others.

Leslie is the Artistic Director of Victoria’s Kaleidoscope Theatre. During his time as AD, he has lead a renaissance of Kaleidoscope’s programming and profile in the community, setting attendance records for local in-house productions, winning and being nominated for awards (Outstanding Direction, Favourite Play, Outstanding Production for Young Audiences, Favourite Director), and touring its productions nationally and internationally.

He is a graduate of the University of Alberta B.F.A. Acting program, holds both his Instructor’s and Performer’s certification (A.R.C.T.) in Speech Arts and Drama with the Royal Conservatory of Music (University of Toronto), and received his M.F.A. in Directing from the University of Victoria.

Leslie was the co-founder and for 12 years was the Executive Producer of Edmonton’s Stage Polaris. During his time at Polaris, Leslie directed, performed, and produced over 100 professional productions and oversaw Polaris’ growth from an idea to becoming the second largest theatre company in Edmonton, with a budget of over 1 million dollars and an annual attendance in excess of 100,000.

Leslie has lectured by invitation on his theatrical activities in both New York and Washington D.C. He has taught at Concordia University in Montreal, the University of Miami, the Canadian College for Film and Acting as well as other theatrical institutions. He is currently a Sessional Instructor at the University of Victoria Theatre Department where he teaches Acting and Public Speaking.

Tony Edgington – General Manager

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

An Award-Winning Artistic Director, Producer, Executive Director, Performer and Playwright, Anthony Edgington has held the prestigious position of Chief Executive Officer & Executive Producer of Ocean Entertainment Worldwide, a private professional multi-entertainment company, for the last 15 years. Ocean Entertainment Worldwide has brought live entertainment to world stages around the globe to great success.  

Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia Canada, Anthony left high school in 1995 to open Ocean Entertainment Worldwide, while continuing to work in various theatrical companies, writing, producing and performing, primarily in Vancouver and Toronto. Upon his return to the west coast in 2003 he worked extensively in executive management as a founding GM for two newly formed professional ballet companies.

Anthony began his performing career at age 6, in live theatre, and has continued to work regularly for 28 years in all forms of the industry including stage, television, and motion picture as a Director, Manager, Agent, Producer, Executive, Fundraiser, Performer, Publicist and Playwright.

In 1995, at age 19, he founded Ocean Entertainment Worldwide where he represented over 16 professional artists throughout Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States, while at the same time, producing multiple productions for the stage. While maintaining many of these positions Anthony has also hosted and lectured dozens of events in theatre and dance across the country, represented several international fashion models, in both, runway and print for designers in Milan, Paris, Canada and the USA, has been invited to consult on numerous productions as an Artistic Advisor, and is now beginning to play a more active role in charities and foundations that he personally, and his company, support globally.

Anthony has had a direct hand in the presentation and creation of more than 175 productions and events to date. Most recently he presented the concert series Legends, celebrating great women in music, to standing ovations, and the World Premiere Concert Great Ladies of Jazz along with a multitude of ballets, concerts, and currently he will be producing new television projects in Johannesburg, South Africa and here in Canada.

Annalyn Richardson – Marketing and Development Coordinator

Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009

Roderick Glanville – KPAS Principal

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Roderick Glanville is Principal of Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Studio, and a well-known Victoria storyteller and actor.

He began his training with Maxim Mazumdar with the Provincial Drama Academy and touring with curriculum-based programs for young audiences. He was invited to tour and spend six months in Ireland working with the Irish National Ballet as scenic painter, stage manager, and performer on tour. His apprenticeship continued with Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia which included National and International tours of ‘Peter and the Wolf’, and ‘Just So Stories’. In Toronto he studied with the Maggie Basset Studio at the Tarragon theatre under the direction of Lloy Coutts, Richard Monette, and Dean Gilmour. Film and Television credits with the National film board of Canada and Alliance TV with the War of the Worlds series. Roderick spent two seasons with Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach and as company member of Kaleidoscope Theatre for over ten years; he brings a career of twenty–five years performing for young audiences throughout Canada and the U.S. Directing for Kaleidoscope Theatre includes the popular musical ‘The Ant and the Grasshopper’, and ‘The Boy who learned to Fly’, ten years directing with the Young Playwrights Festival.

Favourite roles include ‘Captain Hook’ in Peter Pan, ‘Edgar’ in King Lear for Bard on the Beach, ‘Billy Bishop’ for Victoria Summer Theatre, Expo ‘86 with Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, Theatre in the Schools for the Stephenville festival and Manitoba’s Theatre for Young People. Roderick has also spent three years as the program producer in education for the Maritime Museum of B.C., gallery animator for the Royal B.C. Museums Da Vinci exhibit, Circus Magicus, and he also works creating interactive programming for Craigdarroch Castle, including his performance of ‘Oscar Remembered’ and ‘Lyric the Leprechaun’.

His one-man adaptation of Herman Melville’s ‘Moby Dick’ has been performed all over Vancouver Island. Recently with the Victoria Symphony with his adaptation of ‘Peter and the Werewolf’, and ‘A Soldiers Tale’. Roderick continues to develop storytelling in non-traditional theatre spaces. Roderick uses theatrical role-play and improv to teach and excite our young audiences, and is in his fifth year teaching teens and adult’s theatre and performance with Kaleidoscope’s Performing Arts Studio.