Our Team
Mark Henderson is an Edmonton Actor, Director and Producer. One of the original minds behind both the Thousand Faces Festival and Theatre Prospero, he is currently Artistic Director of both. He also conceived of the Serca Festival of Irish Theatre, which he ran from 2009 to 2015. Mark is a big fan of things mythic, epic, and poetic. Notable directing credits include Tololwa Mollel’s prototype Anthem of Life with Jennifer Spencer, Reneltta Arluk’s Pawâkan Macbeth (with Barry Bilinsky); Hamlet, Medea and other Mytho – Poetical and /or Irish shows old and new for Theatre Prospero and the Serca Festival. Acting highlights include Pat and others in Jennifer Spencer’s Maggie Now Series of Plays for Theatre Prospero/Workshop West, and Claudius in Hamlet and Alonso in The Tempest for Theatre Prospero. Puppetry highlights include playing an octopus, a manta ray and a school of fish across Canada in Iguanadon Theatre’s Fishwhiskers, and animating Otis the Owl with Wayne Jeanotte in the based television series Bee Alert Bert.
When not doing things like the above, Mark likes to parent, paddle, cycle, fish, hike, think, swim, eat, and plot his next move.
Mark Henderson
Artistic Director
Jennifer Wanke
General Manager
Aidan McBride is an Edmonton-born theatre administrator and aspiring producer. A graduate with distinction from the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Commerce program, where he majored in Management and Organization, Aidan has most recently completed a Diploma in Arts and Cultural Management from MacEwan University. Aidan is passionate about the intersection of technical theatre and theatre management, and hopes to help performing arts companies reach new heights.
Aidan has taken part in the production of many conferences and festivals over the years, including stage managing the Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth Gathering in 2012, site supervision for the Skirtsafire Festival in 2018, and front of house at one of the largest venues of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Aidan has been using his expertise in online broadcasting to help organizations, including the Thousand Faces Festival and Theatre Prospero, to adapt and broadcast their content online. Following a series of successful virtual productions, he now leads as Director of Production for Theatre Prospero and has been the producer of the 2021 and 2022 Thousand Faces Festivals, Theatre Prospero's sister organization.
Aidan is also a self-described ‘enthusiastic amateur’ tuba player, and plays with Edmonton’s Cosmopolitan Music Society, where he also serves as Vice President on the board of directors.
Aidan McBride
Director of Production
Amanda Samuelson is a writer, actor, and producer currently based in Amiskwaciwâskahikan, colonially known as Edmonton, Alberta. She was born and raised in Grande Prairie, Alberta, where her passion for theatre began.
She is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts BFA program, with a major in Theatre and a minor in Creative Writing. She spent the majority of her time at NYU in the Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, where she first discovered her love of playwriting.
Amanda’s plays have received recognition in festivals and competitions locally, nationally, and internationally.
Her 10-minute plays include Gate D98 and My First Greek Sunset. One-act plays include A Visit and Rekindle. Her full-length play, Pressure, received an honourable mention for Fire Exit Theatre’s Scripts on Fire New Play Competition in 2020. An excerpt of Pressure was read at Workshop West’s Springboards Festival in March, 2022. The full play was read at Nextfest in June, 2022. Pressure premiered at the 2022 Edmonton International Fringe Festival, self-produced by GemmaTone Productions and presented by Nextfest. Producing experience also includes the New Mythic Works Series with the Thousand Faces Festival and Theatre Prospero.
Amanda Samuelson
Associate Producer
Ami Farrow is an Edmonton-based theatre designer originally from Saskatoon. She earned a BFA at the University of Saskatchewan and her MFA in Theatre Design at the University of Alberta. She is also a full member of the Associate Designers of Canada in costume, set and lighting design.
Ami is the resident designer for Theatre Prospero and has designed and built many aspects of Theatre Prospero's touring and in-house productions since 2005. Via Theatre Prospero’s residencies Ami has worked within various Edmonton schools creating costumes sets and props with children.
Ami has lit shows for Edmonton’s Shadow Theatre and also often works as a stage manager, lighting designer and dancer with Luna Dance Fusion. Ami's designs outside of Edmonton include many productions for Rosebud Theatre (Calgary), productions at Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon and she was a resident designer for Theatre Junction in Calgary. Ami production designed The Highest Step in the World which toured western Canada and won the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Production of a Play and the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology's Award of Technical Merit.
Ami also loves to dance, play guitar and raise her two darling children.
Ami Farrow
Artistic Associate
For the past 33 years Randall Fraser has created theatre and special events in Edmonton, Alberta, and around the world. As a founding member of the Trickster Theatre Residency program, he has directed and developed 100’s of plays and performances with students from K-12. He is also and award winning set, lighting, prop and costume designer. Randall is also a puppet designer, performer, and instructor.
Randall’s passion is to use the theatre and performing arts as a way of connecting people to their own creativity and being creative as part of a group or community.
When not making theatre Randall is the Artistic Director of the National Stiltwalkers of Canada, and can be found a festival’s and celebrations towing over the crowd sharing “high-fives”.
