Meet the Reviewers

Here you will find community reviews for all of the shows featured in the 2013 Hamilton Fringe Festival. The reviewers have been selected and organized by Katie Stoneman from MonkeyBiz.ca. The reviews will be posted here, and a shorter version at the MonkeyBiz.ca site.

Disclaimer: All views expressed belong to the reviewers themselves. Any inquires or complaints can be sent to Katie Stoneman [email below].

KATIE STONEMAN

Email: katie.s.stoneman@gmail.com

A contract writer for MonkeyBiz.ca, Katie was asked to be Coordinator of the Community Reviews. She has selected the group of reviewers from Hamilton, assigned them to specific venues in the Hamilton Fringe Festival and will be posting the reviews on this blog. Katie is a recent graduate of Mohawk College’s Advanced Diploma Program for Print and Broadcast Journalism , and just finished an internship stint as an intern at The Bay Observer She is a Hammer girl at heart and an avid cat admirer.

The Reviewers:

THOMAS ALLEN

Thomas Allen is a recent graduate of Mohawk College’s Advanced Diploma Program for Print and Broadcast Journalism . A passionate Hamiltonian, Thomas frequently writes about the city on his personal blog, Rebuild Hamilton.

JOHN BANDLER

Engineer, professor, artist and author, John Bandler’s fiction includes short stories, a novel, a screenplay, and nine stage plays. He wrote Christmas Eve at the Julibee Motel, 59 Minutes in the Maxwell Suite, and That The Multitude May Live (which he also directed), all performed in recent Hamilton Fringe Festivals. See www.bandler.com and clips of some of his work on YouTube.

ANNE BOKMA

An award-winning magazine writer and editor living in Hamilton. She is a regular contributor to many major Canadian magazines and specializes in health, lifestyle and finance writing. Anne also provides a full range of communications services to corporate clients. She’s always had a love for theatre and produced her first show, The Six-Minute Memoir at the Staircase Theatre earlier this year.

REBECCA COSTIE 

Rebecca is a teacher, and when she is not performing on the stage of  the classroom, she likes to find opportunities to be amazed by the creativity of others. This is her first Hamilton Fringe experience.

JUSTIN EMMETT

Justin is a Brock University graduate who is passionate about the arts, and a fan of independent theatre.

JOHN GIRHINY

John Girhiny first started his theatrical experience as a child actor in amateur theatre.  Over an extended period of time he has been involved with theatre from the vantage of directing, acting and producing.   A critic for theatre for many years he has been a Fringe Community Reviewer since the position was initiated some years ago.

BEVERLY HORTON

Of late, my drama reviews have been limited to the margins of student essays, but my first theatre review was of a New York City production of Othello starring James Earl Jones. I was a year old, out on a mid-summer family outing in Central Park, and asleep before the performance ended. In my defence, the latter was an unsolicited review. As a community reviewer for this year’s Fringe Festival,  my intention is to write engaged and engaging commentary that awakens interest in the Fringe stage offerings and encourages the closeted “stage-curious”   to out themselves.

TOM MACKAN

Tom has been an active theatre volunteer for over 30 years in the GHA as actor and director, and is recipient of dozens of awards.  He is a theatre reviewer for View Magazine and is well-known for editing his E-newsletter, Newzybitz, reaching all the community theatres in the GHA and beyond. Tom is recipient of the 2007 City of Hamilton Arts Award for Theatre. He is currently Vice-President of Theatre Burlington

BRIAN MORTON

Brian Morton is a Hamilton-based playwright, director and musician. He has had productions in the Toronto, London, Hamilton and Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. He has written Theatre Criticism for VIEW MAGAZINE and the McMaster Silhouette. Brian was the recipient of the 2013 City of Hamilton Arts Award in Theatre.

JESSICA PERKINS

Jessica Perkins is a graduate of McMaster’s Theatre and Film program and an avid supporter of local Hamilton Theatre. She is currently pursuing a career in comedy and is a member of the Conservatory at Second City (Toronto). She is thrilled to be a part of The 2013 Hamilton Fringe Festival and can’t wait to see the wide-range of productions this year has to offer.

SEAN PITTMAN

Sean is a professional student and occasional critic. His writing has appeared in The Silhouette and The Dominion. He has dabbled in acting, appearing in the musical comedy Casket Cases, as well as Blueprints for Murder; a murder mystery performance for the McMaster Student Success Centre end-of-year dinner. Sean will continue to write and critique when he begins his PhD in the fall.

GORD SIMMONS

Gord Simmons is a theatre technician and performer whose work is centered in the Hamilton Area. This will be his first time reviewing the Hamilton Fringe in published fashion, though he is not new to reviewing theatre. His philosophy around artists creating exploring performative work was best described while leaving from a lunch meeting: “I believe in supporting the arts…and I believe it’s time to get back to work.

STEPHANIE SLYE

Stephanie Slye’s passion for writing began in high school when she entered her first poetry contest. She grew up in Hamilton, Ontario and studied Journalism Print and Broadcast at Mohawk College. She is a self published author and had several of her freelance articles published in the Stoney Creek News. She currently works for SNAP Hamilton newspaper photographing and writing about local events in the community.

STEVEN SPRIENSMA

Steven Spriensma is a graduate of McMaster University and the Mohawk College Journalism program. As well as being a former INDI 101 radio host and a reporter/critic with the Bay Observer, he has a passion for pop culture and the Hamilton entertainment scene. When in the Hammer he can most likely be found at a bookstore or Cheapies Records.

NICOLE WILLIAMS

Hi everyone! My name is Nicole Williams: Student, server, and Hamiltonian for life. When I’m not studying prose and plays in McMaster’s English program, I strive to be an active member in the rich community of Hamilton. I currently run Steel and the City, a video blog dedicated to showcasing the thriving culture in our city. Being motivated by this, I could not be more excited to be a part of the review team for this year’s Fringe Festival!

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