Melanie Kastner • Artistic Director

Melanie's love of acting began in high school and flourished with the support and unreasonable encouragement of her high school drama teacher. “Without his encouragement I would not be the creative woman I am today”. So she applied to university to study theatre and acting. Unfortunately she did not get in that year so she went to Ryerson for Early Childhood Education.

"I love teaching and I think it is so important to give back to the next generation, to support their passions as my high school teacher did for me."

Teaching is something she loves but her passion for acting and filmmaking runs much deeper. She reapplied to the University of Toronto Theatre and Drama studies program and got in.

While at the University of Toronto several courses really heightened her respect for film and its attention to detail. She took a course in Italian Cinema and it sparked an intense passion for film and filmmaking. Perhaps the most surprising effect of university was in Dramaturgy, which was a vessel to inspire and challenge her abilities as a writer and dramaturge.

“Being a great writer is not a one person show. It is about using the resources around you in an incredibly intelligent and empowering manner. Being able to assist a fellow writer in clarifying their vision and getting them to the end of their project is so rewarding and important.”

Upon graduating Melanie dabbled in all sorts of plays and film projects. She is most thankful to those early films that encouraged and welcomed her extra involvement with writing, directorial input, and participation. What became really clear to her was that filmmaking is where she wanted to be. So she hung up her theatre shoes. Since the summer of 2005 her primary focus has been on film, writing and directing.

Film is now such a large part of her life that she is constantly taking it to the next level. She is currently writing her second first feature film and has started FireSlide Productions. “Now is the time to show what we can do but with open doors so that others can be part of this experience.” She is thrilled to not only be part of creating great work but supporting and producing the work of others.

"We have so much to give in Canada and we don't always feel we get that many opportunities to show it. My goal is to promote the quality and calibre of Canadian creativity and filmmaking. We really have so many perspectives to share in this fabulous multicultural country."

 

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Joe Rabbito • Creative Director

Joe wrote, directed and performed in his first play in Grade 4. He continued to work on various acting and video projects throughout elementary and high school. In his teens he created two films, L’amour Toujours (Short), and Maria (Feature Length), both of which were official selections of the Toronto International Teen Movie Festival.

Following high school, Joe attended Sheridan College and U of T at Mississauga’s Theatre and Drama Studies Program, where he participated in many theatrical productions. He also has a Minor in Italian Studies. For the original mainstage production Alarum Within, Joe was responsible for creating various video based scenes that interacted with live actors on stage. He also created another film, Fratello/Sorella, which was created using the style and themes of Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci.

In his last year of University, Joe was a part of a series of workshops he created with 8 other classmates in what became “SOS Theatre”. For ten months, Joe and the members of SOS trained their bodies and collectively ran movement based creation workshops in what became their first show, i. i was submitted to the Ottawa Fringe Festival, where it won Best in Venue in 2006. The show was created entirely out of contact improv and the curiosity and innovation of SOS’s members in telling stories through movement.

In 2007, Joe had the privilege of working with Off-Kilter Theatre in one of the most talked about shows in the 2007 Toronto Fringe Festival. In this unique performance experience a mysterious car took the audience on a theatrical ride. It was performed inside a moving vehicle. Rearview was a total theatre experience that blurred the lines between fiction and reality and between audience and performer. It also had the fortune of making the front section of The Toronto Star on Jul 12, 2007, after someone saw the show from outside the car and thought a kidnapping was taking place. Of course, all of the right people were notified but that didn’t stop a “high-risk” take down that the audience thought was a part of the show. FireSlide Productions is the next major chapter of Joe’s life.

“Through FireSlide I hope to help build a community of artists that can come together and work effectively to create work and need for artists of all kinds in the Toronto area.”

Joe hopes to create many unique events, film, and theatre through workshopping with artists and writers. He wishes to create one of a kind multimedia shows and events that both inspire and challenge audiences and the creative community alike.

 

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