At the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday November 16 there will be a general election for the Members of the OLT Board of Directors. There are 5 positions open for consideration.

All 5 current members whose terms are up are running once again. In addition, we have two other members of our community who have submitted their names for consideration.

Please take the time to familiarize yourselves with their bios. They will also have an opportunity to speak and address the audience prior to the vote.

There will be made available hard copies of the bios at the AGM for those who do not have access to the OLT website.

Below are the bios of the candidates in alphabetical order.

Albert Lightstone
Chair, Nomination Committee

 

 

 

Brian Cano
Brian is a retired Drama teacher who has been involved with the OLT since 1994 when he played Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace. He has acted in several shows since then, particularly Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, Light Sensitive, Jasper Station and The Drawer Boy. He has done several lighting designs and directed Talking Carrots at the End of Act One, Same Time Next Year, Messiah on the Frigidaire, Behind the Beyond, Bedtime Stories, A Christmas Story and Arsenic and Old Lace. Brian has also designed lights for several shows and been part of many crews over the last 25 years. He is happy to serve on the Board for this time and help OLT continue to produce high quality theatre.

 

Christian Giansante
Born in Burlington, ON, Christian moved to Ottawa to complete his studies in Heritage Conservation. He is a graduate of the Architectural Conservation and Sustainability Engineering Program at Carleton University where he worked on projects involving several historic buildings. His skills include performing heritage recordings, laser scans and photogrammetry. Presently, he works as a Heritage Conservation Specialist overseeing a National portfolio of Federally designated heritage buildings. He is included as a key stakeholder on various rehabilitation, preservation and restoration projects.

Currently working on his first show with the Ottawa Little Theatre (Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley), Christian is no stranger to the workings of a theatre company. For two seasons he was the Artistic Director of Sock ‘n’ Buskin Theatre Company at Carleton University and prior to that he was an active volunteer for two years. Throughout his tenure as AD the company saw an uptick in attendance, ticket sales & repeat patrons; increased revenue per production; more effective social media branding; increased web traffic on social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Youtube, Twitter, website); increased turnout at public events and consolidation of historic and archival documents. Christian is excited to be putting his nomination forward for the OLT Board of Directors in the hopes of providing a fresh point of view and new ideas in order to propel the OLT towards its 200th season!

 

Paul Hession
Paul Hession is a graduate of the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean/Royal Military College, where he obtained a Bachelor of Civil Engineering, and subsequently McGill University and University of Ottawa, where he obtained his Master of Engineering and MBA, respectively. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario and an active campaign leader for United Way Ottawa. He is a former Treasurer of the Ottawa Arts Court Foundation and a current member of the Advisory Board of the federal Association of Public Sector Information Professionals. Paul has served as Treasurer of OLT from 2012 to 2017, and is immediate past President of Ottawa’s not-for-profit Rideau Club. Since 2018 he has been the OLT Vice President of Capital Assets.

 

Nancy Hogan
After many years of recruiting volunteers to run for the Board, Nancy felt that the time had come for her to throw her hat in the ring.  She also strongly believes that there should be a contested election every year.  Nancy has volunteered in many areas of OLT over the past 50 years including assistant to the director, costume designer, wardrobe assistant, back stage and properties crews, and front of house. She was on the 75th Anniversary Committee and coordinated the volunteer lobby display for the 100thAnniversary. During her terms as Chair of the Volunteer Committee, she managed a major volunteer questionnaire, and in response to the concerns raised, worked to improve communication by encouraging Town Halls and requesting that Board Minutes be posted in the Green Room. Volunteer Liaisons for each production were also created during her as time as Chair. 

At present, Nancy coordinates the activities of the Special Wardrobe Advisory Group (SWAG) and is responsible for costume loans, a new community outreach initiative. She is on the Volunteer and Hospitality committees and as a nominee for the Board her main goals are to improve the Board representation of back stage and front of house volunteers.

Cheryl Jackson
When people ask Cheryl about her interest and connection to the Ottawa Little Theatre her answer is usually “I was brought up there!” That is a fairly true statement as much of her family was involved there before she was. Her father was a long past president as well as a director ….. he was also Chairman of the EODL and governor of the DDF. Her mother did some acting but mostly costumes and makeup (yes we had people who ‘did’ makeup). Her sister has a lengthy resume at OLT in acting and costumes. As she says …. “I was brought up there ….. it is in my DNA!”

As a child she took the streetcar for Saturday drama classes run by Bill Glenn or Lynn Gorman or Barbara Meiklejohn. As a teenager when social interactions are at best awkward, the OLT was a place that was open, safe and accepting and where there was always something to do …..props, costume, bit parts.

Cheryl intended to attend RAMDA in London after high school but while attending a drama festival in Deep River with the OLT entry, Peter Symcox, the adjudicator and misplaced Brit, invited her to join his stock company in New York where She remained for two years.

I was on the Board of Directors in the early 2000 and was one of the original House Managers when we started that program and continue to participate as Front of House volunteer as well as acting and costume sorting.

My work experience has mostly been in tourism and customer service and I have education in special events. I have been a seamstress all my life and have a good eye for design and décor. Cheryl is currently a member of the Board and serves as Secretary.

 

Charles William (Bill) Milner
Bill has been involved onstage and backstage at Ottawa Little Theatre in more than twenty (20) productions since 1986. Outside of this, his non-OLT credits include 15+ productions involving acting, directing, producing, set design/construction, and publicity here and abroad. In addition, his non-stage credits include television, radio and a short stint doing sound and lights off-off Broadway.

While acknowledging those theatre experiences is vital to the understanding of our theatre, he also brings more than thirty years of managing in the federal government, working in Ottawa and abroad for what is now Global Affairs Canada. His work with the government has involved directing programs that include: contract management, human resources, finance, security, IM/IT, consular and visa services, and resource allocation. He has worked with budgets between $20k to over $60 million throughout a variety of cultures, and various legal and political frameworks. His global experience has included problem-solving in over a dozen different countries, from Afghanistan to the former Yugoslavia.

He notes that most importantly, as a Board member, he hopes to continue to contribute these experiences with a steady dose of calm, reasonable thought in order to keep the OLT vibrant and able to provide many, many more years of quality entertainment. He is currently a member of the Board.

 

Chris Ralph
Chris is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Acting Company, Ottawa’s largest creative centre for performance arts education. As a sought after vocal coach and presenter, he has worked with professionals from a wide range of business sectors. His political passion has led to involvement in political campaigns and to providing vocal and presentation coaching for Members of Parliament. Chris also teaches at Invest Ottawa, where he leads communication workshops for budding entrepreneurs. Chris is the 2014 Dr. Paul E. Garfinkel Award Winner for Entrepreneurial Achievement. As a professional actor, Chris has worked across the country from Prince George, BC, to the NAC right here in Ottawa. Chris is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and York University’s MFA Acting program Chris is currently a member of the Board and serves as a Vice President Artistic.