Sawyer Craig

Co-Founder 

Equally comfortable on the stage and at the director’s table, Sawyer has been praised as a “standout” performer (Edmonton Journal), “particularly radiant in coloratura passages” (Opera Canada), and “a massive nerd” (her sister Eden).  As a co-founder of Good Mess Opera Theatre, Sawyer is committed to telling stories in unique, vibrant, and inclusive ways.   

Sawyer did her undergraduate studies at UBC in Opera Performance. The years she spent in Vancouver taught her a love of stagecraft and introduced her to longtime friend and fellow Good Mess co-founder Gwen. She followed this with a Masters degree in Voice Performance at the University of Manitoba. Under the tutelage of Monica Huisman, she developed a wide repertoire of art song and a fascination with the medium of the recital. She also developed a bit of a regional accent, most audible when she says the word “sorry” (as a Canadian, this of course is something she says with almost inexplicable frequency; she is working on this). Sawyer is currently based in Montréal, studying stage direction and enjoying as much poutine as possible at McGill’s Schulich School of Music.

Recent highlights include portraying Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Opera NUOVA, performing Szymanowski’s Songs of a Fairytale Princess with the U of M Symphony Orchestra (as a winner of the Concerto Competition), and directing the Canadian premiere of Verdi’s Un Giorno do Regno with Opera McGill.

When she is not making loud noises with her face, Sawyer enjoys running half marathons, black coffee, and engaging in light witchcraft with the help of her two cats (familiars), Toby Flenderson and Stevie Nicks.

Gwendolyn Yearwood 

Co-Founder 

Gwendolyn Yearwood is a soprano, vocal instructor, ukulele player, piano teacher, jingle writer, food snob, and occasionally a tenor when the stars align. She was born and raised in Calgary Alberta, received a Bachelor’s of Music from UBC in 2015 and a Master’s of Music from UBC in 2017. After finishing her studies she moved to Toronto in pursuit of a career as an opera singer. She dreamed of living her life like Carrie Bradshaw in the big city exclusively wearing Manolo Blahnik shoes. During her time in Toronto she realized that the rent was too damn high and that in order to be an artist one must actually have time to make art! Which means one cannot be working 60 hour weeks to pay one’s outrageously expensive bills, right? A few months into the COVID 19 pandemic Gwendolyn packed up her shoes (none of which were Manolo Blahnik’s) and swapped the Toronto grind for the Rocky Mountains, returning to her hometown of Calgary Alberta where she currently resides. 

Gwendolyn has been hailed as “a force to be reckoned with” by the Summerland Review and also by her Mother and her partner Chris who are both admittedly afraid of her. She has had the opportunity to perform all over Canada, Europe and Asia, thrilling audiences with performances such as Mimi in Puccini’s La Boheme (Against the Grain Theatre), Magda in Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Consul (UBC Opera), Rosalinde in Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus (Okanagan Symphony Orchestra), and The Countess of Dunmow in Lennox Berkeley’s A Dinner Engagement (Opera by Request) just to name a few. 

When she’s not performing, teaching, or running Good Mess Opera Theatre with her best friend Sawyer Craig, Gwendolyn can be found sleeping, snacking, drinking wine, or sometimes pretending to help her partner make dinner though all she’s really doing is chopping the occasional vegetable until she kicked out of the kitchen. Even though she never makes dinner, she always does the dishes… or at least she offers.