Vancouver based artist, writer and editor Brittanny Downey-MacDonald is the owner and chief designer at Off You Go Paper Co., founder of the Judy Jamieson Foundation and an active board member at the Community Arts Counsel of Vancouver (CACV). She held positions with Calgary Magazine (Red Point Media) and Transcontinental Media before striking out on her own as a freelance copywriter and editor. She has worked on projects ranging from short fiction and screenplays to legal textbooks and PhD dissertations. She studied Literature and Creative Writing at UBC.

Brittanny has a reputation for making copious amounts of raspberry jam and often succumbs to fits of uncontrollable laughter. She is an avid patron of the arts, particularly theatre and dance. 

June Whitaker, studied with Sanford Meisner in his professional class in 1968 , June taught in London England and New York and was the first person to bring his technique to Vancouver. Some of Junes students have gone on to be huge stars in film and televison. Jason Priestly, Bernie Coulson, Martin Cummins, Barry Pepper and Christian Hirt to name a few. June has worked with some of the biggest actors in North America Jane Fonda, Ben Kingsley, Mickey Rooney, Mike leigh and Elaine Stritch. June has worked on Broadway and the West End in London.

Has been a working union actor in Vancouver for over 15 years having appeared in such TV shows as The Flash, iZombie and The Killing. He is the founder of Actorvan where he teaches and coaches at Shoreline Studios. His theatre experience includes a director’s stint at the McGill Drama Festival in Montreal as well as on stage in the lead role as Shannon, a defrocked priest in Tennessee Williams'  Night of The Iguana (White Rock Players). He is excited to be part of the Tomo Suru About Love Festival.

WWW.ACTORVAN.COM

marc@actorvan.com

Paul Larocque assumed his post as President & CEO of Arts Umbrella in the spring of 2016.  With this new appointment, Paul is returning to Arts Umbrella where he previously held senior management positions in the late nineties and early 2000s.

Prior to his return to Arts Umbrella, Paul held the position of Associate Director of the Vancouver Art Gallery for more than a decade where his portfolio included administration, fundraising, government relations, strategic planning, education, and the Gallery’s relocation efforts.  

With over three decades of involvement in the cultural sector, Paul is committed to promoting the importance of the arts and art education in our communities.  He is an active member of Vancouver’s cultural community and is a member of Chor Leoni Men’s Choir, as well as having participated on the boards of several organizations.

Shannon Teat’s love for performing began at an early age. While growing up in Vancouver, she trained at the elite studios Danzmode, Harbour Dance, and was a member of The Source Dance Company its very first year. She trained in jazz, ballet, tap, hip hop, musical theatre, singing, modern, partnering, lifts, and ballroom. Shannon enjoys teaching and has choreographed for studios and workshops across Canada. She has appeared in commercials, television shows, music videos, film as as well as doing motion capture for video games with EA Active. Shannon was a member of the Vancouver Grizzlies Dance Team and kept busy working industrials and live performances across Canada. Longing for travel, Shannon was selected and began working for Royal Caribbean Cruise lines as a dancer and singer travelling all over the world and being fortunate enough to meet her husband who was also a performer! Later she began working as rehearsal director and assistant in auditions tours for Royal Caribbean. Shannon has a love and passion for Musical Theatre and will take any opportunity to see live theatre. Her most memorable theatre experiences have been getting to see London’s best in the West End. She also toured through North Africa performing for the military and all over China in Vegas style revue show creating incredible memories and friendships. It was around that time Shannon found a love for the other side of performing as well. She began crossing over to working more audition tours, adjudicating, as well as being invited to sit on casting selections for various projects. Two years ago, Shannon was fortunate enough to be offered a new opportunity with da Costa Talent Management and become their newest Vancouver agent representing the West Coasts best singers, dancers, and actors. Shannon’s love of the entertainment industry is evident and feels extremely lucky to get to do what she loves.

Joanna Garfinkel started new play development collective Universal Limited in August 2011, after a dozen years of working in theatre creation. Previously, she co-­created and directed the pedicab adventure ​Tour ​for HIVE 3 with the Electric Company, Universal Limited, and the Cultural Olympiad. That site­-specific escapade went on to the Firehall, was award­-winning at the Fringe, and has since been reinvented for Victoria (Theatre SKAM), and Toronto (SummerWorks). She is currently co-creating a site-specific piece about the Japanese Canadian Internment to premiere at Hastings Park in September 2017, in a collaboration between Universal Limited and the Nikkei National Museum. Other credits include co-­curating, dramaturging and directing the Northern Play Reading Series in Yellowknife, NWT (Akpik Theatre).  She was awarded the Pure Research grant for Nightswimming Theatre (Toronto), was nominated for the Jessie award for Innovation (​Letters from Lithuania​/Mortal Coil), and has received the Sidney Risk award for directing. She often works as a freelance writer and dramaturg for playwrights and companies in Vancouver. She moved to Vancouver to get her MFA in directing at UBC, and her focus since has been primarily in new play development, multidisciplinary, and site­-specific work. She has trained with Anne Bogart and the SITI Company in New York.