Mr. Craig has been an Artistic Director and producer of plays for young audiences (TYA) for over thirty years. A tireless promoter and advocate of theatre for young audiences, he has extensive experience in small theatre management with particular skill in local, national and international touring. His productions have appeared at every festival and young audience series in Canada, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Kennedy Centre, The New York International Arts Festival, The Kravis Centre (Palm Beach) and the Discovery Theatre (Anchorage) in the United States, Childsplay in Phoenix, Arizona, the Seattle Children's Theatre and at festivals in Scotland, Ireland, London, England and Singapore. During this period he has created and supervised award-winning teams of theatre artists including directors Richard Greenblatt, Jim Warren, Ed Roy and Leah Cherniak, designers Mary Kerr, Sue LePage, Glenn Davidson and Theresa Pryzbylski and actors Yanna MacIntosh, Ron Gabriel, Jordan Peddle, Helen Taylor and Derek Scott.

In 1976, he founded Theatre Direct Canada which, in the following five years, attracted one of the largest audiences in Canadian TYA. He produced, wrote or co-wrote and performed in The Clown Who Laughed, The Great Canadian Energy Show, All For Beaver Hats, The Case of the Dreamburger Dilemma and The Railroad Story. He directed and co-wrote ''Morgan's Journey'' which won the inaugural Chalmers Award for TYA.

In 1983, with Robert Morgan, he founded Roseneath Theatre. Together as producer, playwrights and performers they created a series of plays which consistently pushed the barriers of TYA in terms of style and content and which attracted a national and international audience. The Book of Miracles, Health Class, The Heart of Mine Tour, One Heart at a Time (for the Toronto L'Arche community), and ''Dib and Dob and the Journey Home'' (Chalmers and Dora Mavor Moore Award) were created during this early period.

In 2001, Mr. Morgan left the company and Mr. Craig became Artistic Director, a post he still holds. He wrote and produced the internationaly acclaimed Danny, King of the Basement (Dora Mavor Moore Award, German Children's Theatre Prize Nomination), ''Smokescreen'' and ''Rocket and the Queen of Dreams'' as well as producing and developing ''Wrecked'' (Dora Mavor Moore Award) by Chris Craddock. Under his leadership, the company has become the largest touring theatre in Ontario with an annual audience of over 100,000 people.

Throughout his career, Mr Craig has been a prolific playwright with more than twenty professionally produced plays including "Having Hope at Home" and "Fires in the Night" for the Blyth Festival, a stage adaptation of ''Cue for Treason'' for the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre (formerly YPT), ''Journey from A.M.U.'' (Dora Nomination) for the Metropolitan Toronto Special Committee on Child Abuse and ''The Neverending Story'' for Imagination Stage and the Seattle Children's Theatre. His one-man show ''Napalm the Magnificent'' (Chalmers Award) was performed extensively in Canada and at the John Houseman Theatre Centre on Theatre Row in Manhattan. For CBC Radio, he created a fifty-one part series for Morningside based on his stage play ''Booster Crane, P.M.'' and for Metro Morning, a 50 episode series titled ''The Diamond Lane''. He has written episodes of ''The New Babar'' for Nelvana and is currently working on a play about Restorative Justice.  NOW magazine has called David S. Craig, "one of the top twenty playwrights in Canada."

Mr Craig has adjudicated at theatre festivals, on arts juries and for arts awards. He has received numerous grants from the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council. A popular speaker and teacher on the themes of playmaking and theatre arts, he has created experiences for students, teachers and professionals.

Awards and Nominations
 2005 NOMINATION - State Literary Prize of Germany - Danny King of the Basement (trans)
 2002 FINALIST - The Elinore & Lou Simonovitch Prize for Theatre
2002 WINNER - Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Production - Theatre For Young Audiences - Danny, King of the Basement
2002 WINNER - Writer's Guild of Canada Top Ten Award for The First Christmas
 2001 NAMED by NOW magazine as one of Canada's Top Twenty Playwrights.
1999 WINNER - Chalmers New Play Award - Dib and Dob and the Journey Home*
 1999 WINNER - Dora Mavor Moore Award (Outstanding Production) - Dib and Dob and the Journey Home*
 1997 WINNER - Chalmers New Play Award - Napalm the Magnificent
 1997 NOMINATION - Dora Mavor Moore Award - Best Actor - Napalm the Magnificent
1995 NOMINATION - Dora Mavor Moore Award (Outstanding Production) - Health Class*
1991 WINNER - Dora Mavor Moore Award (Outstanding Production) - Head a Tete*
1985 NOMINATION - Chalmers New Play Award - Journey From A.M.U.
1984 WINNER - Chalmers Award - Morgan's Journey*

* written with Robert Morgan

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Natalie began her career in the arts as an actor and singer with a keen interest in producing and directing. In 1999, with her partner, Juan Carlos Velis, she founded Acropolis Theatre. Acropolis was created to encourage the professional growth of new artists under mentors from the Canadian theatre community and to explore a new theatre-going audience. In 2000, Acropolis Theatre opened Shakespeare on the Thames in London, Ontario. This hugely successful outdoor Shakespeare company ran for three seasons built on the strength of an outstanding response from a large supportive audience and the talent of superb casts and director.

Natalie's passion for TYA sprouted from first seeing Roseneath Theatre's production of "Danny, King of the Basement" in 2000. It opened her eyes to the importance and need for professional, high quality production and performance in the lives of children.

This early experience with Roseneath led Natalie to join Green Thumb Theatre for Young People in Vancouver, BC.  Led by General Manager, Ivan Habel and Artistic Director, Patrick MacDonald, Natalie was immersed in theatre that spoke to youth as critical, intelligent audience members; theatre that explored and reflected the stories and challenges of their daily lives on a stage that was welcoming and unassuming.  Her experience working on "Cranked" and "Speed" led her to become an avid supporter of new and up-and-coming playwrights who are dedicated to the genre of TYA.

Natalie has assistant directed "The Invisible Girl" under Patrick MacDonald (Green Thumb Theatre), and co-directed "Borderlines" with Joshua Reynolds (Second Best Bird Theatre Company, Playwrights Theatre Centre Vancouver) and looks forward to opportunities to explore this avenue in the future.
Natalie returned to her native Ontario to spend a season as Vice President of Touring Operations at Kids' Entertainment in Toronto under Cheryle Hanson. Representing companies such as Mermaid Theatre of Nova Scotia, Theatre Terra and Spiel Theatre Holland, she has developed a deep understanding of the role of touring in North America and abroad. Through her participation at festivals such as the Tweetakt Festival in The Netherlands, ASSITEJ in Australia, and the International Performing Arts for Youth Showcases in North America she has been exposed to the brilliant work  being created for young people, not only here in Canada, but throughout the world.

Recently, she has been asked to speak at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters conference in New York on behalf of touring companies in Canada to promote both importing and exporting touring productions as well as to demystify the rules and regulations surrounding International Work Permits and Visas.

Natalie is overjoyed to have come home to Roseneath Theatre. She looks forward to working with this exciting and creative company and to soak up all of David S. Craig's experience!

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Ms. Fardell is a senior arts education consultant and a passionate advocate for the arts in education. Throughout her twenty year career she has worked as a teacher, an artist and an arts administrator focusing on the use of theatre as a teaching tool to improve the quality and delivery of arts curriculum to Ontario students. She was the Director of Education at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People (formerly YPT) for nineteen years where she was responsible for school sales, marketing and designing educational programmes and services for school boards, teachers, artists and students.

Highlights of her work in children's theatre include researching and writing over 100 study guides for educators, designing and managing a popular Saturday Workshop Series for Teachers for 11 years and creating the YPT Wish List Programme, a subsidy project designed to keep theatre experiences accessible to disadvantaged schools. She is the past Chair of the Arts Education Council of Ontario (AECO) and a founding member of the Performing Arts Organizations Network for Education (PAONE). Patterson has been teaching Theatre for Young Audiences at York University since 1999 and served as the Arts Education Officer at the Ontario Arts Council before joining Roseneath Theatre.

Ms. Fardell duties include the implementation of a unique audience development project funded by the Trillium Foundation. This project  promotes the touring activities of three Ontario Theatre for Young Audience companies (Roseneath Theatre, Carousel Players sand Theatre Direct Canada) to under serviced areas of the province with a major focus on Northern Ontario. Conceived by Roseneath Theatre, this unique collaboration subsidized eight weeks of new touring for an estimated audience of 20 - 25,000 young people and their families.

Ms. Fardell is also responsible for increasing the profile and dissemination of Roseneath Theatre's award winning productions to Ontario schools and among arts presenters, thanks in part to a grant from the Charles Metcalf Foundation.

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Niki has a variety of talents and skills that have kept her busy in theatre for almost 10 years. Since graduating from Sheridan Collage She has stage managed for several companies in dance, music and opera. She has also been apprenticing for years to be a Production Manager and Technical Director on independent productions. Credits include: Seventh Stage Productions “Whale Music”, African Theatre Ensemble “Have you seen Zandile” and several productions hosted at Equity Showcase Theatre. She is very happy to use her diverse skills and continue learning with Roseneath Theatre.

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Heather has been working professionally in theatre for eight years after completing a B.A. Honours Drama degree from the University of Windsor. She has specialized in Wardrobe and Stage Management including physical theatre, musical theatre, outdoor theatre and touring. She has tried her hand at many different aspects of live theatre and special events management including technical elements such as lighting and sound. Her interest lies in the management, administrative and marketing aspects of the business. As a stage manager with Roseneath theatre and other companies Heather has experienced front line tour management and has now moved into the world of Production Management.

Professional Stage Managment credits include "Pinocchio" and "Victor/Victoria" (Stirling Festival), "The Wedding" and "Scapin" (Odyssey, Ottawa), "Other Places" (ARC) and touring "Fool's Gold" (Meta-Physical), "Dying to be Thin", "Danny King of the Basement", "Wrecked" (Roseneath, Dora Award winner) "My Mother's Feet" (ASM -CanStage) and "Corpse!" (ASM - HCP).