I Love YOu & it hurts

Cast & Creative

 
 

Max Cameron

Fearon

Director

Max Cameron Fearon (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, Mad, and multiply-disabled artist. They are interested in interdisciplinary and collaborative storytelling which investigates relationships between self and others, and which amplifies emerging and equity-seeking artists.

Over the past 6 years, Max has directed & assistant directed for various Fringe Festivals, Ergo Arts Theatre, the Assembly Theatre, CAMINOS, Driftwood, Hart House, and more. Max currently supports new play development with Write from the Hip (Nightwood Theatre); connect youth on the margins with professional artistic mentorships (Project: Humanity); and facilitate community and educational arts initiatives (Mixed Company Theatre; Sparkin’ Art). They also recently interned at SummerWorks; mentoring in artistic directing and curation with Laura Nanni.

This fall, Max will co-present a digital performance experiment as part of Level Up! series with potatocakes_Digital and the Associated Designers of Canada. They’ll also continue work on How the Wolf Says Goodnight (with co-creator River Oliveira), a multi-media piece exploring queer interpersonal relationship dynamics through folktales, psychoeducational performance lecture, and sound collages. To learn more or get in touch, visit them at mcfearon.crevado.com

Cedric

Martin

Facilitator/Playwright/Producer

Cedric Martin is the Artistic Director of Theatre of the Beat and the Faciltator, Playwright, Set Builder and Producer for I Love You and it Hurts. Cedric is very excited to be working on this production. Cedric is also one of the Artistic Directors of Don't Look Down Theatre Company. For Theatre of the Beat Cedric has worked on Selah’s Song (2022-2023), Unmute (2020-2022), Forgiven/Forgotten (2021), and Yellow Bellies (2019-2020). When Cedric is not working on theatre he can be found spending time with his wife, Alyse and daughter Calia.

Lindsey

Middleton

Playwright

Lindsey Middleton is a Canadian Screen Award nominee. Lindsey is best known for playing Vanessa and co-producing the internationally award-winning web series, Out With Dad, where she won two Indie Series Awards for Best Supporting Actress, and a IAWTV Award for Best Female Performance in a Drama. Lindsey has toured theatre across Canada and Europe and performed in over 50 productions.

As a writer, Lindsey is one of the co-creators of the Roku Channel show Just Hysterics, a collective creating female-forward comedy sketches that has been recognized at both Stareable Fest and TO WebFest. Lindsey also co-wrote Unmute with Theatre of the Beat; a forum theatre piece that spanned both podcast and Zoom aiming to address the rise of gender-based violence during COVID-19.

Lindsey is currently writing a new TV show all about her days showing cows at local fairs as well as writing her first novel about her travels to over 30 countries before turning 30.

Follow along @lalalindseym or www.lindseymiddleton.ca

Jessica

Moss

Playwright

Jessica Moss acts, writes, and produces. Or she'd like to: it's tough out there. She describes her work as emotional, feminist comedy.

diem

lafortune

actor

Diem Lafortune is a Tkaronto-based creator and horizon-dancer of Cree Métis/European & Jewish heritage. She’s excited and honoured to be part of this production.

Diem’s formal training began with dance at five, followed by violin, piano, chess and fastball.

In 1976, after completing a major in drama at Queen’s she worked with Nightwood Theatre and Buddies in Bad Times, receiving a Dora nomination in 1985 for photography and design on Nightwood’s production of Jovette Marchessault’s, The Edge of the Earth is too Near, Violette Leduc.

Returning to university in 1985, she was called to the Ontario Bar in ’96. Gravitating towards sanity, she returned to music and began recording her first award winning CD in from the cold. In ‘99, she returned to theatre, playing her most difficult role - a lawyer fighting an unconstitutional law against 13 governments and the Roman Catholic Church.  In 2012, silliness having passed, she re-recorded and released, to critical acclaim, iftc as BEAUTY AND HARD TIMES.

Several years of teaching lead her to develop, Decolonizing the Heart Workshops. And, whilst utilizing forum theatre in her work, she exposed herself to the theatre bug and got bit! Shortly thereafter, she began full-time theatre studies at the Centre for Indigenous Theatre. Diem comes to TOTB directly from third-year at CIT.

lena

maripuu

actor

Lena Maripuu is a Dora Award winning actor / theatre creator / educator from Toronto. Her work as an artist involves writing, composing, and performing in new musical adaptations of classic stories. Her writing and acting credits include: Moby: A Whale of a Tale, winner of 4 Dora Awards (Art & Water); The Velveteen Rabbit (Carousel Players); Pippi: The Strongest Girl in the World (Gorgon Theatre, Art & Water). Other credits include: Peter Pan, winner of 3 Dora Awards (Bad Hats Theatre & Soulpepper Theatre); Molly Bloom (Gorgon Theatre). As an artist-educator, Lena has taught drama and musical theatre to students from kindergarten to high school, at theatre programs, camps, and schools throughout Ontario. She’s taught at the Shaw Festival Acting Camp, Bravo Academy, The Drama Playground, and has led a variety of youth educational programs and workshops at Soulpepper Theatre. For Theatre of the Beat, Lena is currently the Interim Education and Outreach Manager.

neta

j. rose

actor

Neta J. Rose (they/them) is a proud queer non-binary Ashkenazi Jewish actor, artist, poet, and theatre creator based in Toronto/Tkaronto. They are a founding member of Create! Performing Arts in Scotland, now in its 14th year. 

Neta's theatre credits include: Henry G20 (Luminato), Omnibus Bill (TACTICS), The Bonds of Interest (Odyssey), The Penelopiad (Hart House), Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night (Foxtail - UK), Heart of a Dog (Next Stage), and The Garden of Alla (Minmar Gaslight/Fringe), for which the Toronto Star called their performance "revelatory" (they're not over that yet).

Neta's writing has recently been published in Salty Magazine and in the "Pandemic Poetry" chapbook by Buddies in Bad Times.

Find them on Instagram @neta.j.rose.

Gordon

Harper

actor/Set Designer

Gordon Harper is very excited to be joining Theatre of the Beat as the set designer for I Love You and It Hurts. Gordon often works as a stage, screen, and voice actor based out of Toronto. He moved to the city after receiving a Bachelor of Arts and Science from the University of Guelph where he studied Theatre Studies and Biology. Gordon loves to improvise at Bad Dog Theatre or on stage throughout the city. Gordon wrote, produced, and acted in Rusty Rooster Production’s Apprenticeship, where he played a tenacious apprentice potter who aims to impress his callous pottery teacher. Gordon hopes to produce more work soon and is currently recording short documentaries interviewing visual artists from Southern Ontario. Gordon’s recent film credits include: Station 11 (HBO), Fellow Travellers (HBO), Umbrella Academy (Netflix), Mayday (Cineflix), and Alice, Darling (Elevation Pictures). Recent stage work includes: Dead Broke (Lost Dreams Collective) and Sapientia (Shadowpath Theatre). Gordon can be found on Instagram @gordonharper.

Jessi

elgood

intimacy director

Since graduating from the Guildford School of Acting, Jessi has been fortunate enough to work as a performing artist within the UK, Japan, Canada, and most recently a short stint out in Tampa. When theatres closed their doors in 2020, she finally had time on her hands to formally dive into Intimacy Direction training. She would like to thank TOTB for recognizing the importance of consent-based practices that help protect everyone involved: the actors, crew, creative team, right down to every member in the audience. 

camila

farah

costume designer

Camila Farah (she/her) is so excited to be contributing to another Theatre of the Beat production! Credits as costume designer include: Elephant and Piggie’s: We Are in a Play!, One Christmas Carol (TYT); The Other Place (Talk is Free Theatre); Selah’s Song (Theatre of the Beat); A Dispute (Randolph). As a performer: 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche (Unit 6); Cinderella, Rapunzel (TYT); SAMCA (Spindle Collective); Sunshine Boy, A Dispute (Randolph). Follow her fabric and musical adventures on Instagram: @camilafarah. 

River

Oliveira

Sound Designer

River is a disabled, queer, and trans multi-disciplinary artist, technician, and facilitator based in Toronto, Ontario. He has worked as a sound designer, and composer for theatre, film, and digital performances across the city. River finds the most joy in working on stories that celebrate and amplify joy in queer, disabled, and trans communities. His most recent credits include Access Me (composer and sound designer, Boys in Chairs Collective), The Darkest Dark (assistant sound design, Young People’s Theatre), The First Stone (associate sound design, New Harlem Productions/GCTC), Cockroach 曱甴 (assistant sound design, Tarragon Theatre). Along with his collaborator Max Cameron Fearon, River is currently co-creating How The Wolf Says Goodnight - a multi-media, non- naturalistic exploration of queer relationship narratives, with generous support from the OAC’s Recommender Grant program. For more information about what he is up to, you can visit him at riveroliveira.com.

Chin

Palipane

Lighting designer/Stage Manager

Chin Palipane (he/him) is a Toronto-based Theatre Artist, Technician, and Lighting Designer. He is a proud member of Coyote Collective and the current TD of The Assembly Theatre. When not working a plethora of gigs or designing shows, he can be found reading or consuming far too much Netflix with Durzo. He absolutely adores breakfast at non-breakfast times and a good cup of coffee/tea. He is thrilled to be collaborating with Theatre of the Beat and his first foray into Forum Theatre!