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Timoteo, Farren

Farren Timoteo
Farren Timoteo

Edmonton-based actor, singer, writer and director, Farren Timoteo grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, the grandson of Italian immigrants. His father, Luigi, is a self-taught singer and songwriter.

He became the Artistic Director of Alberta Musical Theatre in 2006 the age of 23, and has since written and directed many productions for the company, including Little Red Riding Hood, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, Aladdin, Rumpelstiltskin, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, and Hansel and Gretel. Alberta Musical Theatre does more then 300 performances in elementary schools each season, reaching more the 90,000 students.

Other directing credits include Songs for a New World (2005), and Stravinsky’s The Soldier’s Tale (2018) at the Edmonton Fringe Festival; Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Co-director) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee for the Mayfield Theatre; Everybody Goes to Mitzi’s and The Infinite Shiver for Teatro La Quindicina (for which he also wrote the lyrics); Pippin and Crazy for You (Assistant Director) at the Citadel Theatre; HMS Pinafore and Don Giovanni (Assistant Director) at Edmonton Opera; Roméo et Juliette at Calgary Opera (Assistant Director), and The Light in the Piazza for MacEwan University.

Acting credits include The Financée, Shakespeare in Love, Peter and the Starcatcher, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Make Mine Love, Monty Python’s Spamalot, and Jersey Boys (2023) for the Citadel Theatre; The Light in the Piazza for Theatre Calgary; As You Like It and Coriolanus for Free Will Players; Marvellous Pilgrims, The Scent of Compulsion, A Rocky Night for His Nibs, and A Grand Time in the Rapids (2022) for Teatro La Quindicina; Waiting for Godot for Wishbone Theatre; and Little Shop of Horrors, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Footloose, and Forever Plaid for the Mayfield Theatre.

In 2016, his solo show, Made in Italy, premiered at Western Canada Theatre (dir. Daryl Cloran), a humorous recollection of growing up in an Italian family in Jasper, where he was a cultural aberration, and defended himself by taking on the persona of Rocky Balboa. Timoteo has since performed Made in Italy across Canada, including at the Arts Club Theatre, Citadel Theatre (2017), the Manitoba Theatre Centre (2018-19 season), Thousand Islands Playhouse, and at Theatre Aquarius (2022).

In her enthusiastic review of Jersey Boys at the Citadel Theatre (2023), Liz Nicholls applauds Timoteo's "stratospheric range" as Frankie Valli, one of The Four Seasons: he "lands the signature style, with its distinctive falsetto swoops, in an uncanny way. It’s a performance that captures, too, a certain vulnerability, a genuine sense of wonder in making music, getting noticed, getting juiced by making an audience happy" (12th Night.ca, Feb 15, 2023).

Timoteo has received a Jessie Richardson Award for his performance in Made in Italy, four Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards: for his performances in Monty Python’s Spamalot and Made in Italy, for his direction of Pinocchio, and for Outstanding Original Score for Everyone Goes to Mitzi's, which he shares with composer Ryan Sigurdson. In 2018, he was the recipient of a Broadwayworld.com Award for his performance in Forever Plaid. In 2015, he was included in Avenue Magazine’s prestigious list of Edmonton’s Top 40 Under 40, in recognition of his artistic contributions to the city.

Farren resides in Edmonton with his daughter, Melody.

Last updated 2023-02-16