Who's Who

Eric Benson

Roles: Death in Apocalypse ; Eric in Four Actors

Eric Benson grew up in northern Saskatchewan, surrounded by snow and ice, in a small city that had no proper theatre. He was still able to find outlets for his desire to perform, working in community theatre and youth performance, getting his stage chops doing English farce. He was accepted to the National Theatre School of Canada, but left it after a short period to pursue his love of philosophy. He has recently performed in productions such as Copenhagen, Seven Days in the Life of Simon Labrosse, Rhinoceros, Arcadia, Rossum's Universal Robots, as well as appearing in Café DaPoPo. He also has helped write and perform in Apocalypse 2006 and The Pirate Show, and has recently directed Krapp's Last Tape, Sunday in the Park with George, and Biography: A Game. He is preparing to direct an environmental production of La Cage Aux Folles in the Spring of 2009.

Kim Parkhill

Roles: Pestilence in Apocalypse; Kim in Four Actors

Kim grew up in New Brunswick, spent several years working as a traveling nurse in the USA, and eventually settled in Halifax. She studied performance at Neptune Theatre (Preprofessional Training Program) and with Peggy Redmond (Actors' Boot Camp) as well as in numerous workshops and intensives. Most recently she trained under Sergey Ostrenko in the IUGTE Performers Village and Physical Theatre Laboratory in Latvia. She has worked in capacities of performer, co-creator, writer, producer, publicist and/or assistant director for many companies in Halifax including MorganaSeven, The SkitWits, Metamorphic Theatre, TAG, Gilbert & Sullivan Society and her own short-lived company, The Play Group. She has been with DaPoPo since 2005 (R.U.R.; The Sex Play; 13 Ways of Looking at a Madman; Apocalypse 2006; Biography: A Game; and Cafe DaPoPo) and is now an Associate Director. She has traveled extensively, touring to Berlin with DaPoPo and in the Maritimes with the Young Neptune Touring Company. She is currently writing a play for ThreeSome, a collection of one-acts, slated for performance in mid-2009 under the direction of Lee J. Campbell.

Annie Valentina

Roles: Famine in Apocalypse; Annie in Four Actors

Annie Valentina was born into a family of actor/directors in Sofia, Bulgaria, but raised in Norway until she made her move to Nova Scotia as a young adult. She spent much of her youth traveling Europe, feeding her innate love for the performing arts, and deconstructing her sense of national identity. Meanwhile, she was involved in various stage productions with Norwegian production company Teater Laboratoriet and worked at the Bergen Theatre School through the late 90's. In the year 2000, she landed in Halifax to attend Dalhousie University, where she obtained a BA in Theatre. She has since made Halifax her primary home base and collaborated with many local theatre companies in the capacity of actor, director, playwright and dramaturg. Some of the projects she remembers most fondly include a critically acclaimed one-woman-show she wrote and self-produced under the 'shoes on a wire' label - a now dormant independent company she helped start - as well as performing with Angels and Heroes, Left Foot First Productions, and directing Open Concept's debut show Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love.

Garry Williams

Roles: War in Apocalypse; Garry in Four Actors

Garry Williams was born in Halifax, but grew up largely in Berlin. He traveled extensively, and attended theatre training programs in Williamstown, Mass.; Stratford-upon-Avon; Barcelona; New York; and Berlin. After High School, he apprenticed with the Berliner Grundtheater for several years, and performed with several music ensembles including das neue chor berlin, The Shower Show Tunes and the Fourtunes Barbershop Quartet. He studied Musicology, Comp. Lit. and Drama at the FU-Berlin and Manhattanville College, NY, and took a B. Mus. and an Engl. Min. at Mt. Allison University. He has worked as translator, songwriter, improv director, actor, director, playwright, acting coach, singer, keyboardist and voice instructor. He founded DaPoPo Theatre in 2004, and has been running the company since. In Halifax, he has also worked with the Gilbert & Sullivan Society, the Halifax Summer Opera Workshop, Metamorphic Theatre, OneLight Theatre, Angels and Heroes, the Irondale Ensemble, Playwright's Atlantic Resource Centre, Two Planks and a Passion and teaches the Neptune Theatre School. He will be directing Humperdinck's opera Hansel and Gretel at Acadia University in the Spring of '09.

Aaron Andreino

DaPoPo Academy Youth Ensemble

Aaron recently moved to Dartmouth from Ottawa and is currently completing grade 12 at NSCC in Cole Harbor. He has studied theatre at Neptune Theatre School and through Centre Stage summer program. He also enjoys playing basketball, going to the gym and hanging out with his little brother. This will be Aaron's first time traveling outside of North America.

Sophie Fong

DaPoPo Academy Youth Ensemble

Sophie Fong is a grade 12 student at JL Ilsley High School in Spryfield, NS. This is her first trip to Europe and her first time creating for theatre. However, she loves the arts, draws constantly, plays viola, sings in two choirs, studies tango and is learning the silks at circus school.

Ali Richardson
DaPoPo Academy Youth Ensemble

Ali Richardson was born in Halifax and has spent her life on Canada’s East Coast. She’s studied music from a young age and has always had theatre and dance in her life. Her theatre career began humbly with the role of the mute sister in a Jr. High production of Fiddler on the Roof. In high school Ali discovered Improv and competed with Dartmouth High’s team in the National Tournament of the Canadian Improv games. She appeared in Dartmouth High’s West Side Story, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and several eclectic student productions. Last spring she traveled Atlantic Canada with Broken Leg Act Theatre performing A Taste of Honey. She’s tried her hand at playwriting, and earned 1st place in the Eastern Front Ten-Minute Play Competition with her script about rebellious mannequins. Currently, Ali has returned to modern dance and continues playing piano and saxophone. She assistant coaches DHS’s Improv Team and is learning to sing. Ali hopes to study theatre outside the province next year, but has a feeling she’ll return to the Maritimes.

Holly Winter

DaPoPo Academy Youth Ensemble

Holly was born one snowy morning in March 1990 in Toronto, Ontario. It was there that she discovered her first performance opportunity. We're going to ignore the fact that it was lip-syncing to the spice girls with her friends. (She was Baby Spice) Since then her thirst for art has been unquenchable. She brought this thirst with her to Halifax in 1998. In Elementary and Junior High School she was in Choir, Band, Strings, Art club and participated heavily in various school drama productions. But that wasn't enough. She started taking classes at Neptune Theatre School in Halifax. It became her second home. In 2005 she was accepted into Soundtrax, a very talented high school choir under the direction of Frances Farrel. It was with this choir that she was able to travel to Banff Alberta, New Glasgow NS, and Sackville NB and meet some of the most amazing people. Since then she's continued on with her passion in varying forms. Some highlights include; Saints Alive's productions of "The Secret Garden: That Musical" and "Suessical: The Musical", Placing in the top ten of Eastern Fronts Ten-Minute Play Competition, Voice Lessons with The DaPoPo man himself GaRRY Williams, Dance Captain in Queen Elizabeth High Schools production of "Guys and Dolls" and Citadel High School's Productions of "West Side Story." Holly ended her High School Career by receiving Citadel Highs Grade 12 Drama award. Holly aspires to continue her work in all fields of art with emphasis on movement and voice work, directing and combining interests in other fields (math, spirituality and physics to name a few) with her artistic endeavours. Holly hopes that one day her creations will inspire others to create and express themselves.