In Fall 2015, SMArts incorporated as a Canadian not-for-profit association. We are grateful to our small but mighty board who work very hard to support SMArts in this new chapter.
Jeanne LeSage, CHRL, MBA – President
Jeanne is an arts consultant with 30+ years’ experience in the sector across Canada and abroad. She is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL), holds an MBA in Management Consulting, and runs LeSage Arts Management in Toronto with a focus on strategic human resources, governance, organizational development, facilitation and leadership transitions. Jeanne collaborated closely with Winston Morgan on publishing the original ”Stage Managing the Arts in Canada“. Proudly starting her career as a stage manager– she now works with arts leaders and arts boards to “Make Arts Work Better” through consulting, teaching, conference speaking, and more. Jeanne is also the author of research reports such as Performing Arts Leadership in Canada (2018), Reporting and Investigation Mechanisms for Workplace Harassment in the Arts (2019); Board Governance in the Arts: Emerging Ideas (2021), and the co-founder of the COVID response initiative LEAN (Leadership Emergency Arts Network) Canada (2020).
Andrea Lundy – Vice-President
Andrea Lundy is an award-winning Lighting Designer and Production Manager who has worked professionally across Canada and internationally for 35 years. She has been nominated for 22 Dora Mavor Moore Awards and 4 META Awards, and is the recipient of 9 Dora Awards and 2 META for Outstanding Lighting Design. She has worked extensively with the Shaw Festival, Tarragon Theatre, Soulpepper Theatre, Canadian Stage, Necessary Angel Theatre Company, Factory Theatre, Theatre Passe Muraille, Centaur Theatre, National Arts Centre and Geordie Theatre among other Canadian companies. Currently Andrea lives in Montreal and has been the Director of the Production Design and Technical Arts Program at the National Theatre School of Canada for 12 years.
Julia Gaunt-Rannala – Treasurer
Julia worked as an Equity stage manager for many years before transitioning to the administrative side of the arts. Julia worked as part of Winston Morgan’s team for several seasons at TIFF. She currently works for Young Associates, providing bookkeeping to charity and nonprofit organizations across Toronto.
Jeff Morris – Secretary
Jeff Morris studied technical theatre production and administration at Ryerson’s Theatre School (1987 – 1990), pursuing a growing interest in stage management for dance. After leaving Ryerson, he worked as Production Stage Manager for Toronto Dance Theatre (1990 – 1995, company debuts in Warsaw, Berlin, Tokyo, New York), Production Manager for Dancers for Life (AIDS Committee of Toronto, 1991 – 1997), Stage Manager for Theatre Passe-Muraille (Never Swim Alone, Metamorphosis of a Shadow), and Stage Manager for the Fringe Festival of Independent Dance Artists (fFIDA). In 1995 he joined the National Ballet of Canada, and has been Stage Manager for a wide range of the company’s unique classical and contemporary repertoire, including world premieres of The Four Seasons, Cinderella, and An Italian Straw Hat (Kudelka), Emergence (Pite), company premieres of Christopher Wheeldon’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Winter’s Tale, the world premieres of Alexei Ratmansky’s Romeo and Juliet, and most recently Frame by Frame – a collaboration between the National Ballet’s Guillaume Côté and Robert Lepage/Ex Machina. In addition to his work with the National Ballet of Canada, Jeff is an adjunct faculty member with The School of Toronto Dance Theatre, and has taught and mentored stage managers at the Banff Centre for the Arts and SMArts.
Michael Sinclair
Michael’s first involvement with SMArts dates back to 1996, then later in 2004 – 2007 leading the Assistant Stage Manger’s course. His stage management career has spanned over 20 years working across most of the country from the Vancouver to PEI and has worked for several companies including Mirvish Production, The Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Canadian Stage, Soulpepper, Theatre New Brunswick, The Citadel, Young People’s Theatre, Obsidian Theatre and Company Theatre among others. Michael became the General Manager at Obsidian Theatre in 2017, and is excited about this new direction in his career. He is happy to be on the board of SMArts and continuing to pursue Winston’s dream.