Welcome to the final episode in Series 2 – but please note that Series 3 is on its way.

This week, our guest host is Jody Howze. I met Jody in the mid-80’s when she was a student in the Theatre Programme at Humber College and I was the Programme Director. After graduating from Humber, Jody performed in several professional productions that I directed.

Our friendship has continued as we’ve followed different paths, and since launching Life in Stages, Jody has provided many insights about the project. At the same time, she has asked many questions that attest to her careful attention to all my guests’ conversations.

Rather than restricting Jody’s comments and questions to our one-on-one chats, I invited her to step into the Host chair for this episode. I can’t think of a more fitting way to conclude Series 2.

Robert Thomson may be among the busiest and most sought-after actors in the country. “May”? Change that to ‘Is”.

His list of accomplishments is as long as it is varied, which is to say that it’s mighty long. Theatre, film, television – he has mastered them all, and his commitment has taken him behind the scenes of projects that are fueled by a passion with no restraint.

In our conversation, you’ll also learn that Robert’s career extends well beyond performing and engages with timely social and political causes. It’s no back handed compliment to add that Robert is among the most Canadian of personalities that I’ve had the very good fortune to have met and to have worked with. Listen to all that he has to say in Episode 26 – this is time very well spent.

Seana is yet one more guest whose professional resume approaches the magnitude of an anthology. It’s entirely accurate to say that she has done just about everything that one can imagine an actor accomplishing. Trained at the National Theatre School, Seana has played every major theatre in the country, has added film and television to her credits, and has achieved star status in a country that too often prides itself as a country with no star system at all. I think that Seana puts a lie to that tiresome boast.

I’ve known Allen for more than 20 years, but until we met recently, I had no idea that, in addition to being Artistic Director at both Young People’s Theatre, Toronto, and the Prairie Theatre Exchange, Winnipeg, his career as an actor was his principal focus.

As another guest who came up through the Vancouver Playhouse Theatre School, Allen reinforces the fact that this was a first-rate training ground. And as he discusses the path he followed, a path that is as geographical as it is developmental, we travel from the West right across the country with substantial stops along the way. Finally, it’s Toronto that has claimed Allen as one of its own, and I know that you’ll find our conversation both engaging and revealing.

Anyone fortunate enough to have seen “Blind Date” has already met Rebecca Northan, although speaking with her is an altogether calmer experience than watching her interact with an audience. Speaking with her from Edmonton, where she was on tour with “Goblin: Macbeth”, I learned that clown work is merely one of many skills that Rebecca has developed throughout her career.

Second City, in Toronto and on tour, was her opportunity to refine both her writing and her audience engagement chops. And as an actor, i.e., one who can actually learn others’ lines of dialogue and create a character without a red nose, Rebecca is as committed and focussed as she is when she is creating her own work and, by extension, her own world.

Tom has as varied a resume as any actor you are ever likely to encounter. In fact, when we first started our conversation, I said that I felt an urgency to cover enough ground to fairly represent him. Tom’s easy manner removed any concern I may have had.

We talked soon after he had returned from Ottawa, where he was performing in “Salesman in China”, the same production that premiered at the Stratford Festival this past season. Back home, where he is always happy to spend time, Tom discussed the early influences that helped to shape both his dreams and his approach to the work that would define his professional life. He pays special tribute to many of the people with whom he has worked and from whom he has continued to learn.

Maria began her career (and her life) in the United States. But once she had a taste of life in Canada, both personal and professional, Toronto soon became her home base. And I met Maria when we worked together on a production of “Lend Me a Tenor”, at Theatre Aquarius – and that was probably about 30 years ago. Maria has worked in every medium and she has criss-crossed the performing landscape with an enviable agility.

Our conversation ranges from early influences in Chicago and at the Stratford Festival. Maria discusses the perennial artist’s challenge with finding a balance between work and family – and the added challenge of career when the family is grown and no longer the daily focus. So, a chatty segment of today’s conversation might be titled Life After Active Parenting.

Nancy is originally from Winnipeg, studied at Queen’s University and then trained at The National Theatre School, in Montreal. She was among the first members of the Young Company at the Stratford Festival, which soon led to the creation of Soulpepper Theatre Company, of which Nancy is a founding member. (She continues to represent the Founding Members on the Soulpepper Board.)

Nancy has worked across the country, although her base continues to be in Toronto. Anyone who has attended theatre in the city has seen Nancy in many productions in many venues. Nancy has worked in film and television, although she is quick to point out that at almost 6-feet tall, casting directors have tended to overlook her.