(Pictured above, L-R; see bios below:)

• Moderator: Maiko Yamamoto, co-founder and Artistic Director of Theatre Replacement;

• Derek Chan (陳嘉昊),  playwright, director, translator, and performer; Artistic Director of Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre;
• Fay Nass, community-engaged director, producer, art manager and educator; Artistic Director of the frank theatre company and founder/Artistic Director of Aphotic Theatre;
• Shawn Macdonald, actor, writer, educator, director; Managing Co-Artistic Director of Realwheels Theatre.

A discussion focused on ways to build joy and fun into our rehearsal and creation spaces, despite the many challenges inherent in the theatre industry and in the world today.

(Pictured above, L-R; see bios below:)

• Moderator: Vicki Stroich, Artistic and Environmental Programs Manager of Caravan Farm Theatre;

• David Geary (Taranaki Māori), playwright, screenwriter, fiction writer, director, LMDA dramaturg and educator;
• Jodi Lammiman, eco-spiritual director, artist, and community facilitator; founder of Refugia Retreats;
  
• Pedro Chamale, director, playwright, performer; Artistic Director of rice & beans theatre.
  

A conversation digging into how we can create purposeful theatrical work in relation to an ongoing climate crisis, while also taking care of ourselves and our community.

(Pictured above, L-R; see bios below:)

• Moderator: Omari Newton, actor, writer, director and producer

• Aryn Mott, Queer, non-binary performer, certified mental health coordinator and intimacy coordinator/director;
• Paige Louter, queer theatre creator and producer; Co-Artistic Producer of ITSAZOO Productions and Operations Manager of Currently Arts.

‍Inspired by ITSAZOO Productions' webinar earlier this year on the same topic, we'll continue the conversation and explore practical ways to work with material that may be traumatic or otherwise challenging to put on stage.

Maiko Yamamoto is a co-founder and the Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Theatre Replacement. Known internationally for her work, her practice draws upon her love of formal inventiveness and exploration, conceptual play, creative research, artist-centred processes and experimental and multidisciplinary practice. Maiko often collaborates with intergenerational artists, individuals and family members in making work that searches for playful, immediate and authentic ways of bringing audiences and performances together.

In addition, Maiko teaches performance making and mentors artists for a range of different companies, organizations and individuals, both in Canada and abroad.

She holds a BFA in Theatre from SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts and a MAA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design.

Derek Chan (陳嘉昊) grew up in colonial Hong Kong and currently lives and works on the unceded, stolen, and ancestral lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, colonially known as Vancouver. An award-winning multilingual playwright, director, translator, and performer, he is the Managing Artistic Director of Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre. Derek was an artist in residence at the National Arts Centre English Theatre Department in the 2019/20 season. He was also part of the 2021 & 2024 Banff Playwrights’ Lab. Derek was the co-recipient of the 2021 Simon Fraser University FCAT Young Alumni Award for his work at rice & beans theatre.

Fay Nass lives on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples–Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations.

Fay is a community-engaged director, producer, art manager and educator. They are the Artistic Director of the frank theatre company and the founder/Artistic Director of Aphotic Theatre.

Fay has over 17 years of experience in text-based and devised work deeply rooted in inter-cultural and collaborative approaches. Fay’s work often examines questions of race, gender, sexuality, culture and language through an intersectional lens in order to shift meanings and deconstruct paradigms rooted in our society. Fay’s work celebrates empathy and blurs the line between politics and intimate personal stories.

Fay’s work has been presented at PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, SummerWorks Festival, Queer Arts Festival, the CULTCH and Firehall Arts Centre. Her readings and experimental work have been presented at various conferences and artist-run galleries in Spain, Berlin and Paris. Her co-creation project Be-Longing was part of the 2021 New York international Film Festival, NICE International Film Festival and Madrid International Film Festival.

Her most recent credits include: directing How Black Mothers Say I love you (the CULTCH) and I Cannot Lie to the Stars that Made me (the frank theatre), Directing Art Connects documentary film (Aphotic Theatre), co-creating Be-Longing (the frank theatre), co-directing Trans Script Part I: The Women (the frank theatre and Zee Theatre at Firehall Arts Centre), directing She Mami Wata & the Pussy WitchHunt (the frank theatre at PuSh Festival 2020), co-directing Straight White Men (ITSAZOO productions at Gateway Theatre). Fay holds an MFA from Simon Fraser University. Fay is the recipient of 2022 Gina Wilkinson Prize which recognizes inspirational theatre artists with a demonstrated body of work for their practice, leadership and dedication to their craft.

As an artistic leader and a practitioner, Fay has deep and involved relationships—both creative and organizational—with a wide spectrum of artists across generations and stylistic practices. As an educator and facilitator, their philosophy and pedagogy are rooted in anti-racism and anti-oppression.

‍

Shawn Macdonald has over 30 years of professional experience as an actor, writer, educator, director and leader. He is an award-winning performer and playwright who has worked with most of Vancouver's theatre companies in a variety of capacities. He was the Artistic Associate for Green Thumb Theatre from 2009 to 2016, and was also the Program Leader of the LEAP Playwriting Intensive for Young Writers for 17 years. Shawn is currently the Managing Co-Artistic Director of Realwheels Theatre. Shawn lives on Coast Salish Territory, and respectfully honours the stewardship of these lands by the Squamish, Musqueam and Tseil-Waatuuth First Nations.

Vicki Stroich is honoured to live and work on the unceded, traditional territories of the Secwépemc Nation and the Syilx Okanagan Nation in the North Okanagan after joining the Caravan Farm Theatre team as Artistic and Environmental Programs Manager. Vicki is a dramaturg, nonprofit leader and community builder with over 25 years of experience. Designing and hosting creative spaces and fostering collaboration are Vicki’s great passions. Prior to joining Caravan Farm Theatre full time, Vicki was based in Calgary and worked for Alberta Ecotrust and Alberta Theatre Projects. She also works with a range of artists and organizations as a dramaturg and facilitator. She has a BFA Drama from University of Calgary and an Extension Certificate in Social Innovation and Changemaking from Mount Royal University. She is a Board Member for the Centre for Sustainable Practice in the Arts and Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. Vicki has received a Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Achievement for her work on new Canadian plays.

David Geary (Taranaki Māori) is a playwright, screenwriter, fiction writer, director, LMDA dramaturg and educator. He teaches in the IDF Indigenous Digital Filmmaking and Documentary programs at Capilano University and playwriting  in Block A for Playwrights Theatre Centre. He has written three short plays for CCTA Climate Change Theatre Action and on Indigenous Theatre and the Climate Crisis for Howlround. His latest short fiction appears in the Penguin anthology: Hiwa: Contemporary Māori Short Stories. He writes haiku on Twitter @gearsgeary.

Jodi Lammiman (she/her) is the founder of Refugia Retreats. She lives on Treaty 7 in Calgary, AB. As an eco-spiritual director, artist, and community facilitator, Jodi is dedicated to fostering connection through social and environmental justice, mental health education, and social-emotional learning. Jodi’s facilitation supports people experiencing climate-related mental health impacts such as ecological grief, climate grief, and eco-anxiety. Refugia integrates holistic education, nature-based inquiry, and reflective practices to explore emotional, spiritual, and political dimensions of living well amid planetary crises. Refugia envisions a world where every person has access to rest, community connection, and relationship with the more-than-human world.

Pedro Chamale (he/him) is a director, playwright, performer and Artistic Director of rice & beans theatre. He was Artistic Resident at Neworld Theatre (2014), guest curator rEvolver Festival (2018), and one of the playwrights in the 2019 Playwright’s Lab at the Banff Centre. Pedro is a co-founder of the Canadian Latinx Theatre Artist Coalition, sits on the Latinx Theatre Commons steering committee. With Derek Chan, Pedro was awarded Simon Fraser University's 2021 Young Alumni Excellence Award for their work with rice & beans theatre. In 2023 Pedro was a nominee for the BC Multicultural and Anti-Racist Breaking Barriers Award.

Omari Newton is an award-winning professional actor, writer, director and producer. As a writer, his original Hip Hop theater piece Sal Capone has received critical acclaim and multiple productions, including a recent presentation at Canada’s National Arts Center. He has been commissioned by Black Theater Workshop (BTW) in Montreal to write a companion piece to Sal Capone entitled Black & Blue Matters. Omari and his wife, fellow professional playwright Amy Lee Lavoie, have received commissions from The Arts Club Theatre to co-write a new play: Redbone Coonhound.  A bold and innovative satirical comedy that confronts instances of systemic racism in the past, present and future. Omari is co-directing the first in a series of rolling world premiere at The Arts Club Theatre in October of 2022. The play will then open in Montreal (Imago Theatre) & then Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. The husband and wife duo also just completed "Black Fly," an satirical adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus that centers Aaron and Lavinia. Newton’s work in Speakeasy Theatre's production of Young Jean Lee's The Shipment earned him a 2017-2018 Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor, as well as a nomination for Best Direction. He has recently completed directing critically acclaimed productions of "The Mountaintop" by Katori Hall, and "Pass Over" by Antoinette Nwandu.  Notable film & TV credits include: Lucas Ingram on Showcase’s Continuum, Larry Summers on Blue Mountain State and lending his voice to the Black Panther in multiple animated projects (Marvel). Most recently, Omari has a recurring role as Nate on Corner Gas (the animated series) and a recurring role as Corvus of Netflix’s hit new animated series The Dragon Prince.

A Queer, non-binary performer, certified mental health coordinator and intimacy coordinator/director supporting consent-based, trauma-informed spaces in Western Canada. SAG-AFTRA, UBCP/ACTRA & CAEA recognized, with 300+ hours of Intimacy Training, 2000 hrs on-set, and 800 hrs in rehearsal halls. Over two decades in film and theatre, Aryn champions collaboration, diversity, ethical storytelling, sustainability and consent. Notable credits include Shogun S1 (FX/HULU), Grease (WCT), and Unexpecting (ZeeZee Theatre). Completing a Master's in counselling to advance to a PhD exploring performers' psychological and physiological experiences in performance. A committee member at Actsafe, UBCP/ACTRA and faculty member at Vancouver Film School.

Omari Newton is an award-winning professional actor, writer, director and producer. As a writer, his original Hip Hop theater piece Sal Capone has received critical acclaim and multiple productions, including a recent presentation at Canada’s National Arts Center. He has been commissioned by Black Theater Workshop (BTW) in Montreal to write a companion piece to Sal Capone entitled Black & Blue Matters. Omari and his wife, fellow professional playwright Amy Lee Lavoie, have received commissions from The Arts Club Theatre to co-write a new play: Redbone Coonhound.  A bold and innovative satirical comedy that confronts instances of systemic racism in the past, present and future. Omari is co-directing the first in a series of rolling world premiere at The Arts Club Theatre in October of 2022. The play will then open in Montreal (Imago Theatre) & then Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. The husband and wife duo also just completed "Black Fly," an satirical adaptation of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus that centers Aaron and Lavinia. Newton’s work in Speakeasy Theatre's production of Young Jean Lee's The Shipment earned him a 2017-2018 Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor, as well as a nomination for Best Direction. He has recently completed directing critically acclaimed productions of "The Mountaintop" by Katori Hall, and "Pass Over" by Antoinette Nwandu.  Notable film & TV credits include: Lucas Ingram on Showcase’s Continuum, Larry Summers on Blue Mountain State and lending his voice to the Black Panther in multiple animated projects (Marvel). Most recently, Omari has a recurring role as Nate on Corner Gas (the animated series) and a recurring role as Corvus of Netflix’s hit new animated series The Dragon Prince.

A Queer, non-binary performer, certified mental health coordinator and intimacy coordinator/director supporting consent-based, trauma-informed spaces in Western Canada. SAG-AFTRA, UBCP/ACTRA & CAEA recognized, with 300+ hours of Intimacy Training, 2000 hrs on-set, and 800 hrs in rehearsal halls. Over two decades in film and theatre, Aryn champions collaboration, diversity, ethical storytelling, sustainability and consent. Notable credits include Shogun S1 (FX/HULU), Grease (WCT), and Unexpecting (ZeeZee Theatre). Completing a Master's in counselling to advance to a PhD exploring performers' psychological and physiological experiences in performance. A committee member at Actsafe, UBCP/ACTRA and faculty member at Vancouver Film School.

Paige Louter is a queer theatre creator and producer based in so-called Vancouver. She holds an MA in Drama and Theatre from the University of Galway, and is pursuing an intimacy direction practice alongside her work as a dramaturg, performer, and writer. Credits include producing The Café (ITSAZOO/Aphotic) and Sunrise Betties (ITSAZOO), co-producing and acting in The Wolves (With a Spoon/Rumble; Jessie Nomination: Outstanding Production) and performing in The Lonesome West (Cave Canem), Twelfth Night (Tottering Biped) and Coarse: The Brontes (Sarah Deller). Year-round, they work as ITSAZOO Productions’ Co-Artistic Producer and Currently Arts’ Operations Manager.

11:30am-1:00pm

Session 1: Facilitating Community Discussion Through Art: Neworld’s Critical Futures

This interactive session will include a presentation on Neworld Theatre's Critical Futures program – a training program for emerging BIPOC theatre reviewers – followed by a conversation with attendees about the role, impact, and contributions reviewers have for their or their company's arts practice.

• Shanae Sodhi
• Angelica Schwartz
  
• Vivian Li
• Angie Rico
• Reham Cojuangco

1:30pm-3:00pm

Session 2: Fatphobia and Body Diversity in the Theatre Sector

This panel will discuss the ways in which the theatre sector has historically engaged with artists in larger bodies, and how that may or may not be changing as we move forward. The conversation will touch on implicit and explicit biases that fat artists encounter throughout their careers, and ways in which the sector can reexamine our assumptions.

• Cheyenne Rouleau
• Layla Cameron
  Dr. Layla Cameron is a Lecturer at the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University where their teaching and research is grounded in fat studies and queer cultural studies. In addition to their work in academia, they explore issues pertaining to fatness through film, printmaking, and other creative practices.
• Pedro Chamale
• Steffanie Davis
  Steffanie Davis (she/her) is a professional actor, singer and dancer. This year she was one of ten plus-size artists from across Canada chosen to participate in the first ever Leading Players Project in Toronto with EveryBody On Stage. Select theatre credits include: The Killer Queen in We Will Rock You (Theatre Under The Stars); Cabaret (Raincity Theatre); Grease (Chemainus); Stile & Drewe's The Three Little Pigs, Velveteen Rabbit, Go, Dog.Go! (Carousel Theatre); The Best Laid Plans (Patrick Street Productions). Next up: Isabelle in the world premiere of Someone Like You on stage at the BMO Theatre with the Arts Club Theatre Company this October. After that catch her playing Belle in this year's East Van Panto! IG: @Steffwithanff

3:30pm-5:00pm

Session 3: Questions I'm Asking Myself: Introspective conversations with leaders and practitioners

Following the model of the series produced in 2020, this session will include leaders within the theatre community to delve into the questions rather than the answers. This is not a workshop. This is not an "expert" panel. This is a conversation to explore our deep curiosities of the now.

• Boomer Stacey
  Boomer first joined PACT in 2010 and, after serving the organization in a variety of positions, transitioned to the role of PACT’s Executive Director in 2019. As he is currently the outgoing ED at PACT, he is also Artistic Producer at Boca del Lupo and an Artistic Advisor at the New Victory Theater in New York City. Boomer has also provided leadership for the International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) based in Philadelphia, PA, as Executive Director, as well as Artistic Director of the Milk International Children’s Festival of the Arts at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. Boomer exhibits nomadic tendencies, is a social introvert, loves to cook, excels at gazing into campfires and lives to explore the coastlines of the world.
• Kenji Maeda
  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 loves spreadsheets, chewy chocolate chip cookies, and his husband, Alan.

Our in-person event on June 26 focused on the theme of (re)connection. As our first in-person conference since 2019, the content centred rebuilding and building upon the relationships that exist within the community.

Through activities, conversations, brainstorming, reflecting, and a hot lunch, attendees (re)connected with each other, looked toward the future of the theatre community, and offered/received ways to leverage our collective knowledge, skills, resources, and relationships, to strengthen each other and our sector.

• Sliding scale pricing (from $0–$75+GST) to accommodate a range of financial needs and reduce barriers to participation. Fees go toward financially supporting other theatre artists and workers to attend the conference. (Registration has closed)
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• Up to 20 individuals were paid $200 each to attend the conference, and offer a brief post-conference reflection to GVPTA.
  
  • Priority given to individuals who require financial support in order to attend the conference.
  • The names of those selected will not be shared publicly.
  • Initial closing date to submit an application will be 4pm, Thursday, June 15, as initial batch of invitations will be sent out on Friday, June 16.
  • Applications will be accepted after June 15, if spots are still available.
  • Questions can be directed to executive director Kenji Maeda at kenji@gvpta.ca
  • Registration for the June 26 in person event was offered with two option

• Masks: Masks recommended for the in-person event but not required. Attendees who preferred to sit at a table with other attendees wearing a mask could make that request in the registration form.
• Wheelchairs:  SFU's Goldcorp Centre for the Arts is wheelchair accessible.
• ASL interpreters
  • June 19 (online) - In attendance for all online webinars.
  • June 26 (in-person) -  Available upon request by 4pm, June 15 through the registration form.
• Captioning: Auto-captioning provided for the Zoom webinar component on June 19.
• Recording: The online sessions on June 19 were recorded and shared online. The in-person event on June 26 was not recorded.
• Financial:  We offered both a sliding scale registration fee ($0–$75+GST) as well as an offer of $200 to be paid to up to 20 participants who required additional financial support in order to attend the June 26 event.
• Scent-reduced: We ask attendees to refrain from using and wearing scented products at the conference, in order to respect and include individuals who may have allergies or sensitivities to common chemicals and fragrances.