Thanks for making the world better for the next Generation
Before Breakfast ~Paperless~ Programme
Going paperless reduces your impact on forests, decreases the amount of waste that is dumped into landfills, cuts energy use and helps lessen the impact of climate change. According to the environmental advocacy group The World Counts, global production of paper and cardboard will amount to 420,000,000 tons in 2021.
Cast and Crew
Mariam Bernstein, Director
MARIAM BERNSTEIN has been working as a professional actor and director for over 30 years. A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and the University of Winnipeg, she has directed over 30 productions for Royal MTC, MTYP, PTE, WJT, and Dry Cold, including the world premiere of Prince Kaspar (Groundswell, New Music Opera), Ruddigore (G & S Society), Company, The Secret Garden, She Loves Me (Dry Cold), and Falsettos (WJT/Dry Cold). She has acted from Victoria to Halifax in over 45 productions, from Shakespeare to Robert Munsch stories. Performing highlights include Dr Ruth Westheimer in Becoming Dr. Ruth (WJT), Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd (Dry Cold), the Red Queen in Alice Through the Looking Glass, Royal MTC, and Big Julie in Guys and Dolls (Rainbow Stage). She has taught acting at U of W, at the Marcel Desautels School of Music (U of M), PTE, MTYP, and has been a private coach for audition preparation for over 30 years. Mariam is thrilled to collaborate with Naomi on this beautiful adaptation of Eugene O’Neill’s play.
Naomi Forman, Charlotte
Soprano NAOMI FORMAN is a versatile singing actor who has embraced everything from Mozart to Musical Theatre and New Music. She has performed with the Manitoba Opera Association, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, The Brandon Chamber Players, Rainbow Stage, Dry Cold Productions and the WPG Gilbert & Sullivan Society. Naomi holds a BMus from the University of Manitoba and an MMus from Boston University, with additional training at Opera NUOVA and the Banff Centre. After fifteen wonderful years teaching voice at Brandon University (2006-2021) Naomi left to explore new artistic pursuits, including this production and her work with the Manitoba Arts Council. Before Breakfast is Naomi's 5th Fringe opera, and 3rd as producer. Many thanks to Mariam for her incredible vision and to Danille for her brilliant collaboration. Naomi is a proud member of the Canadian Actors Equity Association. www.naomiforman.com
Danielle Guina, Pianist
Canadian collaborative pianist, DANIELLE GUINA, received her Master of Music degree in Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music at the Eastman School of Music under the direction of Dr. Jean Barr. Active in vocal and instrumental areas, Danielle has performed in concert and festivals internationally in Canada, Italy, and the United States. She is a co-founder of the trumpet and piano duo Power of Two, and also works closely with soprano, McKenzie Warriner, to create diverse and representative concert programs of works by Canadian, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ composers. Danielle is a staff pianist at Brandon University, and is a teacher of piano, voice, theory, and history, at the Eckhardt-Gramatté Conservatory of Music.
Peter Huck, Choreographer
PETER HUCK’s journey as a choreographer began when he worked on the Emmy-nominated musical Reefer Madness as a member of the choreography crew which was followed by choreographing in the film/tv industry for The Nightmare At The End Of The Hall (Lifetime), Secret Lives (Insight) and Less Than Kind (HBO Can) before settling in Winnipeg where he was most recently, the choreographer-in-residence for Rainbow Stage’s 60th anniversary season. As an educator and national adjudicator, Peter enjoys working with young performing artists, and teaches masterclasses across Canada, choreographing for national and international dance competitions. Peter holds a Diploma in Theatrical Arts (Fine Arts) from Grant MacEwan University in Edmonton and a B.F.A from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.
Katherine Trussler, Stage Manager
Thomas Pasatieri, Composer
Eugene O'Neill (In his own words)
Eugene O'Neill (In his own words)
Composer THOMAS PASATIERI (1945- ) was born and raised in New York City and began composing at the age of 10. As a teen he studied with Nadia Boulanger and was accepted into the Juilliard School by age 16 and became the school's first-ever recipient of a doctoral degree. Pasatieri has taught composition at the Juilliard School, the Manhat
Composer THOMAS PASATIERI (1945- ) was born and raised in New York City and began composing at the age of 10. As a teen he studied with Nadia Boulanger and was accepted into the Juilliard School by age 16 and became the school's first-ever recipient of a doctoral degree. Pasatieri has taught composition at the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and has composed 24 operas and many other works. 1980 through 1984, he was the artistic director of Atlanta Opera. Following this, he moved to Los Angeles, California, and his film orchestrations can be heard in Road to Perdition, American Beauty, The Little Mermaid, The Shawshank Redemption, Fried Green Tomatoes, Legends of the Fall, Angels in America and Scent of a Woman, among many others. In 2003, Pasatieri returned to New York to continue his concert and opera career.
Eugene O'Neill (In his own words)
Eugene O'Neill (In his own words)
Eugene O'Neill (In his own words)
Born October 16th, 1888, in New York City. Son of James O’Neill, the popular romantic actor. First seven years of my life spent mostly in hotels and railroad trains, my mother accompanying my father on his tours of the United States, although she never was an actress, disliked the theatre, and held aloof from its people. After expulsion f
Born October 16th, 1888, in New York City. Son of James O’Neill, the popular romantic actor. First seven years of my life spent mostly in hotels and railroad trains, my mother accompanying my father on his tours of the United States, although she never was an actress, disliked the theatre, and held aloof from its people. After expulsion from Princeton I led a restless, wandering life for several years… I went to sea, and also worked in Buenos Aires. Never held a job long. Was either fired quickly or left quickly. After this, was an actor in vaudeville for a short time, and reporter on a small town newspaper. At the end of 1912 my health broke down and I spent six months in a tuberculosis sanatorium.
Began to write plays in the Fall of 1913. In the Fall of 1914, I entered Harvard University to attend the course in dramatic technique…I left after one year and did not complete the course.
The Fall of 1916 marked the first production of a play of mine in New York – Bound East for Cardiff – which was on the opening bill of the Provincetown Players. In the next few years this theatre put on nearly all of my short plays [including Before Breakfast] but it was not until 1920 that a long play Beyond the Horizon was produced in New York. It was given on Broadway by a commercial management – but, at first, only as a special matinee attraction with four afternoon performances a week. However, some of the critics praised the play and it was soon given a theatre for a regular run, and later on in the year was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. I received this prize again in 1922 for Anna Christie and for the third time in 1928 for Strange Interlude.
Eugene O’Neill died on November 27, 1953.
Forman Productions
Eugene O'Neill (In his own words)
Forman Productions
Forman Productions debuted in 2010 to bring classical music to the masses with notable productions of
StarBach’s: The Coffee Cantata and Menotti’s, The Telephone Opera.
Forman Production's operas have been featured at Ottawa Chamberfest, The Saskatoon Proms, The Professor Bach Project & the Winnipeg Fringe Festival.
Before Breakfast had it
Forman Productions debuted in 2010 to bring classical music to the masses with notable productions of
StarBach’s: The Coffee Cantata and Menotti’s, The Telephone Opera.
Forman Production's operas have been featured at Ottawa Chamberfest, The Saskatoon Proms, The Professor Bach Project & the Winnipeg Fringe Festival.
Before Breakfast had its Canadian Premiere on May 16, 2022 with the Brandon Chamber Players in the beautiful Lorne Watson Recital Hall at Brandon University. Next stop is the CALGARY FRINGE FESTIVAL,
July 30-August 6.
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Before Breakfast has been approved by the Canadian Actors' Equity Association and is performed under a CAEA Festival Agreement.
Many thanks to:
Eugene O'Neill (In his own words)
Forman Productions
RUTH MCNEELY, seamstress
ANGIE WOOD, wig stylist
MIRANDA BAREN, sound effects
Canadian Actors Equity
Association (CAEA)