Aaron Joel Craig & Stephanie Hope Lawlor

About This Episode:

This week on Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby welcomes Aaron Joel Craig (Same Boat Theatre) and Stephanie Hope Lawlor (Rooks Theatre) to discuss their co-production of Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in Hamilton.

This episode explores:

• Reimagining A Doll’s House as a story for 2025 audiences
• The intersection of feminism, capitalism, and personal freedom
• Building independent theatre in Hamilton’s evolving arts scene
• The power of site-specific and intimate performance spaces
• Collaboration between Rooks Theatre and Same Boat Theatre
• Creating sustainability and opportunity for indie theatre artists
• How theatre can thrive outside major city centers
• Turning creative frustration into community impact

Guests:

🎭 Aaron Joel Craig

Aaron Joel Craig (he/him) is a director, dramaturge, designer and performer. His theatre work focuses on questions of identity, power and how to stay hopeful in a difficult world. Some past projects include Test, Your Own Sons and The Conspiracy of Michael, and the national tour of Whale Fall, all with Same Boat, and Henry the Fifth and Waiting for Godot for Redeemer University and, most recently, Hamlet, the inaugural site-specific co-production by Same Boat and Rook’s Theatre. He lives in the East End of Hamilton with his partner, Cath, their two kids, and his probably-too-big record collection. You can find him some days at Last Supper Books, a new independent bookstore on James Street North, which also serves as the home of Same Boat Theatre’s monthly play reading and development series, Dispatches.

🎭 Stephanie Hope Lawlor

Stephanie is an award-winning multi-hyphenate who lives and works in Hamilton. She spends her days crafting artistic community, facilitating space for brave individuals to hone their creative voices, and making theatre with really great people.

Selected Theatre: Hamlet (Rook’s x Same Boat), Rebecca in Whale Fall (Same Boat Theatre in Hamilton, Vancouver, Toronto, then Hamilton again), Eleanor in Never Not Once, Cassandra in One Night Only, Liesl in The Sound of Music (Theatre Aquarius), Mary/Flowers in Mary’s Wedding, Vanda in Venus in Fur (Rook’s Theatre), Snow White (Drayton Ent.), Young Leda in Provenance (Berkeley Street Theatre), Florence in Why Do Fools Fall in Love? (Stage West), KC Downing in My Favorite Year, Wagner/Wrath in Doctor Faustus (RAPA), Mary Snow in Salt-Water Moon (Studio Theatre). In Concert: Don’t Laugh (Unless I’m Trying to be Funny) (cabaret debut), From Broadway With Love, Isabella Tarantella (Brott Music Festival), Stephanie and Shane meet Stephen, Women of Musical Theatre Festival (MAP, 2 seasons). Workshops: Too many to name, for Theatre Aquarius, Young Peoples’ Theatre, Young Street Theatricals, Berkeley Street Theatre, Sullivan Entertainment. Training: Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts (Randolph College), McMaster University.

Stephanie serves as Associate Artistic Director at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts and Director of Programming for the HCA Theatre School, and is a two-time Hamilton Arts Award nominee and the recipient of the only Innovation - Cutting Edge Gilded Hammer Award for her work in the Hamilton theatre community (2020).

Connect with Aaron & Stephanie:

🌐 Same Boat Theatre: sameboattheatre.com 🌐 Rooks Theatre: rookstheatre.com 📸 Same Boat Theatre on Instagram: @sameboattheatre 📸 Aaron on Instagram: @aaronjoelcraig 📸 Rooks Theatre