CelticFest Performer Bios

They call her “Vancouver’s Premier Entertainer”.

Miss Ravishing Rhonda has been delighting Vancouver audiences for the past 9 years as a corporate performer and hostess with the mostest. A Woman of Many Characters who charms the crowds with her renditions of Hollywood’s leading ladies. Hollywood Impersonations, Corporate shows and being an effervescent Television Host are Rhonda’s specialties. Offering a variety of whimsical characters such as; Marilyn Monroe, Mae West and even Mrs. Claus for children, Rhonda always leaves a lasting impression!! Rhonda has performed at over 475 shows for groups of up to 1800 in size in the Vancouver, Whistler & the lower mainland area. Wowing Event Planners, Corporate Clients and the private sector to name a few; Telus, Versace, Air Canada, London Drugs, The P.N.E., UniGlobe Travel, Lucas Talent, The GeekRave 2000 and the BC Liquor Distribution Branch.

Marilyn Monroe, Mae West and many more ...

Film and TV performances include; Liberty Jeep, Fusion Films, Agent Cody Banks, Dark Angel, Scooby Doo 2, MTV Canada, Jupiter Films – Little Brother of War. Celebrity interviews include; Quincy Jones, Shania Twain, Sarah McLaughlin, David Foster, Amanda McKay - MTV Canada, the Seattle Sea Fair Pirates.

Television Appearances include; May 2003 part of the Pre Show for MTV Movie Awards on as Marilyn Monroe. CTV News, M Channel, City TV and Shaw Cable to date. For Rogers, Channel 4 as an Entertainment Reporter for the weekly show “Plugged In Vancouver”, Rhonda became to be known as “Your Girl about Town”, Miss Ravishing Rhonda!!

Wherever she shows up, Ravishing Rhonda always leaves a trail of laughter in her path. There are no dress rehearsals – so on with the show!!!

www.ravishingrhonda.com

Born in Vancouver, Damon began acting at age nine, when he appeared onstage as a shepherd in a Christmas version of Battlestar Galactica!  Since then he has appeared in over 125 plays and has directed or designed another 40.

Recent roles include playing Tom Jones and several other characters in the musical revue, Songs and Nonsense (Fallen Angels Theatre Company), several characters in I love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change (Oregon Cabaret Theatre), many characters in The Sicamous Follies Encore (SS Sicamous Restoration Society), Mickey in Blood Brothers (First Impressions Theatre), Rufus in the Jessie-nominated Beggars Would Ride (Wild Excursions Theatre), Adam in The Diary of Adam and Eve (Vancouver Fringe Festival), Dylan Thomas in Dylan (Presentation House Theatre), several roles in The Brementown Musicians (Kaleidoscope Theatre), Mozart in Mozart and Me (The Vancouver Symphony), Mr. Phillips in Anne of Green Gables (Kaleidoscope Theatre), the title role in The Elephant Man (Pacific Theatre), The Wizard of Oz (Chemainus Theatre Festival), The Selfish Giant (Kaleidoscope Theatre), The Garter Girl Theatre Cabaret (Garter Girl Theatrical Productions) in Whitehorse, Thomas T (First Impressions Theatre), Tomfoolery (Ace Productions), and Ghosts of Dawson City: The Palace Grand Prize (Garter Girl Theatrical Productions) which Damon also directed in Dawson City in 2004.

More recently, Damon has ventured into the world of film and television, appearing in several commercials and independent films, including the title role in The Meat Man, and featured roles in Cockwood in Hollywood (which he also directed) and the upcoming mockumentary feature, Timothy A. Perdue: Director. Damon has also co-written a musical, Shining Star, based on the music of Earth, Wind & Fire, and in 2004 he edited the 16mm feature film Salvador’s Deli.

Future plans for Damon include performing in A Man For All Seasons (Pacific Theatre).

www.damoncalderwood.com

Mark Downey hails from County Meath, Ireland. Until recently he lived in Paris where he trained as an actor with Jacques LeCoq and Phillippe Gaulier. He continues training in Vancouver with Ben Ratner.

For Theatre he has performed in a variety of styles from touring Commedia dell' Arte mask show performed on the street to Shakespeare at La Comédie-Française in Paris. Favourite theatre roles include Sloane in Entertaining Mr Sloane, Edward in Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, The Defendant in Trial By Jury and all the roles he played in John Crowley's Alice.

Film and television appearances include Sous Mes Yeux, Champs d'Honneur, Les Chevaliers du Ciel, Russen, L'Insomniaque and Shut Eye. Here in Vancouver he recently signed with Maughan Mariani at Infinite Artists.

Mark is also a musician. His solo show can be seen every Thursday night at The Wolf and Hound at 3617 W.Broadway and again on Sundays, performing his own material at Stars on Sunday, an evening of original Singer / Songwriters and Stand-Up Comedians, which he also hosts at the same venue.

Todd Wong aka Toddish McWong is a 5th Generation accordion-playing Chinese-Canadian, who created Gung Haggis Fat Choy, a mythical Chinese Robbie Burns Dinner that spawned a CBC Vancouver television performance special.  He is also the inventor of deep-fried haggis won-ton, and responsible for putting dragon boats in Vancouver's St. Patrick's Day Parade.  Todd first learned about Robbie Burns while wearing a kilt at Simon Fraser University in 1993.  To organize his first Robbie Burns Dinner, he read a "how-to" book at the Vancouver Public Library, where he is an employee.  2008 finds him celebrating the 10th anniversary of Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner.  McWong has been interviewed by BBC Radio Scotland, CBC radio's Shelagh Rogers (Sounds Like Canada), CBC TV's Peter Mansbridge (The National), Vancouver Sun's Pete McMartin and many other media.

www.gunghaggisfatchoy.com