Who is Cayne Kitagawa?
Cayne Kitawaga is a Japanese-Canadian actor. He is from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Cayne is of Ukrainian and Japanese heritage. He is a professional actor and studies theatre in Mississauga. Cayne has a BA (Honours) in Theatre and Drama Studies at the University of Toronto – Mississauga and his Advanced Diploma in Acting from Sheridan College. He is a member of Crane Creations Theatre Company’s 2019 Summer Ensemble. Cayne Kitagawa is dedicated to performance, whether live or recorded.
Cayne is an actor who works in film, television, theatre, improv, and voice-over. A highly physical performer, Cayne is eager to put his martial arts training to good use as a motion capture artist. Cayne Kitagawa is dedicated to performance, whether live or recorded.
Cayne is also a triple threat. He can sing and dance and has been in many musicals.
Cayne Kitagawa’s theatre experience:
A few of Cayne Kitawaga’s notable roles include Danny from the hit musical Grease, Oliver Twist in Oliver! the musical, Link in the musical Hairspray, Orestes from the Oresteia, Mercutio/Paris in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and Levin from the play Anna Karenina, adapted from the classic novel.
He has worked for such companies as Disney, TAQC, Laser Quest, and Carleton University.
Cayne Kitagawa’s Training
Cayne has studied theatre in Mississauga. He holds a BA (Honours) in Theatre and Drama Studies at the University of Toronto – Mississauga and his Advanced Diploma in Acting from Sheridan College.
Fun Fact About Cayne
A fun fact about Cayne: Because of his active imagination when he was young, he believed he would grow into a duck. So its fair to say, we were all a bit confused and had some questions.
Hobbies
As well as martial arts, Cayne is a snowboarder and a hockey player. He can juggle and enjoys drawing and painting.
Additional Skills
- Language Skills: Cayne is Bilingual. Growing up in Ottawa, just across from Quebec, Cayne can speak French and English fluently.
- Martial Arts: Cayne is a martial artist. A highly physical performer, Cayne is eager to put his martial arts training to good use as a motion capture artist.
- A triple threat: Cayne is also a triple threat. He can sing and dance and has been in many musicals.
Where to find Cayne
Cayne is currently working in the Toronto and Ottawa acting scene, always searching for opportunities to display his skills and work to the world!You can follow him on Instagram and Facebook: @caynekitagawa.
Summer Ensemble
Cayne Kitawaga is one of the first Summer Ensemble members, from Crane Creations first Summer Ensemble in 2019.
What is the Summer Ensemble?
The Summer Ensemble is an 8 week training program for theatre artists. In this paid working opportunity artists learn skills required to be a professional artist in Canada, and gain valuable insights into the theatre industry in Canada and abroad. To apply artists must be between 18 and 30 years of age.
This was Crane Creations First Annual Summer Ensemble and Cayne’s addition as a member of the ensemble, helped make this year a memorable experience for everyone.
What Do You Do In Summer Ensemble?
Learn the basics of: Budgeting for the live arts
How do you even start preparing a Budget?
What different types of revenue does a not-for-profit theatre company earn? Which fees do I pay the artists, the director and the designers? These are things that you will discover with the help of Crane Creations Theatre Company Artistic Director Andreja Kovac.
Andreja has worked on projects with budgets over $5 million. She is an expert in project management, has the equivalent of an MFA in directing from her home country of Slovenia, and is also a graduate of Canada’s National Theatre School directing program.
Join us to understand the basics of what it takes to plan, create, and balance a budget for a performing arts project.
Fund your project: Learn the basics of how to write a grant. Then actually write one.
Come and learn about the ins and out of building a budget for a project;
Planning for professional fees (artists, directors, stage manager, designers, etc.)
Knowing how to make grants work together
What funding bodies exist in Canada?
How long should I plan my projects in advance?
Andreja Kovac is a successful theatre director from Slovenia who graduated from the National Theatre School’s Directing program. She is the founding Artistic Director of Crane Creations Theatre Company, and is committed to helping emerging artists transition into the professional field, and understand the business of theatre.
What you will gain:
- Artistic Skills: Explore classical and contemporary text, improvisation, theatre around the world and their relevance and impact on arts jobs and society today.
- Orientation in Arts Jobs: Honest insight into professional organizations, structures and systems in place and how to navigate them successfully
- Financial Skills: Budgeting and financial literacy delivered in a comprehensible and easy to understand way, tailored for theatre artists’ needs.
- Leadership: Debate complex questions and develop ideas and strategies how to build not only your career but theatre ecosystem in Canada and Internationally.
- Touring in the Arts: Discover how artists around the world use international touring as a source of income, and learn how to create shows that can allow you to participate in that market.
- Digital Skills: Discover how blog/content writing can earn you additional income, promote your work, while mastering WordPress, one of the most desired skills in todays job market.
Cayne in an actor in the summer ensemble.
WHAT IS AN ACTOR?
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs in the theatre, film, radio, television, or digital media. The analogous Greek term is ὑποκριτής. The meaning translates to “one who answers”.
WHAT DOES AN ACTOR DO?
An actor’s doesn’t just memorize lines and look pretty. An actor has a fun but important role in creating a story. They are responsible for interpreting and embodying the character in a play, television series, or film. To do this well many actors rehearse and train their bodies and voices regularly. They study their script and consult with the director and scene partners about their interpretation of the character. The main concern of an actor should always be understanding what a character wants or needs and then what they are is doing to achieve this action. A want or a need is also called an objective, or motivation. What an actor is doing is referred to an action or a tactic. An Actor Acts. A good actor makes many different and thoughtful choices about what the character is doing. A very good actor can make many creative choices, and is always ready to change their actions on the fly. Actors sometimes require additional special skills. For example, an actor in a Broadway musical may also need to know how to sing and dance. An actor is a puppet show must know how to operate a puppet. Professional Improvisers need to know how to create a character and make up a story on the spot without any preparation. An actor in an action blockbuster film may also be trained in stage combat and martial arts.
Summer Ensemble 2019
In the 2019 workshops of Romeo and Juliet, Cayne plays the role of Paris and Mercutio. Cayne also participated in many activities and project with Crane Creations Theatre Company as a Summer Ensemble Member. He read through plays and assisted in workshops of new work. Cayne was part of important and lively discussion and debates about the Canadian theatre industry. Cayne learned about dthe industry of theatre and what it looks like to be a professional full time artist. He learned about theatre in Mississauga. With his fellow Summer Ensemble members he explored the arts outside of Canada as well, and conducted workshops and presentations of prominent International and Canadian artists and theatre companies.
ROMEO AND JULIET
Cayne Kitawaga is a Crane Creations Theatre Company 2019 Summer Ensemble Member. He is part of the 2019 workshop of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Cayne plays the role of Paris and Mercutio. Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most well known play. You may think of the classic balcony scene. Or the lines “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art though Romeo. Fun fact: Shakespeare never mentions a balcony in this scene. Mercutio is one of the most favourite roles of actors and audience members. It is also a notoriously difficult role. Mercutio is Romeo’s best friend. He is a jokester and a playboy, but also cares very deeply for his friends. Cayne plays the role of Mercutio beautifully, adding nuance and depth to the character. Cayne also plays the Role of Paris, a wealthy wooer of Juliet. Cayne’s acting skills shine in this role, which can be forgettable in some productions. However Cayne never makes any of the characters he plays forgettable.“Cayne Kitawaga is a great addition to the Mississauga Theatre Scene.” Eugenia De Jong
WORKSHOPS AND READINGS
Cayne was part of multiple play readings and workshops. He was in a reading of Invasion! by Jonas Hassen Khemiri. Invasion! is about prejudice identity, race and language. He was in a workshop of Titanic, a one act comedy play by Christopher Durang, which was directed by Mackenzie Burton. He was in a reading Bambiland by Austrian playwright Elfriede Jelinek, Elfreide Jelinek won the noble prize for Literature in 2004. He was also in the first reading of the play Terror, which is now enjoying its Canadian premier.
TERROR
Terror is a courtroom drama, written by one of the most successful German contemporary writers, Ferdinand von Schirach. The play questions the idea of a means justifying an end and warns against quantifying human life. The audience serves as a jury at the trial of a fighter jet pilot. He is accused of killing 164 passengers off a commercial airplane, hijacked by terrorists, heading towards a soccer stadium with 70,000 people. The end of the play depends on the verdict of the audience.In this 2019 workshop Cayne plays the role of Lars Koch. Lars Koch is a German fighter pilot who is on trial for shooting a passenger plane filled with 164 passengers that was hijacked by terrorists. The plane was heading towards a sold out soccer stadium, filled with 70,000 spectators. Faced with an extremely difficult dilemma, Lars Koch decides to shoot down the passenger plane in order to save the spectators in the stadium, despite orders not to shoot. Lars Koch must now defend himself and his choices, when he became the decider of life and death. The role is now played by Conor Ling, in the 2022 Canadian premier of Terror by Crane Creations Theatre Company at Clarke Hall in Port Credit, Mississauga.
PANDORA’S BOX
Cayne was also involved in the early of workshops of a new play in development, Pandora’s Box. Andreja Kovac is currently writing the play, Pandora’s Box. Andreja Kovac is the artistic director of Crane Creations Theatre Company. Pandora’s Box is about two childhood friends, Pandora and B. B goes off to War at 18 and returns. He is haunted by what he sees and what he does during war, and wants to change the world. His friend Pandora is also an idealist with dreams of changing the world for the better. With the help of his friends, Pandora as his campaign manager, B sets out on a political campaign to run for office. In the 2019 workshop, Cayne played the role of B. B grows up in a poor family. In order to ease the burden on his family, B decides to enlist in the army at the age of 18. After he returns from war, he is haunted by what he has done. he decides he wants to make the world a better place, and runs for political office with the help of his childhood best friend Pandora. Cayne originated the role of B, and plays a fundamental role in bringing the character to life.
