Here are two short articles on the history of Playing With Time/Epitome Pictures
Liberty Street Production Diary
Degrassi History
Mailing Address:
Epitome Pictures, Inc
220 Bartley Drive
Toronto, Ontario
M4A 1G2
Official web site: http://www.epitomepictures.com
Phone : (416) 752-7627
Fax: (416) 752-7837
President: Epitome Pictures, Inc.
President: Playing With Time Inc., Time To Play Inc., Playing With Time Distribution, Playing With Time Foundation
Board of Director Member: Canadian Women in Communications
Linda Schuyler executive produced and co-created the multi-award winning Degrassi series including The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High. These series have won two International Emmy's, nine Gemini Awards, two Prix Jeunesse's and countless other honours from festivals around the world. She also co-directed one film: Ida Makes a Movie, which preceded the Kis of Degrassi Street series. Linda completed the Degrassi series by co-producing the tele-feature "School's Out!" and a series of six documentaries entitled Degrassi Talks, which she also co-directed.
In 1993 Linda executive produced the Movie of the Week called "X-Rated", which later inspired the creation of 26 episodes of the dramatic series Liberty Street. Linda produced the series in 1995 and 1996.
Most recently Linda completed three seasons of Riverdale, Canada's first english language prime time serial drama (soap opera). The setting is Riverdale, a nice neighbourhood in East End Toronto, just East of downtown, the Don River, and the Don Valley Parkway. The program was actually filmed in the backlot and various studios at Epitome Pictures in East York, Canada's only borough. East York has since amalgamated with Toronto but the street signs stil say East York. Epitome Pictures is bigger and its studios are cool, but they are not opened to the public. Riverdale explored urban life and all that soap opera has to offer, deceit, love, relationships, secrets, betrayal, and all the stuff that we like to see on U.S. night time soap operas. Riverdale is modeled after Coronation Street so it did not have the sensationalism that American prime time soaps has, but then again, Canada is far less sensationalist than the United States anyway.
Riverdale was cancelled after three seasons.
Linda was awarded The Order of Canada in 1994. The honour "pays tribute to Canadians who exemplify the highest qualities of citizenship and whose contributions enrich the lives of their contemporaries".
As a producer, Linda is dedicated to stories that explore the human experience. She tries to break stereotypes, and encourages communication and enjoying a good laugh. Her stories are true to life and come from the heart.
In addition to producing, Linda is a founding member of the Association of Media Literacy and is co-founder and active Board member of the Playing With Time Foundation. The Playing With Time foundation used to provide bursaries for Degrassi alumni who wanted to do creative projects like make films, or make a musical recording. Linda is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) and is a member of the Centennial College Advisory Board for Radio and Television. As well, Linda has a seat on the National Board of Canadian Women in Communications (CWC) and is a member of the Women's Entrepreneur's of Canada (WEC).
Currently Schuyler is producing the fourth season of Degrassi: The Next Generation, the continuing series to the original Degrassi series. The old Riverdale studio was renovated and changed into a school with a cafeteria, gym, lockers, etc...The homes on the outdoor studio backlot still exist and are used for exterior shots of the character's homes.
Partner: Stohn Hay, LLP
Executive Vice-President: Epitome Pictures Inc.
President: Epitome Virtual Reality Inc.
Stephen Stohn has worked in the entertainment industry for over 40 years commencing with part-time appearances as a performing artist, continuing with active work as a songwriter (including two songs that reached the Canadian Top-10, Maybe Your Heart and Once In A Long Time), and a primary career as an entertainment and copyright lawyer since being called to the Ontario Bar in 1979.
He is a founding partner in the entertainment law firm Stohn Henderson, where he provides strategic legal advice to performers, advertising agencies, merchandisers, recording artists, songwriters, multimedia/internet creators, broadcasters and film and television producers.
His clients over the years have included music stars such as k. d. lang, Roch Voisine, Amanda Marshall, Tom Cochrane, Loreena McKennitt, Alannah Myles, Cowboy Junkies, Holly Cole and Crash Test Dummies. He has also acted for numerous television and film productions, and himself has executive-produced two feature films, Me? and The Clown Murders.
Throughout the years, Stephen has been active in lobbying for reform of Canada's copyright laws, and has participated as a director, committee member or founder of a number of cultural industry associations as well as co-chairing numerous entertainment law conferences under the auspices of the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Canadian Bar Association.
He is currently the Chair of the Copyright Committee of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, a director of the Canadian Retransmission Collective, a director of the producer's Audio-Visual Collective of Canada, legal counsel for the Songwriters Association of Canada and the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, and a member of the Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of Canada (SOCAN).
In addition to his law practice, Stephen is involved as Executive Producer of Riverdale, English Canada's first prime-time soap opera that used to be on CBC. He is also the Executive Producer of the lifestyle television series Savoir Faire, broadcast on Home & Garden Television in the United States and Canada, and Executive Producer of the telecast of Canada's music awards show, "The Juno Awards".
Stephen's industry experience includes being a partner for 10 years in Canada's largest law firm, McCarthy Tétrault. He is a graduate of the University of Toronto Law School (LL.B. 1977) and Trent University (B.A. 1969).
For more *official* information, visit The Official Epitome Pictures Web Site at http://www.epitomepictures.com
updated September 2004.