Julia (she/her) is a director, actor, educator, and producer, as well as Co-Artistic Director of both the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival and Toronto’s Shakespeare BASH’d. 

As a director, Julia has worked across Ontario, including 4 seasons at the Stratford Festival, where she also continues to facilitate events for their Forum series. Selected directing credits: Cymbeline, Richard III, The Comedy of Errors (Shakespeare BASH’d), Play On! A Shakespeare-Inspired Mixtape (Stratford Festival), Romeo & Juliet (YES/STC), 3Tempests (Shakespeare In Action), The Duchess of Malfi & The Revenger’s Tragedy (Co-Director, Toronto Metropolitan University), The Tom & Gertie Letters Project (Co-Director, SpringWorks), Modern Love (Co-Creator, Canadian Stage).

Julia has worked as the Managing Director of Common Boots Theatre and serves as a producing mentor with the Toronto Fringe Festival. She is a graduate of the joint acting program at UofT and Sheridan College.

Julia loves spending the summer in Prescott with her family and the incredible community in the town and area!

James is a director, educator, actor. He is now the Co-Artistic Director of both the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival and Toronto’s Shakespeare BASH’d.

He believes outdoor theatre is a Canadian birthright and relishes the opportunity to create magical theatre right on the St. Lawrence River with SLSF.

For BASH’d, James has played the title roles in Hamlet, Richard III, Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, and Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing. With BASH’d, James directed over a dozen productions and staged readings. 
 
James spent four seasons at the Stratford Festival. He was a member of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Directing in 2016/2017 assistant directing Macbeth with director Antoni Cimolino (2016), the world premiere of Bunny by Hannah Moscovitch, directed by Sarah Stanley (2016), Romeo and Juliet (2017) and Julius Caesar (2018) directed by Scott Wentworth. Additionally, James worked with the Birmingham Conservatory. 
 
For Stratford, James co-created and co-directed, with Julia Nish-Lapidus and Robert Markus, Play On! A Shakespeare Inspired Mixtape outdoors for the Festival’s 2021 season. 
 
His other directing credits include: The Tempest (SLSF), As You Like It (Theatre by the Bay), Titus Andronicus (Hart House Theatre), Antony and Cleopatra (Secret Shakespeare Project), Scenes from The Tempest (Playing for Free), Henry IV Part 1 and 2 (Theatre Erindale), Romeo and Juliet and Joni (Workshop Production), Pygmalion, The Revenger’s Tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi (Toronto Metropolitan University), Romeo and Juliet (YES Theatre/Sudbury Theatre Centre), and Romeo and Juliet (George Brown Theatre School).

Ingrid Bjornson brings a decade of experience and leadership to the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival as its General Manager. With a Bachelor of Arts in Technical Theatre, Ingrid leverages her technical expertise to effectively manage the Festival’s administrative operations.

Prior to joining the Festival, Ingrid spent several years managing a regional office for a leading North American entertainment lighting company. Her experience in this role has equipped her with a strong foundation in management and a deep understanding of the technical aspects of live performance.