Ruaridh MacDonald
Ruaridh MacDonald is a multi-disciplinary Theatre Artist and Musician. He was born and raised on Treaty 4 Land in Regina, Saskatchewan. Ru is a 2017 graduate of Sheridan College’s Honours Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance Program. Since 2021 he has been working in varying capacities at Globe Theatre as an Artistic Associate, Actor, Designer, Theatre School Instructor, and most recently as Communications & Social Media Coordinator.
On Stage: Nutcracker in The Nutcracker 2019, 2023 (Caravan Farm Theatre), The Hobbit, The Globe Cabaret: A Musical Theatre Revue, Making Spirits Bright 2021, 2022, The Fusion Project (Globe Theatre) Camelot, Portia (Victoria Playhouse Petrolia), Queer Songbook Orchestra (Regina Symphony Orchestra) 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Chickens, Fitz Happens, Dogbarked (Souris Valley Theatre) Floyd Collins, Sunday In the Park With George (Sheridan) Writing/Composition/Sound Design/Musical Direction: The Birds & The Bees, The Adventure of Young Turtle (Persephone Theatre), Making Spirits Bright (Globe Theatre) One Song, Glory (Musical Stage Co.), The Ordinary Adventures of Gordo & Herm (Super Wonder Gallery), Narcissus: A Cycle, The House of Special Purpose (art.pop Toronto) - shortlisted for Musical Stage Co’s Marla Dan Fund for New Musicals.
Set Design: Where You Are (Station Arts Centre), The Rocky Horror Show (Ovation Productions), Honk!, Peter Pan (Stagecoach Toronto West) Fitz Happens! (Souris Valley Theatre), Monsters By Nature (Toronto Fringe), The Ordinary Adventures of Gordo & Herm (Super Wonder Gallery)
Other: Ru was a Drummer with Inveraray & District Pipe Band (2012-2019) He won the Scottish, European, and World Pipe Band Championships with the band, and recorded Ascension: Live at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in 2013.
Where are you in your artistic journey at the moment? What are you excited about now that you are accepted into the Academy? What do you hope to learn during your time at Soulpepper?
I feel so honoured to be welcomed into this cohort of the Soulpepper Academy. I’ve been lucky to have had a fulfilling and varied career so far, working on stage and on the creative side. I have often grappled with where I belong in “the industry.” It is rare to find creative spaces that will utilize, develop, and invest in all of the aspects that I can offer a project. I'm looking forward to expanding artistically and collaborating with an ensemble of 4 other mega-talents. I’m also thrilled to be working in Toronto after nearly 10 years of living and dreaming here - to be doing that at Soulpepper, a company I have studied and revered for a long time, is such a dream come true. I would like to thank Jennifer Brewin, Manon Beaudoin, Estelle Shook, Robert Ursan, Ruth Smillie, Jayden Pfeifer, and Johanna Bundon for their support and mentorship, as well as my immediate and extended family - special mention to my Dad who convinced me not to enrol in Massage Therapy School during the darkest days of 2020.