Madness Lies

Chloë Whitehorn (playwright/director)

Chloë Whitehorn is an award winning playwright, actor, and wearer of black dresses whose work often examines taboo moralities, tragic love, and the broken bits of ourselves we all try to hide. Described as "Dorothy Parker meets Neil Labute meets M. Night Shyamalan" for her dark twisty plays about people struggling through life together,  her plays have been performed across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Born in California, Chloë's hippie-artist mother raised her in a world of circus artists, puppeteers and activists until moving to Canada where she spent her days figure skating, writing short stories, and developing a love of theatre. Her plays include: The Fall After Midsummer (TK Fringe 2024), Blood River (Theatre Kingston 2023), Dressing Amelia (Bottletree 2024), The Pigeon (TK Fringe 2018 & Top Ten Shows in Toronto of 2018), Love, Virtually (Best of Fringe Toronto 2011), Mourning After the Night Before, Divine Wrecks, and How to Not Die Horribly in a Fire.

Chloë is so grateful to have had two phenomenal actors agree to work on this play before it was even written. Thank you Shannon and Jen for being the muses in my mind.

Find more on her website: www.chloewhitehorn.com

Shannon Donnelly (Lettie)

Shannon Donnelly is an award winning actor who has performed on stages across Ontario. She fell in love with acting at six and has pursued that passion ever since. As an alumnus of the University of Ottawa in Theatre and graduate with honours of the St. Lawrence College's Musical Theatre program, Shannon has experience with many aspects of the craft including costuming, makeup, film, theatre and voice acting. 

Some of her favourite roles include Aunt Eller (Oklahoma!) Baroness Schroeder (Sound of Music) and Jane (Babe Ruth Comes to Pickle River). Recent roles include Sarah (Company), Diane (Blood River), Witch Hazel (The Witch and the Glitch), Tania (The Fall After Midsummer), Pauline (Jekyll & Hyde) and Nicole (Parents Night).

Shannon is excited to be working alongside talented playwright, Chloë Whitehorn, on another thrilling premiere, and honoured to be sharing the stage with the incomparable Jennifer Verardi. Off stage she lives happily as a makeup artist/instructor and mum to her two amazing daughters.

Jennifer Verardi (Leah)

Jennifer is excited and honoured to be working with MadRiver Theatre alongside these incredibly talented women. She has been acting in the Kingston area for the past 17 years with her most recent performances including Dressing Ameliaby Chloe with Bottle Tree Productions (2024), and Constance in Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) with King's Town Players (2019). For the past four years, she has been focused on songwriting and poetry, and is thrilled to return to the Theatre Kingston Fringe Festival stage. Jennifer is grateful for the opportunity to share this story. She remains ever in love with storytelling — whether through song, verse, or asking, “Is this a dagger I see before me?”