L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables remains a Canadian icon for good reason. The writing is energetic, wry and decidedly humanist for its time. Through the journey of this wayward orphan, tossed between uncaring households until her arrival at Avonlea, we see an individual who never gives up and always speaks the truth (well, almost always). By necessity, this pure, unbridled spirit cultivates" scope for the imagination" and transforms all that is around her. Even her mistakes, though painful, reveal even greater opportunities.

To those around her, Anne is witty, romantic and even a little bit wild, but she has a fundamental quality that continues to attract others to her. Her search for "kindred spirits" and "bosom friends" is more than mere child's play. The search is built on a fundamental human principal - we need each other. Community makes us strong. Whether Anne is charming the town gossip, giving a valedictorian speech to her peers or "waking up" the shyest man in Avonlea - she can not help but reach out to those around her. She owns very little, and yet, through her vitality of spirit, she gives to all around. Two things happen for the good - she is changed, and those around her are changed. In Paul Ledoux's episodic adaptation, we experience many of the most memorable highs and lows of Anne's journey. We welcome you along for the ride.

For the ANNEs with an "E" in all our lives and for the two little girls in mine - who remind me that every moment holds infinite possibility.

Biography

Mark has been an Artistic Associate with Chemainus Theatre Festival (CTF) for eight years and now enjoys the post of Artistic Director. He has directed and scenic designed over 25 shows. He directed Mr. Pim Passes By for CTF earlier this year. His innovative design on a studio version of Godspell won Best of the Year recognition from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. His direction of Pet The Fish, a wonder tale for children at CTF, utilized banraku puppets and three human actors in an exploration of the world of lost dreams and he is proud to have assisted Jeremy Tow in CTF's The Miracle Worker. Mark has collaborated with companies including Theatre X, Pacific Theatre, TheatreOne, and CTF in the development of over a dozen new plays.

Acting has taken him across many borders, including performing in a new adaptation of Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman (Theatre X), appearing as the Dauphin in Henry V at the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival and playing his one man show, Finding Centre, in a grassy field in Hungary. At CTF, he has acted in over 20 shows including a conflicted young priest in Mass Appeal, Edward the VII in Queen Milli of Galt, landlord Anthony Wilding in the heartwarming Enchanted April, seedy Steve Hubbell in A Streetcar Named Desire and the creepy, comic sidekick, Minki, in The Rats.