R-G Productions Presents
The Mistress of Wholesome
By Jacob M. Appel
Directed by Alison Kolisnyk
Place: The lower story of an upscale Winnipeg condominium
Time: Present Day.
Cast in order of appearance
Gwen Ermont............Rebecca Cooke
Margaret Claypool....Heather Forgie
Connie Callard.....................Cora Fast
Dr. Leland Claypool .. Shane Jordan
Costume Design.......................Heather Forgie
Production Design....................The Company
Stage Manager................Steph J Blanchette
Bios
Playwright
Jacob M Appel (He/Him) - Is an author and playwright, best known for his novel The Man Who Wouldn’t Stand Up. His plays include, The Resurrection of Dismas and Gestas, In the Floodplain, Arborophilia, The Three Belles of Eden, Thirds, The Mistress of Wholesome, Helen of Sparta, Causa Mortis, A Marriage of Inconvenience, and The Man Who Would Be Shirley Temple. He has also published over a dozen short story collections and two poetry collections. He is the director of Ethics Education in Psychiatry and a professor of psychiatry and medical education at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and he practices emergency psychiatry at the adjoining Mount Sinai Health System. Jacob is a polymath and holds 7 Masters degrees, 3 Medical Doctorate degrees, and a Doctorate of Laws from Harvard University. Appel is the subject of the 2019 documentary film Jacob by director Jon Stahl.
Alison Kolisnyk (she/her) has been performing and directing in the Winnipeg Community theatre scene for over a decade with various local theatre companies. She is thrilled to be back directing with R-G Productions, having previously directed The Savannah Sipping Society (2024), Charming & Rose: True Love, Heroine Addiction and Not Medea. As an actor for R-G Productions, Alison has been seen in Rattled, Psychopathia Sexualis, The Savannah Sipping Society (2017), Spider’s Web, Desdemona, and Breadcrumbs. She has also directed Weaver’s Grave for the Tara Players, and you can see Alison in Mother's Secret for Broken Record Productions over at Venue #4 during this year's Fringe.
Director
Rebecca Cooke (she/her) is a writer and educator and is making her Fringe comeback after her debut in Fantasy Theatre for Children’s Hansel and Gretel in 2003 (when she was 9 years old). She wants to thank her mom, sister and fiancé for their unwavering support and Heather Forgie for encouraging her to do something she is afraid of…at least once a year!
Gwen Ermont
Cora Fast (she/her) is delighted to be returning to R-G Productions, having previously been seen in Rattled, Lysistrata, Charming & Rose: True Love, and Psychopathia Sexualis. Past productions with other companies include: Write, Rewrite, Repeat for Crosswalk Productions (which she also wrote), Your Brain On Anxiety for Sheep on a Mission, The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare: Abridged for Blackout Productions, several years with The BS Comedy Players, and numerous shows with Merlyn Productions. Cora has been a performing member of Piper Pride Productions since 2019, performing in shows such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Newsies, Dogfight, Legally Blonde, and many others. As an accomplished improviser, Cora is a performing member of The Crosseyed Rascals, who can also be seen at Venue #23 during this year’s Fringe festival.
Connie Callard
Heather Forgie (she/her) is the artistic director of R-G Productions. She is also an actor, playwright, set designer, costume designer, properties master, and director. Her most recent performances with R-G Productions include: Rattled, Lysistrata, The Savannah Sipping Society, Charming & Rose: True Love, Motherhood Out Loud, Heroine Addiction, Not Medea, Psychopathia Sexualis, Desdemona, Spider's Web, Breadcrumbs, Skirmishes, and Relatively Speaking. Heather has also performed and directed for The BS Comedy Players, Incantatem, and numerous shows for Merlyn Productions, including: The Blabbermouth-The Puff Monster and the Wolf, Nightingale, Wind of a Thousand Tales, Snow White, and The Brothers Grimm. Heather is a teacher and mother of two amazing young men who are her greatest inspirations.
Margaret Claypool
Special thanks to:
Off The Wall Plays
Mitch Krohn
Steph J Blanchette
Brad Hickling
Gilles Messier
Liam Greyeyes
Alexander Greyeyes
Kris Diaz
Julia Vincent
The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival
The Staff at One88
And the entire cast for being so swell!
The Mistress of Wholesome
premiered at the Little Theatre of Alexandria
Alexandria Virginia, May 16, 2008
Presented by special arrangement with
Off The Wall Plays
Other shows to see at the Fringe
Broken Record Productions - Mother’s Secret - Venue 4
Strokes of Genius - Captain Ted: Disabled Astronaut - Venue 23
Cactus Theatre Co. - Unresolved - Venue 23
The Crosseyed Rascals - This is a ... (Cross Promotion) - Venue 23
Dark Horse Theatre Company - The Shelter - Venue 7
Indifferently Reformed - The Taming of the Shrew - Venue 28
MaxQ Productions - FISSION: the Death of Dr. Louis Slotin - Venue 20
Up Next for R-G Productions
Rattled
By Claire Holland
Hosted by the
Gimli, Manitoba, August, 21 - 24, 2026
