At East & West Dialogue, volunteer guest speakers from different cultural backgrounds come to East and West Learning Connections to share their living experience, expertise, thought, concerns, and have a dialogue with our audience.
This month, please come to meet with a renowned set and costume designer, and one of the best up and coming musical producers and song writers in Canada, and go through what it takes to get a production to opening night, and explore together the purpose in creating art, the process, and the future of the arts!
Free English Hybrid Event, transcript of translations of other languages available on Zoom
Time: Saturday April 26, 2025 at 7:30-9 P.M. (Eastern Time)
Venue: 1585 Yonge Street, Yorkminster Park Baptist Church (Use the Toronto School for Strings and Piano entrance)
Free parking, close to St. Clair Subway Station.
Door opens at 7 p.m.
Light snacks will be provided. You are encouraged to bring your own water bottle to help reduce disposable waste.
Please RSVP to info@eawlc.org if you wish to participate in person.
Or register the online Zoom session at:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/riIGu3XmSoq2VGUWjyF0kA
Introduction of Guest Speakers
Charlotte Dean has had a career in the theatre for the past 45 years. She is a set and costume designer for Theatre, Opera, and Dance.
Her work has graced stages across the country, from the Stratford Festival, the Shaw Festival, the Charlottetown Festival, the Blyth Festival, the Neptune, the National Arts Centre, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Theatre Calgary, the Citadel, the Globe, the Vancouver Playhouse, Canadian Stage, the Belfry Theatre, and the Grand.
She is equally fluent in design for opera, dance, the classics, new Canadian work, immersive theatre and musicals.
Born and raised on a farm in Fruitland, Ontario, in the lee of the Niagara Escarpment, she achieved her Bachelor of Fine Arts from York University’s renowned theatre programme at 21.
Over the years, she has also given her hand to most of the crafts of the theatre; Scenic Art, Prop making, Dyeing, Millinery, Costume Painting, Sourcing, and Assistant Design. She also has her own personal practice of watercolour painting,acrylic painting, and photography.
Charlotte has been honoured with five Dora Awards, the Herbert Whittaker Award, and the Virginia and Myrtle Cooper Award in Costume Design.
Andrew Seok is a composer, theatre creator, and filmmaker. He has written and directed 5 stage musicals, 2 musical feature films, 3 musical short films, and has 1 more musical feature films in pre-production.
In 2019, Andrew premiered UNRAVELLED, a breakout hit at the Toronto Fringe Festival, followed by his critically acclaimed mega-musical The Man With The Golden Heart in 2023. In 2024, he debuted Rosamund – A New Musical, a bold reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, which sold out its entire run within days and earned 10 Broadway World nominations, including Best New Musical. Currently, Andrew is preparing to launch his newest musical, Almost Ever After, which explores the magical and messy search for “the one.”
As a Juno-nominated music producer, Andrew has created music for global campaigns for Nike, Coca-Cola, Samsung, Visa, Dove, Xbox, BMW, Dragon Ball Z, and the Super Bowl, as well as TV series including Playmakers (ESPN), Global Morning Show, Canada’s Worst Driver, Discovery Channel programs, and Addicted to Plastic (Netflix). His collaborations include work with Feist, Chantal Kreviazuk, Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace), Jully Black, Jeff Healey, and the legendary team of Stephen Flaherty & Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Anastasia).
He is proudly the Artistic Director Emeritus of Eclipse Theatre Company in Toronto and a member of its Artist Collective.
Everyone is welcome to join the dialogue with Charlotte and Andrew, and take a glimpse at some of the elements that go into the creation of stage magic—from the Page to the Stage, and what comes out of it!
For inquiries, please email info@eawlc.org.
- Please consider to support us by volunteering, donating or participating in our endeavor to help people of different heritages break cultural barriers and get connected. Together, let’s make learning and connections happen!