In Fall 2015, SMArts Stage Managing the Arts incorporated as a Canadian not-for-profit association. This is the umbrella organization under which PMArts exists. We are grateful to our small but mighty board who work very hard to support PMArts in this new chapter.
Andrea Lundy – President
Andrea Lundy is an award-winning Lighting Designer and Production Manager who has worked professionally across Canada and internationally for 33 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 10 years.
Jeanne LeSage, CHRL, MBA – Vice-President
With over 35 years of transformative leadership in the arts sector, Jeanne brings a rare combination of operational experience, strategic leadership, and international perspective. She is the founder of LeSage Arts Management, providing innovation, support, and guidance to arts organizations in strategic HR, leadership succession, organizational development, governance, and interim management.
Beginning as a stage manager working across Canada, Jeanne moved into leadership roles including forming TIFF’s first HR department, completing the International Arts Management Fellowship under Michael M. Kaiser at the Kennedy Center, and leading international cultural projects in the UAE, Oman, and Haiti. She has designed and delivered leadership training across Canada and abroad, including at The Banff Centre, NTS, Humber, and TMU, and authored research reports on arts leadership, workplace harassment, and board governance.
Jeanne is a Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL), holds an MBA in Management Consulting, and a Conflict Management Certificate. She is the recipient of Work in Culture’s 2023 Bob Johnston award, a co-founder of the national COVID response initiative LEAN (Leadership Emergency Arts Network)
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.