The Woods are Dark and Deep Cast:
Francesco De Francesco (John)
A man of many talents, Francesco De Francesco is an actor, writer, director and producer. The film he wrote, directed, and acted in, Enchanted Mafia, has even earned him the title of Award Winner for Best Comedy in the 2018 Summer Edition of the Alternative Film Festival. Frank has been in theatre productions such as Glengarry Glen Ross, Orson Welles’ War of the Words, and Deathtrap. As well, Frank can be seen on screen in Four Sides, Ascension and the upcoming web series Enchanted Mafia: Dark City.
Mila Jokić (Olessya)
Mila Jokić is a grade eight student at Swansea Junior and Senior Public School and is very excited to play Olessya in The Woods are Dark and Deep. She has appeared in a few plays such as The Lion King (school play), Romeo and Juliet (Pulse Theatre), and The Crisis (Young People’s Theatre). Besides acting, Mila enjoys skiing and snowboarding, spending time with her friends and watching anime and movies. Mila is also proud to be a Student Council President, volunteer and a member of numerous sports teams and clubs at her school.
Biljana Karadžić (Anya)
Biljana has a bachelor of dramatic arts in acting as well as a master’s degree in theatre production. She has been working as a teacher in acting and stage speech for over ten years; past experiences include work in National Theatre in Serbia and with the public broadcaster of Serbia. Since moving to Canada in 2016, she has been working with Pulse Theatre as a teacher, actress and producer and with Teaching Awareness Through Puppetry as a puppeteer. She is also a member of the Guild of Drama Artists of Serbia.
Simeon Kljakić (Oleh)
A kid from Toronto that loves to perform and make people laugh. Simeon has been attending Pulse Theatre Drama School since 2013 with notable appearances in Waiting for Santa Claus (Santa Claus), Romeo and Juliet with a Happy Ending (Mr. Capulet), Narnia (Edmund) and Peter Pan (Peter Pan); also the musical, Aristocats (Napoleon) produced by the Howard Junior Public School. Simeon is a soloist dancer at “The Academy of Serbian Folk Dancing’s” third ensemble. He speaks three languages, sings and plays guitar; he’s passionate about soccer, athletics and all sports in general, and is very excited to be a part of his first professional theatre production.
Sophie McIntosh (Claire)
Sophie is a recent graduate from the University of Ottawa with a Specialization in Theatre. Soon after her graduation, Sophie packed up her things and headed for Toronto to pursue her career in acting. Since the move, she has had the honour of playing the role of Claire in The Woods are Dark and Deep and is proud to claim this production as her stage debut in Toronto! In her spare time, Sophie works as a full time barista (one of many struggling actor clichés) and hopes to improve her latte art. Past productions involve Faris Who Talks to Rats (Ottawa Fringe Festival), Ismene (University of Ottawa), and more. Enjoy the show!
Mladen Obradović (Writer, Producer, Nebojša)
Theatre credits: Andrei (Chekhov’s Three Sisters), Zangara (Sondheim’s Assassins), Dr. Frankenstein (Frankenstein), Basil (Fever/Dream), Poche/Chandebise (A Flea in Her Ear, Fringe Toronto), Yura (Foreign Tongue/Next Stage), Ensemble (Counting Sheep, a double Dora Award winner/Summerworks). Artistic Director of Pulse Theatre. MFA in Acting, York University. After several plays for young audiences with Pulse Theatre, “The Woods are Dark and Deep” is his first full-length drama. A big thank you to everyone who helped bring this project to life!
Dewey Stewart (Janko)
Dewey is a recent graduate of the Acting Conservatory program at York University. While studying he performed as the father in Deportation Cast directed Keira Loughran and as Jove/Christopher Marlowe in Dido Queen of Carthage directed by Peter Hinton. Since graduation, Dewey has continued his studies at The Second City in the Improv For Actors program, been hired as a year round mascot performer, and signed with Sheila Lopes at Choice Talent Agency. Dewey can be seen in an episode of Discovery ID’s See No Evil later this month. “I am beyond excited to be a part of this beautiful and harsh story and thank Sandra and Mladen for this great opportunity.” You can follow Dewey @deweystew on Instagram for more of his acting adventures.
Ratko Todorović (Oleksa)
Ratko has been attracted to art for a time. He found art an interesting way to express his personality and release positive vibrations of creativity through various forms. Even though the passion for theater and acting was strong, he decided to pursue a career in computer science, leaving acting aside, as a favourite hobby. In the last several years he participated mostly in the projects developed by different Serbian theatre groups in Ottawa and Toronto. Some of the plays he acted in were: “Jitters” by David French, “The Physicists” by Friedrich Durrenmatt, “Marriage” by Nikolai Gogol, “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
Jake Zabusky (Dragutin)
Jake is a graduate from Concordia University’s theatre program where he first broke into the Montreal theatre scene as part of an ad hoc theatre collective called the MAP project. With MAP he collaborated in over twelve new works all premiered at the Mainline Theatre. Since moving back to Toronto he has worked predominately in film and can be seen most recently in Reign and American Lawmen. Jake is ecstatic to get to work with Mladen again and to perform on the Factory Theatre main stage!
The Woods are Dark and Deep Crew:
Sandra Cardinal (Director, Dramaturge)
Sandra is a Toronto -based director, playwright, actor and singer. She is thrilled to debut this important and affecting new drama, and privileged to work with our amazing cast and crew. Recent directing Credits include: Kitchen Sink Dramas (2018) Toronto Fringe Festival, Y (2017) Alumnae New Ideas Festival and Seven Ages (2017) Eos Festival. Sandra’s writing credits include: Sizzle and Spin (2015) Toronto Fringe Festival, The Magyar (2014) InspiratTO and Laura Secord (2013), a Musical with composer Chris McKhool, Festival Players of Prince Edward County.
Ivana Obradović (Producer)
Theatre enthusiast, actress and producer involved with English and Serbian language theatre companies: Zona416, Serbian Theatre Toronto, Polet Theatre and most recently Pulse Theatre. Acted in and produced numerous plays including The Little Prince, The Visit and The Physicists. Very proud and excited to be part of Pulse Theatre, working hard on fulfilling its mission and mandate.
Amanda Caliolo (Stage Manager)
Amanda Caliolo is a deviser, designer, writer, photographer and stage manager based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She is excited to be working on The Woods are Dark and Deep. This will be her third show with Pulse Theatre. Her recent credits include photographer for the 2018/2019 playGround Festival, her international debut performing, co-devising and co-designing EVREN (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018), stage-managing Les Frères (University of Toronto- UC Follies), Operation PMS from Outer Space (Pulse Theatre), You’ve Got to be Kidney Me (Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2018), A Flea in Her Ear (Toronto Fringe Festival 2017- Pulse Theatre), Mother and Daughter (2017 Theatre inspiraTO Festival) and You’ve Got to be Kidney Me (York University- 2016/ 2017 playGround Festival).
Kristina Bijelić (Music Director)
Kristina Bijelić is a multilingual, multi-genre vocalist and violinist who made her professional singing debut at age 12. Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, she graduated with honours from the University of Toronto with a bachelor’s degree in musicology, and later a master’s degree in Contemporary Performance from Berklee College of Music, Valencia Campus, as well as a certificate in Jazz Performance from Humber College in Toronto. Trained in classical voice and violin since childhood, Kristina has sung on stages across North America and Europe and has since expanded her repertoire to include contemporary styles such as jazz, pop, Latin, and traditional Balkan music.
Meredith Wolting (Set and Costume Design, Promotional Design)
Meredith is a scenic artist, graphic designer, and illustrator who performs, teaches, and designs for theatre companies across the GTA. Recent work includes scenic art for “Beauty and the Beast” with Wavestage Theatre Company, and illustrations for the children’s book, “The Adventures of Ludwig and Imogen”. Excited to return to the stage, Meredith will be singing and dancing in Guys and Dolls with Alexander Showcase Theatre this April. www.meredithwolting.com
Alexandra Caprara (Lighting Design)
Alexandra Caprara is a multidisciplinary theatre artist from Toronto who has worked internationally as a designer, deviser, and director. Her recent credits include the co-creation of EVREN (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), director and writer of You’ve Got To Be Kidney Me (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), projection design for Post National (Volcano Theatre), director of Mother and Daughter (Alumnae Theatre, inspiraTO Festival), set and costume design for Still, Still, Still (The Commons Theatre), and holds a BA in theatrical design and devised theatre from York University. She currently is the production coordinator for Canadian Stage, as well as a stage technician with the Vaughan City Playhouse.