We are thrilled to launch Alberta Theatre Projects’ new season with this bold Canadian adaptation of Washington Irving’s gothic classic, written by Anna Cummer and Judd Palmer, and brought to life through the endlessly inventive imagination of The Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Created in association with Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, this production reflects the power of collaboration and the impact of artists working together to reimagine timeless stories. The Old Trouts’ unmistakable creativity infuses the tale with wonder, menace, and dark humor that feels especially fitting for October, arriving just in time for the eerie spirit of Halloween and serving as the perfect spark to ignite our year ahead.
As we reflect on last year’s 50th Anniversary Season, we are filled with gratitude. Together, we celebrated a half century of extraordinary storytelling, and the response from you, our audiences, artists, and community, was nothing short of inspiring. That milestone season has renewed our energy and reaffirmed our vision for the “new” ATP, a theatre company that is both rooted in its rich history and fearlessly stepping into its future.
Launching this season with Sleepy Hollow is no coincidence. It is a story that straddles the line between the familiar and the unknown, tradition and reinvention. In many ways, it mirrors where we find ourselves as an organization: honouring the past while daring to explore the uncharted.
We cannot wait to share this thrilling journey with you, and we are so glad you have joined us at the start of what promises to be another unforgettable season.
With gratitude,
Haysam Kadri & Peita Luti Artistic Director Executive Director
Peter Balkwill, Pityu Kenderes, Judd Palmer, and I were only a few scenes into our outline of Headless, the working title for our version of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, when the world shut down due to Covid-19. Once the initial shock dissipated and we all realized we would have time on our hands with the theatre industry completely closed, we began writing virtually from our separate homes (Calgary, Halifax, and Victoria). This project was nothing less than a godsend in a period of uncertainty and creative starvation. We found a dedicated rhythm to writing and delved deeply into the source material and its potential relevance for modern audiences. While the world stood still, the delightful spookiness and buried political commentary of Washington Irving’s piece inspired and drove us forward.
We all assumed once the world emerged from the pandemic and Donald Trump left office that our little piece, though surprisingly worthy and relevant, would die a slow death when we returned to “normal”. But the unfathomable happened: Trump got a second term in the White House. As things just got stranger and stranger for our neighbours in the South and we Canadians by proximity, the writing team could see how our modern-day reimagining of this classic title continued to resonate in our current climate of truth-skewing and fearmongering.
Photos, from left: Judd Palmer, Anna Cummer and Peter Balkwill during first rehearsal
Almost 250 years since the Declaration of Independence, the United States of America teeters on the edge of dramatic and violent change –again. Where the echoes of the past – “No Kings” – resound still. Where the price of food and inequitable taxation can make or break the dayto-day lives of citizens and jeopardize the effectiveness of a governing body. Where stories are told to justify the ends although the means are questionable and cruel. Where an empire crumbles slowly but surely. For a country born of violence will always be haunted by it. And our great neighbours to South are in the throes of such a haunting.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a sharp examination of what it means to recover from divisive violence, to rebuild your world anew, and to move forward faithfully into uncharted territory. But what ghosts remain in this new world order that will require exorcism in the not-sodistant future? And are we all left headless when the truth is no longer perceptible or even required? Fear-inducing questions to be ignored at our peril. Here’s hoping cooler heads prevail.
Please enjoy this thought-provoking and multifaceted spooky story originally conceived by Washington Irving and brought into the 21st century a-kicking and a-screaming by The Old Trouts (and me).
Anna Cummer Co-Playwright, Adaptation, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
The Old Trout Puppet Workshop and ATP go waaaaaaay back. Hark, if you will, to the olden days, to a time of innocence and simplicity – 2004, the year that gave us Facebook, Gmail, the iPod Mini, and Uggs. We Old Trouts were young and full of bluster, still blessed by the beautiful confidence of that stage of life, as-yet unbowed by the fears and failures that accumulate over the years like barnacles on all our human hearts. Unbarnacled, then, we made our first show for a big theatre here –Pinocchio, with Vanessa Porteous. Our version of Pinocchio hewed closely to the spirit of the original Italian story, in which the puppet is less a bright-eyed naïve than an amoral hobgoblin who murders the cricket with a hammer, but the show ended with him turning into a real boy and walking out through the theatre doors into the actual real world, which seemed both sad and happy at the same time, and remains one of our favourite moments in all the shows we’ve ever made.
Our dear friend, mentor, landlord and hero Doug McKeag, who’s in the show you’re about to see, played Geppetto. David Rhymer and Jonathan Lewis made the most exquisite music. David died this past year, and the night before he did, he hummed the melancholic aria he’d written for the Blue Fairy, the song that brought Pinocchio back to life. You can still hear his music on his website, rhymermusic.com, which is full of wonders, including that very song.
A few years later ATP let us make another show, The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan, with Vanessa and Mercedes Bátiz-Benét and yet more exquisite
music composed by George Fenwick, played by the Land’s End Orchestra and Spiritus Choir. George, too, is greatly missed by this world, but you can hear some of his compositions on his website, georgefenwick.com, including the madly gorgeous music he made for Don Juan.
And now, here we are again. It seems familiar here. We know the old backstage hallways, the subterranean burrows beneath the building where moulder great heaps of old costumes and props, British redcoats and breeches, muskets and leatherbound books once held by forgotten actors in forgotten productions from long ago. We remember the great cavernous room where the sets are built, and the wardrobe department where all manner of beautiful things are crafted. The people are mostly different now, but the building is here still, and there’s something wonderful about that – all the human lives that have gathered inside these walls, and passed through. Theatre is ridiculous and sublime
and everything in between, but in a way the essence of it is that it’s an attempt to compress the incomprehensible, to squish down the unutterable immensity of human experience so that it can fit onto a stage the same size as our minds. But maybe it simply can’t be done –maybe life will always be too big for any walls or words to contain. We’re overwhelmed in many ways by how much life has happened since last we were here.
We’re very grateful to be back. And we’re enormously delighted to be part of the production you’re about to see. We dearly hope you like it.
DEVON BRAYNE BROM
Devon is an actor/singer/musician based out of Calgary, AB whose talents have been showcased on a variety of stages across Western Canada. Devon is honoured to be joining the wonderful team of Sleepy Hollow for his debut with ATP! He is a recipient of the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Lead Performance for his portrayal of Johnny Cash in Theatre Calgary’s production of Million Dollar Quartet. A passionate character performer,
Devon performed internationally with Disney Cruise Lines for two years before returning to Calgary, applying his skills to further his acting and music career. In recent years, Devon has developed his show “Folsom Prison Revisited” - a journey through the events surrounding Johnny Cash’s famous concert, which will be touring throughout November. All the love to his wife and pup!
CHRISTOPHER CLARE
VAN RIPPER
Christopher “Clip” Clare is an actor, dance artist, and choreographer from Calgary, Alberta. He began his career as a dancer and choreographer and continues to draw on that background in his stage work. His recent theatre credits include The DaVinci Code (Vertigo Theatre), The Orange Dot (Sage Theatre), Selma Burke (Theatre Calgary), Heaven (National Arts Centre, Ottawa), and Frankenstein (Jupiter Theatre). In addition to acting, Christopher continues to work as a dance artist, choreographer, and producer collaborating on projects that bring movement, theatre and film together. Christopher lives and makes art in his home on Treaty 7 territory, Mohkinstsis.
EMILY HOWARD KATRINA
Emily Howard (she/her) is a Calgary based performer and is thrilled to be back at ATP in collaboration with Banff Centre and The Old Trouts. Select theatre credits: The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, Teenage Dick (ATP); Blithe Spirit, The Importance of Being Earnest (Theatre Calgary); A Streetcar Named Desire (Theatre Calgary/Citadel), Chariots of Fire (Rosebud Theatre), The Extractionist (Vertigo Theatre). Select film credits: Billy the Kid (MGM+), Heartland (CBC), Joe Pickett (Paramount+), My Life with the Walter Boys (Netflix). Emily is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting Program and is the recipient of a Betty Mitchell and AMPIA award. She would like to thank her friends and family for their unending support. A big thank you to the entire cast and crew of Sleepy Hollow, it truly takes a village. For Penny and Sam. @emilyjaynehoward
JAMIE KONCHAK
GERDA
Jamie Konchak is an award winning actor, singer, puppeteer, educator and deviser based in Calgary, Alberta. Her creative curiosity and diverse skill set has nourished a twenty-plus year career of performing everything from classics to contemporary fireside shows in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. She has performed in countless premiere productions of new works, devised theatre productions and recently as a puppeteer on two seasons of Apple TV+ and The Jim Henson Company’s Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. Past appearances with ATP include: Charlotte’s Web, 1979, Constellations, The Penelopiad, The Virgin Trial, several playRites Festivals, The Red Priest and more. Jamie has 2 personal productions in development: a puppet show for the littles called Liluune and FRONTIER, poetry in motion, a collaboration with Ghost River Theatre. Special love to Hattie for the reasons and to Burgy for answering the call.
DOUG MCKEAG BALTUS
Doug has appeared in over 150 live dramas and musicals in Canada and the US, and has toured with his company Dandi Productions to concert halls around the globe. He has assumed the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge in Theatre Calgary’s annual A Christmas Carol. Favorite past roles include: Escape to Margaritaville, The Secret Garden, God of Carnage, Enron, The Drowsy Chaperone, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Twelfth Night (TC); Follies, A Man of No Importance (Dry Cold); Arcadia, Glengarry Glen Ross (Theatre Junction); The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Little Mercy’s First Murder (Vertigo); Chimerica (CanStage), The Cottage, The New Canadian Curling Club, Late Company (RMTC); Toad of Toad Hall, Amadeus (ATP). He directed the chamber opera Requiem for a Lost Girl in New York City with a 40-member cast and orchestra for the New York Music Theatre Festival. He won a Betty award for his portrayal of an early-onset Parkinson’s patient in The Alan Parkinson’s Project. His one-man show DOOM 2012 was nominated for Best New Play. He has written and performed original narration for Peer Gynt and The Winter’s Tale with the Calgary Philharmonic. His latest creation, the comedy-mystery To the Manor Dead is looking for its premiere production. Doug is deeply involved in supporting the Canadian theatre community, serving on several boards, and leading campaigns to strengthen Business-Arts collaboration. He recently purchased an old industrial building in Calgary and has converted it into BonnyBoom, a multi-disciplinary arts center.
MATTHEW MOONEY ICHABOD
(He/Him) Born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland, Matthew moved to Canada in January 2023. For Alberta Theatre Projects (Debut). Other Credits: The Lehman Trilogy, The Mousetrap, (Theatre Calgary); A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare On the Go), Deadly Murder (Vertigo Theatre), Chariots of Fire (Rosebud Theatre), The Mad Hatter’s Circus (Tag Live), Aladdin (Tram Direct), Harvey (New Celts Productions), Three Sisters (NCP). For Film/TV: Still Game (BBC), Witches X (Voice Pictures), Talk (QMU), Half Moon Investigations (CBBC), Finky (Abu Media). Matthew graduated in 2020 with an “Acting for Stage and Screen” BA (Hons) from Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. As always, he sends love home to Glasgow, to his Maw, Paw and Saso. He also sends thanks to Josh Baker and his new family, who five years ago, first showed Matthew the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity from a wee flat in Edinburgh.
ALICE WORDSWORTH
ANNA
Alice Wordsworth is a mixed-race actor and producer based in Moh’kinsstis (Calgary), and a graduate of the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting Program. Though classically trained for the stage, Alice quickly transitioned to the screen, earning a Rosie Award nomination for their debut lead role in the feature film A Cowboy Against Thunder. Their performance as Clara in Avalon Fast’s CAMP marks one of their first international appearances, with the film set to screen at genre festivals including Fantastic Fest, Sitges, Brooklyn Horror and SXSW Sydney. Coming up, they star in the new TV series Eyes in the Woods, premiering on OUTtv in October 2025. Select theatre credits: Charlotte’s Web (ATP), The Tempest, Love’s Heavy Burden (The Shakespeare Company); The Immaculate Perfection… (BodyCube Arts). She would like to extend her gratitude to her friends, family, and Jude for their love and support. @alice.words
ANNA CUMMER
PLAYWRIGHT, ADAPTATION
Anna Cummer is an actor and playwright. She has performed across Canada at The Vancouver Playhouse, The Arts Club, Bard on the Beach, Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, Vertigo Theatre, Persephone Theatre, and the National Arts Centre. She has received numerous theatrical award nominations with a few trophies making their way to her mantle. On a dare from her husband, Anna began writing 8 years ago; discovering a real love for adapting literary classics into plays. Her adaptations have been produced by The Shakespeare Company, Vertigo Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects and the Richmond Gateway. Anna also works in voice-over as well as in film & television as an actor and puppeteer. A huge thank you to the Trouts for collaborating on this passion project.
Judd Palmer is one of the founding co-artistic directors of the Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Over the past 25 years with the Old Trouts, Judd has directed, designed, written or co-written and/or performed in many shows. He has also written and illustrated nine children’s books (three of which have been shortlisted for the Governor General’s Award), and is an erstwhile filmmaker of sorts; he wrote, directed, and narrated the awardwinning Old Trout Christmas special (produced by the National Film Board), and is currently hard at work on the Old Trout Hallowe’en special, which might be released next year. He is also the general manager of Puente Theatre, a company based in Victoria dedicated to building bridges between cultures. In his misspent youth he was the slide banjo player in the stomp & holler trance blues band The Agnostic Mountain Gospel Choir. Judd just discovered that he can apply to have “UE” after his name because he’s a descendant of United Empire Loyalists, namely Mr. and Mrs. Tuttle, refugees from the American Revolution who settled in the unfortunately-named town of Pugwash, Nova Scotia in fear of the ravenous mob down south. In an irony of history he is also distantly related to the Swamp Fox, the American partisan fighter played by Mel Gibson in The Patriot. He lives in a moat with his beloved wife Mercedes and two children Max and Sofía and Judd is even MORE grateful for the love of his family than Pete and Pityu. So there.
PETER BALKWILL
ADAPTATION; SET, PUPPET & COSTUME DESIGN
Peter Balkwill is a co-artistic director and founding member of the Old Trout Puppet Workshop. He is also the founder and co-education/artistic director of the Canadian Academy of Mask and Puppetry (CAMP), and an associate professor of drama in the School of Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA), at the University of Calgary. Currently, Peter is on research leave from the SCPA which is giving him the time to get his hands even dirtier in the craft of puppetry, to be able to bring this experience to bear when he goes back, pushing the next wave of artists into the ever-expanding community of puppeteers in this city. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow has given Peter the opportunity to work in new collaborative ways, and in particular he wishes to thank the writing cohort for their tenacity in pushing through pandemics, government shifts, economic tomfoolery and constant climatic uncertainty; if nothing else at least there was always the writing room on zoom. He’d also like to say a great thank you to ATP and the Banff Centre for making this project happen. It would be impossible for him to even consider the life of an artist without the support of his wife and kids, Nan, Walker and Juno. There are no words that can be written to express his gratitude for the love of his family.
PITYU KENDERES
ADAPTATION; SET, PUPPET & COSTUME DESIGN
Pityu Kenderes is one of the founding co-artistic directors of the Old Trout Puppet Workshop. He’s a designer, a sculptor, painter, puppeteer, and director in live theatre, opera, and film. Pityu is an innovator in the research and development stage of productions and is committed to the reimagining of the art of puppetry. He works in a multitude of combined media and has a vibrant and active personal art practice. Pityu is also a published children’s book illustrator. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Nova Scotia College of Arts and Design, and a Graduate degree in Fine Arts from the University of Calgary. When not on tour, or at work at the Old Trout Puppet Workshop in Calgary, he can be found renovating his old Victorian house and studio overlooking the sea in a town called Pictou, Nova Scotia, with his partner Jen, many dogs and cats and stray animals, plants, and moss. Pityu also can’t think of any words that can express his gratitude for the love of his family, so Pete’s not special just because he turned in his bio first.
CRAIG HALL DIRECTOR
Craig is an Alberta-based theatre director with over 25 years of experience in the performing arts. From 2012 to 2022, he served as the artistic director of Vertigo Theatre in Calgary, where he was known for his innovative productions and for evolving the company’s mystery mandate. In January 2025, Craig became the artistic director of Rosebud Theatre & School of the Arts, aiming to build upon its rich legacy of fostering new artists. Throughout his career, he has received numerous accolades for direction, design and innovation
SONOYO NISHIKAWA LIGHTING DESIGN
Sonoyo Nishikawa, winner of the 2024 Siminovitch Prize, is a Japanese lighting designer whose work spans theatre, opera, musicals, and dance on international stages. She studied in London through the Cultural Affairs of Japan’s overseas exchange program, and in 1993 began collaborating with director Robert Lepage on The Seven Streams of the River Ota, The Damnation of Faust at the MET, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Dragon’s Trilogy. Her major credits include Trojan Women, Yukio Mishima’s Black Lizard, Harold Prince’s Prince of Broadway, the musical Once Upon a One More Time, Broadway’s POTUS directed by Susan Stroman, and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens’ Désir. Known for her artistry and versatility, she has designed productions across North America, Europe, and Asia, bringing a distinctive visual voice to every project. Nishikawa has been honored with numerous awards in Canada and Japan, including the Japan Lighting Association Award, the Toronto Dora Award for Outstanding Lighting Design, the Montreal Theatre Academy Award, and the Quebec Arts and Culture Award.
ANDREW BLIZZARD SOUND DESIGN
Andrew Blizzard is a composer and sound designer who is often loud and sometimes quiet. He is very excited to have the opportunity to add some music and noise to this incredible project. Selected credits include Sound Design and Original Composition for Meteor Shower, Iceland, Blow Wind High Water (Theatre Calgary), Hamlet (Shakespeare by the Bow); The Woman in Black, Clue, Murder on the Orient Express, Dracula: The Bloody Truth, Sherlock Holmes and the American Problem, Nine Dragons, The Haunting, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Travels with My Aunt, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Noirville (Vertigo Mystery Theatre); Macbeth (The Shakespeare Company/Hit & Myth/Vertigo); In On It, The Surrogate (Lunchbox); The After, aWay (ANCHOR|RED Theatre); Shakespeare’s Dog (Alberta Theatre Projects); Lieutenant of Inishmore (Ground Zero Theatre/ Hit & Myth); Blood: A Scientific Romance (Sage Theatre); Le Gros Spectacle (The Wind-up Dames/ATP playRites 2006); PARANOiA (The Wind-up Dames/Ground Zero Theatre). He has received three Betty Mitchell awards and was a nominee for an AMPIA award for the short film The Money Tree. Andrew wishes to thank his darling wife, Brieanna, and his most amazing designs ever, Sebastian and Rowan. Nose kiss.
The Old Trout Puppet Workshop Staff
Peter Balkwill, Pityu Kenderes & Judd Palmer, Artistic Directors
Marcie Januska, Executive Director
Meg Farhall, Associate Producer
LAUREL ONEIL STAGE MANAGER
Previously with ATP: King James, Liars at a Funeral. Elsewhere: BOOM (Theatre Calgary, Thousand Islands Playhouse & Off-Broadway), BOOMX (Theatre Calgary & Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre), BOOMYZ, The Importance of Being Earnest, Escape to Margaritaville (Theatre Calgary); Flora and Fawna Have Beaver Fever (Lunchbox), Liars at a Funeral, Beauty and the Beast, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music (Western Canada Theatre); The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Extractionist, Murder in the Studio, (Vertigo Theatre); Jesus Christ Superstar, Fiddler on the Roof, Pricilla: Queen of the Desert, A Few Good Men, Buying the Farm, Annie (Drayton Entertainment) and 60+ productions at Stage West Calgary, including: Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde, Rock of Ages, Avenue Q, The Producers, Game Show, The 39 Steps, Chicago, Spamalot, Young Frankenstein, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story. Laurel has also taught Stage Management at the University of Lethbridge. Laurel would like to dedicate her work to the loving memory of her mom, who helped her find her love of theatre at young age. She would also like to thank her family, friends and RP for their unending love and support.
RAYNAH BOURNE ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER
Raynah is thrilled to be spending this spooky season immersed in the world of a jack-o-lantern! Recent Credits: Liars at a Funeral, King James, Stealing Sam (ATP); The Woman in Black, Heist, Murder on the Orient Express (Vertigo Theatre); Beaches the Musical, Made In Italy (Theatre Calgary); Twelve Days (Lunchbox Theatre), Starslingers (Calgary Stampede/ Cirque de la Nuit), Rock of Ages, Lucky Stiff (Stephenville Theatre Festival); Celtic Illusions, A Dinosaur Tale, We Will Rock You (Annerin Productions). Although Raynah is petrified of all things scary and can often be found hiding under blankets at a horror movie, she happily embraces the autumnal pumpkin spice lifestyle. Big thank you to all of her friends and family for protecting her from all things that go bump in the night! Enjoy the show!
The Old Trout Puppet Workshop Board
Lara King, President
Leanne Duke, Treasurer
Andrea Shalanski, Secretary
Duval Lang, Director
Greg Francis, Director
The Old Trout Puppet Workshop was founded on a ranch in southern Alberta back in the strange winter of 1999. We were a small gang of old buddies, with a fondness for beards and wood and wool and other oldfashioned and pleasant things; the world was uneasy with the threat of Y2K, and we felt an urge to huddle together for mutual protection, and to dedicate ourselves to something fragile, ridiculous, and gentle, out on the edge of the world. So we learned to carve puppets, and paid our rent through wholesome labour; we collected eggs, fed the pigs, cooked big stews, and premiered our first show to a bunkhouse full of cowboys and Hutterites.
For the record, the Hutterites were more impressed than the cowboys, and they weren’t that impressed. But when we took that show into Calgary to the High Performance Rodeo, people clapped, and in that moment, an insatiable craving for applause was born in us, and the warm contentment of our ranch camaraderie turned into mean and craven Ambition.
We’ve been labouring under the lash of that evil spirit for twenty-five years now, during which time a great deal has changed. We moved to the city, for instance, and now operate out of a workshop
next to an enormous distillery in Bonnybrook. We’ve mounted many shows, and toured them across Canada and the world. But that’s not all: we also make sculptures, films, children’s books, music, and paintings. Recently we’ve taken to designing shows for other companies as well, which may or may not even have any puppets in them.
There are many opportunities coming up to see other things we’ve done. An opera we designed, Hansel and Gretel, will be at Calgary Opera in January, and at the same time we’ll be opening a production of Frozen we’re currently designing at the Globe Theatre in Regina, while our show Famous Puppet Death Scenes tours in France. In March you can catch Old Trout Judd at the CPO with animated illustrations for Swan Lake, and then in May a brand-new Old Trout show called The End will premiere at C-Space. And by next October we hope to have finished our Hallowe’en special, Horrendous.
And so clearly the taloned grip of Ambition has been fierce upon us. Where are we going? Will we ever understand what hollow ghosts we’ve become? Can we ever retrieve our innocence, now that it is lost?
No. Too late. Oh well.
Photos from Pinocchio and The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan.
Photos by Trudie Lee, supplied by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop
Who knows what the Trouts will get up to with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow? They have a beautiful record of plundering the graveyards and slaughterhouses of literature, unearthing authors’ moldering corpuses, diving into their putrefying organons, taking a tract from one and an appendix from another, the spine from a third and the spleen from a fourth, reassembling it all in their “workshop of filthy creation” and teasing the chimera to life. There’s simply no way they’ll be faithful to Washington Irving’s text, as if it were the tongue of St. Anthony, too holy to touch. They’ll be deliciously impious, and thereby make the Headless Horseman thunder again through the nights of the early American republic – thunder, mind you, with the weird grace of a puppet.
They’ve certainly chosen their raw material judiciously. The story’s irresistible. Lummox suckers twit: who doesn’t love that? Ichabod Crane sets his eye on the heiress Katrina Van Tassel only to be outwitted by his rival Brom Bones, who, discovering that Ichabod is terrified of ghosts, dresses up like the Horseman and chases him through the woods, scaring him silly and straight out of town.
Or is that what really happens? Maybe the Horseman’s a real ghost who really assaults Ichabod. Irving is coy on that front. In keeping with an emerging democratic poetics, he doesn’t want anyone to have a monopoly on the truth, so he leaves the ending open.
What one can be sure of is the story’s serious core. Irving wrote it around 1819, after years of economic expansion screeched to a halt. “At the beginning of … 1818,” writes one historian, the country “seemed to be in the highest state of enterprising prosperity; before the end of that year, it presented a scene of general bankruptcy, terror, confusion and dismay.” From seeming prosperity to terror: that’s Ichabod’s path, too. He begins as a thoroughly modern golddigger. Marrying Katrina would allow him to sell the Van Tassel farmland, using the capital to bankroll “shingle palaces in the wilderness.” Aptly, Ichabod meets the Horseman soon after Katrina rejects him. “Capital” derives from the Latin “caput,” or head. Ichabod dreamed he’d have plenty of capital. It turns out he’ll remain as headless as the Horseman – figuratively speaking. And rightly so, Irving implies. The dreams of the modern market produce Panics.
But the Horseman contains multitudes, and through him, Irving also offers his reflections on the Revolution. In Sleepy Hollow, old men reminisce about the
war, inflating their contributions, implying that America owes its independence to their own heroic efforts. Their braggadocio is good-natured, but the Horseman, head obliterated by a cannonball, suggests that the real Revolution was different – a killing field where human bodies were torn to pieces.
There’s one further reason to admire the choice of Sleepy Hollow. In the library of American literary “classics” you won’t find a story better suited to puppetry. Ichabod, the would-be gallant, has
hands that [dangle] a mile out of his sleeves, feet that might [serve] for shovels, and his whole frame most loosely [hangs] together. His head [is] small, and flat at top, with huge ears, … glassy eyes, and a long snipe nose …. [One] might [mistake] him for … some scarecrow eloped from a cornfield.
He’s halfway to puppet already. The Horseman, a brainless thing brought to uncanny life, is also notably puppet-like. And these two are the story’s central grotesques. You might say that the climactic race through the woods is highstakes puppet theatre.
In this new production, of course, it will be.
Andrew Loman Associate Professor Department of English Memorial University of Newfoundland
Amaryn Olmeda, Violin
SEASON SPONSOR
MAJOR SUPPORTERS
GOVERNMENT & FOUNDATION SUPPORT
CREATIVE PARTNERS
MEDIA SPONSORS
PARTNERS
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Our hearts are filled with gratitude and awe—not just for your incredibly generous support, but for the way you’ve championed theatre and helped bring some of our most impactful productions to life in the Martha Cohen Theatre.
Your dedication is the heartbeat of ATP, and we couldn’t do this without you.
While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, mistakes can happen. If you notice an error, please contact us at: info@atplive.com
(List updated for printing: October 5, 2025)
EXECUTIVE & ARTISTIC DIRECTORS’ CIRCLE
| $20,000+
The Honourable Anne J Brown & Bob Beaty
Beverly Berkhold
Clarice Evans Siebens Arts Fund at Calgary Foundation
Denis & Donna Lee Couturier
Osten-Victor Fund at Calgary Foundation
Prairie Crocus Foundation
PLAYWRIGHT’S CIRCLE | $10,000+
Barbara and Michael Morin
Corey Hallisey
From Darcy Evans Legacy Fund at Calgary Foundation
Edmonton Community Foundation
Ian Young & Catherine Barrett
In memory of Kathi Kerbes
John Humphrey & Laura McLeod
The Honourable Rosemary Nation
Susan Tyrrell & Brian Mills
ACTOR’S CIRCLE | $5,000+
Andrew & Mavis Holder
Andrew Stevenson & Peita Luti
Brian & Barbara Howes
Cenovus Energy Inc.
Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster
Janice Heard & Bruce McFarlane
Marilyn & Dale Potts
Phred & Phredette
Rod Wade
The Laut Sisters
DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE | $2,500+
Al Nord
Alane Smith
Anonymous
Anonymous
Barbara Lindeburg
Cheryl Cohen
Colin & Margaret MacDonald
Don Smith & Helen Young
Gordon Hoy
Imagine Enterprises Ltd. Fund (Andrew Wiswell)
Irene & Walt DeBoni
Jacqueline & Edward Engstrom
Jerry & Cathy Richardson
Nancy & Andrew Wiswell
The Smith Vanstokkom Foundation
Valerie Swanson
The Wood Pittman Fund
GREEN ROOM | $1,000+
Alexander MacWilliam
Ann Smyth
Anonymous (5)
Axis Mechanical Ltd.
Barbara Beaton
Barbara Cichon
Bruce & Janis Morrison
Capital Power’s Empower Hours Program
Cindy & Garnet Amundson
Daniel Hays
David & Maureen Topps
Don & Isabelle Emery
Donna & Len
Douglas & Deborah Ferguson
Gary & Nancy McKenzie
Glen & Nancy Charitable Gift Fund
In memory of Tony Johnson
Janet McMaster & Tom Byttynen
Marjorie Munroe
Mavis Holder
Neal Halstead & Joe Slabe
Patrick E Fuller Foundation
Dr. Roger Pilkington
Suzy & Andrew Judson
Tanya Fir
The Donald Terry Swystun Charitable Fund at Calgary Foundation
The Keshavjee Family Foundation
Tricia Leadbeater
Vishal Saini
ENSEMBLE | $500+
Amanda Espinoza & Edvard Keller
Anonymous (2)
Bruce Seifred & Oksana Sobko
Bruno & Frances Picone
Caroline Russell-King & Gerald Matthews
Christine & Keith Gingerick
Colleen Dickson
Dale & Cathy Ens
David Severson
Dianne & Dave Varga
Dixie & Tony Webb
Douglas Collister
Duval Lang
Elizabeth Varsek
Faye Cohen
Feldy Fund
Former consultant at Arts Commons
Iain Cullen Ramsay
Janet Monteith
Jean Driver
Jeanette Kish
Joel Cawthorn
John Varsek
Judy Lawrence
Karen Towsley
Leslie Dunlop
Levonne Louie
Lisa Squance & Chris Kowalski
Liz McGregor
Lucy Parnell
Margaret Perlette
Marinko Pavic
Peter Feldstein
Dr. Philip Cohen
Richard & Susan Sawka
Richard Stothard
Roger & Leslie McMechan
Shelley Smith
Spontaneous Theatre & Rebecca Northan
Tania Willumsen
Dr. Thomas Raedler
William Towsley
STAGEHAND | $250+
Anonymous (6)
Bill Lee
Canadian Online Giving Foundation Matching Program
Carolyn S Phillips
Cheryl & Jim Peacock
Dr. Darlene Montgomery
David & Carol Lunn
Deborah Cullen
Diane M Auld
Everett Wylie
Gavin Jones
Gregory J Forrest
Hendrik Kraay
Jacquie & Mike Broadfoot
Janice & Mac Vomberg
Jerry Callaghan
Joanne Kutchyera
John Gilpin
Juli & Paul Sacco
Karen Bartsch
Kathryn & Tim Carry
L. Adorjan & P. Sawyers
Lacey Lemire
Laurie & Doug Strother
Laurie Goldbach / Brett Code
Linda & Mark Thomas
Linda Lesoway
Lyle Fuller
Maggie Davis
Nate Feldman
Pat Maguire
Robyn Shaeve
Sal & Liz LoVecchio
Suniel Puri
Ted & Marcie Sherback
Trudy Pierpoint
Vanessa Porteous
BACKSTAGE | $100+
A.T.Payne
AJ Stephen
Al & Cindy Bey
Aldo & Laverna Marchese
Alice Cush
Anita Fongern
Anne Harrison-Wood
Anonymous (17)
Anthony Louden
Barbara Sibbald
Barrie & Beth Wilson
Barry & Gail Pollock
Bereta Family
Betty Wade
Bill & Diana Paterson
Bradley Wright
Bronwyn Steinberg
Byron Miller
C. Clark
C.G. Rowlands
Carolina Argueda Ross
Carson, Michelle & Juergen Schmidt
Catherine Ellis
Catherine Heaton
Catherine McKercher
Cathy Cameron
Cathy Driedger
Cathy Phillips
Charlotte Arbuckle
Chris & Sue Woodward
Chris Sarin
Christopher Perlette
Clare Birks
Clare Pett
Colleen Rogers & Steve Meadows
Corine Jansonius
David M. Ostopowich
Davis & Henderson Limited Trust Fund at Calgary Foundation
Deb Atkinson
Deborah Sanderson
Decker Family
Delton Campbell
Dexter the Cat
Dianne & Greg Rau
Dianne Goodman
Donna Rooney
Doug McKeag
Douglas & Carol McLean
Dwayne Sims
Elaine Dumoulin
Elizabeth Peters
Elizabeth & Lorne Carson
Elizabeth Galatiuk
Elizabeth McIntyre
Elmien Wingert
Emily King-Moore
Fern Cyr
Gary Lambert
Genevieve Knapp
Geoffrey Brown
Gerry Geoghegan
Glenda Magallon
Goresht Community Fund held at the Jewish Community Foundation of Calgary
Gregory Coupal
Halliday Krause Family
J Brigden
James & Tracey
James Lange
James Rea & Tamela Hart
Jane Ebbern
Janet Katz
Janice Dickin
Jean-Ann Naysmith Rooney
Jeanne Gonnason
Jeanne Watson
Jennifer & Hans Koppe
Jim & Joy Bews
Joan & Robert Martin
John & Tiffany Whitnack
Jona & Marty Way
Joyce Kneeland
Judith Larson
Julie Sinclair
Kate Reeves
Katherine & Martin Hyrcza
Katherine Lakeman
Dr. Kathleen Biersdorff
Katie Wade
Katie Zuber
Kelly Reay
Ken & Diane Dahlman
Kenneth Peach & Terry MacKenzie
Lane Sims
Lara King
Laurie Alisat
Leanne Procyshen
Linda Goddard
Linda Korsbrek
Linda Meyer
Lisa Albertson
Liz Gareau
Lorraine Moore
Louise Middleton
Lucia Buccini
Luda Paul
Lynn & George Collin
Marcia Rempe
Margaret Dickson
Margaret W
Marie Josee Duchesne
Marilyn Olynek
Michael and Ellen Ell
Michael Wright
Miranda & Russ Erickson
Mitch Lavallee & Rebecca Lambie
Nancy Prentice
Natalia
Nora Lamb
Pamela Downey & Dennis Nesdoly
Pat Kover
Patricia Lee
Penny Ford & Kim Zapf
Peter Perreault-Murphy
Peter Stapleton
Phyllis & Larry King
Ralph Christoffersen
Richard Wyman & Theresa Wright
Rob & Bern Scott
Robert & Carol Gerein
Roman & Diana Katsnelson
Rowena Cromwell
Ruth DeSantis
Rutherford Family
Sandra Hoenle
Sara Cross Moulton
Sarah Garton Stanley (SGS)
Sean Esopenko
Shannon Stevenson
Sharon Martens
Sharon Rubeling
Sheila Clarke
Sherry Willets
Sierra Yanush & Paul Smolarz
Susan Kuhn
Susan Obrien
Talore Peterson
Terry Roberts
Theresa Yearwood
Thomas Griffith & Jen Sitter
Thomas MacLean
Tim Sidlick
Tracian Brooks
Trudy Feldmeyer
Veronica Prokop
Viccy Carver
William & Colleen Tobman
Williams Family
Yvonne Hinks
FRIEND OF ATP | $50+
Ailis Baker
Andrew Macpherson
Angela MacGillivray
Anne Parsons
Anonymous (57)
Armin Jahangiri
Barbara Murray
Barry McLaren
Bill Hammett
Blaine
Burritt
Catherine & Craig Carpenter
Chantel Loftus
Charlotte Holmlund
Christine Fraser
Christopher Petrik
Cindy Ward
Craig & Che
Danette Thompson
Danielle Buckley
Deanna Krum
Deanne Furlan
Deb Lee
Debra Crossman
Diane Rennie
DJ Kimber
Doreen Farlley
Edward & Ann Kerwin
Elizabeth Forseth
Ellen & David Mondoux
Ellie Jenner
Frank Nickel
Gail Niinimaa
Gavin Delion
Greg Schultz
Heather Swanson
Iasha Robertson
J. Sparling
James Lawson
Janet Antonishyn
Jean Curtis
Jean Love
Jeans Family
Jeffrey Sheedy
Jennifer Malzer
Jodi McIsaac
Juanita Dawn
Karen Almadi
Karen Hiebert
Karen Kryzan
Karla Castro
Kelly Moffet-Burima
Kelly Smith
Kyle & Shauna Craven
Laurie Leier
Linda McKean
Linda Rickey
Lisa and Filip
Lisa Rouleau & Richard Harrison
Loree Stout
Lorri DeLong
Lynda McKay
Lynn Sparks
M & G Van Rosendaal
M.Martin
Mabelle Carvajal
Dr. Maire Duggan
Marc Waugh
Marilyn Samuels
Marilynn Russell
Mary Rozsa de Coquet
Michelle De Beurs
Monti Tanner & Colten Peddie
N & W Callaghan
Nancy Thorpe
Nathalie Rouette
Norma Lewis
Ouida Antle
Pat Tarr
Patrick/Mary-Anne
Pete Wheeler
Peter Schmaltz
Rhonda Biggs
Rocky Wallbaum
Rodney Todd
Dr. Ruth Connors
Sally Elliott
Sam Ulmer-Krol
Sandra Hamilton
Shannon Cook
Sharon Ashton
Stacey Aarflot
Stephanie Talbot
Stewart & Sarah Kerby
Tami Neilson
Tanya Reinhart
Ted Poppitt
Theresa Howland
Thomas Nairn
Todd Pinel
Trond Aarflot
Tyler Yates
Val Lonnoy
Valerey Davidson
Zina Barnieh
Legacy Gifts
Richard Barr
Martha Cohen
Jo-Ann DeRepentigny
In Memory of Naomi Migas
Barbara Peddlesden
Kevin Peterson
STAFF
ARTISTIC
Haysam Kadri, Artistic Director
ADMINISTRATION
Peita Luti, Executive Director
Neal Halstead, Chief Financial Officer
Honglan He, Accountant
Megan Jovie, Company Coordinator
DEVELOPMENT
Drew Gusztak, Fund Development Manager
SALES & MARKETING
Matt Smith, Manager, Sales & Marketing
Raegan Frenette, Digital Marketing Coordinator
Angelina Li, Ticket Office Assistant
Kevyn Sander, Patron Experience and Community Coordinator
Kara Sturk, Marketing & Communications Coordinator
Emily Adams, Box Office Attendant
Jasmine Cha, Box Office Attendant
Manisha Dangol, Box Office Attendant
Jess Parker, Box Office Attendant
FRONT OF HOUSE
Miranda Leavitt, Front of House Manager
Marinko Pavic, Front of House Assistant Manager
Shannon Walsh, Front of House Assistant Manager
Adeline Huffman, Front of House Lead
Jenna Spence, Front of House Lead
Maxim Vinogradov, Front of House Lead
Elizabeth Wong, Front of House Lead
PRODUCTION
D.W. von Kuster, Production Manager
Sabrina Mueller, Technical Director
Colin Barden, Head of Sound
Caroline Broadley, Head of Wardrobe
Geoff Buchanan, Head Stage Carpenter
Michael Carr, Head of Props
Gerry Dubbin, Head Dresser
Barry Eldridge, Head Scenic Carpenter
Andy Fawcett, Head Electrician
Sarah Attard, Scenic Painter
Lorelee Godden, Scenic Carpenter
Ventura Jones, Scenic Painter
Michelle Latta, Milliner and Stitcher
Susan Montalbetti, Wardrobe - Dyeing and Breakdown
Katie Roundtree, Stitcher
ALBERTA THEATRE PROJECTS
220 9 Ave SE, Calgary, AB T2G 5C4 | ALBERTATHEATREPROJECTS.COM Main Office: 403-294-7475 | Ticket Office: 403-294-7402
Alex G. MacWilliam, Director, Counsel, Dentons Canada LLP
Alberta Theatre Projects was founded by Douglas Riske and Lucille Wagner in association with a dedicated group of Calgary artists and volunteers in 1972. D. Michael Dobbin, Producing Director Emeritus, 1983-1999.
Alberta Theatre Projects is a not-for-profit theatre and an active member of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres (PACT). Alberta Theatre Projects engages theatre artists who are members of Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC), Associated Designers of Canada (ADC) and Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (CAEA) under the terms of the Canadian Theatre Agreement (CTA). Production and technical personnel are engaged under a collective agreement with IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) Local 212. Alberta Theatre Projects is an allied member of The Calgary Congress for Equity & Diversity in the Arts (CCEDA).
