MASHUP PON DI ROAD at The Bentway

bahia watson is a storyteller and artist. bahia is one half of the theatrical duo paul watson productions, consisting of liza paul and bahia watson. Together they have co-directed and produced Pomme is French for Apple and MASHUP PON DI ROAD. independently bahia produces her own music under the name bahia bahia and writes poetry and short stories. Credits include: The Handmaid's Tale (actor); Star Trek: Discovery(actor); The Virgin Trial(actor); Bakkhai(actor), MASHUP(playwright, producer, co-director), Pomme is French for Apple (co-writer, producer, performer). Awards/Grants Include: Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series for The Handmaid’s Tale (nomination); Dora Mavor Moore Award for Best Performance Ensemble for The Penelopaid; RBC Emerging Artist Award, presented by Obsidian Theatre, various creation grants from the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts.

liza paul is a storyteller, comedian, curator and producer who loves laughter, life, music, family, stories, all things bashment, impromptu dancehall-flavoured a cappella street jams, and pum-related non sequiturs. she has trained at the second city (improv conservatory + 2017 bob curry fellowship program) and is the co-creator of pomme is french for apple (best of fringe 2012, toronto), which has also played in winnipeg, edinburgh, and new york city (nuyorican poets cafe, joe’s pub at the public theater). liza and her pomme partner in crime, bahia watson, are developing a travelling bashment circus variety show called MASHUP PON DI ROAD (coming summer 2022). she has worked with soulpepper theatre company, anitafrika! dub theatre, bCurrent theatre, and the watah theatre, and is a content creator for programsound.fm, launching late july 2021. liza also moonlights as a tv writer (from ontario, with love (tvo) and big brother canada (global)), and is directing a sketch show called don valley girls for the 2022 riser festival. she and bahia will be returning to the public theater in september 2022 with another offering from the MASHUP universe, MASHUP ting!. liza is currently the associate artistic director at the theatre centre, where she curated the inaugural comedy is art festival in 2019 and again in 2021, and is working to continue to program as many comedy shows by women of colour as she possibly can.

Chelsea Russell was born in Barbados and grew up in Jamaica. A real and raw island gyal! Upon arriving in Toronto she studied in the Acting Conservatory at York University. Most recently she was in a Soulpepper production named Pipeline as Jasmine. She also starred in "Rebirth of the Afronauts" a part of the 21 Black Futures project for CBC Gem for which she was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award. Chelsea can be seen next at Canadian Stage in 2023 for the powerful play Fairview. She also works in music and is currently working on an indie music project, her debut EP, focused in the alternative R&B genre.

ayaka is a japanese musician based in toronto who is actively involved in the comedy scene. she is a musical director at the second city and performs improv and sketch comedy on stage and on the internet. ayaka likes tomatoes.