Meet The Creatives

Hanlon Uafás-Álainn is a queer trans man, and Mad writer, actor, producer, director, and choreographer based in Tkaronto/Toronto; he’s the owner of Hanlon’s Point Productions and a founding member and co-director of Under the Bus Productions.

Hanlon’s plays and films can represent the struggles, triumphs, and possibilities for trans and queer folks – in love, pride, success, safety, and community. Hanlon is a feminist and aims to prioritize women, trans/queer/BIPOC/mad folx, and newcomers in his storytelling, casting, and choices of collaborators. He lives and works between Toronto and Nova Scotia.

Hanlon’s performance career began with being hired to highland dance in the 1987 International Tattoo in Halifax. He performed in lead roles at local performances by the Tatamagouche Area Singers and was hired to choreograph for the Gilbert and Sullivan excerpts that were included in the annual productions.

After graduating with a BA in Theatre Acting from Dalhousie University, Hanlon was hired to perform as part of a school tour with Young Neptune Theatre Company. In 1994, Hanlon relocated to Newfoundland to teach and choreograph productions at Memorial University’s BFA Theatre Programme.

In 1998, Hanlon founded the Highland Fusion dance company Touch of Tartan (ToT) in Toronto and was the company’s artistic director, choreographer, and one of the principal dancers for 8 years.

Hanlon’s first monologue about gender was performed at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in 2012, his monologues were based on his very personal exploration of gender and led him to realize his transness, and consequently to him come out to his family and small children. That process inspired the play Unexpectedly Trans, which was performed by Hanlon and Mihály Szabados at the 2017 Halifax Fringe; it was well-received by audiences and critics.

Bubble Trans Pride, a second play by Hanlon in the Unexpectedly Trans universe, was created with co-writer Dr. Syrus Marcus Ware (Antarctica, Does that Make Me Crazy) and mentor Diane Flacks (Kids in the Hall, Waiting Room, Unholy). ‘Bubble’ premiered as a workshop production at Halifax Fringe in 2018 and was presented at the 40th Rhubarb Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 2019.

Under the Bus also created a music video for Rich Aucoin’s The Change. When Rich approached Hanlon, he felt the song resonated with his experience of gender transition. The video was released on YouTube in June of 2019.

Works in Progress:

Nightwood Theatre hosted an online process workshop and reading of a feminist work, Inherited Beliefs, in April of 2021 with Artistic Director Andrea Donaldson directing, Diane Flacks as dramaturge, and a cast of Canadian greats, including Seana McKenna, Robert King, Tsholo Khalema, Alicia Richardson, Karla Rae James, Mihály Szabados, Sarah Orenstein, Ron Kennel, and Keaton Kwok.

Also in 2021 Under the Bus in association with Roseneath Theatre produced a workshop of Call Me Papa (now titled Real Me); this project was conceived to be Covid-safe; the performance at the end of the week was a uniquely interactive online showing. The performance was enthusiastically received and “struck a chord” with the 70+ participants who tuned in online – students from two Toronto schools and community members in more rural areas of Ontario.

Based on feedback after the first workshop (from the actors, music director, dramaturg, TYA expert, and audience members) the script for Real Me was altered and Hanlon wrote five new songs to add to it. A second workshop in May of 2023 culminated in an online reading for schools. Real Me is now in the production phase with the live in-person premiere set for September 26 th and 27 th , 2024 at Roseneath Theatre, and a wheelchair accessible performance will be held at Thatz Showbiz on September 28th, 2024

Hanlon has written and received many grants from the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, the Canada Council for the Arts, and Lush Cosmetics Charity Pot Programme.

Roseneath Theatre has also supported the development of Real Me, contributing in-kind donations of the Artistic Director’s time, space for rehearsal/performance, and equipment rentals.

In 2023, Hanlon was nominated for the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize. His plays have led to the creation of several short films, the most recent of which, RE:GEN(D)ERATION, is on the festival circuit now and has been receiving critical acclaim and awards internationally. You can read Hanlon’s work in the essay and play collection This is Beyond: Time Capsule of Queer Experience.

Liminal idEntities, Hanlon’s newest creation-in-progress, had a workshop debut at Halifax Fringe in 2023, with Brandubh Uafás-Álainn’s videos, audio recordings and old-school overhead projector slides providing both sets and scene partners (actors Kiara-Kumail, Thorne Brown, and Karla Rae James). Hanlon continues to develop the script with dramaturgical input from Sunny Drake thanks to an Ontario Arts Council Project Grant.

Find Hanlon on:

Instagram: @hanlonspoint
His Blog: HanlonsPoint
FaceBook: @HanlonsPointProductions

Karla Rae James is a visually impaired trans actor who now lives in Toronto, but originates from Nova Scotia. Karla performed in the music video The Change, created by Hanlon McGregor and Mihaly Szabados, for the song by Rich Aucoin. She also performed the role of Gillian in Bubble Trans Pride at the 40th Rhubarb Festival and the Halifax Fringe 2018. 

Syrus is a Vanier Scholar, visual artist, activist, curator and educator. Syrus uses painting, installation and performance to explore social justice frameworks and black activist culture. His work has been shown widely, including in a solo show at Grunt Gallery, Vancouver (2068:Touch Change) and new work commissioned for the 2019 Toronto Biennial of Art and the Ryerson Image Centre (Antarctica and Ancestors, Do You Read Us? (Dispatches from the Future)) and in group shows at the Art Gallery of Ontario, the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, Art Gallery of York University, the Art Gallery of Windsor and as part of the curated content at Nuit Blanche 2017 (The Stolen People; Wont Back Down).  His performance works have been part of festivals across Canada, including at Cripping The Stage (Harbourfront Centre, 2016, 2019), Complex Social Change (University of Lethbridge Art Gallery, 2015) and Decolonizing and Decriminalizing Trans Genres (University of Winnipeg, 2015).   

He is part of the PDA (Performance Disability Art) Collective and co-programmed Crip Your World: An Intergalactic Queer/POC Sick and Disabled Extravaganzaas part of Mayworks 2014. Syrus' recent curatorial projects include; That’s So Gay (Gladstone Hotel, 2016-2019), Re:Purpose (Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2014) and The Church Street Mural Project (Church-Wellesley Village, 2013). Syrus is also co-curator of The Cycle, a two-year disability arts performance initiative of the National Arts Centre. 

Syrus is a core-team member of Black Lives Matter - Toronto. Syrus is a co-curator of Blackness Yes!/Blockorama. Syrus has won several awards, including the TD Diversity Award in 2017. Syrus was voted “Best Queer Activist” by NOWMagazine (2005) and was awarded the Steinert and Ferreiro Award (2012). Syrus is a PhD candidate at York University in the Faculty of Environmental Studies.

Find Syrus on: 

Instagram: @syrusmarcus

Facebook: @SyrusMarcusWare

Brandubh Uafas-Álainn is a Toronto-based non-binary makeup artist and visual artist, and a graduate of C|MU College of Makeup Art and Design. Stephen created makeup and art directed The Change music video for Rich Aucoin in 2019. Their makeup work has been published on the cover of Gmaro Magazine. 

In the theatre world, Brandubh art directed Bubble Trans Pride at Rhubarb Festival (2019) and Halifax Fringe (2018) and was makeup artist for ‘802’ by Thorne Brown, ‘Pack Animals’ by Cerys Ford, and ‘Shady’ by Grishma Patel (3 Plays in 30 Days, Thatz Showbiz, 2018), and ‘Heathers’ (Hart House Theatre, 2018). They are part of the production team for ‘Mad Margaret’ with Peggy Coffey in pre-production.

Find Brandubh on: 

Instagram: @stchristian_mua

Thorne Brown is a playwright and author, best known for his performance and collaborative writing work with ThatzShowBiz in the 3 Plays in 30 Days programme and Under The Bus' short film Phoenix Wishes, made as part of the 48 Hour Film Challenge. Thorne Brown uses his talent for the language arts to discuss and address personal, often political, issues he faces, such as transphobia and anti-black racism, as a transgender man of colour settled in the Greater Toronto Area. Thorne Brown is the youngest known TMOC playwright in Ontario and continues to develop his skills in a variety of ways, always thinking about the future of film and theatre. 

Find Thorne on:

Instagram: @niggoth