​"SON"/"CASEY" - RYAN BOMMARITO is a theatre maker, an actor-for-hire, lover of a good sweater and the crisp air of mid-spring. He’s been on stage, on screen, in video games and the English voice of several foreign performers. If you have any good gardening tips, please pass them along.

Ryan will be playing "CASEY" in Secret Santa by Alice Abracen and the "SON"  in Failure to Launch by Ann Lambert. 

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​"THE MOM" - Born in Venezuela and raised between cultures, JOY ROSS-JONES is a Venezuelan-Canadian actor, creator, teacher, and somatic coach. Her artistry is visceral and imagistic, rooted in her mixed heritage and shaped through deep somatic exploration of migration, memory, and belonging. A BFA graduate of the Concordia theatre program as well as a Master in Art Education, Joy's teaching is perpetually in dialogue with, and bolstered by, her artistic creations. Joy co-created Imago Theatre’s groundbreaking Artista program (2014–2019). Today, her practice weaves performance, writing, and somatic coaching into a single inquiry: how the body remembers, heals, and transforms through art. Above all accolades, she is the proud mother of Rosa Esperanza and Anna Alegría.
www.joyrossjones.com

Joy will be playing the "MOM"  in On the Bus by Ann Lambert. 

"RYAN"/"FATHER"/"THE MAN" - BRIAN DOOLEY is an award winning actor and producer. During the last 45 years Brian has worked throughout the country and abroad. His skills include directing, writing, producing and performing in a variety of media including radio, animation, film, television and the theatre. Brian was trained and educated at the National Theatre School and Bishop’s University. Having relocated back to Montreal after a lengthy absence he looks forward to engaging with new collaborators and audiences. In the midst of these most unprecedented times, Brian is reminded of Richard Shechner’s words : "Theatre is a peak experience and significantly different from other kinds of life because of its focus, intensity, and general visibility. But it is not separate from other kinds of life: It comes from them and blends back into them. To work from this perspective means to accept the audience as a potential ally, and to admit that without the audience's collaboration no performance is possible."
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Brian will be playing "RYAN" in Okay Boomer, "FATHER" in Failure to Launch, and "THE MAN" in On the Bus by Ann Lambert.

​"JAMIE"/"MORGAN" - SAMANTHA BITONTI (she/her) holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Concordia University and is known as a highly technical actor who brings rigour, curiosity, and care into every workspace. Her practice is driven by a love of story and an aptitude for asking precise, generous questions to get to the heart of the work. Samantha creates across disciplines; drawing on clown, puppetry, and heightened text to craft playful, emotionally grounded performances. Her artistic pursuits include introducing classical music to young audiences through storytelling and clown (Platypus Theatre), exploring Shakespeare in contemporary performance contexts (Repercussion Theatre), and teaching drama at the National Theatre School and Geordie Theatre School. As an instructor, she fosters supportive, collaborative environments that empower people of all ages to learn, connect, and perform with confidence.

Samantha will be playing "JAMIE" in Secret Santa by Alice Abracen and "MORGAN" in Okay Boomer by Ann Lambert. 

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​"JOAN"/"MOTHER"/"THE OLD LADY"/DIRECTOR - Award winning actress, LAURA MITCHELL, is the co-founder of Theatre Ouest End. She taught Literature at Dawson College where she founded and directed the Showtime Troupe. As half of the comedy duo ‘TITTERS’, she performed in Vancouver Comedy Festival, Seattle, Ottawa, and in and around Montreal. Laura performed as a storyteller for Blue Met, and as a southern evangelist for Theatre des Ameriques. She has written 1 feature film (7th Art), 1 documentary, (NFB, Pandora), 3 plays, 2 play adaptations, and is currently working on a collection of short shorties. She continues to act on stage and in film and TV.

Laura will be playing "JOAN" in Okay Boomer, "MOTHER" in Failure to Launch, and "THE OLD LADY" in On the Bus by Ann Lambert. Laura is also co-directing Secret Santa by Alice Abracen. 

​PLAYWRIGHT/DIRECTOR - ALICE ABRACEN (she/her) is a playwright, librettist, and video game writer based in Montreal. Her work has been featured with McGill Opera's Beta Lab, Boca Del Lupo's Red Phone Project, Alumnae Theatre (Toronto) Underlings Theatre (Boston), the Harvard Radcliffe Dramatic Club, the Montreal Fringe, the New Words Festival of NTS, and two Women Playwrights International Conferences (Cape Town & Santiago). Her libretto The Chair, co-written with composer Maria Atallah, was a winner of the inaugural Mecenat Musica Prix Trois Femmes. The Covenant, winner of the 2017 Canadian Jewish Playwriting Competition, premiered at the Segal Centre's Studio Space in 2022 and What Rough Beast was recently featured as Centaur Theatre’s Brave New Looks in 2023. Alice is one of the founders of Theatre Ouest End.
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Alice is the playwright and co-director of Secret Santa. 

​PLAYWRIGHT/DIRECTOR - ANN LAMBERT (she/her) is the author of the Russell and Leduc mystery series, The Birds That Stay, The Dogs of Winter and Whale Fall, finalists for the Concordia Best First Book Prize, the Canadian Crime Writers Award of Excellence, and winner of an Audiophile award. All three books were released as audiobooks narrated by Ann herself. Ann has also written over 30 plays for the stage and radio, many of which have been  critically acclaimed and produced in Canada, the United States, Europe and Australia.

Ann is the co-founder of Theatre Ouest End in Montreal, dedicated to producing new work that brings together an intergenerational community of both emerging and experienced theatre artists. 

Ann is also the vice-president of The Theresa Foundation, dedicated to supporting children and their grandmothers, the education of Malawian girls, and alleviating food insecurity in several villages in Malawi. 
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Ann is the playwright and director of Okay Boomer, Failure to Launch, and On the Bus.  

​STAGE MANAGER - ANISSAH VANHORN is a Queer emerging actress and playwright. They started their journey in theatre by joining the Dawson Theatre Collective (DTC), founded by Ann Lambert at Dawson College. Anissah continued with the DTC for the rest of her studies at Dawson working as an actress, assistant stage manager, stage and costume designer, and playwright. Recent graduate of at McGill University, Anissah is a dedicated high school teacher and apprentice. For TOE, they have coordinated several online and in-person events, helped with administrative tasks and promotion, assisted in coordinating virtual writing sessions, and filled a variety of artistic positions in past and current TOE productions. Anissah hopes to soon facilitate writing workshops for at-risk youth through the TWC writing workshops. Anissah has since worked as an actress, stage manager, stage & costume designer, playwright, and most recently, had her directorial debut in Small Death (McGill Drama Festival).