Show Notes
About This Episode:
Annie Luján and Veronica Hortigüela are the creators and performers behind Monks, a two-person clown show about a pair of medieval Spanish monks who invite a wagon full of strangers to spend a day at their monastery; and chaos ensues. What started as a self-funded, unscripted experiment at the Toronto Fringe in 2024 became one of the hottest tickets in the city, spawning multiple remounts and a triumphant run at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before returning home to Toronto for a full production at Tarragon Theatre.
Guests: 🎭 Annie Luján & Veronica Hortigüela
Annie Luján (she/her) is a Dora Award-winning Costa Rican-Canadian actor and clown. She is a graduate of the 2022 Soulpepper Academy and Concordia University. As a clown, Annie has trained/worked internationally in Italy, the U.S., the U.K. and Canada. Her credits include: Laura Secord’s Thing (Crow’s - Upcoming), Dance Nation (Coal Mine), The Welkin, King Lear (Soulpepper), A Little Closer (The Vault) Last Landscape (Bad New Days), Comedy of Errors (The Grove) and Storybook Search (Bad Hats).
Veronica Hortigüela (she/her) is a Dora-Award winning Spanish-Canadian actor, clown, and playwright, born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario. She is one half of the creative/performance team behind MONKS (Tarragon, Edinburgh Fringe, Theatre Centre, Crow’s, County Stage, Toronto Fringe). She's passionate about seeing theatre through various phases of development and has had the pleasure of working with Canadian Stage, Crow’s, Buddies in Bad Times, Stratford, Tarragon, Factory, Shakespeare in the Ruff, and YPT on the development of new plays. Performance credits include: The Shoplifters [Upcoming], Bremen Town, Feast (Tarragon Theatre), The Bidding War, Prodigal (Crow’s Theatre), Casimir and Caroline (Howland Co., Dora Award - Best Ensemble), Little Women, Every Little Nookie (Stratford Festival) and Dry Land (Cue6).
Connect with Annie & Veronica:
📸 Instagram: @monksonstage
Get Tickets to Monks @ Tarragon Theatre October 20-November 8: https://tarragontheatre.com/plays/tarragon-season-26-27/monks/
Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Podchaser | Amazon Music | iHeart Radio 📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!
Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.
Thank you to my Patrons: Chris, Georgia, Heather J, Tanisha, Aisling, Cassie, Heather, Jeanette, Steve, Makambe
Can't commit to monthly support? Leave a one-time tip here: ko-fi.com/stageworthy Read transcript
More from Stageworthy
About This Episode:
In this episode:
About This Episode:
Jacklyn Francis has been making theatre in Canada for more than three decades, and in this conversation she brings the kind of hard-won perspective that only comes from years of navigating the industry's rhythms, disappointments, and genuine joys. In this episode, they talk about what it really feels like to work at a major festival like Stratford, the art of understudying, the strange grief that follows closing night, and much more!