Gideon Heath’s love of theatre began under a tent in Kingston, Ontario. As a Grade Nine student, he attended an outdoor production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum in Kingston’s City Park. Captivated by the experience, he became a regular theatregoer, attending productions by the Kinsmen Club and Domino Theatre. Although fascinated by the magic of live performance, he never imagined that one day he might find himself on the other side of the footlights.
His journey into performing began in the mid-1990s when, encouraged by his wife at the time, he auditioned for and landed the role of Lonny in the independent film River Rats. A fellow performer and neighbour, Shanna U’Ren, subsequently encouraged him to audition for director Rod Carley’s contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. Despite having no previous stage experience, he was cast as Brutus in the 1996 Brockville Riverfest production. At the time, and for much of his subsequent acting, directing and producing career, he worked under his given name, Bill Baker. Under Carley’s mentorship, he discovered an appreciation for Shakespeare that had eluded him in high school. A second Shakespearean production, Coriolanus, followed in 1997, along with further stage and film opportunities.
Early in his acting career, Heath also trained in a series of workshops with Toronto acting coaches Theresa Sears and David Switzer. Their influence went well beyond formal instruction. Sears and Switzer became important mentors during his early development as an actor, offering practical guidance, encouragement and a professional perspective that helped shape his approach to the work. Over the years, they have remained staunch supporters of his acting, directing and writing projects — a generosity and commitment they have extended to the many performers they have taught.
Following an eight-year absence from theatre to pursue another career, Heath returned to the stage in 2006 as Boris Kolenkhov in Oshawa Little Theatre’s production of You Can’t Take It With You. That performance led to an invitation to join Class Act Dinner Theatre, where he became a regular performer and received his first opportunity to direct. Much of his development thereafter came through practical experience — working alongside accomplished directors, actors and theatre companies throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Over the following two decades, he established himself in the Durham Region and Greater Toronto Area theatre communities as an actor, director and producer. His work includes two ACT-CO award-winning productions at Oshawa Little Theatre, A Few Good Men and The Odd Couple, as well as ACT-CO recognition for his acting, including an Outstanding Performance award for his portrayal of Big Daddy in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
Throughout those years, writing remained a constant passion. Raised in a family of storytellers, Heath developed an early fascination with the lives, personalities and experiences of ordinary people. That fascination deepened during his 26-year career working in long-term care, where he made a point of listening to the personal histories of the residents he cared for. His writing frequently draws upon his own experiences, the people he has known and the countless stories he has encountered throughout his life. In 2022, he wrote and directed Live, From Port Perry Town Hall, 1949! for The Borelians Theatre Company, a theatrical celebration of classic radio entertainment. The experience rekindled his enthusiasm for playwriting and marked the beginning of a particularly productive new chapter.
Today, writing under the professional name Gideon Heath, he continues to develop original plays exploring relationships, generational differences, family dynamics and the often-comical contradictions of human behaviour. His completed works include the full-length plays The Presence of Henry, Too Old for TikTok and The Other Daughters, along with the one-act plays Warren and A Last Night in Venice. Projects in development include A Thorn Among the Weeds, The 8 O’Clock Alibi and The Voices in Harrow’s Head. Drawing upon more than three decades of theatrical experience, Heath approaches his writing with an actor’s ear for dialogue, a director’s understanding of staging and a storyteller’s appreciation for the unexpected.
Away from the stage and writing desk, Heath is the father of four adult children and grandfather of nine. The theatrical tradition may already be continuing, with one of his grandchildren beginning to discover the stage for herself.
For Gideon Heath, the greatest stories have always been about people. And after all these years, he’s still listening.