Richard Foreman (TEXT)

Richard Foreman (1937-2025) was a writer, director and designer who created over fifty of his own plays both in New York City and abroad. Five of his plays have received Obie awards as best play of the year—and he has received five other Obie’s for directing and for sustained achievement. He received the annual Literature award from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, a"Lifetime Achievement in the Theater award from the National Endowment for the Arts, the PEN Club Master American Dramatist Award, a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship, and in 2004 was elected officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of France. He was the Founder and Artistic Director of the Ontological-Hysteric Theatre.

ILANA KHANIN (Creator & Director)

Ilana Khanin is a director of experimental performances. She received the 2025 Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award for Best Direction of a Musical for her production of the Dora-nominated musical I Was Unbecoming Then at the Next Stage Festival, which was a Globe and Mail, Intermission, and Broadway World Top Pick of 2024. Her work has been developed and presented at Ars Nova, Prelude, HERE Arts Center, New Ohio, Judson, Governors Island, The Tank, The Brick, Primary Stages, Theaterlab, Dixon Place, Samuel French OOB Festival, and the Center at West Park. Artist-in-residence at Montclair State University New Works Initiative and Baryshnikov Arts. She has worked as an associate director for Lila Neugebauer, Annie-B Parson, and Lee Sunday Evans on productions at Playwrights Horizons, Playmakers Rep, Abrons Arts Centre, and Carolina Performing Arts, and is an associate artist with Big Dance Theater. Her work has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, and the Puffin Foundation. She also researches and writes about crypto culture, performance art, and theatre, and her SSHRC-funded dissertation received the Alumni Dissertation Award and Clifford Leech Prize. BFA and MA: NYU. PhD: University of Toronto. www.ilanakhanin.com

SAM KASETA (COMPOSER)

Sam Kaseta is a creator of music, theater, and sound design, and the composer of the Dora-nominated musical I Was Unbecoming Then.

ANNIE HOEG (PERFORMER)

Annie Hoeg is a theater maker living in Brooklyn. Select Credits: Shot List (Baryshnikov), What a World! What a World! (Prelude), three sisters i never had (Healthy Oyster Collective); Hartwell: Church of God… and I Was Unbecoming Then (Ars Nova ANT Fest); Slow Field (Theaterlab); Ancient Greek Corn (HERE); and The Loon (Abrons/JACK). Film: Ranch Water and K2tog. Recent costume design credits include work on Broadway, Encores! NYCC, The Public, MTC, Glimmerglass Festival, Audible, and Cherry Lane. BFA: NYU

Thea Mae Hesler (PERFORMER)

Thea Mae Hesler (she/her) is an actress, singer, and songwriter with a particular interest in challenging conventions of female performance on stage and screen. She is a recent alumna of the Performance Acting Program at TMU. Selected credits include the Canadian premier of macbitches (dir. Abigail Whitney, TMU); The Bacchae (dir. Philip Geller, TMU); and Ice/Berg (dir. Marilo Nunez, TMU × Tarragon). Thea Mae is thrilled to be working with Ilana Khanin once more, having previously been a swing in the musical I Was Unbecoming Then. 

GOLSHAN ALAEI (PERFORMER)

Golshan is enthused and intrigued to get the opportunity to bring Richard Foreman’s notebooks to life with such a talented team of creatives. As a recent U of T graduate from linguistic studies, this is her first off-campus performance as well as her first time exploring avant-garde theatre! Golshan got to marvel at the devised theatre process and at Richard Foreman’s philosophical yet hilarious notes. You may have caught Golshan in U of T theatre this year as Mr. Davidson in The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals, a Sound Designer for CHESS, a Set Designer for Little Women, or a Stage Manager/Sound Designer for Universes! 

KATIE CROMPTON (PERFORMER)

Katie (she/they) is thrilled to be a part of the You Must Change Your Life team. She is a multi-disciplinary theatre artist hailing from Coquitlam, BC. They are a graduate of Sheridan College’s Music Theatre Performance program and are deeply passionate about the creation of new work. Select performance credits include: Antigone (Sunbeam), Unbelievably Believable (Twisted Dog), Tommy Rhodes (Basement), and Love You to Death (SBM). They are also a passionate theatre educator and have shared the magic of theatre with young people across the country at companies such as Bard on the Beach and Young People’s Theatre. 

Mika Deneige (Performer)

Mika Deneige is a theatremaker and poet from Treaty 6 Edmonton. Alongside acting and directing, they enjoy B-list horror movies and watching the trains go by.

Chris Holtkamp (PERFORMER)

Chris Holtkamp is an actor, director, and writer based in Toronto. Theatre: acting in Lesson for the Future (Lincoln Center Education), assistant directing What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (MCC Theater), directing Merry Love Happy Joy (Patrons Theatre), assistant-producing The Green Line (Buddies/Factory). Film: The Same Storm. BFA: UNCSA. 

ATHENA MCISAAC (Stage Manager/ Assistant Director/ Social Media Manager)

Athena McIsaac is an emerging director, stage manager, and writer with an interest in the experimental and absurd. She is a recent graduate of The University of Toronto’s undergraduate program where she studied English, Theatre and Creative Writing. She previously directed Tickless Time (VCDS), and Suppressed Desires (CDTPS) as part of the undergraduate directors showcase course. She has also co-directed and stage managed 50 First Dates as part of the 2024 Hart House University of Toronto Drama Festival.