Brampton boy lands role in Shaw Festival’s Ragtime
By ASHLEY GOODFELLOW, Brampton Guardian
RAGTIME. Brampton's Jaden Carmichael, 11, will be performing at the prestigious Shaw Festival. The Williams Parkway Public School student has landed a role in Ragtime, which runs from April to October.
For a boy of 11 years, Jaden Carmichael already has a certain quality that begs for an audience.
So it comes as no surprise that the charismatic Brampton youth, who attends Williams Parkway Public School, is a natural on stage.
Carmichael, who first appeared in a theatrical performance at the age of eight in the Georgetown Globe’s production of South Pacific, has taken roles for the past four years with the Rose Theatre’s ACT Productions in various re-tellings of A Christmas Carol, and last summer in the production of Cabaret.
The youngster, who acts and sings, is now looking forward to performing in the prestigious Shaw Festival with a role in Ragtime, which runs April to October.
“Ragtime is a fun show,” said the youngster, who shares the role of Young Boy, Edgar with another young actor. “The music is awesome. I’ve listened to the CD and read the book and seen the movie.”
The musical is takes place during early 20th century America and is told through the perspective of three different families.
“Ragtime is a musical play about three families who come to America representing three very different social stratas,” explained Odette Yazbeck, spokesperson for The Shaw Festival.
“Jaden will play the Young Boy, Edgar in one of those families, and he will have a significant amount of time on stage,” she added, doing a little bit of everything.
He’ll share the role with another youngster— something that is often done in shows with long runs— but will have lots of opportunities to play for what will likely be sold-out audiences, said Yazbeck.
And, coming from a family immersed in theatre, the boy is well-prepared for his Shaw debut.
When asked if he thinks he’d like to follow in his father’s footsteps— his dad is Scott Carmichael, an actor who has appeared in several local productions at the Rose Theatre— he said it was a possibility.
“Yes I think I will— but maybe, I might do it on the side,” he said, noting his first career choice is to become a sportscaster for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The young performer— who splits his time between the stage and the ice, where he is a goalie— says he also likes reading and hanging out with his family.
But he is enjoying his time on stage— especially in this upcoming role where he has both speaking and singing parts.
“The Shaw Festival is one of the most acclaimed theatre festival in the country and we are beyond excited that Jaden actually landed this role,” said his mom, Cheyenne Stodolny, also an actor in live theatre.
Although he is excited about his upcoming performance he admits his dream role, however, is to be the lead in an action movie.
For more on The Shaw Festival’s production of Ragtime, running April to October, or to buy tickets visit www.shawfest.ca.
RAGTIME. Brampton's Jaden Carmichael, 11, will be performing at the prestigious Shaw Festival. The Williams Parkway Public School student has landed a role in Ragtime, which runs from April to October. For a boy of 11 years, Jaden Carmichael already has a certain quality that begs for an audience.
So it comes as no surprise that the charismatic Brampton youth, who attends Williams Parkway Public School, is a natural on stage.
Carmichael, who first appeared in a theatrical performance at the age of eight in the Georgetown Globe’s production of South Pacific, has taken roles for the past four years with the Rose Theatre’s ACT Productions in various re-tellings of A Christmas Carol, and last summer in the production of Cabaret.
The youngster, who acts and sings, is now looking forward to performing in the prestigious Shaw Festival with a role in Ragtime, which runs April to October.
“Ragtime is a fun show,” said the youngster, who shares the role of Young Boy, Edgar with another young actor. “The music is awesome. I’ve listened to the CD and read the book and seen the movie.”
The musical is takes place during early 20th century America and is told through the perspective of three different families.
“Ragtime is a musical play about three families who come to America representing three very different social stratas,” explained Odette Yazbeck, spokesperson for The Shaw Festival.
“Jaden will play the Young Boy, Edgar in one of those families, and he will have a significant amount of time on stage,” she added, doing a little bit of everything.
He’ll share the role with another youngster— something that is often done in shows with long runs— but will have lots of opportunities to play for what will likely be sold-out audiences, said Yazbeck.
And, coming from a family immersed in theatre, the boy is well-prepared for his Shaw debut.
When asked if he thinks he’d like to follow in his father’s footsteps— his dad is Scott Carmichael, an actor who has appeared in several local productions at the Rose Theatre— he said it was a possibility.
“Yes I think I will— but maybe, I might do it on the side,” he said, noting his first career choice is to become a sportscaster for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The young performer— who splits his time between the stage and the ice, where he is a goalie— says he also likes reading and hanging out with his family.
But he is enjoying his time on stage— especially in this upcoming role where he has both speaking and singing parts.
“The Shaw Festival is one of the most acclaimed theatre festival in the country and we are beyond excited that Jaden actually landed this role,” said his mom, Cheyenne Stodolny, also an actor in live theatre.
Although he is excited about his upcoming performance he admits his dream role, however, is to be the lead in an action movie.
For more on The Shaw Festival’s production of Ragtime, running April to October, or to buy tickets visit www.shawfest.ca.
