A rehearsal for Neptune Theatre’s production of Controlled Damage; photo by Stoo Metz
Controlled Damage
by Andrea Scott
A drama about civil rights icon Viola Desmond by Andrea Scott.
Viola is a young woman with big dreams. She was born to a white mother and a black father in 1914, uncommon at the time, so her very existence is controversial. Not willing to settle for the traditional role women were expected to play, Viola tries her hand at teaching but faces racism and unwanted sexual advances from her superiors. She finds her passion as a beautician and creator of makeup for Black women and wrestles with her desire to be an entrepreneur and her duty as a new wife.
Cast & Creative
Deborah Castrilli
Viola Desmond
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Deborah Castrilli is Toronto based actor and singer who grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Notable theatre credits include originating the role of Viola Desmond in the World Premiere of Controlled Damage, The Color Purple (Canadian Premiere), Mamma Mia!, Cinderella: The Pantomime (Neptune Theatre). Film/TV: Diggstown (CBC) She has been focusing on reworking her skills behind the scenes as a director, and hopes to create more space for new stories within our community.
Taylor Olson
Cast
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Taylor Olson (he/they) is a queer, former athlete turned actor, writer, and director. A multiple Canadian Screen Award nominee and ACTRA Maritimes Award winner, Olson is recognized for his versatile and nuanced performances across both film and television
Olson’s film credits include Look At Me (Canadian Screen Award nomination), Black Cop, Hopeless Romantic (Outstanding Performance at the Atlantic Film Festival), Halloween Party, and Dawn Her Dad & the Tractor. His performance in Bone Cage earned him multiple Best Actor awards at various film festivals and his first ACTRA Award. He won his second ACTRA Award for his role in Bystanders, a film he co-wrote with partner Koumbie. Additionally, he won Best Performance at the Canadian Film Fest for Look At Me, along with a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Performance in a Leading Role, Comedy. Olson’s upcoming work includes What We Dreamed of Then, his third feature as both lead actor and director, set for release in 2025 alongside Crave. He is also preparing to shoot his fourth feature in the fall of 2025.
On television, Olson has appeared in recurring roles on Trailer Park Boys: Jail, The Trades, Sex & Violence, Diggstown, Pure, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, King & Pawn, Trapped, and Revival, showcasing a balanced mix of comedic and dramatic work. Upcoming projects include season three of King & Pawn for Swearnet and the short-form sketch comedy series Hey Halifax, Hello! Today! set for release in 2025.
Nathan D. Simmons
Cast
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Nathan D. Simmons is a Canadian actor who is proud to come from the historical Black communities of East and North Preston in Nova Scotia. Nathan graduated from the acting program at the Fountain School of the Arts in 2017. Since then he has appeared in theatrical productions across Canada. In 2022, the Coast proclaimed him the best theatre actor in Halifax. In additon to his long list of theatre credits, he has appeared in several tv shows, including Diggstown, This Hour Has 22 Minutes and the upcoming Washington Black. He has worked on independent films such as Black Cop and has appeared in many commercials. When not acting, Nathan is a talented musician and is often seen performing in venues throughout Halifax.
Sarah Richardson
Cast
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Sarah has been a performer, multi-instrumentalist, and musical director for over 20 years, in both Ontario and Nova Scotia. Sarah was honoured to perform the role of Lucille Renaud in the World Premiere of “Controlled Damage: the Viola Desmond Story” at Neptune Theatre. She has won a Merritt Award for Musical Direction for Chester Playhouse’s production of “Ruthless: The Stage Mother of All Musicals”, and a nomination for HEIST’s production of “New Waterford Boy”. She is also a founding member of Whale Song Theatre. Sarah was a member of the inaugural year of Neptune Theatre’s “Chrysalis Project”, assistant musical directing on “Shakespeare in Love” and “The Color Purple”. She has since gone on to work on Neptune’s productions of “Frozen Jr.”, “Peter Pan”, “Calendar Girls”, and is currently in rehearsals as musical director for “Alice in Pantoland”. She is also an educator within Neptune, musically directing both “Les Misérables: School Edition” and the Canadian premiere of “My Side of the Country”. Sarah is also a part of the powerhouse vocal trio, DivaStation, and the lead singer of the Blackrats Past credits include Neptune Theatre, Whale Song Theatre, Chester Playhouse, HEIST, Liverpool International Theatre Festival, DramaFest, and Stages Festival.
Meghan Swaby
Cast
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Meghan Swaby is an actor and playwright born and raised in Toronto. Her play Venus’ Daughter was produced by Obsidian Theatre in 2016 and was recently included on The SureFire List (Playwrights Guild of Canada) as one of the top 23 recommended plays in Canada. She has participated in various playwrighting programs over the years, such as; Nightwood Theatre’s Write from the Hip, Diaspora Dialogues Playwright Residency and The Stratford Festivals’ Playwrights Retreat. In 2017, Meghan was one of 50 playwrights selected to have their work included in, 50in50: Writing Black Women Into Existence which was curated by Dominique Morisseau at the Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn, New York.
Jeremiah Sparks
Cast
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Selected Theatre: "Maurice” in Beneath Springhill, “Pa” in the Canadian premier of The Color Purple, Rev William Pearly Oliver/Music Captain/Ensemble in Controlled Damage, Oil and Water, Hosanna, The Gospel at Colonus, Divinity Bash (Neptune Theatre); stage roles include the role of Mufasa in the Toronto Mirvish production of Disney’s The Lion King. He has performed across the country in such memorable roles as Louis Armstrong Satchmo Suite and Lanier Phillips Oil and Water. He is a major performer in the world renown production of Drum. Jeremiah Just finished his 5th season at Shaw Festival.
Andrea Scott
Playwright
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Andrea Scott is originally from London Ontario and currently resides in Toronto. An alum of University of Toronto, her play, Eating Pomegranates Naked, won the RBC Arts Professional Award, and named Outstanding Production at the 2013 SummerWorks Festival. Better Angels: A Parable won the SummerWorks Award for Production, was published in 2018, and made into a podcast by Expect Theatre. Don’t Talk to Me Like I’m Your Wife, won the Cayle Chernin Award for theatre and ran in the SummerWorks in 2016. She co-wrote Every Day She Rose with Nick Green a two-hander that has wowed audiences at Buddies in Bad Times, the Hollywood Fringe, Montreal, and Stratford. Her play about Viola Desmond, Controlled Damage, had its sold-out world premiere at Neptune Theatre in 2020 and has been turned into a graphic novel. Get That Hope will have its World Premiere at the Stratford Festival in 2024 at the Studio Theatre, directed by actor/director André Sills. She recently completed working on an ABC/Disney show in Hollywood.