Photo credit: None
Cynthia Dyck
Cynthia has been involved in professional theatre, one way or another, for the over forty years. Her first job after high school was running the box office at the fledgling Persephone Theatre. Since graduating from the University of Saskatchewan Drama Department, she has performed, designed, produced, stage managed, house managed, and been a General Manager. Throughout her career, she’s worked with every professional theatre in Saskatoon and area.
Presently, Cynthia is a cofounder and the Executive Director of On the Boards Staging Company in Saskatoon. On the Boards was created in response to the limitations of the traditional model of theatre production. As a shared platform, On the Boards can anchor the activities of self-producing artists and small organizations with practical administrative and production support. On The Boards has been contributing to the arts community for 22 years.
When she is not busy with OTB, Cynthia advocates for the arts, serving on multiple boards, including those of Persephone Theatre, Saskatchewan Association of Theatre Professionals, the Association of Creative Industries of Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance and 25th Street Theatre.
Photo credit: Julie Isaac
Liam Scramstad
Liam Scramstad is a Métis theatre artist and filmmaker based in Saskatoon. He is a graduate of the motion picture arts program at the Recording Arts Institute of Saskatoon and has worked as a production manager, stage manager, sound designer, lighting tech and actor. His recent projects include Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre’s Dead Hand Signal (production manager, sound designer), Burnt Thicket Theatre’s Evergreen (stage manager), and SUM Theatre’s ‘First Monday’ reading of Queens of Bingo (actor).
Liam has produced two short films, the most recent of which was Ghost of the Past in 2021. Looking forward, Liam hopes to further refine his work in theatre and film while continuing to develop his next short film project and first play.
“...seems to be no end to what he is willing to try or do.”
Boy where to begin with this young dude! The first time I met Liam was through our 2017-2018 Circle of Voices Program (COV). He was 15 at the time, the youngest program participant. But unless you asked how old he was, you never would have guessed. Mainly because he seemed beyond his years! He was all in – smart, dedicated, observant, eager to learn and always ready to give more than 100% each time. He is also thoughtful, compassionate, and committed.
His performance during that year's COV production, Pimatisiwin by Curtis Peeteetuce, stood out. His skills complemented the program. Since completing the program, Liam went on to complete a film program at the Recording Arts Institute of Saskatoon, graduated high school, and continued to meet with the next round of COV to talk about his experience and what he's learned.
We brought Liam into other projects. He was hired for our first New Voices Stage Reading Festival, starting out as our stage direction reader, later taking on roles with the other scripts.
When the pandemic hit and we moved into digital delivery, Liam took the OBS training and designed our first online Playhouse Program Digital Festival. Again, we were amazed with the quick skills and experience to help make that delivery possible!
I wanted to keep Liam working with us as much as possible after that, so we brought him on to try assistant stage management for our 2020 Christmas production, Leave it to Weavers. And though Liam was new to ASM work, he stepped up when our stage manager got sick, and ran sound. With this very overfull plate, he still knew how to care for everyone around him while learning his own roles.
After that, we brought him on more, working around behind the scenes and he took on more stage management roles. We offered mentorship to Liam when we could, and he worked with our design mentor Carla Orosz for the production Shadows among the Prairies and offered his voice work for sound design.
I heard nothing but good things from other actors/designers/mentors about Liam’s work ethic and artistic talents, which always made me proud.
When we needed a production manager, again this young man stepped up and learned those ropes, and when we also needed a stage manager, he did both!
Liam was not afraid to ask questions or hesitate to offer others help. Before we started our 2022-2023 theatre season at GTNT, he wanted to try sound design and I said yes. I had no doubt what this young artist was capable of and all his potential. For our production Willow/Stew, he wanted to do two roles: production manager and debut sound designer, where he built an amazing design from scratch. With respect to his sound design, there is no doubt he is a true artist.
**End Note: Information on Liam Scramstad provided to Cynthia Dyck by Jennifer Bishop, Artistic Director of Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre (GTNT).