Rice & Beans Theatre
Made in Canada: An Agricultural Operetta was the inspiration for this song cycle. It was planned to premier at Performance Works on Granville Island as a rice & beans theatre production in collaboration with Playwright Theatre Centre. But that was not to be. The COVID 19 pandemic forced the show to shutter before it even opened. Fortunately, with an amazing team of artists we were able to bring to you the project in another form.
Pedro Chamale
Writer
Pedro is a Latinx-Canadian playwright, director & performer who was born and raised on treaty 8 territory (Chetwynd BC)and now resides and creates on the unceded and traditional lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. He received his BFA in Theatre Performance from SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts. He then went on to form rice & beans theatre with Derek Chan, where he served as co-artistic Director until 2021 and is now the sole Artistic Director of the company. Pedro is also a founding member of CALTAC (The Canadian Latinx Theatre Artist Coalition) which is an organization that advocates, networks, and celebrates professional Canadian Latinx theatre artists. In 2021, Pedro was the recipient of the SFU Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology’s Young Alumni Award along with rice & beans cofounder Derek Chan. Select Credits: Anywhere But Here (Electric Company), Himmat (Theatre Conspiracy), Selfie, Bull (Rumble Theatre), Broken Tailbone (Nightswimming), Slime (the only animal), Mis Papás (rice & beans), Are We There Yet? (Neworld Theatre), The Show Must Go On (Push Festival).
Mishelle Cuttler
Composer
Mishelle is a Vancouver based composer and sound designer whose work is centred around the integration of sound, music, and storytelling. When gathering restrictions began in March of 2020, Mishelle was fortunate to find multiple opportunities to make music safely - both through digital streaming work, and socially distant outdoor performances when possible. She learned a great deal about audio storytelling through this time, and is deeply invested in continuing to find ways to make sound and music accessible through this challenging time. Since live theatre has begun to return, she has designed for companies such as Bard on the Beach, Citadel Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, and Neworld Theatre. Upcoming, she will be designing sound for The Seventh Fire – an immersive audio installation piece built for Lobe Spatial Sound Studio, with Delinquent Theatre. She has an MFA in Musical Theatre Composition from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and a BFA in Acting from UBC.
Jamie Sweeney
Production Manager
Jamie Sweeney is a production manager, a technician, a designer, an artist, a performer, and all the other ways she can find herself deeply involved in the world of theatre. She is currently living, working, and creating on the unceded traditional Coast Salish Territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She is thankful for the continued opportunity to work with rice & beans theatre.
Barry Mirochnick
Percussion
Barry Mirochnick is a Vancouver-based musician originally from Winnipeg, MB. He has been active in the music and Theatre scenes since 1998, with highlights including recording and touring extensively with Veda Hille, playing on 4 records with Great Aunt Ida (including the 2021 release ‘Unsayable”), and touring for 5 years with Neko Case (and playing on Neko’s Grammy-nominated album “Middle Cyclone”). Barry has also played drums recently with Great Aunt Ida, Patsy Klein/Tony Wilson Quartet, and Rice and Beans Theatre’s “Made in Canada, an Agricultural Song Cycle”. Theatre credits (musician) include: The Birthday Boy, Leaky Heaven Circus ; A Craigslist Cantata, Hille/Gladstone/Richardson ; Onegin, Gladstone/Hille ; King Arthur’s Night, neworld ; and five previous East Van Pantos.
Mark D’Angelo
Trumpet
Mark D'Angelo a native of North Vancouver holds a Master of Music Degree from the University of McGill in Montreal. Mark is currently Principal Trumpet of the Kamloops Symphony, and Second trumpet with the Vancouver Island Symphony. He has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver New Music, Victoria Symphony, CBC Radio Orchestra, Thunder Bay Symphony, and the American Brass Quintet as an Aspen Music Festival Fellowship recipient. Mark has performed and studied Mexican music for seventeen years with
Mariachi Los Dorados having performed in countless events. Some notable performances include one with Grammy Winner Lila Downs, the 2010 Winter Olympics, Canada Rugby Sevens, Calgary Stampede, and the International Mariachi Festival in Guadalajara four times. Mark currently holds the position of trumpet instructor at Capilano University, Trinity Western University, and is a Stomvi Performing Artist.
Christine Quintana
Vocals
Christine is a playwright, actor, and theatre maker. Born in Los Angeles to a Mexican-American father and a Dutch/British-Canadian mother, she now makes her home on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Christine is proud to honour the stories of the hard-working people who put food on our tables through this project, and encourages you to support organizations like Dignidad Migrante and the Migrant Rights Network. christinequintana.ca
Catherine Hiltz
Bass
As a session musician, Catherine has worked with artists Tegan and Sara, Jill Barber, Rae Spoon, Mathew V, The Sojourners, Khari McClelland, Vox Rea, and CR Avery, as well as being a member of event band Queer As Funk. She has worked with producers Sylvia Massey (Johnny Cash, Tool, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Alex Hope (Tegan and Sara, Alannis Morisette), and Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, Mother Mother, The New Pornographers). She has toured markets in North America, Europe, and South Asia, performing at some of the world's premiere showcase festivals including Primavera Sound (ESP), SXSW (US), Reeperbahn Festival (DE), The Great Escape (UK), Transmusicales (FR), NH7 Weekender (IND). She has opened for Steve Vai, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, The Electric Six, Ria Mae, Blue Rodeo, Stars, The Ataris, and many more. Catherine works as a producer and engineer at Vancouver's Capsule Studios, and her production work has charted in the Earshot Top 10 (Britt AM - Gold). She has contributed music to radio shows, film, and documentary work. She transcribed Rae Spoon's 110-song songbook, and has twenty years of experience teaching contemporary guitar, bass, and theory.
Molly MacKinnon
Violin
Molly MacKinnon is an award-winning violinist and collaborative artist based out of Vancouver BC on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples. An interdisciplinary creator and performer with a passion for storytelling through music, Molly has been seen on stages all across the city. Recent projects include The Quarantettes; a roving singing group brought into being during the pandemic, Good Things To Do; a digital creation centred on technological intimacy and gentleness; and Never the Last; a concert/theatre hybrid exploring the life and work of 20th century composer Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté. Molly’s extensive orchestral experience includes the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Island Symphony, the Vancouver Film Orchestra, and the Allegra Chamber Orchestra. She is the co-founder of Concerts On Tap, a series that brings together Vancouver craft breweries and classical music. Molly also performs regularly with the Black Dog String Quartet, who are set to release their first full length album of original compositions this coming August. www.mollymackinnon.ca
Ray Alegria
Vocals/Guitar
Passionate musician who studied and learned to play drums, guitar, piano, composing and singing. Ray has taken several singing courses and learnt to play acoustic guitar autonomously. Studied Bachelor of Music of the Autonomous University of Nayarit, with piano as main instrument.There, he learned classical repertoire, music theory, harmony, counterpoint, chamber music, electric guitar, classical singing, among others. In addition, Ray took several master classes with renowned pianists such as Alain del Real, Isaac Nammé, Ulises Hernández, Andrés Sarré, Nika Jonicenoka, and a semester of piano with José Luis Gonzalez Moya in Guadalajara city. Worked with Rice & Beans Theatre company as a guitarist, cultural and music consultant, arranger and composer in their ‘MADE IN CANADA: An agricultural song cycle’ as well as a guitarist and singer with ‘Los Dorados’ Premier Mariachi band here in Vancouver, BC, since February 2019.
Hungry for more? Check out the Made in Canada companion podcast and show merchandise at micsongcycle.ca.
Pedro Chamale
Writer
Pedro is a Latinx-Canadian playwright, director & performer who was born and raised on treaty 8 territory (Chetwynd BC)and now resides and creates on the unceded and traditional lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. He received his BFA in Theatre Performance from SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts. He then went on to form rice & beans theatre with Derek Chan, where he served as co-artistic Director until 2021 and is now the sole Artistic Director of the company. Pedro is also a founding member of CALTAC (The Canadian Latinx Theatre Artist Coalition) which is an organization that advocates, networks, and celebrates professional Canadian Latinx theatre artists. In 2021, Pedro was the recipient of the SFU Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology’s Young Alumni Award along with rice & beans cofounder Derek Chan. Select Credits: Anywhere But Here (Electric Company), Himmat (Theatre Conspiracy), Selfie, Bull (Rumble Theatre), Broken Tailbone (Nightswimming), Slime (the only animal), Mis Papás (rice & beans), Are We There Yet? (Neworld Theatre), The Show Must Go On (Push Festival).
Mishelle Cuttler
Composer
Mishelle is a Vancouver based composer and sound designer whose work is centred around the integration of sound, music, and storytelling. When gathering restrictions began in March of 2020, Mishelle was fortunate to find multiple opportunities to make music safely - both through digital streaming work, and socially distant outdoor performances when possible. She learned a great deal about audio storytelling through this time, and is deeply invested in continuing to find ways to make sound and music accessible through this challenging time. Since live theatre has begun to return, she has designed for companies such as Bard on the Beach, Citadel Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, and Neworld Theatre. Upcoming, she will be designing sound for The Seventh Fire – an immersive audio installation piece built for Lobe Spatial Sound Studio, with Delinquent Theatre. She has an MFA in Musical Theatre Composition from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and a BFA in Acting from UBC.
Jamie Sweeney
Production Manager
Jamie Sweeney is a production manager, a technician, a designer, an artist, a performer, and all the other ways she can find herself deeply involved in the world of theatre. She is currently living, working, and creating on the unceded traditional Coast Salish Territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. She is thankful for the continued opportunity to work with rice & beans theatre.
Barry Mirochnick
Percussion
Barry Mirochnick is a Vancouver-based musician originally from Winnipeg, MB. He has been active in the music and Theatre scenes since 1998, with highlights including recording and touring extensively with Veda Hille, playing on 4 records with Great Aunt Ida (including the 2021 release ‘Unsayable”), and touring for 5 years with Neko Case (and playing on Neko’s Grammy-nominated album “Middle Cyclone”). Barry has also played drums recently with Great Aunt Ida, Patsy Klein/Tony Wilson Quartet, and Rice and Beans Theatre’s “Made in Canada, an Agricultural Song Cycle”. Theatre credits (musician) include: The Birthday Boy, Leaky Heaven Circus ; A Craigslist Cantata, Hille/Gladstone/Richardson ; Onegin, Gladstone/Hille ; King Arthur’s Night, neworld ; and five previous East Van Pantos.
Mark D’Angelo
Trumpet
Mark D'Angelo a native of North Vancouver holds a Master of Music Degree from the University of McGill in Montreal. Mark is currently Principal Trumpet of the Kamloops Symphony, and Second trumpet with the Vancouver Island Symphony. He has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver New Music, Victoria Symphony, CBC Radio Orchestra, Thunder Bay Symphony, and the American Brass Quintet as an Aspen Music Festival Fellowship recipient. Mark has performed and studied Mexican music for seventeen years with
Mariachi Los Dorados having performed in countless events. Some notable performances include one with Grammy Winner Lila Downs, the 2010 Winter Olympics, Canada Rugby Sevens, Calgary Stampede, and the International Mariachi Festival in Guadalajara four times. Mark currently holds the position of trumpet instructor at Capilano University, Trinity Western University, and is a Stomvi Performing Artist.
Christine Quintana
Vocals
Christine is a playwright, actor, and theatre maker. Born in Los Angeles to a Mexican-American father and a Dutch/British-Canadian mother, she now makes her home on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Christine is proud to honour the stories of the hard-working people who put food on our tables through this project, and encourages you to support organizations like Dignidad Migrante and the Migrant Rights Network. christinequintana.ca
Catherine Hiltz
Bass
As a session musician, Catherine has worked with artists Tegan and Sara, Jill Barber, Rae Spoon, Mathew V, The Sojourners, Khari McClelland, Vox Rea, and CR Avery, as well as being a member of event band Queer As Funk. She has worked with producers Sylvia Massey (Johnny Cash, Tool, Red Hot Chili Peppers), Alex Hope (Tegan and Sara, Alannis Morisette), and Howard Redekopp (Tegan and Sara, Mother Mother, The New Pornographers). She has toured markets in North America, Europe, and South Asia, performing at some of the world's premiere showcase festivals including Primavera Sound (ESP), SXSW (US), Reeperbahn Festival (DE), The Great Escape (UK), Transmusicales (FR), NH7 Weekender (IND). She has opened for Steve Vai, Sharon Jones and The Dap Kings, The Electric Six, Ria Mae, Blue Rodeo, Stars, The Ataris, and many more. Catherine works as a producer and engineer at Vancouver's Capsule Studios, and her production work has charted in the Earshot Top 10 (Britt AM - Gold). She has contributed music to radio shows, film, and documentary work. She transcribed Rae Spoon's 110-song songbook, and has twenty years of experience teaching contemporary guitar, bass, and theory.
Molly MacKinnon
Violin
Molly MacKinnon is an award-winning violinist and collaborative artist based out of Vancouver BC on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples. An interdisciplinary creator and performer with a passion for storytelling through music, Molly has been seen on stages all across the city. Recent projects include The Quarantettes; a roving singing group brought into being during the pandemic, Good Things To Do; a digital creation centred on technological intimacy and gentleness; and Never the Last; a concert/theatre hybrid exploring the life and work of 20th century composer Sophie-Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté. Molly’s extensive orchestral experience includes the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Island Symphony, the Vancouver Film Orchestra, and the Allegra Chamber Orchestra. She is the co-founder of Concerts On Tap, a series that brings together Vancouver craft breweries and classical music. Molly also performs regularly with the Black Dog String Quartet, who are set to release their first full length album of original compositions this coming August. www.mollymackinnon.ca
Ray Alegria
Vocals/Guitar
Passionate musician who studied and learned to play drums, guitar, piano, composing and singing. Ray has taken several singing courses and learnt to play acoustic guitar autonomously. Studied Bachelor of Music of the Autonomous University of Nayarit, with piano as main instrument.There, he learned classical repertoire, music theory, harmony, counterpoint, chamber music, electric guitar, classical singing, among others. In addition, Ray took several master classes with renowned pianists such as Alain del Real, Isaac Nammé, Ulises Hernández, Andrés Sarré, Nika Jonicenoka, and a semester of piano with José Luis Gonzalez Moya in Guadalajara city. Worked with Rice & Beans Theatre company as a guitarist, cultural and music consultant, arranger and composer in their ‘MADE IN CANADA: An agricultural song cycle’ as well as a guitarist and singer with ‘Los Dorados’ Premier Mariachi band here in Vancouver, BC, since February 2019.
Hungry for more? Check out the Made in Canada companion podcast and show merchandise at micsongcycle.ca.