Anne Marie Mortensen – Artistic Producer, Artist-Educator
Anne Marie is a playwright, director, dramaturge, and designer (set, costumes, lighting). Like many theatre artists and administrators, she wears many hats to ensure that her company provides quality experiences for patrons and students. She is a sought-after Producer and Stage Manager, having contracts with Theatre Kingston, The Gertrudes, Skeleton Park Arts Festival, The Kingston Theatre Alliance, SwirlsXaRt, Calliope Collective, and Shortwave Radio Festival. As a seasoned acting coach, Anne Marie developed the Stage Right and Little Stars acting programs that have provided theatre education to hundreds of young people in Kingston.
Patricia Beneteau – Stage Right Coach, Assistant Program Coordinator
Patricia has been part of the Bottle Tree family since 2008. Her love of performing outshines her natural shyness and she truly feels at home in theatre. Patricia has worked on many productions inside and outside of Bottle Tree Productions, with roles including; the Rose, the Fox, the Geographer, and the Merchant in ‘The Little Prince’; Candy in ‘Zombie Prom’; Belle in ‘Beauty and the Beast’; and Rizzo in ‘Grease’. Beyond theatre, Patricia has experience working in the field of Child and Youth Care, which stems from her love of theatre and her knack for creativity.
Iris jenkins – Coaching Assistant
Iris Jenkins has been participating in Bottle Tree Productions’ acting classes since she was 6 years old. She has done drama, comedy, and musical theatre. She loves theatre, reading, singing, and telling jokes. She is currently in grade 12 and hopes to work in an arts-related field. Iris has volunteered with the younger classes as she loves bringing the joy of acting to others.
Ariel Zaichick – Vocal Music Director, Vocal Coach
Originally from Mississauga, Ontario, Ariel Zaichick has over 18 years in classical voice training, and currently teaches privately at her home studio, Music By Ariel (www.musicbyariel.com). After graduating from Queen’s University with her B.Mus in Voice, Ariel has made Kingston her home, teaching at Sistema Kingston, vocal directing with Bottle Tree Productions and singing as Soprano Section Leader with the Melos Choir & Period Instruments Ensemble.
Splitting her time between teaching and performing, stage highlights for Ariel include Olympia in “Les contes d’Hoffman” (Midwest Institute of Opera), Maria in “West Side Story in Concert” (Queen’s University Orchestra) as well as intensives such as The Russian Opera Workshop (Philadelphia), Druid City Opera Workshop (Alabama), and the Acting Opera Intensive (NYC).
Wilding – Improv Specialist, Acting for Camera Coach
Amy Wilding, known mononymously as Wilding (Queer, Non-Binary – They/Them/Mx) is an Improviser, Actor, Comedian, Director, Producer, Writer, Host and Improv Teacher. Wilding has been performing and teaching Improv for over 20 years. Their high energy, quick wit and rolodex of zany characters can be found on many stages from Vancouver, BC to Kingston, ON. They are an Alumni Performer, past Artistic Director and Improv Workshop Instructor with QueerProv – Western Canada’s premier Queer Improv Troupe and an Alumni Performer, Sound and Lighting Improviser with the Improv Centre – the organization formerly known as Vancouver TheatreSports. Wilding loves connecting with people and making them laugh. They enjoy sharing the gift of Improv with as many people as they possibly can! See them performing with Improv partner, Tony Babcock, in their hilarious improv show “2 Live Queers”!
Jeff McGilton, Occasional Acting Coach
After getting an undergraduate degree at The Dan School of Drama and Music and subsequent Master’s Degree in Applied Theatre from Goldsmiths University of London, Jeff decided to come back to Kingston to join its booming arts community and to help become a facilitator of it. In the last year and a half, Jeff has worked with local organizations including the Kingston Theatre Alliance, Kingston Arts Council, and Bottle Tree Productions, where he still visits as a guest coach. His theatrical interests include puppetry, devised theatre, and masks.