This year’s Recommender Grant Recipients:
Hilary Wheeler & Heeyun Park 박희윤
YE XIAN: A MUSICAL RETELLING
Heeyun Park 박희윤 is an actor, singer and creator based in Toronto, raised in Edmonton and born in South Korea. She won both the Dora Mavor Moore Award and the Toronto Critic’s Choice Award for her performance as Princess Mary in Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Mirvish; Crow’s and Musical Stage Company). Select Credits: WITCH (Soulpepper Theatre), Little Red Ridinghood in Into the Woods (Koerner Hall), Phoebe in MONEY (WYRD Prod.), Daisy in I Was Unbecoming Then (NextStage; Dora Nomination for Outstanding New Musical), Aerwyna in Rosamund (Toronto Fringe), Madeleine Bejart in La Bête (Talk is Free Theatre). She is the composer and co-lyricist for Ye Xian: A Musical Retelling (Bad New Ideas 2024). Training: Acting at National Theatre School of Canada, Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at University of Alberta.
Hilary Wheeler (she/they) is a queer, Chinese-Canadian, mixed race actor, writer, and musician. She is a graduate from the Acting program at the National Theatre School of Canada. Select performance credits include vActory 2025 (VACT), Selfie, The Paperbag Princess (Geordie Theatre), Transhumance (Corpus Dance Projects), Quest for the Moon (WeeFestival), Bonus Points if You Have Air Conditioning, Everybody, To Those Who Wait in Fear (NTS), Macbeth, Love Labour’s Lost, Pericles (The Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival). She’s been nominated for a META for her work in The Paperboy Princess. Hilary has workshopped shows as both an actor or writer with companies like Bad Hats Theatre (NBI program), Red Sky, WeeFestival, and Theatre Potluck. As a writer she has three shows in development—The List, Wombmates, and Ye Xian: A Musical Retelling—thanks to the CCA, OAC, and Bad Hats Theatre. More at hilarywheeler.ca !
Mark Crawford & Kevin Wong
THE HYACINTHIA – a gay romcom Greek tragedy musical
One of Canada’s most popular playwrights, Mark Crawford’s work has been produced across the country and internationally. He is the author of nine plays: Stag and Doe; Bed and Breakfast; The Birds and the Bees; Boys, Girls, and Other Mythological Creatures; The New Canadian Curling Club; Chase the Ace; The Gig; The Golden Anniversaries; and Ruby and the Reindeer. Many of Mark’s plays are published by Scirocco Drama. He has been nominated for the Playwrights Guild of Canada Comedy Award and long-listed for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. Also an actor, Mark has performed on stages from coast to coast. He grew up on his family’s farm in Southwestern Ontario, studied at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, and now lives in Stratford. www.markcrawfordplays.com
Kevin Wong is a composer-lyricist, singer/musician, and dramaturg. His musicals include: Recurring John: A Song Cycle; STAR!(ving): A Collection of Songs; Polly Peel (with Julie Tepperman); Out of Stock; Drama 101 (with Steven Gallagher); In Real Life (with Nick Green); Believers (with Ali Joy Richardson), Take Me Back (with Amir Haidar); Soft Magical Tofu Boy(s), and A Moment for Frayed Nerves (upcoming, Toronto Fringe 2026). Kevin streams online concerts weekly on the streaming service Twitch (twitch.tv/kevinywong). He is the only three-time winner of the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s Tom Hendry Dan School of Drama & Music Award for New Musical. He is the current Creative Lead for the Musical Stage Company’s UnCovered concert series, and the third Crescendo Artist at the Musical Stage Company. Most recently, he can be heard on his albums Small Ways to Move and Covers (on streaming services everywhere).
Kiki Nicole & Benjamin Cameron
STELLAR
Kiki Nicole is a Vancouver/Toronto based performing artist, with experience in musical theatre performance, song writing, and writing for theatre. She recently graduated from Sheridan College with an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Music Theatre Performance with a specialization in Writing for Musical Theatre. While at Sheridan College, Kiki gained experience workshopping new musicals with acclaimed Canadian writers and showcasing her own work at Toronto’s Factory Theatre. Kiki has experience writing for Vancouver International Children’s Festival and currently works as a children’s musical theatre choreographer. She is eager to return to the stage and enter new workshop spaces as a creative. Kiki is drawn to opportunities for innovative work in the Canadian musical theatre scene. In both her writing and performing, she is energized by stories that challenge personal growth, societal expectations, and traditional theatre techniques, striving to create work that encourages inclusion, inspires to educate, and uplifts community.
Benjamin Cameron (He/Him) is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and writer who has been creating original music for nearly a decade. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Theatre Performance from Sheridan College with a specialization in writing and composition. Combining his passion for nature and the outdoors with Canadian-focused stories, his work emphasizes the vastly unique and diverse voices across the country, and shares the beauty and wonder of its wildlife and landscapes. He has multiple projects in development currently, from working with commercial artists as a writer and composer to musical theatre, where he is developing multiple shows, including his second full-length musical, Murder on Salmon River.
This year’s Recommender Grant Recipients:
Hilary Wheeler & Heeyun Park 박희윤
YE XIAN: A MUSICAL RETELLING
Heeyun Park 박희윤 is an actor, singer and creator based in Toronto, raised in Edmonton and born in South Korea. She won both the Dora Mavor Moore Award and the Toronto Critic’s Choice Award for her performance as Princess Mary in Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (Mirvish; Crow’s and Musical Stage Company). Select Credits: WITCH (Soulpepper Theatre), Little Red Ridinghood in Into the Woods (Koerner Hall), Phoebe in MONEY (WYRD Prod.), Daisy in I Was Unbecoming Then (NextStage; Dora Nomination for Outstanding New Musical), Aerwyna in Rosamund (Toronto Fringe), Madeleine Bejart in La Bête (Talk is Free Theatre). She is the composer and co-lyricist for Ye Xian: A Musical Retelling (Bad New Ideas 2024). Training: Acting at National Theatre School of Canada, Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at University of Alberta.
Hilary Wheeler (she/they) is a queer, Chinese-Canadian, mixed race actor, writer, and musician. She is a graduate from the Acting program at the National Theatre School of Canada. Select performance credits include vActory 2025 (VACT), Selfie, The Paperbag Princess (Geordie Theatre), Transhumance (Corpus Dance Projects), Quest for the Moon (WeeFestival), Bonus Points if You Have Air Conditioning, Everybody, To Those Who Wait in Fear (NTS), Macbeth, Love Labour’s Lost, Pericles (The Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival). She’s been nominated for a META for her work in The Paperboy Princess. Hilary has workshopped shows as both an actor or writer with companies like Bad Hats Theatre (NBI program), Red Sky, WeeFestival, and Theatre Potluck. As a writer she has three shows in development—The List, Wombmates, and Ye Xian: A Musical Retelling—thanks to the CCA, OAC, and Bad Hats Theatre. More at hilarywheeler.ca !
Mark Crawford & Kevin Wong
THE HYACINTHIA – a gay romcom Greek tragedy musical
One of Canada’s most popular playwrights, Mark Crawford’s work has been produced across the country and internationally. He is the author of nine plays: Stag and Doe; Bed and Breakfast; The Birds and the Bees; Boys, Girls, and Other Mythological Creatures; The New Canadian Curling Club; Chase the Ace; The Gig; The Golden Anniversaries; and Ruby and the Reindeer. Many of Mark’s plays are published by Scirocco Drama. He has been nominated for the Playwrights Guild of Canada Comedy Award and long-listed for the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour. Also an actor, Mark has performed on stages from coast to coast. He grew up on his family’s farm in Southwestern Ontario, studied at the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, and now lives in Stratford. www.markcrawfordplays.com
Kevin Wong is a composer-lyricist, singer/musician, and dramaturg. His musicals include: Recurring John: A Song Cycle; STAR!(ving): A Collection of Songs; Polly Peel (with Julie Tepperman); Out of Stock; Drama 101 (with Steven Gallagher); In Real Life (with Nick Green); Believers (with Ali Joy Richardson), Take Me Back (with Amir Haidar); Soft Magical Tofu Boy(s), and A Moment for Frayed Nerves (upcoming, Toronto Fringe 2026). Kevin streams online concerts weekly on the streaming service Twitch (twitch.tv/kevinywong). He is the only three-time winner of the Playwrights Guild of Canada’s Tom Hendry Dan School of Drama & Music Award for New Musical. He is the current Creative Lead for the Musical Stage Company’s UnCovered concert series, and the third Crescendo Artist at the Musical Stage Company. Most recently, he can be heard on his albums Small Ways to Move and Covers (on streaming services everywhere).
Kiki Nicole & Benjamin Cameron
STELLAR
Kiki Nicole is a Vancouver/Toronto based performing artist, with experience in musical theatre performance, song writing, and writing for theatre. She recently graduated from Sheridan College with an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Music Theatre Performance with a specialization in Writing for Musical Theatre. While at Sheridan College, Kiki gained experience workshopping new musicals with acclaimed Canadian writers and showcasing her own work at Toronto’s Factory Theatre. Kiki has experience writing for Vancouver International Children’s Festival and currently works as a children’s musical theatre choreographer. She is eager to return to the stage and enter new workshop spaces as a creative. Kiki is drawn to opportunities for innovative work in the Canadian musical theatre scene. In both her writing and performing, she is energized by stories that challenge personal growth, societal expectations, and traditional theatre techniques, striving to create work that encourages inclusion, inspires to educate, and uplifts community.
Benjamin Cameron (He/Him) is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and writer who has been creating original music for nearly a decade. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Theatre Performance from Sheridan College with a specialization in writing and composition. Combining his passion for nature and the outdoors with Canadian-focused stories, his work emphasizes the vastly unique and diverse voices across the country, and shares the beauty and wonder of its wildlife and landscapes. He has multiple projects in development currently, from working with commercial artists as a writer and composer to musical theatre, where he is developing multiple shows, including his second full-length musical, Murder on Salmon River.
Recommender Grants for Theatre Creators
Applications are will open Fall 2026 for the next round recommender grants.
This third-party recommender program assists Ontario-based professional theatre creators, and informal collectives of creators, by funding them to create and/or further develop new work. While the funding comes from the Ontario Arts Council, applications are made to, and funding decisions are made by, the theatre companies enrolled in the program. The Musical Stage Company is proud to be enrolled as a Recommender.
Through this granting program, The Musical Stage Company funds any type of musical theatre creation or development activity submitted by eligible applicants.
Please refer to the Ontario Arts Council website for full program and application guidelines.
For any questions, please email our Senior Fundraising and Audience Development Officer Colette Richardson at coletterichardson@musicalstagecompany.com.