People

Ashley Lee is a staff reporter at the Los Angeles Times, where she writes about theater, movies, television and the bustling intersection of the stage and the screen. Her stories have spearheaded important industry conversations about equity on Broadway, culturally authentic storytelling and abuses of power at theater companies. An alum of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Critics Institute and Poynter’s Power of Diverse Voices, she also leads workshops on arts journalism at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. She is currently working remotely alongside her dog, Oliver.

Janet Smith (she/her) has been covering the arts in Vancouver for three
decades, starting out as arts writer, theatre reviewer, and editor at the West
Ender, then moving to the Georgia Straight as arts editor. She’s also
freelanced for publications including Seattle Weekly, PostMedia, Where
Vancouver, Now Toronto, Dance Magazine, and the Dance Current. In
2020, she helped to found and lead editorial for Stir, a new Vancouver
digital platform dedicated solely to arts. She teaches writing at KPU and
sits on the Vancouver Film Critics Circle. Janet trained at Carleton
University’s Journalism program in Ottawa, with a specialization in fine arts
and film. She lives on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the
Coast Salish peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm
(Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-
Waututh) Nations.

CRITICS PROGRAM:
For the Critics Program, we will have fun taking a wide look at theatre
criticism in digital and print media as it exists today—both locally and
internationally—learning the basic structures and components to a review,
and what we like and don’t like. We’ll discuss what a theatre review can
and can’t be, what its purpose is, and such key factors as tone, subjectivity,
objectivity, and criteria. We’ll also delve into what makes for a strong review
writing, such as active verbs, wider context, specific details—the kind you
have to scratch out on a notepad in the dark—and a strong, unified
lede/argument/theme. And then, of course, we’ll try our hand at writing
reviews, with lots of editorial-style feedback.

Lindsay Lachance (Algonquin Anishinaabe) has worked as a dramaturg for over a decade and has a PhD from the department of theatre and film at the University of British Columbia. Lindsay’s dramaturgical practice is influenced by her relationship with birch bark biting and the Gatineau River. She is also the director of the Animikiig Creators Unit at Native Earth Performing Arts, which focuses on the development of new Indigenous works.

CRITICS PROGRAM:

We will exploring replacing reviews with love letters – https://www.vancouverplays.com/love-letters-cultch-kamloopa-18.shtml

Sandra Henderson is a settler and performance maker based on SḴŦAḴ, the unceded territories of the Straits Salish peoples, also known as Mayne Island. She began her theatre career in Tkaronto in 2005, working as a technician and stage manager, then production manager, rehearsal director, performer and eventually producer. Sandra is most interested in working at the intersection of creative/technical in making live art works. She’s spent some time on the road including touring experimental choreography in Slovenia, Croatia and Japan; outdoor surrealist dance in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands; theatre for young audiences across remote, rural and reserve locations in Canada, from Haida Gwaii to Rainy River; and large-scale works of theatre and dance at the Hong Kong Arts Festival, National Arts Centre in Ottawa, Montreal’s Festival TransAmériques, Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and on the Louisiana bayou. Sandra arrived on unceded Coast Salish territory in 2018 to take on the role of Producer for Neworld Theatre, where the LEAD Ensemble was the very first project on her roster. Now working part-time and remotely as the Ensemble Producer for Neworld, she’s heavily focused on her most important role to date – raising a member of the next generation.

Shanae is a graduate of Studio 58 where he was one of the establishing members and Head Organizer of the school’s Student Diversity Committee. A student-led group working to strengthen marginalized groups within the theatre community by empowering students with the tools and knowledge to engage in conversations of inclusivity. He works as a staff member of Rumble Theatre. Recent producing credits: Social Justice Forum (New Harlem Productions), Catalina La O Presenta: Now With Me (Off The Corner Productions), Democracy Now (Theatre Conspiracy) and Mx (winner of the 2019 Fringe New Play Prize and Cultchivating the Fringe Award).

Stephen has worked as a director or dramaturg on over 60 professional theatre productions and has taught and directed at Memorial University, Douglas College, Neptune Theatre School, and UBC. He holds a BFA from Memorial University of Newfoundland, an MFA in Directing from the University of British Columbia, and is currently pursuing an MA in Theatre Theory and Dramaturgy from the University of Ottawa. Stephen has been an Associate Director at Theatre Newfoundland Labrador, co-founder and Artistic Director for Pound of Flesh Theatre, Artistic
Director at Rumble Theatre, Project Coordinator for Electric Company Theatre, Artist-in-Residence at Neworld Theatre, and currently is in charge of New Works and Professional
Engagement at the Arts Club. Current dramaturgy projects include Redbone Coonhound and Blackfly (both by Amy Lee Lavoie and Omari Newton), Forgiveness by Hiro Kanagawa, Medea by Carmen Aguirre, Bella Luz by Alexandra Lainfiesta, and The Cull by Michele Riml & Michael St. John Smith.

CRITICS PROGRAM:

“A play is a machine for generating meaning. Dramaturgy is the art and study of understanding how that meaning is created through dramatic composition. In this module, we will explore the fundamentals of dramaturgy including different dramaturgical models, the impact of various theoretical frameworks, and tools for script analysis.”