COMPANY

Mariah Horner | Artistic Director

Mariah Horner is an artist based in Kingston, Ontario. Selected credits include: assistant directing Unholy (GCTC, upcoming), directing Hana Hashimoto: Sixth Violin (Thousand Islands Playhouse, 2019), assistant directing Behaviour (GCTC/SpiderWebShow, 2019).She works on digital content with SpiderWebShow's foldA. She is the Festival Director of CFRC's Shortwave Theatre Festival and helmed Kingston's Storefront Fringe Festival from 2016-2018. Co-founding the Cellar Door Project with Devon Jackson in 2013, Mariah has produced 15 original site-specific works. Mariah played Kate Unger in George F. Walker’s HBO Canada Series Living in Your Car. Mariah has an an MA in Theatre Theory & Dramaturgy from uOttawa and has been published by SpiderWebShow, Visit Kingston, Canadian Theatre Review, the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario.

Tracey Guptill | Our House

Tracey is a movement-based actor, collaborative creator, and teaching artist who recently studied with Philippe Gaulier in France. Kingston co-creations include Ambrose, Anybody Can be Pussy Riot, the film LIVE in Kingston, and When I Get There – a Performance as Research master's thesis completed with the Environmental Studies department at Queen's University, where she brought together her activism, philosophical studies and love of performance. Tracey is also a co-founder of anARC Theatre and the Kingston Stilters. She is an adjunct lecturer at Dan School of Drama and Music at Queen's University and was recently a Lead Artist for the 2019 inFORMING CONTENT Lab with Volcano.

Nicholas Leno | In the Room, The Gouzenko Affair

Nicholas is an Ottawa based theatre director, producer, and technician. He has directed productions for the Cellar Door Project which have been programmed as part of CSArt Ottawa, the Ottawa Storytellers, and was a contributing artist on Theatre in the Bush programming as a part of the National Arts Centre’s Canada Scene. When Nicholas isn't working with Cellar Door he works for a Company of Fools as an office administrator and apprentice in artistic direction under Catriona Leger. He completed his Masters of Fine Arts in directing at the University of Ottawa where he specialized in working with classical text. He recently published a translation of Russian playwright Nikolai Gogol's farce Marriage: an Absolutely Impossible Event in Two Acts with the Toronto Slavic Quarterly Journal, even though he can't read Russian! He also works as an associate producer on the Fresh Meat Theatre Festival.

Hannah Komlodi | New & Used

Hannah is an theatre artist and theatre teacher. She had the distinct pleasure of working with some of Cellar Door's most wonderful and wacky members in New & Used, and was lucky enough to play both roles in separate instalments of the show in side Brian's Record Option in downtown Kingston. She can still smell the stories... and the mildew. The Cellar Door Project, guided by Mariah Horner, encouraged Hannah to continue the exploration and expansion of theatre's traditional boundaries. She looks forward to being a part of future Cellar Door productions, and in the meantime, is thrilled to be teaching young humans the magic of theatre from Kindergarten to Grade 7 at an independent arts school in Victoria, BC.

Megan Carty | In the Room, Stubborn Stone

Megan has worked across Canada as an actor, physical theatre artist, and puppeteer, and is the founder of multi-award winning theatre company Cart Before the Horse in Ottawa. She is compelled by the creation of new work and drawn to important content that resonates with her personally and has the power to make a difference in people’s lives. Whether it’s the National Arts Centre main-stage or the dusty basement of a historical tower, Megan thrives when she is invested wholeheartedly in bringing characters to life and shining a light on their stories.

Michaela Steven | Rat in the Red Room, New & Used

Michaela is a stage manager, arts administrator, writer, and performer, and the Cellar Door Project has allowed her to take on a multitude of creative roles in the past. Since graduating from Queen’s University, she has worked as an Apprentice Stage Manager with the Thousand Islands Playhouse, Crow’s Theatre, Factory Theatre, Upper Canada Playhouse, and The Musical Stage Company. Her one-gal-play Beer Buddies recently premiered at Ottawa’s Fresh Meat Festival.

Simon Gagnon | The Lockup, Rat in the Red Room, On the Run, Tall Ghosts & Bad Weather, New & Used

Simon Gagnon is a graduating Acting student from The National Theatre School of Canada, having learned and practiced under the likes of Jackie Maxwell, Eda Holmes and many other leaders in Canadian theatre. Before entering The National Theatre School, Simon completed a BAH in Drama at Queen’s University, where he worked extensively in acting, lighting design and sketch comedy with the group Queen’s Players. He has been involved with the Cellar Door Project in many different ways, since the company’s inception in 2013. Having worked extensively in a wide range of productions of varying styles, no matter what the style may be, Simon is really just in love with storytelling.

Mahalia Golnosh Tahririha | In the Room

Mahalia Golnosh Tahririha is a theatre actor, academic, dramaturg, producer, and an aspiring pet-owner. Originally hailing from Vancouver, and now based in Montreal, Mahalia is lucky to split her time on stages across the country. Her passion lies in making theatre more accessible and inclusive, and telling stories that question, subvert, and re-define the tales we tell ourselves about ourselves. She holds an Honours BA in Theatre and Psychology (Summa Cum Laude) and a Master's in Theatre Theory and Dramaturgy from the University of Ottawa, and was awarded the Prix Rideau Award for Emerging Artist in 2017. Mahalia is the Front of House and Outreach Coordinator for Fresh Meat, in Ottawa, and the Customer Outreach Coordinator for Centaur Theatre Company in Montreal. Both she and the CRA are confused about which province she lives in.

Kyle Holleran | The Lockup, On the Run, Tall Ghosts & Bad Weather, Stubborn Stone

Kyle is a theatre and movement director, performer and educator based in Kingston, Ontario. He has worked in varying roles for The Cellar Door Project as they’ve sniffed out the secret stories hiding in the corners of Canada. His recent works strive to elevate physicality as a primary communicative device onstage. Kyle completed a BAH in Drama and History and a BEd in Arts Education at Queen’s University. He is also the founder of devised physical theatre company ReflexCollective.

Angela Maxwell | Tall Ghosts & Bad Weather

Angela Maxwell is a Public Relations professional based in Toronto. After graduating with a degree in theatre and art history from Queen's University, she completed a post graduate degree in Public Relations at Humber College. While she was living in Kingston she worked with The Cellar Door Project, stage managing their show in the oldest cemetery in the province. After spending time working in Lisbon, Portugal and making her way across Europe, she's found herself back in Toronto, working at Craft Public Relations.

Devon Jackson | The Lockup, Stones in the Woods, Rat in the Red Room, The Eliza Show

Devon Jackson is a playwright and producer from Fenelon Falls, Ontario. After his undergraduate studies at Queen’s University, he completed his Master’s in Playwriting at the University of Edinburgh and a graduate certificate in Arts Administration and Cultural Management at Humber College. His plays usually include some magic, history, and mythology. Devon has previously worked as co-artistic director of the Cellar Door Project, Associate Producer of Programming at SummerWorks Performance Festival, and is currently Events Coordinator at the Writers' Trust of Canada. Devon lives in Toronto, reading books, working on a collection of crosswords, and learning German.