JENNIFER

STEWART

Theatre Director,

Actor & Educator

About

Born and raised in Stratford, Ontario, Canada, home of the world famous Stratford Festival Theatre, Jennifer is a multidisciplinary theatre artist - actor, singer, dancer, director, choreographer, producer and educator - who has performed and directed plays and musicals throughout Canada, the United States and Europe. She began her career as a child actor with the Stratford Festival, where she has completed six seasons to date as an actor (including 'Fiddler on the Roof", "42nd Street", "Tommy", "The Pirates of Penzance") and three seasons as an assistant director ("Othello", "Long Day's Journey Into Night" and "HMS Pinafore").

In addition to Stratford she has played leading roles in dozens of productions, including Penny Pingleton in the Original Canadian Cast of "Hairspray" for Mirvish Productions, Lisa in "Mamma Mia!" for Mirvish Productions, Peggy Sawyer in "42nd Street" for Drayton Entertainment, Lois Lane in "Kiss Me Kate" for Talk Is Free Theatre, Jolene Oakes in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" for Theatre Calgary, Mrs Wilkinson in "Billy Elliot" for YES Theatre, Alice in "Alice in Wonderland" for the Sudbury Theatre Centre as well as the Broadway tour of "White Christmas".

Jennifer was the director of the original musical "Every Silver Lining", which played the Toronto Fringe Festival (Patron's Pick) and the Stratford City Hall Auditorium as well as the Next Stage Festival at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto to enthusiastic audiences. She directed and choreographed two musicals for St Lawrence Collage in Brockville, Ontario, Canada: "Honk, the musical" and a new devised musical called "Apothecary". Jennifer has been on the faculty of the Randolph College for the Performing Arts in Toronto and has led Music Theatre Workshops for the University of Toronto and the Musical Stage Company in Toronto, Canada online. Jennifer is a Company Member and Artist BIG participant with Talk Is Free Theatre, located in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, where she directed "The House of Bernarda Alba" by Federico García Lorca during the pandemic online, with a stellar cast including some of Canada's leading actors, including Seana McKenna, Martha Henry and Alexis Gordon. In 2021/2022 she taught Acting (Interpretacion) classes at La Escuela Superior Artes Escencias de Malaga in Malaga, Spain.

Most recently, Jennifer created, wrote and performed the one-woman show "Confessions of Motherhood" which she produced in association with Talk Is Free Theatre in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. "Confessions of Motherhood" will play at various theatres around Ontario in the summer of 2024. On Sunday August 18 at Base 31 for County Stage Theatre Company and on Sunday August 25 at the Stratford City Hall at 8pm. www.eventbrite.com for tickets. Recently, Jennifer played the role of Josie Pye in a new play adaptation of the Canadian Classic novel, Anne of Green Gables, for the Stratford Festival. In the spring of 2023 Jennifer played the role of Missy Hart in the Stage West Calgary production of "9 to 5 the musical" in Calgary, Alberta.