Catalyst Theatre Production of

The Invisible - Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare

January 16 to February 3, 2024
Opening Night January 19
Spriet Stage
The Invisible - Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Written, Composed, And Directed by Jonathan Christenson

Developed with support from the National Arts Centre's National Creation Fund, Vertigo Theatre, and Keyano Theatre

Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes

Content Advisory: This production contains loud noises and mature content relating to WWII, Nazi Germany, the violence of war, and residential schools.

Age Recommendation: 14+
 

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The Invisible - Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare

Upcoming Shows & Tickets

A SEXY, GENRE-BUSTING, AND BOLD new musical from the creators of VIGILANTE!
 

The Story

France, 1940. After months of training and successful assignments, seven exceptional female SOEs (Special Operative Executives) are dropped into their most dangerous mission to date. Risking their lives for the fate of the nation, The Invisible embark on perilous missions of sabotage, propaganda, and espionage — helping to bring down the greatest threat of their time, only to go completely unseen.


From the writer and director behind the smash-hit Vigilante comes a new musical tour-de-force, inspired by the stories of real-life female SOEs. This genre-busting mash-up of historical research, film-noir, graphic novels, and musical theatre is a contemporary portrait of brave women who risked it all to fight during WWII–only to find themselves betrayed by the very world they believed they were fighting for.

 
Uncover top-secret facts about this daring new musical here.

Enhance Your Experience

AfterWORDS

On select Wednesday evenings, immediately after the performance, join host Breanne Ritchie in theatre's lounge for a brief guided discussion with guest artists, creative team members, and Grand staff members.

 

Tea Talks

Join us for creative conversations pre-show with host James Stewart Reaney and special guests connected to the show. Tea Talks begin at 12:00pm before the Wednesday 1:00pm matinée.

 
From the Stage Door

“…The Invisible [is] unlike any other piece of musical theatre you’ll see this year.” – Stir Vancouver


“This show takes a dash of Captain America, a dollop of Agent Carter, and a fistful of Wonder Woman, and adds the sensibility of Bob Fosse, the late, great director of Cabaret. – The Globe & Mail


“It feels not only like an immensely entertaining musical, but a conversation about digging deep, and what matters.” – Edmonton Journal

The Cast

Kristi Hansen
Kristi Hansen
DOROTHY WARD/ENSEMBLE
Kristi Hansen www.kristihansen.ca is a disabled theatre artist who has called Edmonton home for the past 24 years.

Acting credits include The Silver Arrow, A Christmas Carol, and Alice Through the Looking Glass (Citadel Theatre); Sweeney Todd (Plain Jane Theatre); The Sound of Music (RMTC/Citadel Theatre); A Doll’s House, Part 2, Small Mouth Sounds, 10 out of 12, and Passion Play (Wild Side Productions); Joni Mitchell: Songs of a Prairie Girl (Theatre Network/Wide Side Productions); Dear Rita (Confed Centre); Candide (Edmonton Opera); The Hollow (Vertigo Theatre); Comedy of Errors, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet and Love’s Labour’s Lost (Freewill Players).

Kristi is the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of The Maggie Tree and the former co-Artistic Producer of Azimuth Theatre in Edmonton, AB. She is currently working with the Citadel Theatre as their Associate Artist.
Kaylee Harwood
Kaylee Harwood
JACQUELINE KOVACS/ENSEMBLE
Kaylee is a London-born performer, director and educator based in Toronto. She last appeared at The Grand in Controlled Damage (also Assistant Director). Recent credits include: Serving Elizabeth (Aquarius), The Invisible (Catalyst), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (1st & 2nd National Tours), Jesus Christ Superstar (Broadway, Stratford, La Jolla Playhouse), Camelot (Stratford), Cabaret, Trifles, The Light in the Piazza, ...Creve Coeur (Shaw), Radio City Christmas Spectacular (Radio City), Sweeney Todd (Citadel), The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady (Western Canada Theatre), Beautiful: the Carole King Musical, Les Misérables (Arts Club), The Jazz Singer (HGJTC), Niagara Symphony Orchestra. Kaylee is a Dora-nominated director, who recently directed ReTold, UnCovered: Fleetwood Mac and The Eagles (Musical Stage Company), In Studio (Theatre Sheridan) and The Dressing Room (independent miniseries). She worked on the creative teams of Dixon Road (Musical Stage Company, Assistant Director) and Pollyanna (Directing Associate, Theatre Aquarius). Film/TV/VO: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Workin’ Moms, Luckiest Girl Alive, Mayday, Christmas Movie Magic, Reign, Good Witch, Assassin's Creed: Valhalla, America’s Got Talent, The Tony Awards. www.kayleeharwood.com
Melissa MacPherson
Melissa MacPherson
EVELYN ASH/ENSEMBLE
Melissa is very pleased to be in London at the historic Grand Theatre with such a wonderful group of people. Past credits include: Folsom Prison Revisited (GNR Entertainment), Vegas Live (Mayfield Dinner Theatre), Noises Off (Citadel Theatre) Courageous (Tarragon Theatre), Letters in Wartime (Astor Theatre), Richard III (Freewill Players). Thanks for coming out, we hope you enjoy the show!
Sarah Nairne
Sarah Nairne
MADELINE BARRÉ/ENSEMBLE
Sarah Nairne is an actor/singer of Jamaican heritage. She was born and raised in the Waterloo Region and graduate of the University of Waterloo and holds a Bachelor of Arts. She’s had the privilege to share her work as a vocalist, actor, creative and more on multiple stages and spaces across Canada. She’s an alumna of Black Theatre Workshop’s Artist Mentorship Program, focusing on acting but also ignited her passion for directing and dramaturgy, leading her to work with Culchahworks Arts Collective on Chloe=Catalyst and The emerGENce Fusion Film & Theatre Festival. Credits Include: Come From Away (Australian National Tour, NewTheatricals), Come From Away (Mirvish Productions), Canadian Premiere of The Color Purple at Neptune Theatre, and the Citadel Theatre/Royal MTC co-producDon, Maddy in The Invisible – Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Catalyst Theatre), Black and Blue Matters - Workshop (Black Theatre Workshop), Cinderella the Panto (Drayton Entertainment), ALECK BELL: A Canadian Pop-Rock Musical (Tweed & Company Theatre), Stretchmarks (Virtu Arts Theatre). Sarah is so excited to be reprising the role of Maddy and incredibly grateful to be back to explore in this production with this cast. She is so thankful to God, her family, support system of friends and agents. Follow Sarah on Instagram @canvassarah
Amanda Trapp
Amanda Trapp
BETTY ANDERSON/ENSEMBLE
Amanda Trapp (she/they) is a Cree and Saulteaux (member of White Bear First Nations)/settler actor & composer based in Saskatoon, SK. She is thrilled to be returning to The Invisible, which she’s been a part of since its first production in 2019. Select acting credits include: Persephone Theatre: Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley; The Herd; It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play; I Lost My Husband!. The Art of War, Hardly Art Theatre. Half-Breed Vaudeville, Sorry/Grateful Theatre (writer/performer). The Other Side of the River, Sum Theatre (composer/performer). Amanda has a degree in Musical Theatre Performance from Sheridan College, studied puppetry at the Banff Centre, and spent six weeks this past summer in NYC training with the Atlantic Theater Company. Amandatrapp.ca
Justine Westby
Justine Westby
SZARLOTTA JAZINSKI/ENSEMBLE
Justine is so excited to be returning to the incredible ensemble of artists of The Invisible. Originally from Vernon, British Columbia, Justine is currently based in Toronto, Ontario where she works as an actor, acting and dialect coach, and arts educator. Justine has a great passion for arts education and works with actors all over North America and Europe to help them feel confident in their craft. Some of her favourite theatre credits include Calgary’s favourite holiday revue, Naughty...but Nice!, Six in the City, The Big V, 4Play, and Third Time’s the Charm, as well as Cinderella, Company, Titanic, The Urban Jungle Book, Uncommon Women, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Hay Fever, That Men May Fly, The Crucible, and of course The Invisible: Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare in Catalyst’s 2019, 2020, and 2022 tours. Justine would like to dedicate this performance of The Invisible to her beautiful and bold friend, Melanie.
Tahirih Vejdani
Tahirih Vejdani
ANNA SIDIQUI/ENSEMBLE
For the Grand Theatre: Violet in Grand Ghosts.

Theatre Credits: HMS Pinafore, Treasure Island, The Pirates of Penzance, Elektra (Stratford
Shakespeare Festival); Little Shop of Horrors, Sleeping Beauty: A Panto Awakening (Capitol
Theatre); Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Talk Is Free Theatre/Timbre 4); The Invisible – Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare (The Cultch/Catalyst Theatre); Portia’s Julius
Caesar (Shakespeare in the Ruff); The Men in White (Factory Theatre); Taming of the Shrew
(Driftwood Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing (Tarragon Theatre); The Jungle Book (Young
Peoples Theatre/Cleveland Playhouse Square); The Hobbit, Shrek The Musical, Honk! The
Musical Tale of the Ugly Duckling (Globe Theatre).

Film and TV Credits: Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (CBS); Kim’s Convenience (CBC); Let it
Snow (Netflix); Receiver (CBCGem).

Other: Tahirih Vejdani (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist of Iranian and South Indian
heritage. She is also a vocal instructor at Sheridan’s Bachelor of Musical Theatre program and is a co-founder of Ground Floor – an arts service organization dedicated towards improving
collaboration amongst theatre practitioners.

Upcoming: Tahirih will be making her debut at Vertigo Theatre in Calgary this spring as Dr.
Joan Watson in Kate Hamill’s new play Ms. Holmes & Ms Watson - #2B. This summer she will return to the Capitol Theatre as Pam Lukowski in The Full Monty.

Follow her on socials at @tahirihvejdani // www.tahirihvejdani.ca

Creative Team

Jonathan Christenson
Jonathan Christenson
Director, Composer, Writer
Jonathan is a director, writer and composer who has spearheaded the creation of twenty-two original Canadian productions, many of which have had an international reach. He has directed at more than 85 theatres across Canada, England, Scotland, Wales, Australia and the United States, including in London's West End and New York's Broadway district. Select works include Vigilante, Nevermore – The Imaginary Life & Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, Fortune Falls, The Soul Collector, Hunchback, Frankenstein, The Blue Orphan and The House of Pootsie Plunket. His work has been recognized with nearly 60 British, Canadian and American awards and nominations. He has also been shortlisted for the Siminovitch Prize in Directing, was named one of “Alberta’s Fifty Most Influential People” by Venture Magazine, and was chosen as one of Alberta’s one hundred most significant theatre artists of the past one hundred years by Alberta Playwrights Network. He is published in the United States by Playscripts, and in Canada by Playwrights Canada Press, Newest Press and Bayeaux Arts. Jonathan’s productions have also been featured in such magazines as American Theatre, Maclean’s, Canadian Theatre Review, and PRISM International. Jonathan is delighted to be back in London, where he lived as a child, and especially happy to be back at the beautiful Grand Theatre, having been here in 2017 and 2019 with his production of Vigilante. Original Cast Recordings of Nevermore, Vigilante, and The Invisible are all available for sale in the lobby. Enjoy the show!
Bretta Gerecke
Bretta Gerecke
Set, Costumes, Lighting & Projections Designer
Bretta Gerecke is a Lighting, Set, Costume and Projection designer for Theatre, Circus, Opera, Film and Installation Art. She is the resident designer at Catalyst Theatre where she co-creates and tours new work across North America, the UK and Australia. Bretta also designs for Cirque du Soleil, The National Theatre, The RSC, The National Arts Centre, The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Birmingham REP, Edmonton Opera, Calgary Opera, The Citadel Theatre and The Grand Theatre. She is the recipient of over 25 awards in addition to Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 under 40, Global Television’s Woman of Vision, IPL Best Emerging Artist, the Lucille Lortel Award (Best Costume Design, Off Broadway). She recently represented Canada in Prague at the Scenography Quadrennial and her costume designs were exhibited in Moscow, Beijing, and Taipei. Bretta lives in London (UK) she is a marathon runner and an Archaeological Illustrator.
Matthew Skopyk
Matthew Skopyk
Music Producer, Sound Designer, Additional Music
Music Producer, Sound Designer, Additional Music & Music Programming

Recent Design/Composition/Production: Vigilante, Fortune Falls, Nevermore - The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe, The Soul Collector (Catalyst Theatre/Citadel Theatre/Persephone Theatre/National Arts Centre/The Grand Theatre); Hamlet, Merchant of Venice, Romeo & Juliet, Titus Andronicus, As You Like It, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, Twelfth Night (Freewill Shakespeare Festival); Once (Citadel Theatre); The Humans
(Citadel Theatre/Canadian Stage); Shakespeare In Love (Citadel Theatre/Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre); Shakespeare’s R & J (Kill Your Television); Playing With Fire: The Theo Fleury Story (Citadel Theatre/Persephone Theatre/Alberta Theatre Projects/Neptune Theatre/Centaur Theatre); Enron (National Arts Centre); Whisper (Studio Theatre/Catalyst Theatre).
Laura Krewski
Laura Krewski
Original Choreographer
Laura has choreographed Nevermore, Vigilante, Frankenstein, Hunchback, and Fortune Falls for Catalyst Theatre as well as until the next breath as part of Grand Acts of Theatre through the National Arts Centre. Other credits include Candide (Edmonton Opera), Mamma Mia!, West Side Story, Spamalot, A Christmas Carol and Shakespeare in Love, (Citadel Theatre), Made in Italy (Western Canadian Theatre), Enron (NAC), Home is a Beautiful Word (The Belfry/Persephone Theatre) Jesus Christ Superstar, Chicago and Footloose (The Mayfield), Next to Normal (Citadel/Theatre Calgary), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Belfry/Arts Club), new musicals RICH and Rapa Nui (MTYP), and The Penelopiad, Cabaret, and Spring Awakening for Canadian College for the Performing Arts. As an independent artist, Laura produced and choreographed FreeFall, Jazz Playground and a movement adaptation of The Yellow Wallpaper for the Chinook Series.
Courtney Arsenault
Courtney Arsenault
Choreographer
Courtney is a professionally trained dancer, choreographer and movement instructor. Specializing in commercial dance and musical theater, her contemporary style emerges from training in jazz, hip hop and ballet. Courtney has worked with notable organizations, including; Theatre New Brunswick, St. Thomas University, Connection Dance Works, The New Brunswick Drama Festival, and Opera Nuova. Courtney is currently instructing dance technique for the Music Theater Performance Program at Grant MacEwan University.
Ruth Alexander
Ruth Alexander
Music Director (Vocals)
Ruth is an actor/musician from Scotland. Credits as an actor include: Once the Musical, A Christmas Carol (Citadel Theatre), Dead in the Water (Varscona Theatre), TWO, The Birthday Party (Edmonton International Fringe), Les Misérables (UK and Dublin tour), Sweeney Todd (Manchester). Ruth also had a recurring role on the long running British series Coronation Street and was a regular member of the BBC radio drama team. Credits as a musical director include: Little Shop of Horrors (Citadel Theatre), Urinetown the Musical (Grant MacEwan Theatre Arts program), Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (London UK revival and cast recording), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Vienna’s English Theatre). For Catalyst Theatre she has worked on Vigilante (in concert and cast recording), and Nevermore for which she won the Betty Mitchell award for best music direction. Ruth moved to Canada from the UK in 2017 and now lives in Edmonton, Alberta with her husband, son and their dog Jolene.
Sarah Garton-Stanley
Sarah Garton-Stanley
Dramaturg
Sarah/SGS is VP of Programming at Arts Commons in Calgary. Formerly the Artistic Producer for the National Creation Fund (NAC), and Creative Consultant to Richard II at the Stratford Festival. She co-stewards the Historic Birchdale, and is Ph.D. Candidate in Cultural Studies at Queen’s University. She is co-founder of SpiderWebShow and FOLDA, and the Baby Grand Theatre, was the first female Artistic Director at Buddies in Bad Times and was the inaugural Artistic Associate for The Magnetic North Theatre Festival. SGS is co-authoring Manifesto for Now with Owais Lightwala. SGS is on the board of Theatre Alberta, the National Advisory for the National Creation Fund, and the Steering Committee for the Canadian Arts Summit and the Leadership Advisory for Buddies in Bad Times.
Jeff Pybus
Jeff Pybus
Assistant Lighting Designer
Jeff (he/him) is a Lighting & Video designer and Technical Director for live performance across Ontario. He is also a hobbyist astrophotographer and cat Dad. www.jeffpybus.ca

Select Credits: La Bête, The Judas Kiss, Herringbone, The Yalta Game, Hedwig & The Angry Inch (Talk is Free Theatre); Beautiful Renegades (Peggy Baker Dance Projects); Seagulls, The Killing, The Madness of Lady Bright (Shaw Festival Director’s Projects); Tales of an Urban Indian (TiFT, Tour Manager); Prince Caspian, The Shadow of a Doubt, Gaslight, Chitra, Desire Under the Elms, Victory (Shaw Festival; Assistant Lighting Design); Angels in America (That Arts Group; Assoc. Lighting Design); The Runner (Human Cargo; Assoc. Lighting Design); Musik für das Ende (Soundstreams, Touring Lighting Director); Mahabharata (Why Not; Assistant Lighting Design).
Frank Donato
Frank Donato
Associate Video Designer
Frank Donato is a lighting and projection designer currently based in Sudbury, ON. Recent credits include: Matilda, Jersey Boys, Ride the Cyclone (Sudbury Theatre Centre), Wakey Wakey (County Stage/Stratford Festival), Redbone Coonhound, Orestes (Tarragon Theatre), The Guide to Being Fabulous, Detroit, Billie, Sarah and Ella, The Golden Record (Soulpepper), Home, Ways of Being (Festival of Live Digital Art), Daisy (Great Canadian Theatre Company). Recent credits as an associate designer include: Disney Animation Immersive Experience (Lighthouse Immersive), A Christmas Carol (Citadel Theatre), Tell Tale Harbour (Charlottetown Confederation Centre), Blindness (Mirvish), The Barber of Seville (Canadian Opera Company), Paradise Lost, The Neverending Story, Little Shop of Horrors (Stratford Festival). Frank is a graduate of the production program at the National Theatre School of Canada.
Lee O'Reilly
Lee O'Reilly
Production Manager
Lee is a production manager/technical director type, thrilled to be based in Edmonton since 2021, after an equally harrowing and delightful start in the US. By day, TD in the University of Alberta Drama Department; by night, Catalyst production manager (or vice versa). Past experience includes stints at Universal Beijing Resort, the Center Theatre Group in LA, and a veritable smorgasbord of summerstocks, regional theatres, dance incubators, circus tours, opera festivals, cruise ships, and the kinds of gigs where you have to zip tie lights to trees. Credit to Kalamazoo College (BA Theatre Arts) and the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale (MFA Technical Design and Production). Other favourite activities include crossword puzzles and collecting and racing bicycles and boats.
Lauren Rebelo
Lauren Rebelo
Associate Production Manager
Lauren Rebelo is a theatre maker originally from Hamilton, Ontario, though she called London home for 14 years. She holds a BA in Media Studies from Western University and a Diploma in Theatre Production from Fanshawe College. Lauren went on to start her career as the Assistant Technical Director for the Grand Theatre, and is thrilled to be back making theatre in one of her favourite places. Lauren fell in love with Catalyst's work during their 2017 run of Vigilante, so working with the team on The Invisible has been a full-circle moment. Lauren is currently living in the Niagara region, working with established and emerging theatre designers at the Shaw Festival.
Rae McCallum
Rae McCallum
Associate Production Manager
Rae is a freelance production manager, technical director, lighting designer, and technician based in Edmonton. She has been an active member of the Edmonton backstage community for over a decade. Additionally, she serves as a board member for the Canadian Institute of Theatre Technology (CITT/ICTS) Alberta Section, where she contributes to promoting professional development and the advancement of the theatre community.
Brian Scott
Brian Scott
Stage Manager
Brian is grateful to Catalyst Theatre and the Company of The Invisible for welcoming him to this outstanding production. He has stage managed at the Stratford Festival for many seasons, and returns to the Grand having stage managed several productions here during Martha Henry’s tenure as Artistic Director. Brian would also like to thank and acknowledge stage manager John Raymond for all of his work on The Invisible. Please enjoy the performance.
Frances Bundy
Frances Bundy
Assistant Stage Manager
Frances is a stage manager based in Edmonton where she also started ReadyGo Theatre Collective. She is thrilled to be on the team for The Invisible once again! Selected previous credits: Kinky Boots (Drayton Entertainment); The Play’s The Thing, Dead In The Water (Theatre Yes); Vigilante in Concert, The Invisible: Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Catalyst Theatre); Pride and Prejudice, Network, Clue, A Christmas Carol (Citadel Theatre); Listen, Listen (Teatro Live!); The Wolves (The Maggie Tree); Hacking and Slashing, Lemon, I, Animal, Monster (ReadyGo Theatre). She would like to thank her parents for instilling in her a passion for art and Erik for being her rock every day.
Michael Caron
Michael Caron
Sound Engineer
Michael is very excited to be back behind the mixing console on The Invisible. He has been working as a sound designer, audio technician and composer since 1995. With a passion for collaborative theatre, he has a focus on site specific work and the use of interactive audio and sensor technology to activate non-traditional performance spaces. He is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s BFA in Technical Theatre program. In the summer you can find Michael mixing at Rainbow Stage in Winnipeg. When not touring with Catalyst or designing he spends his quiet time in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.

THEATRE CREDITS (Selected): Sound designer and composer The Spinsters (Small Matters Productions); Sound designer and live mixer Rent (Rainbow Stage); Sound designer and live mixer The Little Mermaid (Rainbow Stage); Live mixer Vigilante (Catalyst Theatre); Sound designer and composer The Object of Constellations (University of Alberta); Sound designer and composer Dracula (Studio Theatre); Sound designer, composer and operator Dead Centre of Town (Catch the Keys Productions, annual).

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