MERMAID PARADE is an indie theatre company dedicated to producing new work from an international repertory with a focus on female playwrights and performers.

Astrid, Claire, and Jon all previously collaborated on Canadian Premiere productions of Chloe Moss’ ‘women out of prison’ drama, THIS WIDE NIGHT, presented at Theatre Passe Muraille backspace, and as a site-specific remount at The Red Sandcastle Theatre, Toronto, for which Astrid received a Dora MavorMoore award for Outstanding Performance in a principal role, Independent Theatre.

The premiere production was associate-produced by Zarrin Darnell-Martin, via support from The National Theatre School of Canada's FUND. Production design by Lindsay Ann Black, music from Emily Derr & Mike Conley, stage management Meredith Henry (photography by Virginia Macdonald).

“Van Wieren and Burns are absolutely superb. Mermaid Parade's production proves that great theatre can happen anywhere.” Christopher Hoile, Stage-door. Van Wieren and Burns work beautifully together, creating that tenuous, careful, tentative world of these two fragile, damaged women. This is a tough play, well done. Michaelson’s direction adds to that bleak, yet vivid world. For 90 minutes we are in that world too. “ Lynn Slotkin, The Slotkin Letter. “There's lots to admire in this production, which captures the script's humor as well as much of its tension." Jon Kaplan, NOW magazine. “First class performances and astute direction make This Wide Night a night to remember.”(Jeniva Berger scenechanges.ca.)

PREVIOUS & UPCOMING PROJECTS

More recently, Artistic Directors Van Wieren and Michaelson initiated the development of a new play by Rose Cullis, with songs by Astrid. After/BAAL (a rock n roll reckoning) has been workshopped at a Banff Performing Arts Creation Lab (2022), and, under the aegis of November Theatre, was workshoppe with public presentations at Red Sandcastle Theatre (2023), and Tarragon Theatre’s Extra Space (2024) with a cast including Jack Nicholsen, Parmida Vand, Sarah Richardson, Michael Scholar Jr., Astrid Van Wieren, and Mike Tae Lee. A premiere production in affiliation with Mermaid Parade is forthcoming in 2027. www.after-baal.ca

Astrid Van Wieren’s acting and singing talent is familiar to audiences in Toronto, and elsewhere in Canada, and she’s created a number of leading roles in new plays and musicals. Her body of work includes originating roles in Come From Away in which she appeared on Broadway for five years during its extraordinary award-winning run, as well as performing in the Apple TV movie version of the show, and on the original cast recording.

Other premiere productions she played leading roles in include Bad Hats Theatre’s musical NARNIA, in Toronto in 2025, Sharon Wheatley’s DRIVE (La Jolla/San Diego), Belles Soeurs - The Musical (Montreal, and the NAC), The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (Artistic Fraud, St. John’s Newfoundland), Matt Murray’s comedy Myth Of The Ostrich, Kat Sandler’s farce SUCKER, Rob Kempson’s musical The Way Back to Thursday (Theatre Passe Muraille), and BAAL (Mercury Theatre/Buddies in Bad Times, Toronto)

Currently, Astrid’s scheduled to perform in a new musical Freak The Mighty premiering in Cleveland and Seattle in the spring and summer of 2026. Also upcoming is a NYC workshop of another new show God, Sex, and Musical Theatre (March 2026) from creators Kristin Hangii (“Rock Of Ages.”) and KT Tunstall. And she’s slated to perform in Ellen McLaughlin’s RUNAWAYS and CONVERSATIONS AT THE RETURN OF SPRING. More info at www.astridvanwieren.com

Previous producing work includes two Mercury Theatre productions in which Astrid didn’t appear: “Pterodactyls”, & “Homebody/Kabul”, and two in which she performed and provided songs: BAAL (premiere) & After/Baal. (Banff workshop). For Marjory Avenue Productions she also co-produced (with FILM COOP), the indie feature film The River You Step In which received awards from several North American indie film festivals: including Best Actress & Best Indie Feature (Toronto, Chicago, LaJolla, NYC).

Associate Producer Claire Burns, who also played a lead role in The River You Step In movie, will provide administrative, production management/event planning & marketing expertise to Mermaid Parade company’s theatrical efforts, including mulit-media projects. Claire has uniquely extensive experience and expertise as a producer, playwright, and actress. She was the Artistic Managing Director of Toronto’s Storefront Theatre Arts Initiative for several seasons. Her play HATCHED was presented in Toronto, directed by Jeannette Lambermont-Morey, with Astrid featured in the cast.

Director Jon Michaelson’s advocacy of work by female playwrights includes presenting Canadian premieres of plays by Rose Cullis, Cindy Lou Johnson, Wendy Kesselman, Jane Martin, and Ellen McLaughlin. (all for Mercury Theatre Toronto.)

His feature film debut The River You Step In - focused on a maverick female social worker, exploring issues of domestic abuse, and violence against indigenous women - was selected as an official entry in various North American indie film festivals, with cinema screenings in Toronto, and New York City. Awards included an Indie Vision award from the 2022 Socially Relevant Film Festival NYC. The movie is distributed by Cinemaintenant and available as a DVD and for online screenings. www.theriveryoutstepin.net ‍ ‍www.cinemaintenant.com

Jon also produced & directed a medium length documentary film Inside the PATERverse - about Toronto singer/songwriter/musician Parmida Vand (aka PATER) making their debut album “4-7 Company” - slated for release on the indie film festival circuit in 2026 from MAP & Mermaid Parade.

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Mermaid Parade’s resident playwright ROSE CULLIS is a queer writer/educator who’s had short stories, plays and monologues published in a number of theme-based anthologies, and other writing in This Magazine, Event Magazine, Brick, Vallum, and Prairie Fire. They’ve also performed in cabarets like Hysteria and Cheap Queers, and presented new work at the Summerworks, Fringe, and Rhubarb festivals. (e.g., “That Camille Claudel Feeling”). Their play The Happy Woman was produced by Nightwood Theatre. BAAL was produced by Mercury Theatre at Buddies in Bad Times. After/BAAL was developed at a Sage Hill playwriting lab, and workshopped at the Banff Centre, and presented as a work-in-progress by November Theatre at the Red Sandcastle theatre and the Tarragon Theatre Extra Space. Rose completed an MFA in Creative writing at Guelph University and a Masters of Environmental Studies at York University. (see more at rosecullis.com)