ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Ruaridh MacDonald is a multi-disciplinary Theatre Artist and Musician. He was born and raised on Treaty 4 Land in Regina, Saskatchewan. Ru has worked as an actor, singer, writer, composer, music director, sound designer, set designer, artistic associate, producer, assistant stage manager, marketing coordinator, spotlight operator, and front of house. His high school drama teacher also misguidedly let him have his own set of keys for the school auditorium’s fly system.
He is a 2017 graduate of Sheridan College’s Music Theatre Performance Program and the 2024 Soulpepper Academy.
On Stage: Alligator Pie - Winner of 4 Dora Mavor Moore Awards including ‘Outstanding Ensemble’ (Soulpepper Theatre); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Nutcracker in The Nutcracker (2019, 2023) (Caravan Farm Theatre); The Hobbit, The Globe Cabaret: A Musical Theatre Revue, Making Spirits Bright (2021, 2022), The Fusion Project (Globe Theatre); Camelot, Portia (Victoria Playhouse Petrolia); Queer Songbook Orchestra (Regina Symphony Orchestra); The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Chickens, Fitz Happens, Dogbarked (Souris Valley Theatre); Floyd Collins, Sunday In the Park With George (Sheridan)
Sound Designer: The Birds & The Bees (Persephone Theatre); Composer/Lyricist: The Adventure of Young Turtle - SATA & Sterling Award Nominations ‘Best Original Score’ (Azimuth/Persephone Theatre); Musical Arrangements: Making Spirits Bright (Globe Theatre); Composer/Educator: One Song, Glory (Musical Stage Co.); Writer/Producer: The Ordinary Adventures of Gordo & Herm (Super Wonder Gallery), Narcissus: A Cycle, The House of Special Purpose (art.pop Toronto); Set Designer: Where You Are (Station Arts Centre), The Rocky Horror Show (Ovation Productions) Fitz Happens! (Souris Valley Theatre), Monsters By Nature (Toronto Fringe)
Other: Ru was a Drummer with Inveraray & District Pipe Band (2012-2019) He won the Scottish, European, and World Pipe Band Championships with the band, and recorded Ascension: Live at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in 2013.
Executive DIRECTOR
Polly Summerhayes is a dynamic administrator with a rich background in both performance and arts management. A graduate of Sheridan College’s Musical Theatre Performance Program and Humber College’s Arts Administration program, Polly brings a rare blend of artistic insight and operational expertise to her work. She is an enthusiastic advocate for diversity, accessibility, and equity in the Canadian performance industry, with a deep commitment to fostering inclusive creative environments.
Polly has held roles across programming, outreach, and policy development, including work with Humber College’s Culture’s Compass Conference, Prologue Performing Arts, and as a freelance HR consultant supporting grassroots arts organizations in equity and inclusion initiatives. As a performer, Polly has hosted two seasons of Generation Kitchen on Bell Fibe TV1 and contributed to the development of new Canadian musicals Grow and Trap Door through Sheridan’s Canadian Musical Theatre Project.
Polly’s work is grounded in relationship-building, communication, and care. She is especially interested in how performance can be used as a tool for connection, and how thoughtful administration can support creative processes from the ground up.
