Akshaya Pattanayak

Akshaya is an actor and professor based in Vancouver. The name Akshaya means “never ending.” He was born in Montreal, Canada but raised in different parts of India. He graduated in 2019 with an MFA in Acting from the University of Southern California and currently teaches acting courses at the Vancouver Film School. Notable theatre credits include Bad Hamlet, 90 Days, and Macbeth. His film and TV credits include the comedy pilot Last Bite and the short film Digby and Glass. He is slated to be the lead in the short film Wellington and his role in an upcoming television show will be announced soon.

Mike Kovac

Mike Kovac is a certified Fight Director and Fight Instructor with Fight Directors Canada, and has been involved in one form of simulated violence or another for the past twenty years. He loves working with people of all ages and backgrounds in the universal language of movement. For the stage he has been the Fight Director for such Arts Club shows as Noises Off, Misery, Beauty and the Beast, among others. For the screen he has been a stunt performer for series like Supernatural, Kung Fu, Van Helsing, and a myriad of other shows. If you see him onstage or on screen, he's probably about to get beaten up.

Damion LeClair

Damion LeClair is an award winning Métis, Two Spirit multidisciplinary artist who currently lives on the unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Sel̓íl̓witulh nations. Since graduating from Studio 58 in 2023, Damion has toured nationally with Axis Theatre, Native Earth Performing Arts, Savage Society, Rumble Theatre and RealWheels Theatre. Recent credits include: Th'owxiya The Hungry Feast Dish (Axis), They Know Not What They Do (NEPA), Rougarou (NEPA, RealWheels Theatre) and Braiding Peonies (Rumble Theatre).

Cristiana Ripeanu

Cristiana is a Romanian-Canadian theatre director and educator. Her work has been staged at several state theatres in Romania and performed in multiple languages at festivals across Europe, such as Balkan Theatre Festival, International Theatre School Festivals (Greece, Netherlands, Albania), and Freistil Festival (Germany). In Canada and Germany, Cristiana has worked as an acting teacher and director for independent theatre companies and organizations. She also works in community-building and social outreach programs with sociocultural organizations in Germany. After spending the last 14 years in Germany, Cristiana has now relocated to Vancouver, where she looks to join other creators in the effort of enriching the Canadian theatre scene.

Gabriella Minnes-Brandes

Gabriella Minnes Brandes, Ph.D. maintains an active practice at the Alexander Technique Centre in Vancouver for over 30 years. She has run Alexander workshops for actors, musicians, singers, horseback riders, and engineers (among others). For over a decade she taught the Alexander Technique in the Theatre department at Capilano University. Gaby works extensively in collaboration with musicians, voice, movement and acting instructors. Gaby’s workshops and private lessons are experiential, encouraging students to explore, experiment with, and reflect on their habitual patterns, and seek effective and efficient ways of using themselves in any activity. Informed by her Ph.D. in education, Gaby's current work and research focuses on creativity and the links between Alexander Technique and mindfulness. She is an active member of different organizations of Alexander teachers: ATC, AmSAT, STAT and ATI where she currently serves as a Board Director. More information: https://sites.google.com/view/alexandertechniquecentre

Anjalica Solomon

Anjalica Solomon is a genderfluid Desi singer, songwriter, lyricist, pianist, loop pedalist, poet, spoken word artist, organiser and multi-disciplinary performer based in what is colonially known as Vancouver, BC on the stolen and unsurrendered territories of the Coast Salish, Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam Nations. Their poetic work often seeks to proclaim the possibilities of love and resilience. Anjalica is a poet of startling emotional intellect and candour whose work testifies to a deep faith in beauty, the power of nature, and ultimately, the human capacity to salvage integrity, radiance and joy from moments of struggle. In this way, Anjalica Solomon's poems and performances offer robust visions of hope, tenacity, and love. Follow @Anjalicrush on Instagram to learn more about upcoming poetry collections, short films, experimental fringe productions, virtual workshops.

Stephen Atkins

Stephen Atkins PhD is a multi-faceted performer, director and an award-winning teacher. With decades of experience creating and directing performances for stage, immersive venues, independent films and new media. He has trained/taught with innovators in the field of Acting. Atkins brings a laboratory experience to each bespoke workshop he designs; often collaboratively. Atkins's extensive experience in Australia, the UK, Europe and North America has provided integrated, diverse solutions and methods. A student of Stanislavsky' System early in life, Atkins broadened into practical training in Meyerhold, Grotowski, Meisner, Practical Aesthetics, Michael Chekhov, Chubbuck, Viewpoints, Butoh and Active Analysis. He is the author of several articles on Acting for European and American journals, a book and series of study guides, co-author of Milestones in Actor Training (Routledge, upcoming in 2025) and creator/presenter of Acting With The Viewpoints, a documentary available on the streaming platform Digital Theatre Plus (2023).

Yuki Kedoin

Yuki Kedoin's most recently can be seen playing the role of Takemaru in all ten episodes of the FX/Hulu series "Shogun" (2024), filmed in Vancouver. The series has received 25 nominations for the 2024 Emmy Awards. Yuki was born in Yokohama, Japan. He is an actor, samurai sword performer, and choreographer. He has been training in traditional samurai sword fighting techniques for 13 years and has taught these techniques in Canada. Yuki has made notable appearances in films and TV series, including "The Manga Master"; and Netflix;s "The Naked Director". Yuki started his acting career in theatre, starring in many plays. Before 2020, he played an important role in the Promising Next- Generation Actor Cultivation Program sponsored by the Agency for Cultural Affairs of the Government of Japan. In 2021, Yuki moved to Vancouver, Canada, where he received a 2-year artistic mentorship from Bill Millerd, Artistic Director Emeritus of the Arts Club Theatre Company, one of the largest non-profit Canadian theatre companies. This mentorship was part of the "Emerging Artist Overseas Training Program" by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan. In addition to acting, Yuki has been involved in his own projects as a writer, director, and actor. His most recent work is the short film "IPPO" shot in Vancouver, with spoken languages in English and Japanese. Yuki is based in both Japan and North America.

Billy Marchenski

Billy Marchenski graduated from the Theatre program at the School for Contemporary Arts at SFU. He was a founding member of Screaming Flea theatre company, and is a current member of the Butoh group, gigamal. Billy has worked professionally in Theatre and Dance for almost 25 years. He has won awards for his work with companies such as radix, the Leaky Heaven Circus and Neworld. In 2014, he won the Sydney J.Risk prize for his play, 'slowpoke'.

Stephen Drover

Stephen is a dramaturg and director. He holds an MFA in Directing from UBC and an MA in Theatre Theory and Dramaturgy from the University of Ottawa and presently works at the Arts Club where he develops new plays. Stephen is a four-time recipient of a Jessie Richardson Award for directing, is on the board of directors for LMDA Canada, has worked as a director or dramaturg on over 60 professional theatre productions across Canada, and recently published research on Shakespeare adaptation process analysis in Shakespeare Bulletin. For Bard, he was the Production Dramaturg for Harlem Duet, he adapted and dramaturged Julius Caesar, and adapted and directed Hamlet. He has taught Shakespeare Text Analysis at UBC, Douglas College and Memorial University.

Lee Su-Feh

Lee Su-Feh (she/they) is a dancer, choreographer, performance-maker and teacher of voice and movement. Born and raised in Malaysia, her early training began with a mix of traditional and contemporary South-East Asian dance and theatre. Based now in xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and Sel̓íl̓witulh territories, colonially known as Vancouver, BC, she has created a provocative body of award-winning work that interrogates the contemporary body as a site of intersecting and displaced histories and habits. Alongside this trajectory in performance-making, Su-Feh has pursued a lifelong study and practice of Chinese martial arts, Qigong and Daoism, all of which informs her approach to dance and movement. Since 2010, she has been a student and practitioner of Fitzmaurice Voicework and is currently a certified Lead Trainer of the work. She is a member of the Advisory Group of the Fitzmaurice Institute and participates actively in the international community of Fitzmaurice Voicework teachers. Some of Su-Feh's current preoccupations involve creating dance algorithms and singing with amateurish abandon.

Ming Hudson

Ming is a Vancouver based artist who pays rent on the lands stolen from the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. For 20 years, she has worked as a freelance performer, devised theatre creator, collaborative director, independent producer, and teaching artist both nationally and internationally. Her specializations are in physical theatre and the creation of new work as a collective ensemble. A graduate of the Advanced Devising Practice program at LISPA (now arthaus.berlin), Ming also holds a MA in Ensemble Theatre (Rose Bruford), and a BFA in Acting (UVic). Ming has worked for: Bard on the Beach, The Arts Club, Dell'Arte International, UVic, UBC, vAct, Two Planks and a Passion, TheatreOne, Chemainus Theatre Festival, CCPA, Gwaandak Theatre, Studio 58, Green Thumb Theatre, Theatre Replacement, Atomic Vaudeville, The Firehall, Boca del Lupo, Concrete Theatre, and Kaleidoscope Theatre. She has also created ten new productions, which have been performed in five different countries.

Chloe Payne

Chloe Payne is a physical theatre performer, theatre creator and educator. She is a graduate of École Philippe Gaulier. She teaches movement, physical theatre, physical comedy and improv for organizations across Canada including the Vancouver Film School, Arts Club, The Cultch, Rumble Theatre, Axis Theatre, Tight Rope Impro Theatre, Sweet Action Theatre, the University of Toronto and Havergal College. Recent performance credits include Zivier in Crisis on Planet Z (Monster Theatre), Wipple in Dead Drone (Fox Queen), Camille in Configurations of a Divine B*** (Goat Howl), Sabaz in Caribou Cave (Theatre by the Bay), Dove in Northern Lights (Theatre by the Bay), and Olive Fallowfield in Fake Nerd Girl (Wild Talk). Recent direction and creation credits include ColliderVR (Single Thread Theatre Company), Roughhousing (Wild Talk), and The Five Points (Theatre by the Bay).

Haruno Niiyama

Hitotose is a group specializing in Japanese-style stage combat, founded by Haruno and Yuki. They bring a unique blend of international expertise to their performances and workshops, focusing on physical storytelling and choreographed fighting work. Hitotose shares their skills with the B.C. community, conducting workshops and performances across Vancouver, Victoria, and Salt Spring Island. Their workshops are for all ages, from young children to seniors, promoting creative expression through stage combat and performance art.

Ralph Escamillan

Ralph Escamillan (aka Kiki Legend Posh Gvasalia Basquiat) comes from a background of street, commercial, and contemporary dance. Drawing from these roots, this workshop encapsulates the diversity of styles that create his unique perspective. VAN VOGUE JAM is a Vancouver based non-profit organization helping to support, build, and nurture the Vogue/Ballroom scene within Vancouver, BC, Canada. By facilitating pay-what-you-can and open-to-all-levels weekly Vogue jams, VVJ seeks to help contribute towards building a culture of dance and competition with the accessibility and safety of the LGBTQIA2S+ BIPOC community at its core.

Sylvie La Riviere