BOOM YZ Creative Team

Rick Miller is a Dora and Gemini award-winning writer / director / actor / musician / educator who has performed in five languages on five continents and who Entertainment Weekly called “one of the 100 most creative people alive today”. He has created and toured solo shows such as the BOOM Trilogy (BOOM, BOOM X, and BOOM YZ), MacHomer, (w. Daniel Brooks) Bigger Than Jesus and HARDSELL; and family shows with Craig Francis and Kidoons, such as Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, Jungle Book, and Frankenstein. With Robert Lepage, he has collaborated on Geometry of Miracles, Zulu Time, Lipsynch, and on the film Possible Worlds. He often teaches an interdisciplinary class at the University of Toronto called The Architecture of Creativity. Rick is from Montreal, and lives in Toronto with his partner Stephanie Baptist and their two daughters.

Jeff has a lifelong passion and vision for combining art and technology to develop original works. His projects are inspired by a love of storytelling and innovation. Through Kidoons theatrical productions, WYRD theatrical productions, and digital works on the Kidoons Network, Jeff's artist collaborators help organizations to tell their stories onstage and online. He works with Not-for-Profit and corporate clients across Canada and the United States with a vision to inspire and empower all generations. His work on the BOOM trilogy is dedicated to his mother, Evelyn Lord.

Michael Bridge is a musical maverick. “A wizard of the accordion” (CBC), he’s a virtuoso performer on both the acoustic accordion and its 21st Century cousin, the digital accordion. His concerts and improvisations capture the energy and panache of stadium rock with the elegance and discipline of chamber music.

It all began when Bridge was five, growing up in Calgary, when his mom bought him a $5 accordion at a garage sale. He has since performed throughout Europe, 25 US states, and all Canadian provinces. He received his doctorate in accordion performance from the University of Toronto. He’s at home with classical, contemporary, jazz and folk music and has premiered 60 new works.

Dr. Bridge embraces a musical aesthetic that is alternatively irreverent, deadly serious, meticulously prepared and completely in-the-moment. Ultimately, he aims to make your world more bearable, beautiful and human—even if only for the length of a concert.

Craig (he/him) is a writer, director, illustrator, and multidisciplinary creator. A founding member of The 20K Collective, Craig co-created with Rick Miller the productions Jungle Book, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, and Game of Clones. With Rick Miller and Paul Van Dyck he co-created the 2021 play, comic book, and streaming production Frankenstein. He's a producer, dramaturg, and stage manager for Miller's solo trilogy BOOM, BOOM X, and BOOM YZ (Kidoons / WYRD / Theatre Calgary). Craig is a mentor of emerging artists, and a speaker on LGBTQA2S+ issues. He performed improv comedy for a decade including Just For Laughs festivals and specials for CBC, CTV, and Showtime; theatre includes The Refugee Hotel (Teesri Duniya). His animated digital shorts for the Kidoons Network and not-for-profit organizations are seen by millions of viewers, and are installed in museums in four Provinces. Craig lives in Montréal, has illustrated several books, and voiced video games and animated series.

Aidan Ware is excited to return home to Calgary for the premiere of BOOM YZ!  A graduate of the Technician Theatre Production program at the University of Alberta, Aidan’s passion for live production has taken him around the world where he has worn many hats as a technical director, lighting & sound designer. Upon completing an 18-month lighting practicum program at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity, Aidan moved to Toronto where is currently the Assistant Technical Director at Canadian Stage. He continues to work as a lighting designer turned livestream producer for Solotech, TIFA, and Fall For Dance North. Aidan is looking forward to exploring the music and stories of his generation in BOOM YZ!

Irina is a creative artist, graphic designer for print and web, and video production artist. She has worked on multimedia campaigns for Performing Arts Centers across Canada and the U.S. and managed event marketing campaigns ranging from The Joy of Dance Studio Toronto to TELUS Skins. Irina has been a longstanding multimedia collaborator with Rick Miller and Craig Francis, including assisting on onscreen media projections for MacHomer, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea, and Game of Clones. Recent work includes branding and projections media design for BOOM X and BOOM YZ, for which she was nominated alongside Rick Miller and Nicolas Dostie for the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Projection or Video Design. Irina is the multimedia designer for Jungle Book, Frankenstein, and upcoming projects Andersen Fairy Tales and Rose Red. As a web and video production artist, Irina is the designer and production editor of the Kidoons Network animated series.

An accomplished director, editor and visual artist, Nicolas Dostie studied Media Arts and Technology with a focus on television. With the arrival of the digital era in 2002, he became interested in large-scale architectural projection, and helped design the multimedia for the highly visual spectacle Cavalia. His design career then pushed him more and more into the worlds of theatre and circus. He worked for Ex Machina and Robert Lepage, on Le projet Andersen, the Jeux de Cartes series, 887 and Kodō, and with BOOM X, his work as co-designer has garnered several award nominations across Canada. Considered one of the pioneers in architectural projection, Nicolas has worked on the 2014 Sochi Olympics (with Pixmob), and the Cirque du Soleil productions Delirium, the Michael Jackson world tour, and Varekai. He currently teaches at CEGEP La Pocatière, passing on his knowledge to a younger generation.

After a Bachelor’s degree in theatre and cinema from Université Laval, Virginie went on to study scenic design at Conservatoire d’Art Dramatique de Québec. She was the first recipient of the design scholarship Théâtre Blanc-Desjardins. She received Quebec’s Prix d’excellence des arts et de la culture for costume designs on L’asile de la pureté (2009) and Fin de Partie (2012), and was nominated for Cyrano de Bergerac (2008) and Dans la République du Bonheur (2015). For Ex Machina, she toured with La  Celestina (2004), designed props for La Tempête (2011), Jeux de Cartes : Pique (2012), Coeur (2013) and Lipsynch (2007), and costumes for Seven Streams of the River Ota (2019), Courville (2021 - nominated for best costume design) and Le Projet Riopelle (2023). She is also a frequent designer with other renowned Quebec-based companies, including Théâtre de la Bordée, Théâtre Périscope, Théâtre du Trident, and Carrefour international de théâtre de Québec. Virginie’s work on BOOM X has won Prix de Théâtre in 2021  for best costume design and she’s delighted to be working with Kidoons/WYRD.

Laurel is excited to be back working on the BOOM Trilogy, with such a fantastic team! Select credits include: BOOM (Theatre Calgary, Thousand Islands Playhouse, & 59E59,) Jersey Boys, Legally Blonde, Rock of Ages, Avenue Q, The Producers, Game Show, 39 Steps, Chicago, Spamalot, Young Frankenstein, Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Stage West,) Sound of Music (Western Canada Theatre,) Annie & Fiddler on the Loose (Drayton Entertainment.)  Laurel has also taught stage management at the University of Lethbridge. She would like to thank her family and friends for their unending love and support.

Maev Beaty is a critically-acclaimed stage and screen actor, writer and voice-over artist with over 50 theatre performance credits. She has originated roles in 26 Canadian premieres (including Hannah Moscovitch’s Bunny, Michael Healey's Proud, Kate Hennig’s The Last Wife, Judith Thompson’s Palace of the End and Sharon Pollock’s Angel's Trumpet); She has co-written and starred in the award-winning Secret Life of a Mother, Montparnasse, and Dance of the Red Skirts); and has interpreted lead classic roles across the country and over six seasons at the Stratford Festival. as well as epic theatre endeavours (Soulpepper August Osage County, Sheep No Wool/Outside the March/Convergence’s Passion Play, Nightwood’s Penelopiad, Volcano’s Another Africa, TheatreFront’sThe Mill). She is a Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award winner, three-time Dora Award winner and fourteen-time Dora nominee in performance, writing and direction, referred to as "the excellent Maev Beaty" by the New York Times. Film and Television appearances include Murdoch Mysteries (CBC); Nurses (Global); Ghostwriter (Apple+), Mouthpiece (Dir. Patricia Rozema). She is also a founding member of Got Your Back, and an Equity Council member, activist and mum.

Ryan is Nēhiyawi/Cree/ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐃ from Amiskwacîwâskahikan (Edmonton, Alberta) who’s family comes from The Michel Band First Nation. Ryan has worked as an actor, producer, director, manager and event creator for over 25 years. His company, Cunning Concepts & Creations, produces and tours the Award winning production, HUFF written and performed by Cliff Cardinal. Originally produced by Native Earth Performing Arts under the Artistic Direction of Ryan Cunningham. Most recently Ryan has acted with Crows Theatre (Julius Caesar), The Shaw Festival (AN OCTOROON) and can be seen playing the role of Darcy Douglas in all 5 seasons of the award winning APTN series, BLACKSTONE. An alumni of the RBC Director Development Residency at Canadian Stage and current Artist in Residence at the Canadian Stage-University of Toronto, BMO Lab. He has been nominated for the KLM Hunter Artist Award and the inaugural Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize.

Sébastien Heins (He/Him) is a Canadian-born, Jamaican-German actor, writer, producer, and emerging director. He is the Associate Artistic Director of Outside the March, and a resident of the Canadian Stage UofT BMO Lab, researching AI, Mixed Reality, Motion Sensors, and the intersection of tech and live performance. His career includes 3 seasons at the Stratford Festival, 10+ years of immersive theatre with OtM, and Canadian/US/Indian tours of his award-winning solo show, Brotherhood: The Hip Hopera. He trained at the National Theatre School of Canada and The School at Steppenwolf in Chicago.