FRONTIER
Phase Two Development - April 6th - 20th, 2025
About
Frontier is a new, devised theatre production set against the raw, untamed backdrop of the foothills of 1800s Alberta, Canada. Nameless and faceless, a woman races through shadows of the merciless woods, dragging her funeral skirts up river to erase her scent, pursued, haunted and driven by the dogs that hunt her. As Jane navigates the harsh, unforgiving landscape of the Canadian wilderness, she confronts not only the physical dangers of the frontier but also the hauntings of her past.
Created by a team of Calgary’s top theatre-makers, this physically driven epic explores the tension between vulnerability and strength, truth and myth.
We invite our community to follow the final journey of FRONTIER’s development over the next season.
Frontier Phase Two Development, April 6 - 20, 2025
Co-conceived and created by Jamie Konchak and Eric Rose in collaboration with:
Tania Alvarado - Movement Director
NUM Duo - Sound Design
Aaman Merali and Eric Rose - Lighting Design
Allison Lynch - Composer
Jennie Esdale - Devisor
Emily Howard - Devisor
Jamie Konchak - Performer & Co-Creator
Eric Rose - Director & Co-Creator, Co-Lighting Designer
Aaman Merali, Technical Director, Co-Lighting Designer
Production History
Frontier completed Phase One Development, January 29 - February 19, 2024
Phase One Development Workshop Co-Produced by Jamie Konchak and Ghost River Theatre with support from Alberta Foundation for the Arts and Handsome Alice Theatre.
GRT supports the development of new work through a significant investment in creative research, often bringing together teams of devising collaborators for multiple development phases. During this first phase, the artists collectively explored and developed the theatrical language and aesthetics that will form the foundation of FRONTIER.
2025 Workshop Credits
Jamie Konchak
Co-Creator and Lead Performer
Jamie Konchak is an award winning actor, singer, puppeteer, educator and deviser based in Calgary. Her creative curiosity and diverse skill set has nourished a twenty-plus year career of performing everything from classics to contemporary fireside shows in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. She has performed in countless premier productions of new works, devised theatre productions and recently as a puppeteer on two seasons of Apple TV+ and The Jim Henson Company’s Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock. Past appearances with Ghost River Theatre include; SOMETHING TO DO WITH DEATH, REVERIE (creation workshop) and GIANT as well as many other collaborations with her dear friend, Eric Rose. She is Mama to the miraculous, Thatcher Wallace Percy.
Tania Alvarado
Movement Director
Tania Alvarado is a contemporary dance artist whose career spans diverse performance mediums and somatic practices. She has performed across Canada, interpreting choreography by notable Canadian dance artists. Her choreographic work has been featured at major festivals and contemporary dance venues nationwide, and she has brought her solo performances to international stages in Europe through Bancs d’Essai Internationaux.
In recent theatre engagements, Tania has performed with Chromatic Theatre, and in two productions at Vertigo Theatre, Cipher, and Murder in the Studio, which she also choreographed. Her choreography has also contributed to various productions, including Calgary Opera's La Traviata, Caravan Farm Theatre's Blackhorse, ATP's Teenage Dick, and Cowgirl Up. At GRT, Tania has been involved as a Movement Director and performer in the first phase of Frontier (2024), and as a guide for the Room Sculpture Experience.
Allison Lynch
Composer
Allison Lynch is an actor, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound-designer, MD and voice artist. Allison has performed on stages across Canada and internationally, from the Stratford Festival, to Theatre Calgary to the NAC, to the Arts Club, and as a soloist with the Calgary, Winnipeg and Victoria Philharmonic orchestras and The Malaysian Symphony Orchestra. She also scores for film, TV and documentaries and recently composed 7 documentary shorts for an installation in Calgary’s new SAM Centre. In 2024 she was named one of Avenue Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40. You can stream her album Skin & Flame on all streaming platforms.
Jennie Esdale
Devisor
Jennie is a performer, director, playwright and instructor. She has worked with theatres across the country, including: National Arts Centre, Banff Centre for the Arts, Theatre Calgary, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Citadel Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, The Cultch, Ghost River, The Only Animal, and numerous children’s, arts, folk and puppet festivals. Her works have toured Canada and internationally. Jennie
has been recognized through theatre awards and nominations:
Outstanding Actress, Achievement TYA, New Play, Production of a Musical and Outstanding Performance TYA. She is Education Associate at
Theatre Calgary and served as Theatre Aquarius (Ontario) Theatre School director for seven seasons. She was co-Artistic Director of Calgary’s Green Fools Theatre, from 2004-2017. She shares three beautiful kids with her husband, Shaun Smyth.
Eric Rose
Co-Creator and Director
Co-Lighting Designer
Eric Rose is an award winning multi-disciplinary director and creator of live performance and the Artistic Director of Calgary’s acclaimed Ghost River Theatre. His passion for the creative process has inspired the diversity of his multidisciplinary experience spanning: large scale contemporary and classical theatre, site- specific performance, devising theatre, new play development, physical performance and dance. Eric’s work embraces a hybrid of high tech visual spectacle with low-fi theatrical magic and is developed through a significant investment in imaginative research and development.
Aaman Merali
Co-Lighting Designer
Technical Director
Aaman has worked in theatre, production, and film for 10 years. Initially working as a stage crew, he quickly moved on to specialize in sound, working as a sound designer and head of audio for various shows in the past 5 years. Though he specialises in sound he is also well-versed in lighting, video broadcast and production management. His most notable role was as Technical Director for the world premiere of “STRUCK” presented by Ghost River Theatre Company. In 2024 he started Afterlife Productions, a calgary based company specializing in corporate and theatrical events.
Emily Howard
Devisor
Emily Howard is a Calgary based actor for the stage and screen. She attended the University of Alberta’s BFA Acting program where she fell in love with both classical work, as well as devising, clown, and bouffon. She has worked for companies in Alberta such as Theatre Calgary, Alberta Theatre Projects, Vertigo Theatre, Rosebud Theatre and The Citadel. She is the recipient of both a Betty Mitchell Award and an AMPIA Award. She also works behind the screen as a production coordinator, art director and set decorator.
NUM Duo
Sound Design
NUM is an interdisciplinary sonic arts duo formed by Maryam Sirvan and Milad Bagheri in 2010, originally from northern Iran. Their work spans electroacoustic music, sound art, and multimedia installations. Over the years, they have developed a unique approach to audio-light-visual compositions by integrating digital signal processing and data manipulation. Their artistic practice has taken them to various festivals, art residencies, and exhibitions across West Asia, Europe, and Canada. Since 2021, they have been based in Calgary, where they continue to explore and contribute to the local music community through innovative sound art.
Jan-Feb 2024: “Frontier” Phase One Development Workshop was Co-Produced by Jamie Konchak and Ghost River Theatre with support from Alberta Foundation for the Arts and Handsome Alice Theatre. Conceived & Created by Jamie Konchak and Eric Rose in collaboration with; Movement Director: Tania Alvarado; Sound Designer / Composer Allison Lynch; Designer: Hanne Loosen; Stage Manager: Meredith Johnson; Performed by Jamie Konchak; Directed by Eric Rose. "Frontier” Phase One Development Workshop took place Jan. 29 - Feb. 19, 2024, at the at the West Village Theatre, in Calgary, AB, Canada.
