Two-Sided Mirror

Catherine Frid – Playwright

Catherine Frid co-creates and presents new work with communities, including Living Below the Line, AfterWhys, and Our Voices: Senior Selfies. Catherine’s other produced plays include Spend Your Kids’ Inheritance (Toronto Fringe – Patron’s Pick), What I Gave I Have (Guelph Museums), Half Full (Mixed Company Theatre school tours), Burying Toni (Alumnae), The Bold Canadian (Arts and Letters Club), Homegrown (SummerWorks and others), GuineaPigging (Alumnae), Dead Cat Bounce (Toronto Fringe and others), and many short works in Canada and the United States.

Publications include Our Voices: Senior Selfies (Art Age Publications); This Isn’t Toronto in Long Story Short, (Playwrights Canada Press); Community with Strangers in Scenes from a Diverse World (ICWP Press); and Us and Them in Thirtysomethings: Mother-Daughter Monologues (ICWP Press).

She has been Playwright in Residence at Mixed Company Theatre, and Artist in Residence at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Catherine is Artistic Director of Watercourse Theatre, and she teaches dramaturgy at Ryerson University’s Chang School. www.catherinefrid.com

Simon Malbogat – Director | Facilitator

Simon Malbogat co-founded Mixed Company Theatre in 1983 and has been the Artistic Director since 1989. In 1992 Mixed Company Theatre became a CTO (Centre for Theatre of the Oppressed). Simon has over thirty years’ experience as a director, dramaturg, teacher, actor, and workshop facilitator. Teaching highlights include University of Toronto, Concordia University, York University, Humber College, Brock University and Queen’s University. Simon has facilitated hundreds of workshops for youths and adults in Europe, South America, USA, and Canada and has facilitated over 1,000 Forum Theatre presentations. Simon has led workshops in Turkey, Brazil, Finland, and the Ukraine. In Toronto, Simon has been involved in developing the arts in the community with programs for families, women, seniors, youth, homeless adults & youth and persons with disabilities.

Heather Cherron von Atzigen – “MARISSA”

Heather Cherron von Atzigen has been with Mixed Company for over 25 years and is still going strong. This season, she wrote, created a song, directed and co-facilitated “PUSH” a virtual Forum Theatre piece about the culture of sexual assault on post-secondary campuses. “PUSH”  was followed up with another virtual creation, “I Carry With Me”; a poignant hit of reality on race and privilege. In the fall of 2022, she also performed as Marissa in MCT’s live tour of “Two-Sided Mirror” and is reprising her role in the 2023 virtual tour. 

Luciano Iogna – “JIM”

Luciano Iogna has been a professional Theatre practitioner for almost 45 years and for over 35 years has specifically worked using Theatre for Social Change. Luc has had the privilege to work across Canada and internationally with diverse cultures as a facilitator, actor, writer, director and instructor; working with Labour, institutions, government agencies, schools and communities.

Jane Smythe – “BRENDA” | “DR PABEL”

Jane E Smythe (Brenda/Dr. Pabel) is a film/television and theatre actor. Most recently she performed as a writer, puppet maker, and puppeteer in Concrete Cabaret’s Objecto Festival, her final presentation being “Apple”. She did voice over for a piece in the Slaight Music Residency program for the Canadian Film Centre, and performed a tiny role on the mini series “Fellow Travellers” – shot in Toronto. 

Earlier work with Mixed Company Theatre includes the debut live production of “Two Sided Mirror”, “Knocking On Doors” – a virtual production, and “Never In The Room”. 

She co-wrote and performed in “The Collagen Letters” – both at The Social Capitol Theatre, and at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre for Haus of Dada. Laura in the “Glass Menagerie” (Nova Theatre), Mrs. Smith in “The Bald Soprano” (Tantramar Theatre), Meg in “The Birthday Party”(Rhino Theatre Collective – also produced), Brenda in “Pogie” (Tantramar Theatre), Sex Therapist in “In Your Dream’s Freud” (Theatre at York). Toronto Fringe work includes: Dr. Vera Peters in “Radical”, MC in “The Make Over” (at the Monsieur Barber Shop) and Mona the psychic in “Society of Skeptics”. Film and Television work includes “The Handmaid’s Tale”, and “American Gods”, as well as Canadian Independent productions “White Night” and “Lucky 7”. 

Upcoming work includes another puppet play that she is currently working on, and some work in the PLS York Cycle 2025.

Alexis Wilson – “CORRINE”

Alexis Celestine Wilson is an Emerging Actor, Singer, Mover, Writer and Multidisciplinary Artist. She completed her performance training at Humber College (2021) where she graduated with top marks. She has just recently completed her studies in theatre at York University in Production and Multi-Media Arts. Her recent credits include (Casimir and Caroline) directed by Severn Thompson, (The Humans) directed by Christopher Stanton and (The Green Bird) directed by Adam Paolozza. She is very excited to be working with Mixed Company’s theatre production of Two-sided Mirror. 

Seniors 65 years and older have one of the highest rates of suicide in Canada, particularly men. It’s not as publicized as youth suicides, but is just as important. It’s also true that older men are much more likely to die through a suicide attempt than any other group, in part because they have access to more lethal means (prescription medication). Seniors, especially those in residential care, suffer high rates of depression (44%) and loneliness. (Please see links below for the sources of these statistics.)

Catherine first began exploring this subject when she wrote a play about hope and resilience, AfterWhys, for the Suicide Awareness Council of Wellington-Dufferin. AfterWhys focused on rural stigma and community support, and has been well received.

Some additional avenues Catherine wanted to explore in this project with MCT are the distinctions between MAiD and senior suicide, as well as the challenges created by Canada’s diversity, urban loneliness and isolation, lack of family support, and now pandemic anxiety, which strains mental health.

The theatre creation approach outlined in the below video, “Seniors & Suicide – Starting the Conversation with the AfterWhys Play,” was pioneered by the Suicide Awareness Council of Wellington-Dufferin and Catherine Frid. The development process Catherine devised for AfterWhys recognized the taboo nature of suicide for some people, ensured all participants were respected and their stories remained confidential. Catherine used a similar approach for Two-Sided Mirror.