Creative Team
Andrea Scott - Playwright Cherissa Richards - Director Jeremiah Sparks - Music Director Rachel Forbes - Set and Costume Designer Leigh Ann Vardy - Lighting Designer Troy Slocum - Sound Designer Aaron Collier - Projection Designer Karen Bassett - Fight Director Christine Oakey - Stage Manager Kevin Olson - Assistant Stage Manager Veronica Jollimore - Apprentice Stage Manager Daniel Nwobi - Chrysalis Director Cast Matthew G. Brown - Jack Desmond/Atwell/Michael Landry/James/Ensemble Deborah Castrilli - Viola Desmond Sarah Frank - Violin Player Cameron Grant - Matty Peters/Pitman/Charlie Maxwell/Anchor/Andrew Reid/Character E/Ensemble JD Leslie - Laura/Mary Freeman/Character C/Character H/Ensemble Julie Martell - Miss Sandie Pink/Ma MacNeil/Meredith Pinet/Usher/Gwen/Ensemble Lisa Nasson - Lucille Renaud/Sisi Francis/Ensemble Riel Reddick-Stevens - Althea Pearleen Oliver/Rose Reid/Candace/Cindi/Character G/Character D/Ensemble Andrew Shaver - Simon Nixon/Henry MacNeil (manager)/Frederick William Bisset/Magistrate Roderick Macay/Radio Announcer/Character F/Ensemble Jeremiah Sparks - Rev William Pearly Oliver/Barrett/Frederick Walls/Police Officer/Character A/Ensemble |
Production Photos by Dylan Hewlett
On November 8, 1946, Halifax business owner, Viola Desmond went to a movie at the Roseland Theatre in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Unaware that she was sold a lower-priced ticket for the balcony, where Black patrons were expected to sit, Viola took a seat on the main floor: the whites-only section. Although she offered to pay the one cent tax difference, Viola was dragged from the theatre, jailed, and charged. Her story would impact history forever. In Controlled Damage, award-winning playwright Andrea Scott illuminates the true story of Canadian Civil Rights icon, Viola Desmond – a woman who took a stand against racial discrimination, by taking a seat at a theatre.