Theatre BC

Summerland Singers & Players

The name Bill Millerd may not mean much to people who aren't interested in theatre, but to thespians and theatre patrons the name of Mainstage 2003's adjudicator is sure to peak some interest. Millerd is the Artistic Managing Director of Vancouver's Arts Club Theatre - a position he has held since 1972. During his long tenure with the company, Millerd has expanded its operations to include year-round programming and regional and national tours. He has helped produce over 400 plays; one hundred of which he directed himself. Under Mr. Millerd's leadership, the Arts Club Theatre has staged over 110 Canadian works, including more than 60 premieres of new Canadian plays. Along with being a Governor of the National Theatre School of Canada, he has received a Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Career Achievement and is a member of the Order of Canada.

"We are extremely fortunate to get an adjudicator of this caliber for Mainstage 2003," says Mainstage Chair Chad Mielke. "We are looking forward to some lively interaction during the public adjudications following each evening performance and I'm sure the actors will find Millerd's observations and suggestions most informative during the coffee critique sessions the following morning," explains Mielke.
                                                           
submitted by Jo Ann Reynolds, M2003 Publicity & Promotions

       Fran Gebhard (Workshop Plays #1 & #3) is an actor, director and dramaturge. Her acting credits include stops with the Blyth Festival, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Theatre Calgary, Northern Lights Theatre, New Play Centre, Arts Club Theatre, Playhouse Theatre and both Shakespeare Kelowna and Theatre Kelowna. Recent credits include Lady Wishfort in Way of the World, Mary in Kilt and Joanne in Jupiter in July. Fran also regularly performs the one-woman show Dried Flowers by Maryjane Cruise, the One Act category winning script in Theatre BC's 9th Annual Canadian National Playwriting Competition.
    Fran completed her MFA in Directing at UBC last year. She recently directed Les Liaisions Dangereux for United Players in Vancouver. Her directing credits also include The Affections of May, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, The Shadow Box, School For Scandal, A Midsummer Night's Dream and For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Her film and television credits are numerous, including Blue City Slammers, for which she received a Genie nomination. Fran was involved with the Banff Playwrights Colony for many years, including terms as Program Head from 1976 to 1985 and Coordinator of the Screenwriters Workshop from 1986 to 1990. In 1998, Fran was awarded The Arts Person of the Year award in Kelowna, BC.
    For Theatre BC, Fran was a Juror for the 10th (1998) & 12th Annual Canadian National Playwriting Competitions and served as a Round Table dramaturge at TheatreBC's New Play Festival in Victoria in1999 and Kamloops in 2002. She has travelled to most Zones as a Regional Workshop Instructor in acting/directing, and served as Workshop Play Instructor last year at MAINSTAGE 2002 in Nanaimo.