Gangland Productions first mounted Sex, Religion & Other Hang-ups at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival where it won Patron’s Pick, NOW Magazine’s “Outstanding Production” and “Outstanding Performance” and The Ed Mirvish Award for Entrepreneurship. The show went on two play a three week extended run at the Theatre Passe Murailles Mainspace for which it won the Canadian Comedy Award for Best One Man Show. Recently, James presented SR&OH at the United Solo Theatre Festival in New York City.
Sex, Religion & Other Hang-ups is directed and dramaturged by solo show guru, Chris Gibbs.
James Gangl (writer / performer) was awarded Outstanding Performance and Production from NOW Magazine for his solo show Sex, Religion & Other Hang-ups which also won the Ed Mirvish Award for Entrepreneurship and a Canadian Comedy Award for Best One Person Show. James was also nominated for a Canadian Comedy Award as Best Male Improviser.
James is the proud co-creator of My Tapes Movie Night, an independent film screening and the Canadian Comedy Award Nominated improvised western, Dreadwood. James also performed with The Second City theatricals cast aboard the Norwegian Dawn. James is a member of The Bad Dog Theatre Company performing and directing Theatresports. James teaches with both The Second City and The Bad Dog Theatre.
James’ recent TV credits include Rookie Blue (Global, ABC), Canadian Made (History Television) and Flashpoint (CTV, CBS).
British-born comedian Chris Gibbs began his performance career in 1991, working as an acrobat on the streets of London. He’s toured extensively as a stand-up comedian and improviser, written and performed five hit, award-winning one-man shows, was a regular guest on NBC’s comedy series ‘Howie Do It’, has played at the Just For Laughs and the Winnipeg Comedy Festivals, starred in the Canadian indie feature ‘Run Robot Run,’ and is even a published author. He performs every Wednesday with The National Theatre of the World in Canadian Comedy Award-winning The Carnegie Hall Show.
C. Derrick Chua (co-producer) is an entertainment lawyer and award-winning theatre producer whose most recent production was the World Premiere of Bullet for Adolf, written by Woody Harrelson and Frankie Hyman, directed by Woody Harrelson at Hart House Theatre. Other recent productions include Logan Medland’s Fingers and Toes: A Tap Comedy Musical (Urban Stages, New York City), Sharron Matthews Superstar: World Domination Tour 2010, at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (Toronto), Joe’s Pub (New York) and the Edinburgh (UK) Fringe Festival, and Hunter Foster & Rick Crom’s musical Bonnie & Clyde: A Folktale (ATA, New York City).
Derrick is co-founder and Core Artistic Team Member of Studio 180 Theatre whose productions include Our Class, Parade, The Overwhelming, Stuff Happens, Blackbird, The Arab-Israeli Cookbook and The Laramie Project. He is the recipient of a Dora Award, a Harold Award, Now Magazine Award as Toronto’s Best Indie Producer and Canadian Actors’ Equity Association Honorary Membership for his Outstanding Contribution to the Performing Arts!
Laura Cournoyea (Stage Manager) is a freelance stage and production manager, living and working in Toronto. Recent credits include: Eurydice (The Theatre), Awake (Expect Theatre), Bullet For Adolf (Woody Harrleson/Children At Play), VoiceBox (urbanvessel), Series 808 (Toronto Dance Theatre), Back to X (Larchaud Dance), Rent andThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Fallen Rock Productions), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Canadian Tour 2011), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Richard III (Hart House Theatre).
C.J. Astronomo (Lighting Designer) Past credits include: Hero & Leander (Common Descent – NOW’s SummerWorks Critics’ Pick 2011), Program (SummerWorks’ Musical Works in Concert), Post Eden (Suburban Beast – SummerWorks’ Contra Guys Award 2010), Cendrillon (Common Descent), Boyfriends (Le Carsonage), rock.paper.sistahz10 festival (b current), Where’s My Money? (Alley Co-Op), Blood Buds (The P.A. Collective), Under Milk Wood (The Empty Room), Bent (Theatre Engine), Serious Money (Ryerson Theatre School in co-production with Nightwood Theatre). Upcoming: Guns & Roses at The Alumnae Theatre (October 17-28). C.J. was nominated for the 2011 Pauline McGibbon Award.