Land Acknowledgement
The Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival creates and performs on the land of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. We respect the relationship they continue to have with the land to this day, and the strength of their generational resilience in the face of ongoing, systemic colonial violence and genocide. We are committed to the continual process of unlearning deeply embedded notions of white supremacy and colonial racism, and to continuing to become better allies wherever we can. We ask that you consider your relationship to this land as well and remember that every settler is responsible for dismantling the colonial genocide that Indigenous people continue to face.
Production Credits
Karen Lee Pickett Artistic Director
Jemma Alix Levy Director
Kathryn Boyd Pre-production Coordinator
Willow Hayes Production Stage Manager
Maddy Kirstein Assistant Stage Manager
Lahna Lampson Costumer
Michelle Mitchell Costume Assistant
Loreto Espinoza Props Coordinator
Islay McKechnie Front of House Manager/Volunteer Coordinator
Board of Directors
Ali Gaul President
Brooke Gallup Vice President
Asa O’Connor-Jaeckel Secretary
Cam Culham Treasurer
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS:
Allison Balabuch, Shona Slack, Lori Fisher, Ian Case
Cast List
(in alphabetical order)
*Renee Bucciarelli, Countess
Kaylee Cavanagh, Lord E
Cam Culham, Lafeu
Roan Foshaug, Lord G
Aidan Guerreiro, Lavatch/1st Soldier
Grace Martin, Attendant/Mariana/Servant
Becky Miner, Widow
Michelle Naidu, Diana
Hannah Ockenden, Helen
Asa O'Connor Jaeckel, Rinaldo/Stranger/Austringer
*Jason Stevens, King
Kai Tawil-Morsink, Paroles
Ciaran Volke, Bertram
Hugh Wilcox, 1st Lord/2nd Soldier/Attendant
* THE PARTICIPATION OF THESE ARTISTS IS ARRANGED BY PERMISSION OF CANADIAN ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE DANCE•OPERA•THEATRE POLICY.
Director’s Notes
Jemma Alix Levy
One of the most fascinating things to me about Shakespeare’s plays is that even though we think we can divide them into histories, comedies, tragedies, and romances (or problem plays), often those genres did not come from Shakespeare himself. While he did identify the genre of some of his plays (Romeo and Juliet was always identified as a tragedy, and Henry V was always identified as a history, to name only two), many of them did not get assigned a genre until they were printed in the First Folio, after Shakespeare’s death. And I think this is because Shakespeare recognized that life – and stories about life – are not always so easy to classify.
All’s Well That Ends Well is included with the comedies in the First Folio, despite the fact that it is not consistently funny and does not end in a wedding. I would argue that this mis-genre-ing is one of the reasons the play is so infrequently produced: it doesn’t make sense when it is compared with the slapstick of The Comedy of Errors or the witty banter of Much Ado About Nothing. In fact, what has always drawn me to this play is how crushingly TRUE it feels. There are no perfectly good people. Punishments and rewards are not always meted out fairly. “Meant to be” doesn’t always work out. And love definitely does not conquer all.
But if that makes you think this is going to be a depressing dystopian production, think again. Because in my experience, TRUE still reflects the good in things like strength, and perseverance, and intelligence, and kindness, and hope. To me, this is a play about how these qualities carry us through even when life turns out not to be quite as nice (or as tidy) as the fairy tales we’ve been told. Helena succeeds not because she is perfect, but because she recognizes her imperfections – because she is smart and adaptable and generally leads with love. Shakespeare’s ending gave her what she needed during his time period – a stable life with a husband to support her – but it’s a truthful ending rather than a happy one. I chose to end our play with a slightly different truth, one that better reflects the time we live in, but one I hope still honors the story Shakespeare was telling: a story that isn’t a comedy, but contains laughter; that isn’t a tragedy, but contains tears; that isn’t a history, but contains a life.
Synopsis
Jemma Alix Levy
After the death of the old Count Rousillon, his son Bertram, the new Count, is sent off as ward to the King of France, who is himself dying of a mysterious illness. Bertram’s mother openly mourns his leaving, while Helen, a young woman in their household who is being raised by the Countess after her own father died, secretly pines after Bertram. When a servant informs the Countess of Helen’s love, the Countess encourages Helen to follow Bertram to the Court, where she can use her deceased father’s secret recipe to cure the King and demand Bertram’s hand in recompense. Helen does so, but when she chooses Bertram to be her husband, the young Count refuses. The King commands him to marry Helen anyway, and Bertram acquiesces but secretly tells his companion Paroles that they should instead run away to become soldiers in Italy.
After a quick wedding (but no consummation), Bertram runs away, leaving notes for the Countess and Helen swearing never to return unless Helen can do the impossible: get a ring from his finger and become pregnant by him. Hoping to lure Bertram back to France from the wars in Italy, Helen leaves Rousillon on a religious pilgrimage.
In Italy, Bertram wins honor as a soldier and attempts to woo a local woman, Diana, but the story of his deserted wife follows him, and Diana rebuffs him. When Helen arrives and learns of Bertram’s desires, she convinces Diana and her mother to help her. Diana wins Bertram’s ring by agreeing to sleep with him, but then makes arrangements for Bertram to sleep with Helen instead of her. Having achieved her goal, Helen sends word back to France that she is dead, hoping this news will be conveyed to Bertram and convince him to return home.
Meanwhile, the soldiers have realized that Bertram’s companion Paroles, who constantly brags about his military expertise, is actually a coward and a liar. To prove this to Bertram, they “kidnap” Paroles and convince him that he is being held by the enemy. Paroles instantly betrays them all, giving away both military and personal secrets about Bertram and his friends. The soldiers reveal themselves to Paroles, who leaves their company to become a poor fool until he is taken in by a former adversary at the French Court, Lafeu.
With the wars in Italy done and Helen supposed dead, everyone heads back to France, where Lafeu and the Countess have arranged a new marriage for the “widowed” Bertram. The King forgives Bertram for his previous behavior towards Helen and is about to approve the new marriage when Diana comes forward and claims Bertram has promised himself to her. She offers the ring in evidence. Bertram denies her but nobody believes him, and after some serious accusations from both the King and Lafeu, Bertram is taken into custody. Then Helen reveals herself, and everyone gets to see how this all ends well.
Words, words, words
Dr. Erin E. Kelly
It seems fitting that the most theatrically flamboyant character in All’s Well That Ends Well has the name Paroles – the French word for “words.” After all, what makes Shakespeare’s plays Shakespearean is their language, the words that characters speak.
Shakespeare’s plots and the general shape of his characters are not original. In the case of All’s Well, the main plot featuring Helena’s pursuit of Bertram is a popular story featured as one of the hundred tales in Boccaccio’s Decameron (a work completed in the mid-fourteenth century). Shakespeare likely accessed the English translation made available in William Painter’s collection of stories entitled The Palace of Pleasure (first published in 1566). Paroles is a version of the braggart soldier character type (in Latin miles gloriosus) who appeared in classical comedies Shakespeare would likely have read and translated in grammar school. The special quality of this and other plays by Shakespeare, then, is how words transform familiar elements into lively drama.
As the name Paroles suggests, All’s Well is a play with a deep interest in words, especially in all the ways that and reasons why they can fail to communicate clearly. Helena’s social subservience to the Countess, King, and Bertram lead her to express her thoughts indirectly, often in riddling phrases. For example, Helena’s conversation with the Countess becomes more and more tangled as she struggles to find a way to accept the honour of being the older woman’s “daughter” without also being Bertram’s sister. Bertram avoids clarity for another reason, to conceal his true intentions. Bertram’s response to the King’s order “Take her by the hand, and tell her she is thine” with only the phrase “I take her hand” offers the appearance of agreement while withholding consent. And Paroles’s braggadocio is revealed to be lying through a scene that revels in nonsense syllables being presented and perceived to be a foreign language. This trickery forces Paroles into clarity: “Simply the thing I am shall make me live.” (All’s Well shares its hyperconsciousness of how language can shape experience, fail to convey meaning, and be used to deceive with the play from which this note’s title derives: Hamlet.)
One word that appears more often in this play than in any other by Shakespeare is “know”; along with related words like knowledge and knowing, we find it more than a hundred times and spoken by almost every character. This frequency suggests All’s Well is a test case of the relationship between words and knowledge. Shakespeare’s characters are made of language, but this play confronts us with big questions about their words. Does a character’s language allow us to understand them fully? Although the maxim “All’s well that ends well” seems comforting, what does it mean for a situation to end “well”? In a world that offers up only words as evidence of a happy ending, how can we know?
Dr. Erin E. Kelly is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Victoria.
Company Biographies
Renée Bucciarelli
Countess
Renée Bucciarelli thanks Karen Lee Pickett, the GVSF, and Jemma Levy, who directed her in 2003 in the title role of The Duchess of Malfi for Kings County Shakespeare (Brooklyn, NY), where Renée was Associate Artist (17 yrs), Associate Artistic Director (4 yrs), and where she first developed The Shakespeare Playground™ for kids www.shakespeareplayground.com. Twenty years in NY theatre included work with Julie Taymor/Theatre For A New Audience; New Jersey Shakes'; Hudson Valley Shakes', Judith Shakes'. Favorite roles: Juliet, Rosalind, Helena (AMND), Kate (Shrew), Viola, Titania, Mistress Ford, Isabella/Mistress Overdone, Donalbain/Lady MacDuff/Hecate/Cream-faced Loon. In Vancouver: Goneril in Honest Fishmongers’ King Lear. Producing Artistic Director of City Stage New West www.citystagenewwest.org since 2008, Renée commissioned Stump City Stories by George Ryan, a new Canadian musical based on the history of New Westminster, and its professional cast album. She has portrayed poet Emily Dickinson to acclaim http://www.fraj.com/belleofamherst/, and is currently working on her own play, Stand Up and Live, based on Dickinson’s writings.
Kaylee Cavanagh
Lord E
Kaylee Cavanagh is a local actor, writer, comedian, and filmmaker. A recent graduate of UVic’s Theatre performance program, Kaylee is passionate about performing everything from Shakespeare to improv to stand up comedy in and around Victoria BC. Current projects aside from GVSF include improv group Highway Raccoons and sketch comedy duo We’ll Call You Back. Recent credits include Vinegar Tom (2023) and Spring Awakening (2022), Phoenix Theatres; Theatre SKAM Pop-Up theatre (2022); and more.
Cam Culham
Lafeu
Cam Culham has been with this wonderful festival off and on since the early 90s when shows were in a tent on the Inner Harbour. Fond memories of many summers on the lawns of Camosun College, and now in two beautiful new venues. He salutes the incredible leadership and contributions of our stalwart Artistic Director and dear friend, Karen Lee Pickett, as she sets off to other seas!
Loreto Espinoza
Props Coordinator
Loreto Espinoza is a Chilean actor graduated from Academia Fernando Gonzalez Mardones and a craft maniac with over 7 years of professional work in theatre and screen both in Chile and Canada. She has performed with Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Atomic Vaudeville, SKAM, Story Theatre, and Impulse Theatre, among others. She recently performed a piece of her own at Peek Show #14 called "Oscar Inside the Spiral" with a wooden puppet and plastic bags. Loreto loves bringing her resourceful skills into building and sourcing props and has done it for many companies including GVSF’s 2022 production of As You Like It! She is grateful and thrilled to be working again with the company for All's Well. You can catch Loreto with SNAFU at SKAMpede Festival and Victoria Fringe and with SKAM at Calgary Fringe.
Roan Foshaug
Lord G
Roan Foshaug is very excited to make his debut with the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival this year. His recent credits include the Adult Man in Spring Awakening, as well as Benedick, Macbeth, Paroles and Kent in Shakespeare’s Women with the Phoenix Theatre. Roan recently graduated from the UVIC Phoenix Theatre with a BFA in Theatre Performance in 2023. He spent his last year with the program focused on classical work, as well as clown work, both which he loves working on. Now, Roan aims to continue his training in classical theatre, and performing across the country. He looks forward to the next stage of his professional career.
Aidan guerreiro
Lavatch/1st Soldier
Aidan Guerreiro is a Portuguese-Canadian actor who grew up as a settler on the territory of the Lekwungen people. This is Aidan’s third year with GVSF and he is overjoyed to be once again working with so many new and familiar faces. You may recognize Aidan from As You Like It and Cymbeline (GVSF) or from Problem Child, 7 Stories, Comic Potential, and The Drowsy Chaperone (Phoenix Theatre).
Willow Hayes
Production Stage Manager
Willow Hayes (they/them) is a recently-returned local performer and creative, and tremendously excited to be back at the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival after several years away from the city - this time managing the stage instead of acting on it! When they are not throwing themself headfirst into theatrical endeavours, they can be found in their garden trying their best to keep their first-ever crop of Roma tomatoes alive or lying in a sunny patch of grass with their dog Mija.
Maddy Kirstein
Assistant Stage Manager
Maddy Kirstein is a Victoria local creative specializing in connection-based stage management and immersive storytelling. They enjoy fantasy world building, sword making, and creating supportive environments for young artists to thrive!
Lahna Lampson
Costumer
Lahna Lampson is a 2020 UVic theatre graduate who has loved costuming for as long as she can remember. Her previous costume credits include Sunset Theatre: The Drum is Calling You Home, by Lheidli T'enneh elder Marcel Gangon, in 2018, in which she partnered with Keom, a Lheidli T'enneh artist. Other theatre credits include Lifetime Networks: choreographer/Journey to Breakfast Sandwich Island 2018; Facilitator & choreographer/Santa's Sick Seasonal Spectacular 2019; Skampede: Justine/Look it Up, 2021; Victoria fringe: Facilitator-director/Ouroborus, 2022. Lahna is excited to be working with the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival and grateful for the opportunity!
Jemma Alix Levy
Director
Jemma Alix Levy is thrilled to be making her Canadian debut with the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival this summer. Levy is an Associate Professor of Acting and Directing at Washington and Lee University and was the founding Artistic Director of Muse of Fire Theatre Company, which she ran for ten years. After receiving her BA from Amherst College, Jemma graduated from The Juilliard School's graduate directing program, earned an MA in Humanities from the University of Chicago, and then earned an MFA in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University’s program in association with the American Shakespeare Center.
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In addition to her work with students, Levy’s more than twenty-five years as a professional director have won her critical acclaim for productions across the US including eight Shakespeare productions for Muse of Fire and, most recently, for her work as Guest Resident Artistic Associate for Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, where she directed two productions and served as adaptor, dramaturg, and text coach for a third. In 2019, she made her international debut for Prague Shakespeare Company with a production of Moliere’s Tartuffe. Levy has also written and directed adaptations based on Shakespeare, Lope de Vega, and two-time National-Book-Award-nominee Howard Norman. Before her arrival at Washington and Lee University, Jemma taught theatre and directed at Webster University's Conservatory of Theater Arts (MO), Wabash College (IN), Roosevelt University Chicago College for the Performing Arts (IL), Mary Baldwin University (VA), and The Brearley School (NY). Her next projects include Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida for the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern, and Begets: Fall of a High School Ronin, by Qui Nguyen, with her students at Washington and Lee.
Grace Martin
Attendant/Mariana/Servant
Grace Martin is thrilled to be in her 5th show with GVSF! She has previously acted in The Tempest, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Cymbeline, and As You Like It. Grace has also worked with several local companies, including Theatre SKAM, Kaleidoscope, Victoria and Nanaimo Fringe, and Embrace Arts. After graduating from the Canadian College of Performing Arts last year, she has travelled across Canada to pursue her acting career and studies, most recently studying with Second City in Toronto. Grace hopes that you enjoy the show!
Islay McKechnie
Front of House Manager/Volunteer Coordinator
Islay McKechnie (she/they) is a theatre artist/improviser/tortured bisexual currently based on unceded lək̓ʷəŋən Territory. She is greatly interested in collaborating with other artists to skill-share, blend mediums, and create original works. She is fueled by a love of mischief, whimsy, music, and dark humour. You can catch Islay performing regularly around town with her musical improv duo COWBOY. Past theatrical adventures have included collaborations with Paper Street Theatre, Impulse Theatre, and Downstage Theatre. Follow @cowboy.ca on instagram for more info and upcoming shows!
Becky Miner
Widow
Becky Miner is an actor, writer, and creator who moved to Victoria to pursue her passion for the stage. As a recent graduate of the University of Victoria’s Theatre performance program, Becky is eager to show the world what she has to offer. This is Becky’s first year performing with GVSF and she is extremely excited to share the stage with some incredible artists. Recent credits include Mojada (2023), and Shakespeare’s Women (2022), Phoenix Theatre; The Presence of All Hidden Things (2022), SATCo; and Theatre SKAM Pop-op Theatre (2022).
Michelle Mitchell
Costume Assistant
Michelle Mitchell is excited to be back for her fourth season with the Festival. Recent Victoria credits include: Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival: costume designer/Two Gentlemen of Verona and Julius Caesar; Theatre Inconnu: Justine/Frankenstein; Mother, Wife /Tenant Haymovitch; Langham Court Theatre: Marianne/Sense & Sensibility; Mary Ann/Escape from Happiness and Better Living; Myrtle Mae/Harvey; and Stripper/The Graduate. Much love to her husband for helping to instil a love of theatre in their children, and for his everlasting patience and support. Thank you for supporting the arts!
Michelle Naidu
Diana
Born in India, Michelle Naidu is a singer and performer currently based in Victoria, BC. At present she is training at the Canadian College of Performing Arts where her credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and some new works in development. She's excited to be in her first GVSF production!
Hannah Ockenden
Helen
This is Hannah Ockenden’s fourth season working with GVSF and she could not be happier to be playing outside in the sun and wind, sharing a story with all of you! Hannah has worked on stage and behind the scenes in theatre and film in Victoria, as well as touring in Europe and Asia with theatre in education companies. Some past personal highlights include Julia in Two Gentlemen of Verona and Audrey/Le Beau/Amiens in As You Like It (as well as costume designing) in Victoria, and playing Diana and assistant directing South Pacific for Calgary Opera. Look out for the release of the music video Golden Eye for Neon Jesus, which Hannah choreographed and danced in, to see more of her work!
Asa O’Connor-Jaeckel
Rinaldo/Stranger/Austringer
Asa O’Connor-Jaeckel is an 18 year old actor based in Victoria. After first getting involved with GVSF for the 2014 production of Julius Caesar, they are thrilled to be a part of the cast of All’s Well That Ends Well this summer! Over the past years, they have worked with various theatre companies around the city, including Bēma Productions and Iuvenis Productions, and have spent time creating their own theatre, music, and written work. As they continue to build their life in the arts, they’re greatly looking forward to beginning their studies through UBC’s Acting BFA this coming fall. When not onstage, they can often be found reading historical fiction, observing the deer in their neighbourhood, or working on a plan to appease the ghost of their father that appeared on the castle ramparts one night demanding vengeance. Asa would like to thank all of the many incredibly talented people who made this show as amazing as it is!
Jason Stevens*
King
Jason Stevens is an American actor and storyteller. He trained at Drama Centre London and Oxford School of Drama in the UK. Jason made his stage debut in New York City with two lead roles in the same year: Wilfred Owen in Not About Heroes, and James Agee in Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. With too many stage, TV, film, and commercial credits to list, some of his favourite recent roles include Senator Hoover in IZombie on the CW Network, and Max Gaines in the AMC Original Series Heroes and Villains. In Victoria Jason is best known for his one man shows A Christmas Carol and Frankenstein, which he performs to sold-out audiences every year. He is a sought-after acting coach and a founding instructor at the Victoria Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he teaches movement psychology. He’d like to thank his daughters Zoe and Hannah for keeping him humble. Jason is represented by KC Talent.
Kai Tawil-Morsink
Paroles
Kai Tawil-Morsink (he/him) likes Shakespeare a lot. Currently a graduate student in geology at the University of Victoria, he spends his free time on recreational Shakespeare text analysis classes. After playing Laertes in Hamlet and Florizel in Winter’s Tale (King’s Crown Shakespeare Troupe) followed by lockdown Zoom theatre including Bilight: Twilight But It’s Queer And Also It’s A Fundraiser, he is thrilled to be participating in the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival! Catch him yelling enthusiastically about trans and queer readings of Twelfth Night on a recent episode of the Bowls with the Bard podcast.
Ciarán Volke
Bertram
Ciarán Volke (he/they) is an actor, writer, and improviser based in unceded lək̓ʷəŋən territory. He can be found working on many different projects throughout the city, both theatre and film. He holds a BFA in Theatre from the University of Victoria, and is the co-producer of the hit musical improv duo, COWBOY. This is Ciarán's second year with GVSF, and he cannot be more delighted to be playing Shakespeare's most hated character.
Hugh Wilcox
1st Lord/2nd Soldier/Attendant
Hugh Wilcox (he/him) is a recent graduate of The University of Victoria‘s Department of Theatre and is incredibly excited to make his debut on the GVSF stage. Recent credits include Malcolm in Macbeth (Potluck Collective, 2019), Byron in I Only Feel… Farewell! Farewell! (Untitled Theatrics, 2020), the ensemble of The Wasteland (UVic Phoenix Theatre, 2022), Gus in The Dumbwaiter (UVic MFA Project, 2022), Rebel in Perspective (UVIC SATCO 2022) and Cooper in What People Do in the Dark (UVic Directed Study 2023).
Rehearsal space provided by Rockrose Farm. Follow them on ig! @rockrose.farm
Special Thanks
Ariel and Steve Rubin
Kate Rubin
Marilyn Hitch
Dr. Erin Kelly
Uta Gewald
The Lenfest Summer Grant program at Washington and Lee University
Rhea Wilson
Steve Smith
Ali Gaul
Michelle Mitchell
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