Our Mission

The Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance (GVPTA) is committed to strengthening the local theatre industry.

GVPTA is a non-profit charitable organization whose membership includes theatre companies, theatre makers and artists, and other organizations and individuals that support theatre. We provide services, promotion of member news and community events, opportunities to connect and network, and hold an annual theatre conference.

Together with our members we are raising the profile of local theatre and building community.

Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion

GVPTA is committed to being an organization where equity, diversity, and inclusion are not only valued, but embodied in all of our programs, activities, and the decisions we make.

Beyond our membership, we are responsible and accountable to the community as a whole; this community extends beyond those working in theatre, crossing disciplines and sectors. By working to remove physical, social, and economic barriers to participation, we aim to make our programming and activities accessible to all theatre artists and arts workers.

Who We Are

Our Staff

Our Board

Our Staff

Kenji Maeda (he/him)
Executive Director

Kenji’s experiences are diverse and grounded in his passion for the arts, education, and building community, and influenced by his Uchinanchu heritage. In addition to his role at GVPTA, Kenji is the Project Director for SEARA (Sector Equity for Anti-Racism in the Arts), and an arts and culture consultant. He currently sits on the board of Mass Culture, a national organization where research and the cultural sector intersect, and an alum of the Banff Centre's Cultural Leadership Program. He was previously the artsvest BC Program Manager, the Executive Director of DOXA Documentary Film Festival, has worked in film, TV, and theatre and is a Jessie Award recipient.

Reach Kenji at kenji@gvpta.ca.

Amanda Peters (she/her)
Associate Executive Director

Amanda is an arts administrator with a particular interest in arts service organizations. Her freelance and consulting work involves arts and cultural project management and communications, and she's interested in building resources and tools as well as research that can support the non-profit arts and culture sector in BC. Amanda previously worked with the BC Alliance for Arts + Culture as Director of Communications, and is Past President of CARFAC BC, the collective voice for professional visual artists in British Columbia, and is a visual artist and designer.

Reach Amanda at amanda@gvpta.ca.

Mishelle Cuttler (she/her)
Programs Manager

Mishelle has been an active member of the Vancouver theatre community since 2011. In addition to her work with the GVPTA, she is a sound designer and composer with a practice centred around the integration of sound, music, and storytelling. She serves on the board of the Associated Designers of Canada and was a core member of both the Vancouver Design Forum and the BC Live Performing Arts Labour Coalition, which advocated for live arts workers facing the fallout of the pandemic. Mishelle works across various platforms with a particular focus on cross-disciplinary collaboration and labour advocacy.

Reach Mishelle at mishelle@gvpta.ca.

Rick Chung (he/him)
Social Media Lead

Rick comes to the theatre world from a background in arts and culture journalism. He studied Political Science at UBC and Broadcast Journalism at BCIT before starting a career in media at CBC. He has covered lifestyle and events for a variety of outlets as a prolific writer and photographer. Rick then moved into marketing roles for local arts organizations like Carousel Theatre for Young People and the Firehall Arts Centre, where he currently serves as Marketing Director.

Reach Rick at rick@gvpta.ca.
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Our Board

In recent years, GVPTA has made thoughtful changes to deepen our relationships with our community, increase the capacity of the organization, and ensure our programming and activities reflect the needs of our sector. The GVPTA board of directors has been and will continue to be instrumental in guiding the organization forward.

We invite anyone interested in learning more about the board to review the terms of reference and submit a Board of Directors Expression of Interest form.

Nicole McLuckie (she/her)
President

Nicole is delighted to be part of the board of the GVPTA. Nicole has been with The Cultch since 2013, previously as Director of Patron Development and now as the Associate Executive Director. Prior to The Cultch, she spent nine years at the Arts Club Theatre Company as Group Sales Associate and Communications Manager. Nicole loves the arts and her one-eyed Boston, Murphy.

Belle Cheung 張芷彤 (she/her)
Treasurer

Belle Cheung 張芷彤 (she/her) is an immigrant settler from Hong Kong with a background in arts administration and stage management for theatre, opera, and live events. Belle currently works for the City of Vancouver, focused on the intersections between arts and culture, urban planning, cultural heritage, and community development. Her work is rooted in equity and anti-racism, and advocates for race, cultural histories, and representation as important factors in the arts and culture sector. Belle has been with the GVPTA since 2018, and previously served on the Board of Directors for Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre.

Ace Martens (he/him)
Secretary

Ace is a Vancouver-based theatre practitioner and interdisciplinary performer. Working primarily for the Arts Club Theatre, Ace has helped to create over 100 local productions as a TD/PM and occasional designer. Ace is now Arts Club Theatre's Director of Production.

Ace also designs the sets and props and stage manages for Paul Anthony's Talent Time - a local variety/comedy TV show that now features on Amazon Prime. In addition to his work in the theatre, Ace is active in Vancouver as a musician releasing and performing his own music and performance art, as well as part of an experimental music duo Echuta. Ace hopes that with the GVPTA he can help be an advocate for safe work practices and fair pay compensation in theatre.

Bryan Woo (he/him)
Past President

Bryan Woo is a cross-sector change leader who lifts entrepreneurial capacity for mission-driven impact. From his career successes in arts and culture to data-driven results in community housing, Bryan's innovative leadership transforms and propels organizations to achieve strategic excellence. As Managing Director for the British Columbia Non-Profit Housing Association (BCNPHA), Bryan drives comprehensive organizational strategies through his collaborative, relational, and analytical approach to accomplish mission and vision. As Director of Sales & Marketing with the Arts Club Theatre Company, Bryan generated career revenues of over $50 million through loyalty retention and customer satisfaction. Bryan also held strategic roles with the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and the National Research Council. Bryan also serves on the board of the Canadian Society of Association Executives and is the board Treasurer of the BC Alliance for Arts + Culture.

Davey Samuel Calderon (he/they)
Director

Davey is a queer-Filipinx descent, theatre artist based on the unceded lands of the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓ and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh speaking peoples. He has his BFA in Theatre Performance and Communication from SFU. Co-Founder of New(to)Town Collective, a theatre collective aspiring to provide accessible, experimental training workshops and create new interdisciplinary works together. He is a director, curator, producer, dramaturg, drag artist, playwright and theatre maker. He is most known for Big Queer Filipino Karaoke Night! (2018 Vancouver Fringe Festival, reading for the 2020 Tales of The Flipside Festival, Toronto, Evergreen Cultural Centre's 2022-23 Variety Series Presentation), his short film RUN (2018 Vancouver Queer Film Festival), and currently for the conceptualization of Deep Fried: A Pinoy Musical! a show in development with music by Peter Abando and Kimmortal! that centers queer Filipinx-Canadian youth, racialized service workers, and Filipinx-Canadian community. Formerly he was GVPTA's Administrative and Project Assistant, as well as Program Coordinator for Digital Connections and the UGAs. Currently, he is Playwrights Theatre Centre's Dramaturgy, Public Engagement working on plays in development, such as The Frontliners by Zahida Rahemtulla, Before They Cut Down Our Tree by Jenna Masuhara and It Lives in my Bedroom by Mily Mumford.

Jasmine Chen (she/her)
Director

Jasmine is a second-generation Taiwanese-Singaporean immigrant artist based in the unceded lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaɬ Nations and T’karonto. Jasmine's work as a director, performer, educator and creator has engaged with communities from coast to coast in repertory festivals, indie theatres, regional and outdoor theatres. She creates multilingual interdisciplinary work that pushes for linguistic and formal diversity. Jasmine is a recipient of the Gina Wilkinson Award, the Jon Kaplan Canadian Stage Performer Award, and the Stratford Festival Jean Gascon Award. She has been featured in CBC Arts, The Georgia Straight, NOW Magazine, and the Vancouver Sun. msjasminechen.com

Jennifer Milley (she/her)
Director

A settler born and raised on unceded Musqueam land, Jennifer currently works, lives, and plays on the territories of the Coast Salish peoples – Squamish, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Jennifer joined Pacific Theatre as executive director in April 2020 - right at the start of the COVID pandemic. She made this switch to theatre from a local independent school, where she was the Director of Development. With an enthusiasm for fundraising, creative work, and meaningful policy creation, she is a member of Pacific Theatre’s JEDI and HR/governance working groups. Jennifer has a BA and MA in English Literature from UBC, and has been a theatre fan since being cast as "Teacher” in the school play at age 8. In recent years, she has returned to artistic endeavours, and is thrilled to be up close with creators--meaningfully connecting her administrative experience and creative interests with an emerging passion for equity-centred workplace policy and practice.

Karen Ranalletta (she/her)
Director

Active in B.C.'s labour movement, Karen is President of CUPE BC. She previously served as CUPE BC's Vice President for three terms, and as President of CUPE 2950 (representing more than 1500 clerical and library workers at the University of British Columbia). Karen represents CUPE BC as an Officer (Vice President) of the BC Federation of Labour and chairs the BC Fed's Health and Safety Committee. She also serves as a regional Vice President for BC on the CUPE National Executive Board. She sits on the Board of Directors for the BC Labour Heritage Centre, an organization dedicated to preserving and championing working people's history in B.C. She is a passionate advocate who believes that theatre and the arts are vital to thriving democracies and resilient communities.

GVPTA's History

Interested in learning more about why the GVPTA was created and what we've done over the years?

Learn More

Our Supporters

GVPTA acknowledges the support of the following:

Our Mission

Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion