Staff and Board of Directors – Hamilton Festival Theatre Company

Staff & Board of Directors

Meet the HFTco team!

Christopher Stanton

Executive Director

Christopher Stanton is an award-winning performer, director, sound designer, composer, and educator. His stage work has taken him across Canada to Toronto, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Montreal – and internationally to New York, Bogotà, Munich, Brisbane, Dublin, and Vienna. Past roles in artistic leadership include UnSpun Theatre, The Room, and ARC. Chris joined the HFTco team as the Hamilton Fringe Festival Director in February 2020.

Email Christopher

Franny McCabe-Bennett

Managing Director

Franny McCabe-Bennett (she/her) is an award-winning actor, playwright, educator, and producer. She has held administrative and artistic roles at Factory Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times, Toronto Fringe, The Next Stage Festival, Young People’s Theatre, SOULOTheatre, Soulpepper, George Brown College, and Sheridan College. Franny creates original work from a queer, neurodiverse, sober perspective and has toured her autobiographical solo shows across Canada and internationally.

Email Franny

Aleena Faisal

Communications Manager

Aleena Faisal is a Hamilton-based communications and marketing professional working in the performing arts sector. She has over 7 years of experience as a magazine editor, specializing in Korean entertainment. A lifelong learner of media communications, Aleena's interests lie in creative storytelling through writing, photography, video, illustration, and design.

Email Aleena

Grace Lamarche

Development Coordinator

Grace Lamarche is a theatre artist of mixed Cree (Attawapiskat First Nation)/Eastern European descent. Select performance credits: Strife (Punctuate Theatre/Tarragon Theatre), On Thin Ice (Magnus Theatre), Women of the Fur Trade (Magnus Theatre), 1939 (Canadian Stage/The Belfry). As an administrator, she's worked at varying theatre companies/festivals throughout Ontario, including the Paprika Festival, Toronto Fringe Festival, Theatre Gargantua, Alumnae Theatre, The Theatre Centre and Theatre of the Beat.

Email Grace

Taija Shonée Chung

ALERT Coordinator & Patron Services Assistant Manager

TAIJA SHONÉE CHUNG is a Jamaican-Chinese multi-disciplinary artist, based in Toronto. A passionate actor, mover and creator, she's enthusiastic about work that explores our perception of others and ourselves in this ever-changing world. This is their third year working with Hamilton Fringe. She still enjoys singing loudly in her apartment.

Email Taija

Danielle Hitchcock

Brand Director

With 20 years in the design industry, she has experience in branding, signage, wayfinding, editorial design, invitation and stationery design, book design, visual identity, web design and copywriting. In 2025, she was awarded a City of Hamilton Arts Award in the Creator Category. Danielle holds a Bachelor of Design from York University and Sheridan College and she believes great design lives in the nuances. Photo by Sandra Mulder, Banko Creative Studio.

Email Danielle

Damien Nelson

Press Agent

Damien Nelson is a press agent with over 15 years of experience. She works with comedians, organizations and festivals including Julie Nolke, Neema Naz, Tom Hearn, Two2Mango, Hisham Kelati, Tracy Hamilton, Amy Bugg, Rachel Manson, Toronto Fringe, Hamilton Fringe, and more. Damien is Vice Chair of the Board of Bad Dog Theatre Company.

Email Damien