Chris Sigurdson*
Director

“This is an auspicious debut for Andrew's new company. The Last Five Years is a gem of a musical and there is an excited buzz radiating from everyone involved including myself. The music is infectious. This is a really heartfelt exploration of the highs and lows of a relationship. The lyrics are wonderfully witty and scathingly honest. It's no wonder everyone is so excited to be working on this project.”

Chris is a Winnipeg-based performer and director.The Last Five Years will be his third chance to direct a musical; Assassins for Dry Cold Productions was his first, and his second, Honk: the Musical for Manitoba Theatre for Young People.

Recent directing credits include: Some Things You Keep, Einstein’s Gift  for Winnipeg Jewish Theatre; Laramie Project,  Durang Durang, All Restaurant Fires are Arson for Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE); The Goat or Who is Sylvia?  for Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC); and Merchant of Venice  and Richard III for Shakespeare in the Ruins.

Selected performance credits include Lumiere in Beauty and the Beast, Hook in Peter Pan and the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz for Rainbow Stage; Potter in It's  Wonderful Life (MTC), Al in How It Works (PTE)

Andrew St. Hilaire
Music Director & Piano

“I'm really looking forward to doing this show. The music is so great and I'm excited to see it all come together on stage with TJ, Chris, the grand piano and the band!”

This past summer, Andrew was the Musical Director for RENT and the Conductor for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Rainbow Stage. He was Musical Director with Halifax's Neptune Theatre for Beauty and the Beast as well as The Producers and played keyboard in the pit orchestra for many other shows with Manitoba Theatre Centre, Rainbow Stage, and many high school and amateur productions. www.makingthemusic.com

Evan Klassen*
Stage Manager

“I'm thrilled to be a part of this company and to be working on this production. The Last Five Years is a beautiful story, with fantastic music to boot. A real treat to work on.”

Recent credits include: White Christmas, Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC); RENT and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Rainbow Stage; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Theatre Calgary; The Drowsy Chaperone, MTC.  Up next you can find Evan in Calgary, working on The Drowsy Chaperone and Much Ado About Nothing at Theatre Calgary.

Chris Isaak
as Jamie Wellerstein

“I think my favorite musical composers are Sondheim and Jason Robert Brown. This is a great role and possibly the best show I have ever done.”

Chris Isaak has sung in a variety of performance settings, including concert recitals, operas, oratorios and musical theatre. His most recent roles were as Roger in 7 Ages' production of RENT, and Sir Galahad in Mecca's SPAMALOT. He is very excited to be a part of this production of The Last Five Years

TJ Pepper*
as Cathy Hiatt

“I’m so lucky to be a part of this amazing, hilarious and heartbreaking show, and can’t wait to get started on putting it all together. It is a musical unlike any other, and I’m dying to get to work!”

TJ was most recently seen on stage in two different productions of the musical RENT, with both Rainbow Stage and the Academy of Acting. Other shows include Rainbow’s Beauty and the Beast, Footloose, and Big the Musical. A singer/songwriter, TJ has performed and toured all over the country, and shared the stage with performers as diverse as Fred Penner, Burton Cummings and Jordan Knight. Recently married, she is the proud mother of  3 ½ year old Benji, and is excited to perform for the first time as a Pepper!

Libid Zyla Harder
Set & Lighting Design

In the past year, Libid has designed lighting for Remember the Night for Moving Target Theatre, and Habitat for Theatre By The River. Set and Costume design credits include Betrayal and Cherry Docs, both for the Winnipeg Jewish Theatre.

Greg Wood
Head of Audio

Greg Wood is pleased to be doing audio for The Last Five Years. He is a member of IATSE Local 63 where he works as a stagehand at various theatres across the city, including Manitoba Centennial Centre, Manitoba Theatre Centre and Pantages Playhouse.  During the summer months you can find him at Rainbow Stage where he runs the audio for their shows.

Adam Young
Musician - Guitar

As a guitarist and producer, Adam is busy both locally and internationally.  He is a 'first call' musician and sound engineer amongst many of the music circles in Winnipeg.  Currently Adam devotes much of his energy producing Canada’s new county singer Sol James.  He is excited to play for this musical and hopes to connect with new musicians and singers and contribute to an artistic piece outside of the realm of his usual work.

Andrea Bell
Musician - Cello I

Born in Winnipeg, Andrea holds Bachelor degrees in both Music and Education from the University of Manitoba and a Master of Music in cello performance from the University of British Columbia. Andrea is the manager and cellist of the Rembrandt String Quartet, which performs for concerts and events around Winnipeg. A passionate music educator, Ms. Bell directs the String Orchestra at Westgate Mennonite Collegiate and conducts the Winnipeg Youth Concert Orchestra, as well as maintaining a large cello teaching studio. She is the Director of the Summer Chamber Music Camp at the University of Manitoba and is guest faculty member of the Winnipeg Summer Cello Institute.

Bruce Jacobs
Musician - Bass

“It is a great pleasure to work with people of such a high caliber of professionalism. I am eager for the audience to share in our experience!”

Bruce can usually be found accompanying artists in many genres, including Kenny Shields and Streetheart, Sierra Noble, The Rankin Family/Sisters, Ron Paley among others. However, the theatre has always held a special mystique for him. Bruce has taken part in over 35 main stage shows at Manitoba Theatre Centre, Rainbow Stage and Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, as well as numerous high school and university productions.

Karin Erhardt
Musician - Cello II

Karin studied cello and piano at the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts and at Indiana University. After playing principal cello for the Windsor Symphony, Karin returned to Winnipeg, where she has been the principal cello of Musik Barock since its inception, and has performed frequently with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, Manitoba Theatre for Young People (touring to the National Arts Centre), Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Canzona, Rainbow Stage, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Shakespeare in the Ruins, Dry Cold Productions, and the Fringe Festival. She has enjoyed working with such diverse performers as Anne Murray, Sarah Brightman, Rod Stewart, Eagle and Hawk and tour runs of Phantom of the Opera and Les Miserables.

Karin loves her large batch of cello students, aged 7 to 75, and her work as a piano accompanist. Her quartet, the Allegra Strings, has probably played at one of your cousin's weddings.

Natalia Zielinski
Musician - Violin

Natalia began playing the violin at the age of eight, first taught by her mother. She continued her studies with Inga Granovskaya and then completed her Bachelor of Music in violin performance at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Music with Dr. Oleg Pokhanovski. Natalia was the recipient of the prestigious Lawrence Genser Performance Competition Scholarship in 2005 and was one of the University of Manitoba Concerto Competition Winners, selected to perform as a soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the U of M Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in music festivals across Canada, in Italy and Poland and locally has played for Agassiz Music Festival (Emerging Artist Recital), Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, Oleg and Friends, Groundswell, SmartPark’s Eureka! Series, Manitoba Theatre Centre and Rainbow Stage Productions, and frequently performs in concerts organized by Winnipeg's Polish community.  In 2008 and 2009 Natalia toured across Canada and the United States as Musical Director and featured soloist with Romanza, and traveled the Atlantic Ocean on cruise ships with the Armadillo String Quartet.  She is now in the Masters of Music program at the University of Manitoba, where she was awarded a Graduate Fellowship.