Meet the Team

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR - GARRETT M. RYAN ABRAMS

Garrett M. Ryan Abrams is a Northern Ontarian playwright, director, dramaturg, and arts advocate based in Sault Ste. Marie. His work often centers on Northern stories, challenging conventional narratives about life in the region. As a proud Jewish-Canadian and Irish-Canadian, Garrett integrates his cultural heritage into his storytelling.

Since beginning his career in the Fringe circuit after high school in 2017, Garrett has developed his theatrical voice, winning multiple awards at various festivals. He continues to create and tour original works through Bird On Stage Productions, which he is dedicated to building into a significant force in the Canadian theatre landscape. As someone who never quite felt like he fit in, he aims to create a company for others who feel the same way—outsiders, misfits, and artists working in the North or beyond Toronto's theatre hub.

Garrett holds both undergraduate and master’s degrees in Theatre & Performance Studies from York University, with research focusing on New Play Development for Northern Community Development.

ARTISTIC PRODUCER - ROBERT LEITNER

Robert Leitner is a Jewish-American/Canadian actor, director, lighting designer, and an adamant arts lover, currently based in Toronto. He was born and raised in Miami, Florida, before moving to Canada in 2014. Robert joined the Bird on Stage Productions team in 2018, originally just as an actor. Since then, Robert has been consistently acting and doing lighting design for the company's productions, while also working alongside our AD, Garrett M. Ryan, to create boundary-pushing, innovative theatre. Across Robert’s time with Bird on Stage, he has been evolving his theatre chops, winning numerous awards in many festivals around Canada. Through this company, he plans to keep creating work that inspires and provokes, hoping to bring in a new age of artists who want to live outside the binary of the conventional and unconventional. Growing up, Robert had a hard time fitting in, never feeling like he belonged with the people around him. But when he met Garrett and Bird on Stage, that was when he knew he found his place. Robert has completed his time at the York University Acting Conservatory, working with many professors and people who have helped Robert find his footing across this landscape. Robert acknowledges that without the help of his peers, teachers, friends, family, and all the people he meets along the way, there is no Robert Leitner.

HEAD OF MARKETING/OUTREACH -TIPELO HILDEBRAND

Tipelo Hildebrand is a Toronto-based neurodiverse actor, singer, collaborator, and arts administrator driven by one simple belief: artists shouldn't have to wait for permission to create. After experiencing firsthand how difficult it can be for emerging theatre artists to find opportunities to develop, perform, and produce their own work, she made it her mission to help build those opportunities herself. Through Bird On Stage, Tipelo is committed to creating spaces where artists can take risks, tell bold stories, and connect with audiences without waiting for someone else to open the door.

As Head of Marketing & Outreach for Bird On Stage Productions, she leads audience engagement, community partnerships, and artist development initiatives that champion independent creators. Whether launching original productions or creating platforms like Indie Stage, her work is rooted in the belief that the future of theatre depends on investing in the artists creating it today.

A graduate of York University's BFA Acting Conservatory, Tipelo has had the privilege of learning from and working alongside some of Canada's respected theatre artists, including Keshia Palm, Courtney Ch'ng Lancaster, Keira Loughran, and Erika Batdorf.

For Tipelo, success isn't measured only by the productions that reach the stage. It's measured by the artists who discover their confidence, find their community, and realize they no longer have to wait for permission to make the work they believe in.