Broadway North Youth Theatre
About Us
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BROADWAY NORTH YOUTH THEATRE is a youth-oriented musical theatre company based out of Newmarket/Aurora. Created and operated by musical director and soprano Shoshana Friedman, and artistic director and actress, Laura Halley, BROADWAY NORTH endeavours to instill, nurture and cultivate in our youth a love of musical theatre.
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Our programs teach the singing, dancing and acting skills that are intrinsic in each individual presentation and culminate in theatrical performances of a full-scale, fully-staged musical or dramatic production, complete with props, costumes and sets.
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We have a full range of programs geared to children from 5 to 19 years of age and all content and themes are youth friendly and age appropriate.
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We believe that programs need to be fun as well as educational and we strive to make sure that everyone, no matter their role, is kept busy learning and is constantly involved. Because we keep our enrollment numbers reasonable and low, every participant has a considerable amount of material to prepare and learn. There truly ARE no small roles in our productions
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At BROADWAY NORTH, we believe that it is important to develop a well-rounded and educated musical theatre performer.
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We have structured our programs to teach NOT just the play, but also the elements that go into creating more multi-dimensional and credible characters. We will introduce the basics of singing technique, proper diction, expression and characterization so that your child can excel beyond their expectations.
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BROADWAY NORTH fosters greater self-assurance and confidence and helps participants to grow both personally and artistically.
SHOSHANA FRIEDMAN
FOUNDER
MUSICAL DIRECTOR
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Shoshana is a classically trained soprano who brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to these programs, having helmed such youth productions as Guys and Dolls, Dear Edwina Jr., Hairspray, Grease, High School Musical, Aladdin, Into the Woods, Urinetown, Camp Rock, Annie Jr.,Seussical, Bugsy Malone Jr, Footloose, Les Miserables, The Wizard of Oz, Mamma Mia and Aladdin. She is also the musical director. co-produer and lead soprano in the stage show, Opera Luminata, which combines opera, musical theatre and contemporary favourites with pyrotechnics and other spectacular stage effects.
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As a performer, Shoshana has appeared in film, opera and operetta and has concertized extensively. She has performed roles ranging from Nedda in I Pagliacci and Violetta in La Traviata to Marion in The Music Man. She is most proud of having created the role of Anne Frank in the Canadian Premiere of Grigori Frid's one-woman opera, The Diary of Anne Frank. She received such critical acclaim for this performance that she was invited to reprise the role in the Czech Republic. Shoshana holds an ARCT Piano Performer's Diploma from the RCM in Toronto as well as a BA in English from York University. She has studied voice in Canada, New York and Italy and can sing in several foreign languages, including French, Italian, Spanish, German, Hebrew, Yiddish, Russian and Czech. Her CD, "Kiss Me Again", is a sultry compilation of romantic foreign love songs of the 40's and 50's.
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In addition to her busy schedule at Broadway North, Shoshana runs a successful private music studio teaching singing and piano. She is a huge animal lover and advocate and shares her home with 3 cats, 2 dogs, 2 birds and 1 very understanding husband.
LAURA HALLEY
FOUNDER
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
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Laura began her career in the industry when she was bit by the acting bug while apprenticing at the Charlotte Reperatory Theatre in North Carolina. Upon returning to Canada, she worked as an actor and appeared in films, on television and in numerous theatre productions. Laura went on to study in both Canada and the United States, furthering her professional development and appearing in such productions as “Steel Magnolias”, “The Affections of May” and “Stepping Out”. Her on-screen credits include playing in Asimov's Probe with the ABC Television Network where she had the great fortune to work with Parker Stevenson. She lives with her brilliantly supportive husband, Kris, who makes every day a blessing.
Recently, Laura has ventured into the world of writing and is currently working on a book of monologues for young performers. Laura is the founder of KIDS, CAMERA, ACTING! She teaches private acting lessons and works extensively with young, professional actors in the industry on audition preparation and monologue development, as well as working as an on-set acting coach. Having taught and directed youth for many years, she is proud to be able to bring her exceptional skills to Broadway North, where she continues to share her knowledge with the talented youth in our region!
PETER SHIPSTON
YOUNG PERFORMERS'
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Peter is very excited to be joining the team at Broadway North Youth Theatre as artistic director for the Young Performers' programs. His passion for theatre began at the age of 12 when he saw the Mirvish production of "Dracula" at The Royal Alex. He has since acted and directed in close to a hundred productions throughout York Region and has remained spellbound by the magic of theatre.
Included among the numerous nominations and awards, Peter has received, are a THEA Award for Best Director of a Comedy, as well as a special adjudicators award for Directing, from ACTCO (The Association of Community Theatres of Central Ontario).
One of his professional highlights was spending summers in Bala, ON for a few years where he worked as part of a professional repertoire company called, The Actor’s Colony Theatre. He was proud to be the only actor asked to perform in all five seasons of its too short existence.
Some of his favourite acting roles include; Elwood P. Dowd in "Harvey", The Vicomte de Valmont in "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", George in "Of Mice and Men", and Mickey/Lucius in "Greetings!", for which he won the Best Actor THEA. The play was then selected to move onto the provincial competition (Theatre Ontario Festival) and the role garnished him another win for Best Actor there as well.
DARREN FLETCHER
TEEN TROUPE
CHOREOGRAPHER
Darren has been involved in community theatre since he was a very young age, after having made his "theatrical debut" as Little Red Riding Hood in the backyard of his aunt's home in Detroit. He continued to explore all aspects of musical theatre from that time on. He worked many summers as a choreographer/director in his hometown of Orillia, ON before moving to Toronto. Darren's favourite roles thus far have been Sylvia St Croix in RUTHLESS, Edna Turnblad in HAIRSPRAY, Hysterium in FORUM and Snoopy in SNOOPY. He has choreographed many adult as well as youth shows including Oklahoma, Meet Me in St Louis, Sound of Music, Rent, and Hairspray to name just a few.
He continues to be the resident choreographer" for Broadway North Youth Theatre's Teen Troupe working with them to bring quality theatre to the area. Darren has acted as Broadway North's choerographer for their Young Performers' Guys and Dolls, Dear Edwina and Annie and Teen Troupe's Into the Woods, Urinetown, and Footloose and Les Miserables, Mamma MIa and Guys and Dolls. Recently, Darren retook the stage with Theatre Aurora starring as Adam in Next Fall and as Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman. For his work, he was nominated as Best Actor in both shows, winning an ACTCO for the latter. Darren has been with Broadway North since its inception and we are thrilled that he is with us again for Grease and is already onboard for next year's Legally Blonde!
JAQUELINE BROWN
YOUNG PERFORMERS'
CHOREOGRAPHER
Jaqueline Brown grew up dancing competitively in her hometown, Newmarket, ON. She furthered her studies in dancing, acting, and singing at George Brown College where she earned a Diploma in Performance Dance Studies, and a Certificate in the Performing Arts. She holds her Associate Jazz Teacher’s Certification with the British Association of Teachers of Dancing (BATD), and has completed ballet examinations with the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD).
Jaqueline is a company member of Simcoe Contemporary Dancers (SCD) and performs throughout Simcoe County and the surrounding areas year-round. As a member of SCD, and previously with companies such as The Parahumans, Sophie Luxton Productions, and the York Lions Dance Team, she has performed and showcased various works for community events, festivals, full-length shows, and competitions such as Toronto’s Dance Ontario Dance Weekend, the Guelph Contemporary Arts Festival, "Cumulonimbus & the Fable Keepers", "Fever II: A Cabaret", and the Huronia Arts Festival to name a few. In 2015, Jaqueline choreographed Canadian indie rock band, The Elwins' "Show Me How To Move" music video.
In 2014, she studied abroad at the Vienna International Dance Festival, Impulstanz, partaking in workshops taught by dance experts from across the globe. Jaqueline is a full-time dance educator at local studios in and near her hometown. She studied Psychology and Spanish at York University and received her BA Honours degree. Jaqueline’s passion for dance extends through to her love of other artistic forms such as singing, and playing the piano and guitar.
Our 2023/24 season is Jaqui's 8th as choreographer for our Young Perfomers' programs
BARB JONES
ASM/ASSISTANT DIRECTOR:
YOUNG PERFORMERS/TEENS
Barb got her start in community theatre while still in high school. She was a member of the St. Peter’s Scarborough Gilbert and Sullivan Society for fifteen years (with a break of about ten years when she had her three wonderful children). After moving to Bradford she connected with Theatre on Main, a small storefront theatre on Main Street in Newmarket, where she was cast in the musical Jasper Station. Feeling right at home, Barb continued to perform and learned a few other roles involving theatre in this intimate venue. She continued to perform with other theatre groups; Steppin’ Out Productions in Richmond Hill, Newmarket Stage Company and Theatre Aurora. At Theatre Aurora her involvement has included cast member, director and producer for a number of shows. She also sat on the Board of Directors at Theatre Aurora for six years. Barb has been the liaison for Laura and Shosh over the past few years’ summer camps at Theatre Aurora .
As a primary teacher, Barb feels very strongly that children have an innate ability for music. She took additional qualification courses in primary vocal music, obtaining her Primary Music Specialist in 2007. Barb continued to work with all age groups in musical extracurricular activities in the school, expanding to directing mini musicals for the grade 1-3 students and eventually to one act musical plays with the grade 4 - 8 students.
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Although now retired from teaching, Barb sings with the A Cappella York Barbershop Chorus in Newmarket and with Baldwin Blend Mixed Barbershop Chorus during the summer season at Harmony Ranch in Georgina. She always makes time to spend with her special man, 4 year old grandson Colton, and loves to volunteer in his kindergarten classroom twice a week.
MICHELLE LUTZ
TEEN TROUPE
STAGE MANAGER
Michelle has been involved in community theatre from a very young age - always working behind the scenes in some capacity. She has stage managed shows around York Region for both adults and teens - some favourites include: Into the Woods, Legally Blonde, Hairspray, Urinetown, Footloose, and Les Miserables. She is excited to be back as stage manager for Broadway North's Teen Troupe productions.
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Michelle keeps busy as a high school Music and Arts teacher in Newmarket, and playing clarinet in the Festival Wind Orchestra. When not teaching or working on her various extracurricular activities, she enjoys spending time with her two small children and her husband at their home in Barrie.