The Flare Productions
Meet the Team
Artistic Director, Production Manager, & Founder
Aurora McClennan (she/her)
Aurora McClennan (She/Her) is a wearer of many hats - actor, writer, producer, singer, teacher, berets, French fry lover,..you get it. She is pure dynamite in a small body. Aurora is a 2020 St. Clair College Music Theatre Performance graduate, where she got to produce her first show; and a 2017 Cawthra Park Regional Arts Program - Vocal graduate, where her writing career began. As an actor, Aurora has been seen as Lily in Kathleen Mills’ The Storyteller, Donner in A St. Clair Christmas 2019, Viola in Twelfth Night (Dir. Heather Davies, original music by Michael Karloff) and, most recently, as Dr. McClane in the Toronto premiere of The Good Guys: A New Musical (Book and lyrics by Aurora McClennan, Music by Fynn Cuthbert).
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Aurora is the Artistic Director and Production Manager of The Flare Productions, where she puts her passions into practice, creating a safe and open community for all artists to share their voices and tell their stories. Since opening in September 2020, Aurora has produced multiple cabarets; a full length virtual production of Ordinary Days; a virtual, interactive comedy show; and a 12 part YouTube series about collaborating, and the importance of telling all stories with her in-development series, The Love You Make.
As a writer, she is hard at work on multiple theatre pieces, including The Good Guys; The Forgotten Baroness, which received its first reading last spring with Missus Productions’ Re:Vision; and a few other works in their early stages.
Aurora can be seen next with No Strings Theatre and Hamilton Fringe, reprising her role in The Story Teller (dir. Olivia Daniels, music dir. Joanna Mills), and as a cohort of Toronto Fringe TENT 2022. Be Fearless and Never Apologize.
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auroramcclennan.wixsite.com
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Producer and BIPOC Rep
Philon-Desiree Brathwaite (she/her)
Philon-Desiree Brathwaite is a Toronto based performer, currently obtaining a BFA in Classical Voice Performance at York University. Philon-Desiree has appeared in various productions in the GTA from a young age. Past roles include "The Waiter" in First Date: The Musical, "Patience" in Little Jack Horner, "Mrs. Gleaton" in Susannah and "Mother" in The Consul. Recently, she produced and curated her first cabaret in Toronto. She also completed the Singer's Theatre Music Theatre workshop at Laurier University. She now teaches private voice lessons out of her home in the GTA. Philon-Desiree is grateful to her family and friends for their continued support and love.
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Assistant Artistic Director & Mental Health Rep
Bea Postma (any pronouns)
Bea (Any Pronouns) grew up as a competitive dancer and community theatre performer for 14 years before following her dream of performing full time. Bea is a proud member of the LGBTQA+ community, as well as a mental health advocate. Growing up, she found a big drive and need for amplifying voices of those with mental illness, and reducing the stigmas that are connected to mental illnesses.
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She advocates for research, and reducing the stigmas around any and all mental disorders, and to uplift the voices of those with firsthand experiences in the healthcare system for mental health. Some recent theatre credits include Hazel Keel in The Love You Make, and a featured dancer in A St. Clair Christmas 2019.
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Administrative Assistant
Laura E. Janzen
Laura is thrilled to be joining the team at The Flare as Administrative Assistant. She is also making her onstage debut with The Flare in April as Siv in The Good Guys. Laura is a grade of Randolph College for the Performing Arts and University of Waterloos' Arts and Business Co-Op program with a major in music. She is trained in classical voice and musical theatre, and has received awards from KW Kiwanis Music Festival (Classical Recital RCM Grade 10 - First Place), and the Ontario Provincials (Advanced Musical Theatre - 1st Place, National Qualifying Musical Theatre - Playoff Finalist and Distinguished Hon. Mention). Favourite shows/roles include Bella in The Other Sides of the River (Backyard Theatre), Noise (Randolph College), and singer/dancer roles at Camp Spooky and Winterfest at Canada's Wonderland. She is also a vocal coach, and works with children as a music teacher and children's entertainer. In her spare time, Laura enjoys knitting, skiing, watercolour painting, and learning American Sign Language at Seneca College.
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