We're counting down the days until we arrive in Chatham. Our artists are trailblazers in the industry all coming with their original work. The Sidestream Festival offers a wide range of performances by talented Canadian artists. Audiences are in for a treat unlike any other. Here's a little bit about the artists being featured at the Festival:

MIRRORS

Creator, Performer: Nabil Trablousi

Nabil Traboulsi is a Lebanese actor and writer born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon and currently based in Toronto. Nabil works on stage and on screen in English, French and Arabic and has worked with a wide range of theatre creators. He is a Resident Artist and Associate Artistic Producer with ARC, an artist-led company that premieres international works. Nabil has won 2 Dora Awards and has been nominated 4 times...

Dramaturg: Makram Ayache

MIRRORS is a powerful, multilingual journey across a century and three continents, following three lives caught in the crossfire of war.

MEMORIES: Voices from the The Trojan Horse

Music Director/ Vocal/ Guitar: Marcelo Puente

Marcelo was an architectural student during the coup in Chile. He arrived in Canada and reinvented himself through music. He performed in the Neruda play The Splendour and Death of Joaquin Murieta in Toronto. Soon, he and Ricardo Rivas and Juan Opitz played nights at Trojan Horse. When Greek Musicians teamed up with them, Compañeros was born. He continues to be known for his original songs, playing Free Times Cafe and other venues.

Director: Cynthia Grant

Musicians: Fotis Tubanos - Vocal/Guitar, Heather Chetwynd - Vocal, Nano Valverde - Andean Flutes, Oriana Barbato - Bass, Dino Carambelas - Drums, Stephanos Hagistefanou - Bazouki, Ken Kakoulis - Second Bazouki

MEMORIES: Voices from the Trojan Horse is a concert-style celebration of the legendary café where music and poetry, came together in a powerful chorus of resistance and community.

CHULA

Creator, Performer: Alexandra Lainfiesta

Born and raised in Guatemala, Alexandra is a multiple awards winning actor and up-and-coming writer. She is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts, Studio 58 and most recently obtained her Masters in Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Victoria.As an actor, Alexandra has worked across Canada with companies such as The Stratford Festival, Arts Club Theatre, Citadel Theatre...

Director, Dramaturg: Pedro Chamale

CHULA is a one-woman musical that follows Aria, a Guatemalan-Canadian singer, as she returns to Guatemala to reconnect with her Spanish-speaking relatives despite only speaking English.

(UN)FRUITFUL

Creator, Performer: Heather Marie Annis

Heather is an actor, director, playwright, educator, theatrical and therapeutic clown, co-artistic director of U.N.I.T. Productions, and “Morro” of the Dora and Canadian Comedy Award winning clown duo, Morro and Jasp. You can currently see her in the web series, The Supers, The Stoners and The Big Bad...

Director: Aurora Browne

Dramaturg: Erin Shields

Actors: Kiana Woo, Nicole Powe

(UN)FRUITFUL is a raw and comedic new work that follows three women navigating the emotional highs and lows of infertility, shedding light on a journey often kept secret, filled with heartbreak, humour, and the relentless pursuit of pregnancy.

BAGGAGE

Creator, Performer: Marijke Reinink

Marijke is a multidisciplinary theatre creator, performer and, musician from Toronto. She is always looking for new ways to explore storytelling and expand her theatrical practice. Recently, she directed the first staging of Spell by Barbara Blatner (a continuation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest), performed across Canada in various tours and presented original work in festivals like the Toronto Fringe and Theatre Gargantua’s Unfinished Cabaret...

Director, Shadow Puppeteer: Mya Leworthy

Actor: Nel Khayutin

BAGGAGE is a visually striking shadow-play performance in which two exes confront their past while dividing their shared belongings, exploring themes of love, loss and queerness.

LUCKY BASTARD

Creator, Performer: Breton Lalama

Breton Lalama is a writer, performer and filmmaker. As an actor, he’s worked with Young People’s Theatre, Canadian Stage, Bad Hats, Soulpepper, Neptune Theatre, The Royal Manitoba Theatre Center and more. Breton sits on the Pink Triangle Advisory Committee and is the proud-cofounder of the Spindle Films Foundation to support transgender Canadian filmmakers...

Director: Daniel MacIvor

Pianist: John Alcorn

LUCKY BASTARD is a site-specific cabaret performance celebrating a life, hosted by the charismatic and irreverent Mr. B (that Bastard), featuring songs and unforgettable moments on stage.

BOTH SIDES NOW

Co-creator, Pianist: David Eliakis

Passionate about the hidden gems of music, pianist David Eliakis thrives on uncovering lesser-known works and composers waiting to be discovered. With an ear for the unique and a love for the classics, he enjoys reinterpreting timeless songs, breathing new life into beloved melodies. His performances have taken him to Brazil, Switzerland (World Economic Forum), England (as a finalist in the Wigmore Hall Song Competition), Northern Ireland, Germany, New York, and across Canada as pianist and musical director

Co-creator, Vocal: Teiya Kasahara

BOTH SIDES NOW is a captivating concert featuring opera singer Teiya Kasahara and pianist David Eliakis as they reinterpret iconic Canadian songs through their classical lens, blending timeless melodies with personal stories to create a nostalgic coast-to-coast musical journey.

THE QUEEN IN ME

Creator, Performer: Teiya Kasahara

Heralded as “artist with extraordinary things to say” (The Globe and Mail) and “a force of nature” (Toronto Star), Nikkei Canadian settler Teiya Kasahara 笠原貞野 (they/he) is a transgender opera singer and interdisciplinary theater creator based in Tkarón:to. Teiya comes from a background of nearly 20 years of singing both traditional and contemporary operatic roles, across Turtle Island and Europe including the Queen of the Night Die Zauberflöte, Cio-Cio San Madama Butterfly and the soprano solos in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Verdi’s Requiem...

Co-Directors: Andrea Donaldson & Aria Umezawa

Set & Costume Designer: Joanna Yu

Lighting Designer: Andre du Toit

Projection Designer: Laura Warren

For tickets to the Sidestream Festival, visit secure1.tixhub.com.