Martin Bellemare

Playwright

Martin Bellemare (il) is a Montreal playwright most noted for his plays Le chant de Georges Boivin, which won the Prix Gratien-Gélinas (2009), and Cœur minéral, which won the Governor General’s Award for French-language drama (2020). A graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, his work has been produced in Quebec, France, Poland and Switzerland and translated into German, Italian and Lithuanian.

Johanna Nutter

Translation Dramaturg

Johanna Nutter developed her passion for translation through acting. One of Montreal’s truly bilingual artists, she’s played leading roles at both Centaur Theatre (Good People, You Will Remember Me) and La Licorne (Les Évènements). Her creation work, notably My Pregnant Brother and its response My Playwright Sister, has toured bilingually throughout Quebec, Canada, and Europe. Johanna was the recipient of the Cole Foundation and Playwrights Workshop Montreal’s Emerging Translator Award (2016) for Florence Longpré et Nicolas Michon’s CHLORINE, which she also produced and directed for Brave New Looks. A creative producer, translator, and dramaturg for New Translation Canada, she is currently working on ColoniséEs by Annick Lefebvre, winner of the Prix Michel Tremblay. This is her second translation of Annick’s work, with whom she’s also collaborating on a bilingual adaptation of Tartuffe. She likes to play in the spaces between established divisions. www.creaturecreature.org

Allan Morgan

Georges

Allan (he, him) has been a professional actor for almost 40 years. He has performed in most theatres in Vancouver, as well as appearing in theatres in most major Canadian cities, he has crossed the country several times with different shows, and indeed internationally in San Francisco, London GB, Bergen Norway, and Wellington NZ. His work has garnered more than 8 nominations, and 5 awards for various roles. He has also written and performed two solo shows to enthusiastic crowds. He is a drama adjudicator, and currently an artist in residence here at 8th on 8. He initiated a writing group for queer elders in order to tell the stories of growing up in extreme homophobia called “Sing Me a Song No one Sang for You” as well as a writing group on hindsight. He’s an avid bike rider and loves photographing and sharing his love of flowers daily.

Jack Paterson

Director & Translator

Jack (he, him, his) is an award-winning theatre maker whose work and practice have taken him across Canada, Europe, UK, and Asia. Projects have ranged from contemporary devising, multi-disciplinary, transcultural, and multi-lingual experiences to new works & texts. He trained at the international theatrical institutions Circle in the Square (NYC, USA), GITIS The University of Performing Arts (Moscow, RU), SENI Indonesian Institute of the Arts (Bali, INA) and received his Masters in Fine Arts from the renown East 15 Acting School and University of Essex (London, UK).

Recent credits include Variations in Light – inspired by the Ramayana (Sanggar Paripurna, ID); Wayang 4D (PEPADI, ID); Palazzo del Mondo with Signdance Collective (Farnese Palace, IT), International Creation Catalyst (flausen+ fest, DE), The Ballad of George Boivin (PAL Studio Theatre, Vancouver), & la salle des machines (Theatre d’aujourd’hui, Montreal).

Andy Sandberg

Stage Manager

Andy (they, them) has been a Vancouver stage manager for 25 years, working with a wide range of artists/companies in theatre, dance, opera, circus, and musicals. Stage managing is a calling for them, as it is a role of service they can provide to the artists/works they respect and admire. They are very particularly grateful to be stage managing for this production, as opportunities to work with Jack Paterson have always taken priority – the spaces he creates and the artistic works he cultivates and develops are deeply inspiring to assist in supporting.

Chengyan Boon

Assistant Lighting Designer

Chengyan Boon (he, him) is a Vancouver-based theatrical and live event designer for theatre, music, and dance. He has seen recurring roles as a designer with Theatre in the Raw, Mitch and Murray Productions, Gateway Theatre, Pacific Theatre and Aenigma Theatre. Chengyan has also worked on events that reflect Vancouver’s diversity and has collaborated closely with both local and international artists from the Asian communities.  Recent lighting design credits: Yoga Play and China Doll (Gateway Theatre), Program 1 (Ballet BC, Assistant Lighting Designer), Lungs (Mitch and Murray Productions), Guards at the Taj (SACHA), Hello (Theatre Terrific), Viva and Red (Aenigma Theatre), Suitcase Stories and Wakey Wakey (Pacific Theatre), The Threepenny Opera (Theatre in the Raw). Chengyan has a BFA in Theatre Production
and Design from UBC and is a member of IATSE Local ADC 659.  www.chengyanboon.com

Stephen Bulat

Sound Designer

The Arts Club Theatre, Bard on the Beach, The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre, Pacific Theatre, Shameless Hussy Productions and Hoarse Raven Theatre, Stephen has worked for these companies and more as a producer, composer, sound designer, lighting designer, technician, musical director, and musician. He has musically directed such shows as The Rocky Horror Show, West Side Story and the Vancouver premiere of Hedwig and The Angry Inch which was nominated for a Jessie Richardson Award as a “Hot Ass Band.” As a sound engineer and music producer, Stephen has recorded a diverse range of ensembles including Realtime A Cappella Quartet, The Melodious Mandolins and The Vancouver Cast Recording of The Rocky Horror Show. He has also composed and written original music for various documentaries and films, including the feature films Bar None and Sub Human.

Joel Grinke

Video & Video Systems Design

Joel Grinke (he, him) is a creative director and systems designer for themed attractions and other live experiences.  He writes and produces his own themed attraction projects through his immersive design agency, Sea to Sky Immersive. Joel has designed experiences and control systems for projects including museum exhibits, interactive theatrical performances, multi-room walkthrough shows, and full building synchronized interactive multimedia experiences. Across all of these projects, his focus remains the same: creating uplifting and affecting experiences.  Joel has won a Jessie Richardson award for design and the Sydney J. Risk Award for performance. He’s a member of the Themed Entertainment Association and the Canadian Institute for Theatrical Technology. www.joelgrinke.com

Vanka Chaitra Salim

Video & Video Systems Design

Vanka Chaitra Salim (she/her) is a muslim Indonesian Canadian set, lighting and projection designer based in Vancouver. She enjoys experimenting with different mediums of storytelling that connect people, culture, art and technology. Apart from her involvement in the Theatre community, Vanka also works as an acrylic paint-maker at Kroma Artist’s Acrylics and loves gaming, game art & design, dance, videography, graphic design, illustration and dabbling on XR technologies. She is grateful and excited to have the opportunity to be part of such an amazing team!  www.vankasalim.com

John Webber

Lighting Desgner

John Webber is a long time collaborator with Western Gold. He has been designing both sets and lighting since the early 1990s and has had the privilege of working with some of Western Canada’s most talented and adventurous artists. John has received several Jessie Richardson Awards, an Ovation Award, and in Ottawa, a Critics Circle award and a Prix Rideau Award all for outstanding design. Recent credits include the livestream of Still Falling with GreenThumb Theatre, Suite Concertante with VICO, and Craigslist at the Cultch. Up next is more live and in-person theatre with Chelsea Hotel at Western Canada Theatre.

Hannah Siden

Associate Director

Hannah (she/ her) is a writer, director, producer and actor. She assistant directed alongside Jack Paterson on The Ballad of Georges Boivin (Western Gold) and Haven (United Players), and has taken part in recent Active Access Design Workshops. Her screenplays have placed in competitions through the BBC Writer’s Room and HollyShorts Film Festival. As a director she created a music video in association with Ballet BC and her narrative short films have screened at numerous festivals. She has produced two short documentaries. She has an MA in Acting from East 15 Acting School and a postgraduate diploma from the London Film Academy.  www.hannahsiden.com

Glenn Macdonald

Set Designer

Glenn Macdonald (he, him) has worked as an actor, stage manager, production manager, and designer for theatres across Canada and in the US including The Vancouver Playhouse, Arts Club Theatre, Stratford Festival, Charlottetown Festival, and Studio Arena Theatre (Buffalo, NY). He worked in production management for Expo ’86 entertainment department, stage managed the opening and closing ceremonies of the Calgary Winter Olympics, and was operations director for BC’s MUSIC ’91 province-wide festival. He currently works in television and film in set decoration, with over 100 projects to his credit. He is the president of PAL Studio Theatre Society and sits on the Board of Trustees of PAL Vancouver. He is the recipient of the 2016 Jesse Richardson Award for Outstanding Set Design.

Julia Henderson, PhD

Creative Accessibilities Facilitator

Julia Henderson (she/her) is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy at the University of British Columbia. She is a registered occupational therapist, holds a PhD in Theatre (UBC), and a Diploma in acting (Circle in the Square). Her research explores how theatre and performance practices contribute to cultural constructions of aging and old(er) age. Henderson’s research on dramaturgies of aging offers insights on how dramatic structure, design, staging, performance style, and marketing might influence understandings of age. Henderson’s writings on age and theatre are published in Theatre Research in Canada, The Journal of American Drama and Theatre, The Thornton Wilder Journal, Canadian Theatre Review, and Age, Culture, Humanities: An Interdisciplinary Journal. Julia is also Creative Accessibilities Facilitator with Western Gold Theatre. www.imaginationnetwork.org