1. Tell us a little about yourself.
The eldest of three girls, I grew up in Vermont and came to Canada for University. I have a Specialist in Theatre and Drama Studies from the University of Toronto, a Diploma in Acting from Sheridan College, and a Master’s of Business in Performance Management from Champlain College. I loved Canada so much that I decided it was the place to call home. In 2006, I married my University sweetheart, a tall, dark and handsome comic book/music/video-gamer geek, and in 2007, I made the move to Toronto to become a permanent resident.
Around this time, some friends of mine from University and I wanted to make a serious go at producing plays through our own company called Royal Porcupine Productions. I act as Artistic Producer for RPP, and I’m excited to say we are in the midst of our second full season (Serving Up Seconds). Currently, we are producing the Toronto premiere of Gary Owen’s The Shadow of a Boy at the Lower Ossington Theatre. The show runs from September 15-September 26th: check out our website to learn more about what we do, and when a person can catch our shows. Next up for us – Black Milk at the Tarragon Extra-Space in January 2011. Black Milk will be the third piece in our 2010-2011 triptych of shows.
2. Do you have a blog or website?
Follow me on twitter @miekechu (please – i’m lonely there!) and check out RPP’s website at royalporcupineproductions.com
3. Is this your first Monkeyman show? If not, what monkey-credits do you have under your belt?
This is my first show with Monkeyman. w00t!
4. Since this is your first monkey-show, what other shows have you performed in recently?
Other recent credits include Queen Margaret in Richard III & Wineva in Criminals in Love, both at Hart House Theatre, Katherine in The Taming of the Shrew with Royal Porcupine Productions. You can see me in January in Poppet in Black Milk with Royal Porcupine Productions
5. Tell us a little about the character you are playing in Phoenix II: The Mongolar Maneuver.
I am playing Marie Gagne/Captain Renard. I’m sure Monkeyman fans will already know her from the first Phoenix “episode”, and I hope I can do her justice. I guess I think of her a little bit like Star Trek: Voyager’s Captain Janeway meets Fables’ Snow White with sexy results….
“With all due respect, unless you’ve got something a little bigger in your torpedo tubes, I’m not turning this ship around.” ~ Captain Janeway, ST: Voyager
6. Monkeyman Productions tends to produce shows that are a little on the “nerdy” side. What do you get nerdy about?
What don’t I get nerdy about? I love movies (sci-fi and thrillers especially), and I’m a big fan of many comics – thanks to that awesome man of mine I mentioned earlier. Right now, I’d have to say my favourite books are Sweet Tooth, Echo, Irredeemable and Incorruptible. Of course, I live by The Simpsons bible, and I’m a totally sucker for Project Runway. If you ask my husband, though, he’ll tell you my secret love is Babylon 5.
Additionally, I have a cat. A very fluffy, fluffer of a cat. I’m an idiot over his fluffiness. Someday, if not stopped, I will realize my evil plan to produce a fluffy calendar of kitty porn. Sometimes, I make him wear pants.
