Stephen Waldschmidt is an actor, playwright, theatre director, scenic designer and graphic designer originally from Cleveland, Ohio, United States.
Stephen Waldschmidt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Nationality | Canadian of American origin |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Notable works | Hockey Dad |
Theatre career
editStephen Waldschmidt is an actor, playwright, theatre director, scenic designer, graphic designer, and stay-at-home dad originally from Cleveland, Ohio, United States.[1] He is known for portraying Jesus in the Canadian Badlands Passion Play in Drumheller,[2] a part that he has played five times.[3] He also performed as Greville in the premiere of A Bright Particular Star.[4] As a scenic designer, he designed the set for a 2007 performance of The Quarrel[5] and a revolving set for a 2009 performance of Lettice and Lovage.[6] As a playwright, he wrote Hockey Dad: A Play in 3 Periods with James Popoff.[7] He is one of Burnt Thicket Theatre's artistic associates.[1]
She Has a Name
editIn 2010, Waldschmidt attended a presentation by Andrew Kooman in Strathmore about human trafficking.[1] The location of Kooman's presentation was Waldschmidt's home church.[8] Kooman mentioned She Has a Name, a play that he had written about human trafficking, and Waldschmidt soon asked Kooman for permission to read the script.[1] Waldschmidt felt drawn to address the issue of human trafficking even before discovering She Has a Name[2] and had gotten involved with some fair trade initiatives. Waldschmidt attested to his feet sweating after having first read the script[8] and said that it was one of only two scripts that he had ever read that he could not put down before finishing.[9] Nonetheless, he initially backed off from the play because of the immensity and ugliness of the issue. Eventually, however, he and Kooman worked together on the script,[1] expanding it to a full-length play with an extra hour's worth of material by the end of 2010,[10] resulting in a play that can be performed in ninety minutes[11] but may last up to two hours.[12] Kooman and Waldschmidt were moved to continue working on the play because of worldwide human trafficking statistics; namely, that 800000 people are trafficked across international borders each year, that there are 10 million children forced to work in the sex industry, that 1 million of these are child prostitutes, and that sex traffickers have an average annual income of $280000 per victim.[13] Waldschmidt directed the premiere of She Has a Name,[14] a performance for which he also served as scenic designer.[15] He was also the director for the 2012 tour of She Has a Name.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Pat Donnelly (June 15, 2012). "Fringe 2012: Alberta group's play explores human trafficking". The Gazette. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ^ a b Natalie Faith (June 27, 2012). She Has a Name. 100 Huntley Street. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
- ^ Louis Hobson (July 12, 2012). "Power of Passion Play resonates". Calgary Sun. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ Kathleen Oliver (May 25, 2006). "A Bright Particular Star". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ "Why did God allow horrors of Auschwitz?: The Quarrel". The Vancouver Sun. January 31, 2007. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ Louis B. Hobson. "'Lettice and Lovage' a delightful romp". Jam!. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Kevin Prokosh (July 17, 2010). "Hockey Dad: A Play in 3 Periods". Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved August 5, 2012.
- ^ a b Frank Rackow (February 16, 2012). "She Has A Name". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved August 1, 2012.
- ^ James Wilt (February 4, 2011). "Human trafficking portrayed through local theatre project: World premiere of 'She Has A Name' in Calgary on Feb. 23". The Calgary Journal. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
- ^ Lana Michelin (February 25, 2011). "Play personalizes an industry that strips away identity". Red Deer Advocate. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
- ^ "Montreal Fringe: Kissed by a Butterfly, She Has a Name, Nothing Never Happens in Norway, How to Stop Kicking Ass and Killing People". Bloody Underrated. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ^ "Moving play, She Has a Name, comes with a message". Victoria News. February 16, 2012. Retrieved July 26, 2012.
- ^ Amanda McCuaig (September 11, 2012). "She Has a Name leaves you breathless: Play on human trafficking touches without playing the guilt card". Art Threat. Retrieved September 18, 2012.
- ^ Sara Wilson (January 12, 2011). "Local director shines light on global crisis". The Strathmore Standard. Retrieved July 21, 2012.
- ^ Sara Wilson. "Local church hosts world-class rehersals (sic)". The Strathmore Standard. Retrieved July 30, 2012.
- ^ "Event: She Has a Name (Fringe)". The Charlebois Post. June 12, 2012. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved July 24, 2012.