Carolyn Arends, as singer/songwriter has earned 2 Dove Awards, 3 Juno Nominations, and was recognized as the West Coast Music Awards’ Songwriter of the Year. Carolyn has been a regular columnist for Christianity Today, Faith To- day, and CT Women, and has served as an adjunct professor at Trinity Western University, Regent College, ACTS Seminary, Pacific Life Bible College, Columbia Bible College, and Prairie Bible College. Carolyn is currently the Director of Education for Renovaré, a far-reaching organization that encourages and nurtures personal and spiritual renewal. She is a sought-after speaker for retreats, concerts, and song writing and performance seminars. www.carolynarends.com
Carolyn Arends has released 14 albums and is the author of 3 critically-acclaimed books. 15 of Arends’ songs have become top 10 radio singles on the Canadian pop and US Christian charts. Arends has earned 2 Dove Awards, 3 Juno Nominations, and was recognized as the West Coast Music Awards’ Songwriter of the Year. Her prose has been recognized by The Word Guild, The Evangelical Press Association and The Canadian Church Press Awards.
In addition to her busy touring and speaking schedule, Carolyn has been a regular columnist for Christianity Today, Faith Today, and CT Women, and has served as an adjunct professor at Trinity Western University, Regent College, ACTS Seminary, Pacific Life Bible College, Columbia Bible College, and Prairie Bible College. She has a degree in Psychology and English from Trinity Western University and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Regent College. She lives in Surrey, BC with her husband, Mark, and their young adult children Benjamin and Bethany.
Carolyn is currently the Director of Education for Renovaré, a far-reaching organization that encourages and nurtures personal and spiritual renewal. She continues to be available on a select basis for speaking, retreat facilitation, concerts, worship leading, and songwriting and performance seminars.
John Auxier, has a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counselling from the University of Arizona, and an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is an Associate Professor of Marriage & Family Therapy at Trinity Western University and the Associate Dean of Trinity Western Seminary. John is interested in the complex issues of transhumanism and has written about this topic for academic papers. He also has a keen interest in comic books, visual storytelling and song writing.
John Auxier works in the Graduate School of Theological Studies, teaching in the M.A. in Marriage & Family Therapy, the M.A. in Christian Studies and the Master of Divinity programs. He is a practicing marriage and family counsellor.
He brings a diverse background to his teaching and leadership within ACTS. He is an ordained minister with the Evangelical Free Church of Canada and has twelve years fulltime ministry experience, having served as Associate Pastor for seven years and as solo Pastor for five years. He also has many years experience in mental health.
John is married to Doris Hutton Auxier, retired, Associate Professor of Art at Trinity Western University, and they have three wonderful adult children.
Cheryl Bear from Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, is a speaker, teacher and multi-award winning singer/songwriter. She has released three albums: Cheryl Bear (self-titled), The Good Road, and A’BA which have received three Indigenous People’s Choice music awards, two Covenant Awards and a Native American Music Award. Cheryl is a founding board member of NAIITS, an Indigenous learning community and Associate Professor at Regent College in Vancouver, BC. She has a Doctorate from The King’s University in Los Angeles, and Master of Divinity degree from Regent College. Cheryl served two terms (4 years) as a band councilor for her community of Nadleh Whut’en First Nation. She is currently serving as a the Director of Community Ministry at First United Church on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, BC
Cheryl Bear, from Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, is well known as an important and respected voice on behalf of Canada’s Indigenous peoples, a speaker and teacher who has traveled to over 600 Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States sharing her songs and stories. She also visits non-Native communities (schools, government, churches and businesses) holding workshops to raise awareness and understanding of Indigenous issues.
Cheryl is a multi-award winning singer/songwriter who shares stories of Indigenous life through story and song. She has released three albums: Cheryl Bear (self-titled), The Good Road, and A’BA. Cheryl’s albums have received three Indigenous People’s Choice music awards, two Covenant Awards and a Native American Music Award.
Cheryl is a founding board member of NAIITS, an Indigenous learning community. She is also an Associate Professor at Regent College in Vancouver, BC. Cheryl has an earned Doctorate from The King’s University in Los Angeles, and Master of Divinity degree from Regent College. Her doctoral work presents an approach to First Nations ministry from the foundations of Indigenous worldview and values. She believes that leaders who are more fully informed about Indigenous worldview, culture and values will see a dramatic increase in their effectiveness in ministering to Indigenous people in North America as well as the practical missiological and theological principles explored can be implemented in any cross-cultural ministry context.
Cheryl served two terms (4 years) as a band councillor for her community of Nadleh Whut’en First Nation from April 2014 to April 2018.
She is currently serving as a the Director of Community Ministry at First United Church on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, BC..
www.cherylbear.com
Rev. Dr. Jason Byassee Ph.D. is the inaugural holder of the Butler Chair in Homiletics and Biblical Hermeneutics at the Vancouver School of Theology. He is the author or editor of thirteen books, including Trinity: The God We Don’t Know (Abingdon, 2015). His work has also appeared in Christianity Today, Theology Today, Books & Culture, Sojourners, and First Things. He has participated in theological education on four continents, including writing about churches in Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda and lecturing and preaching in Indonesia, the Philippines, France, and the UK. Jason is a board member of A Rocha, an international Christian organization which, engages in scientific research, environmental education, community-based conservation projects and sustain- able agriculture. It works to restore salmon habitat, train young scientists, inspire school children, and feed low-income families.
Jason Byassee is a full professor and the inaugural holder of the Butler Chair in Homiletics and Biblical Hermeneutics at the Vancouver School of Theology in British Columbia. His primary vocation is to reinvigorate today’s church with the best of ancient and contemporary wisdom for creatively faithful living.
At VST, he directs the summer school program and the school’s joint PhD program with Durham University in the United Kingdom. During his years at VST, only some 10% of schools accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) have actually grown in enrollment. VST is among that blessed few, increasing nearly 50% in course hours taken and 100% in enrollment.
He was previously senior pastor of Boone United Methodist Church in the Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina. There he directed eight other pastoral staff members, led a staff of sixteen, and pastored a congregation of 1500 from five worshiping communities. He has also served as pastor of a small, 80-person congregation in NC and as interim senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Vancouver, BC. He currently preaches weekly for Vancouver Chinese Presbyterian Church.
He studied at Davidson College and Duke University in his native North Carolina, and earned a Ph.D. in systematic theology from the latter in 2005. He is also a contributing editor to Christian Century magazine, where he served in Chicago as an assistant editor from 2004-2008. He has served previously as a Fellow in Theology and Leadership at Duke Divinity School and as a Research Fellow in the New Media Project at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He has been a visiting fellow of St. John’s College and of the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University.
He is the author or editor of eighteen books, including, most recently, Northern Lights: Resurrecting Church in the North of England and, with Ross Lockhart, Better than Brunch: Missional Churches in Cascadia (both with Cascade). His work has appeared in Christianity Today, Theology Today, Books & Culture, Sojourners, and First Things. He is editor of the projected nine-volume Pastoring for Life series with Baker Academic. His own book with Andria Irwin, Following: Embodied Discipleship in a Digital Age, has just been released in that series.
At Vancouver School of Theology he teaches subjects as various as preaching, biblical interpretation, leadership, church history, and writing. He has previously taught as an adjunct at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, North Park Theological Seminary, Northern Seminary, and Wheaton College. He has preached at churches as varied as Tenth Church (a multi-site megachurch with the Christian and Missionary Alliance), St. Gregory’s Armenian Orthodox Church, Canadian Memorial United Church of Canada, Duke Chapel, Christ Church Cathedral (Anglican), Durham Cathedral (UK), and a variety of congregations in Presbyterian, Mennonite, Plymouth Brethren, Pentecostal, and evangelical denominations. He has participated in theological education on four continents, including writing about churches in Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda and lecturing and preaching in Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, France, and the UK.
He is married to Jaylynn Warren Byassee, who is senior pastor of North Lonsdale United Church in North Vancouver, BC. Together they have three boys, ages 18, 16, and 14, who attend secondary schools in east Vancouver. Things break in their house.
Steve Bynum, was senior producer for Worldview, WBEZ’s 25-year global affairs/news program for nearly 2 decades. He lectures, facilitates, and moderates discussions on topics related to media’s role in democracy, culture, and communities. Steve is a current fellow for Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism and a former International fellow at the University of Alberta’s Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life. He serves as a board director for the organizations Chicago Cultural Alliance, CircEsteem (a youth social circus), United For Peace USA and Fulcrum Point New Music Project. Steve also serves on the Advisory Committee of the National Indo-American Museum (NIAM). Steve is also a big fan of science fiction.
For nearly two decades, Steve was senior producer for Worldview, WBEZ’s 25-year global affairs/news program. He has won numerous awards in broadcast excellence and also lectures, facilitates, and moderates discussions on topics related to media’s role in democracy, culture, and communities.
Steve is a current fellow for Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism and a former International fellow at the University of Alberta’s Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life. He serves as a board director for the organizations Chicago Cultural Alliance, CircEsteem (a youth social circus), United For Peace USA and Fulcrum Point New Music Project. Steve also serves on the Advisory Committee of the National Indo-American Museum (NIAM).
Prior to joining WBEZ, Steve worked as: program manager for WYLL 106.7 FM in Elk Grove Village, IL; morning show producer for WMBI 90.1 FM in Chicago; producer at WSCR sports radio in Chicago; and editing assistant/freelance sports reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
Steve is completing his Master’s degree thesis in Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) at Northwestern University and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.
He’s also a big fan of science fiction (Doctor Who, especially), Duran Duran, as well as foreign and (precode) 1930s film.
Ins Choi is an actor and a playwright who was born in South Korea but grew up and currently lives in Toronto with his wife and two children. He has performed with theatre companies such as Stratford, Soulpepper, fu-GEN, vAct, PTE, and Pacific Theatre. His award-winning play, Kim’s Convenience, was adapted into a TV series with Thunderbird Films available on CBC and Netflix. He is retooling his solo show Subway Stations of the Cross and working on his next play, Bad Parent.
Ins was born in South Korea and grew up in Scarborough, now part of the city of Toronto. He is a poet, playwright and actor who graduated from the acting program at York University in 1998. His first play, Kim’s Convenience was a huge success at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival where it won the New Play Contest and Patron’s Pick Award. Subsequently the play was remounted in an acclaimed version by Soulpepper Theatre Company. Kim’s Convenience was adapted into a television series airing on CBC.
Choi also completed a Master of Theological Studies at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.
Patricia Clarke, is a British Columbia based artist, writer and speaker who draws much of her inspiration from the natural splendour that surrounds her and real life experiences. Her first published book, The Unknown Sister, is coming out in Fall 2021 and her second book, which is already in the works, will follow in 2022. Patricia has been seen on screens and stages educating about the topics of: adoption, secrets, art and spirituality and often her art and book are woven into her speaking. When she’s not in her studio creating, you can often find her travelling and spending time in nature. patricia@patriciaclarkecreations.com
‘Trish’ Clarke is a fine-art artist focusing on floral and landscape paintings and figure drawings. She lives in British Columbia’s beautiful Lower Mainland and draws much of her inspiration from the natural splendour that surrounds her. Trish is enamoured of organic shapes, the elegance and flow of nature, from floral petals to the human form. She is especially interested in exploring new ways to emotionally engage the art viewer and believes in using her creative materials in ever-expanding and unique ways. She counts Georgia O’Keeffe and fellow British Columbian Emily Carr among her primary influences. She studied visual arts at Kwantlen College and the Academy of Art in Vancouver before leaving her import/export business in 2010 to devote herself to art full-time.
Rev. Dr. Greg Cootsona Ph.D., is Project Co-director of Science for the Church and Lecturer in Religious Studies and Humanities at California State University at Chico. He is the author of seven books, including Mere Science and Christian Faith, C.S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian, and most recently, Negotiating Science and Religion in America. Greg is passionate about the power of connecting mainstream science with “mere Christianity”. He and his wife, Laura, live in Chico, California and are parents of two fabulous young adult daughters. He loves to drum, read great books, and hike and bike through the beautiful Chico hills.
I began teaching at Chico State in fall 2014 with Science and Religion (RELS 204/PHIL 240) and continued with a Great Books and Ideas course (HUM300Z) on Transcendence and Human Knowledge in spring 2015. In addition, I am serving on a master's thesis committee supervised by Dawn Clifford in the Nutrition Department, helping direct a project that brings together nutrition and Christian spirituality. Teaching in the Department of Religious Studies and Humanities affords me the opportunity to engage in grand themes and ideas through a variety of disciplines such as philosophy, religion, and literature.
Before starting at Chico State, I completed my Ph. D. at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and wrote my dissertation comparing the thought of a scientist-philosopher and a theologian, Alfred North Whitehead and Karl Barth respectively. This project was revised and subsequently published by Peter Lang in 2000. I taught Religion and Science and Brooklyn College (CUNY) that same year and Western Religions at Butte College from 2005-7. My most recent book is C. S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian (Westminster John Knox, 2014). My current research areas are religion and science, the New Testament, western religions, and literature and philosophy since the Enlightenment. I am currently managing a grant on 18-30-year-olds’ attitudes on faith and science, “Science for Students and Emerging, Young Adults,” and am simultaneously working on articles and a book manuscript, all of which arise from this research.
Zack Running Coyote is a playwright, actor, musician, and screenwriter. He is a graduate of the acting pro- gram at Rosebud School of the Arts and the former artist in residence at Making Treaty 7. Adopted at six months old, with Mi’gmaq and settler ancestors, Zach’s work focuses on stories for the displaced and disenfranchised, the marginalized and oppressed, as he continues his own search for community, healing and the unwinding of generational trauma.
His body of work includes:
Charlie Demers is a comedian, author, and voice actor born & raised in Vancouver. A regular on CBC Radio’s ‘The Debat- ers’, he co-stars on two Emmy-winning Netflix animated series, ‘Beat Bugs’ and ‘The Last Kids on Earth’; has written scripts for stage and screen; and is the author of six books of fiction and non-fiction. His stand-up comedy album ‘Fatherland,’ from 604 Records, was nominated for Best Comedy Album at the 2018 Juno Awards. www.charliedemers.com
Charles “Charlie” Demers “Just Demers” is a Juno-nominated stand-up comedian, BC Book Prize-nominated author, & co-star of two Emmy-winning Netflix animated series, Beat Bugs and The Last Kids on Earth. He can typically manage only one paragraph in the third person. Please check out
www.charliedemers.substack.com for new writing weekly & the Full of Chit-Chat podcast!
Amy Dyck is a visual artist based in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Her work is a unique mix of representational and abstract expressionism and strives to express something deeper in the human experience than can be observed by the eye. Using collage, oil paints and drawing mediums, and pulling from anatomical studies and visual research, her work is influenced by old and new masters and is always evolving. Amy has been interviewed for CBC Art Minute, has had her work featured in art magazines, and has won awards in several art exhibitions. She actively teaches on how to create skill-based and meaningful art in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley and has her work in collections in Canada and Internationally.
www.amyjdyck.com
Duane Forrest is a singer-songwriter and multimedia artist from Toronto. His unique sound blends jazz, reggae, bossa nova, and soul. He has toured in Canada, Europe, and Central America. In 2017, Duane debuted his first theatre production, Climb, which played again at the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival where Toronto Fringe Festival founder Gregory Nixon described Duane’s show as “an engaging, multilayered work of song, storytelling and movement” and “one of the highlights of this year’s Fringe.”.
Duane’s forthcoming double jazz and fusion album Sol e Sol builds on themes of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery reflecting musically Duane’s growth as an artist and a human being.
As well as his innate drive to create beautiful things, Duane also has a passion for arts education. In 2011 he founded Genesis Community of the Arts, a registered Canadian charity offering music and arts education to marginalized children and youth in Toronto and Central America.
www.duanesguitar.com | www.genesisartschool.com
John Franklin, is the Executive Director of IMAGO Arts and also an adjunct professor in theology at Tyndale Seminary and Trinity College at the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto. His training and teaching were done in the field of philosophy and recently his special interest has been research and teaching in theology and the arts. He served as the arts coordinator for the Lausanne International meetings in Cape Town South Africa in 2010 and was a consultant and catalogue contributor for the very successful 2016-2017 Mystical Land- scapes Exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
John is the Executive Director of Imago, a national initiative in support of Christians in the arts in Canada. He is based in Toronto and, before joining Imago in 1998, he taught philosophy at Tyndale College. Currently, he is an adjunct professor in theology at Tyndale Seminary and Trinity College at the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto. His special interest is in theology and the arts. He has served on the Board of Lausanne Movement Canada for 13 years, and is Coordinator of the World Evangelical Alliance - Mission Commission’s Task Force on Art in Mission. John is a writer and contributor of papers to conversations in the space of the Arts and Spirituality.
www.imago-arts.org
Fern Gabriel, ancestral name, Sesmelot, was born and raised in Kwantlen First Nation situated in Fort Langley B.C. Sesmelot is a graduate of the University of British Colum- bia where she received her Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Education. Sesmelot lived in Musqueam First Nation in Vancouver for a decade and learned hənq̓əm̓in̓əm̓ dialect. She was hired by Langley School District Aboriginal Program in November 2016 to teach the hənq̓əm̓in̓əm̓ dialect to the indigenous and non-indigenous students. Fern is a gifted storyteller and has been host for the annually recurring Kwantlen Walking Tour Series and has been nominated for a British Columbia Multicultural Award for her efforts in championing multiculturalism in the community and beyond.
Fern Gabriel, ancestral name Sesmelot, is from Kwantlen First Nation. She is a Language & Cultural Teacher and a gifted storyteller.
Fern has hosted the Kwantlen Walking Tour Series as well as on-site storytelling, and was nominated for a British Columbia Multicultural Award for her efforts in championing multiculturalism in the community and beyond.
Watch Fern Gabriel online as she leads us on a journey of appreciation and understanding of the people who have called Fort Langley home for thousands of years.
Kwantlen Stories with Fern - Time of the Eulachon:
Click HERE to watch the video on YouTube
David Goa, was the Founding Director of the Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life and former Curator of Folklife & Collections, Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta where he aimed to deepen thinking on contentious issues and find ways for those with strongly held and competing perspectives to engage each other and find hospitable ground to nurture the common good. From 1973 – 2004, he developed the program for the study of culture at the Royal Alberta Museum through his extensive field research in many religious communities that make Alberta their home (Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, Muslim and Christian). He is the author of over twenty books and hundreds of essays and articles on religion and modern culture. David lectures widely throughout Canada and most recently in Romania, Spain, Syria and Turkey.
David is curator of the internet exhibition The UEncounter (uencounter.org), exploring fundamental human questions, and was the chief curator for the internationally acclaimed exhibition Anno Domini: Jesus Through the Centuries, 2000.
His recent book The Christian Responsibility to Muslims is the fruit of his work in Muslim communities. He is Teaching Faculty, The King’s University, Edmonton and Saint Stephen’s College, University of Alberta, Edmonton. www.davidgoa.ca
Note: David has contributed an article in the Creature Chronicle catalogue.
David Goa focuses on deepening the capacity of the faithful to think through the gifts of the Christian tradition: the spiritual life, the theological traditions, and our responsibility to the public world. Four themes are at the centre of his concern: the Incarnation, the Trinity, the spiritual life as a journey toward wholeness, and the meaning of Ecclesia in service to the life of the world. A deeper understanding of these revelatory gifts, and the depth of the tradition of understanding through which they emerge, will enlarge and strengthen the capacity of the faithful in their personal lives, engage with the life of the church in the world, and discern how the faithful may engage the public square about the most important issues of our time.
Henry Heillig is a Toronto bassist, composer and producer. Henry is perhaps best known in Canada for his 30+ years as musical director of Manteca, the Juno-award-winning (Canadian Grammy) nine-piece “afrolatinsalsaworldbeatbig- band” that toured North America and Europe in the 1990s. Since 1997, he has worked extensively with renowned harmonica giant Carlos del Junco. Henry also leads his own contemporary jazz quartet, Heillig Manoeuvre. For ten years, he was the Musical Director for The Journey, a musical about and including members of the revitalized Regent Park community in Toronto.
Shayna Jones is a mother, award-winning actor, performance storyteller, spoken word artist, and folklorist specializing in the Traditional Oral Storytelling of African and Afro-Diasporic Folklore. She is the founder and leader of The Black and Rural Project, a multi-year artistic investigation into the hearts and minds of black folks tucked away on the Canadian countryside. Partnering with both arts and heritage organizations, her vision is to gather, honor and showcase black and rural Canadian life through her touring performances and gallery exhibition. Shayna has performed for audiences across Canada. As a Folklorist, Shayna combines her passion for live performance with the in-depth study of Afro-centric Folk History, Folklore and Contemporary Experience
www.wearestoryfolk.com
Angela Konrad is a director, teacher, and dramaturg who has been working in theatre for more than 20 years. She has been nominated for several Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, winning once for Outstanding Direction and three times for Out- standing Production. She is Artistic Director of Dark Glass Theatre, for whom she curates and hosts the ongoing storytelling series Trespass. Her long-time day job as Professor of Theatre at TWU will soon be ending, as the University is closing the Theatre Department, leaving Angela to ponder what she wants to be when she grows up.
“As a theatre director and educator, I have a passion to make art that changes the world. Theatre has the capacity to foster empathy with revolutionary potential. We have the privilege of being in the same room, breathing the same air, as others we might normally cross the road to avoid or those who teach us love is possible. Bringing these stories to life is my joy.”
www.darkglasstheatre.com
Edith Krause is a Langley-based printmaker and former biologist. Her work, mostly employing woodcut, screenprint and digital media, often layering and juxtaposing imagery from the natural and constructed worlds, focuses predominantly on her love of nature and her anxi- ety over our present ecological crisis.
Edith will open her studio (5 minutes from Swallowfield) to share works that encompass several bodies of work, and 20 years of art practice obsessed with our ecological predicament – the trajectory of losses that human ambition has set in motion.
“At Risk: Meditations on what we stand to lose”, May 7-15, 1 - 4 pm,
Sperling Farm Printshop, 24419 68 Ave Langley, B.C.
Pieter Kwant has been a bookseller, publisher, and literary agent for almost fifty years, a lifelong enthusiast for the arts. He is the International Director for the Langham Literature programme of Langham Partnership, and Publisher of Langham Creative Projects. He has a great love of books and has worked for IVP, UK and Paternoster, as well as founding his own publishing company, Piquant Editions, started in 1999. He loves theology, art and mission and has been working in these areas for a lifetime. Pieter and his wife, Elria, live in the UK and have four married sons and ten grandchildren.
Pieter, through Piquant Editions, UK, is the publisher of the Creature Chronicle catalogue. www.piquanteditions.com
Susan McCaslin is a Canadian poet residing outside Fort Langley, British Columbia, who has published sixteen volumes of poetry, including her most recent, Heart Work (Ekstasis Editions, 2020). Her Into the Open: Poems New and Selected was published by Inanna Publications in 2017. Demeter Goes Skydiving (University of Alberta Press, 2012) was shortlisted for the BC Book Prize for Poetry (Dorothy Livesay Award) and the first-place winner of the Alberta Book Publishing Award (Robert Kroetsch Poetry Book Award) in 2012. She has recently had a chapbook titled Cosmic Egg published by the Alfred Gustav Poetry Series. Susan can often be found walking with her dog Rosie along the Fraser River, better known to the Kwantlen First Nations as the Stó:lō, the Halqemeylem word for “river.”
www.susanmccaslin.weebly.com
Phil Miguel is Pacific Theatre’s Production Manager and takes every other spare opportunity to design, direct, produce, act, or write for theatre. His design work has been featured in Jessie recognized shows for outstanding production for Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, The Seafarer, Outside Mullingar. Phil recently had the opportunity to feature his directing on the Pacific Theatre stage with a staged reading of Nowheresville. In his spare time, he likes to drink tea and start theatre companies including Cave Canem which produced the Jessie nominated show, The Lonesome West, for outstanding production.
Phil Miguel is Pacific Theatre’s longest-standing staff member, having started there as an apprentice in the 2010-11 season. He knows the theatre inside out and long-time audiences may have seen him in The Verona Project, The Great Divorce, or climbing to the very top rung of ladders to reach that tricky grid bar.
Suzanne Northcott is an interdisciplinary visual artist. Always a painter, she has moved through video, installation and photography. She has collaborated with poets, biologists and artists in other disciplines. Recently, environmental and feminist concerns drew her to textile and hand stitching. Themes of swarm behaviour, migration and the relationship of the one to the many compel her. Influences include Ger- hard Richter and Barnett Newman. Her work is held in private and public collections in Canada and worldwide.
www.SuzanneNorthcott.ca | www.morphology.studio
Jeanine Noyes is a Toronto based singer/songwriter who has toured Canada and Europe, playing music festivals and churches, living rooms and beer gardens, bars, coffeehouses, castles and caves, theatres, wine cellars, conferences and kitchens. Her favourite gigs? The ones where she is connecting with an audience, where they are close...no matter the size of gathering. Jeanine’s two critically acclaimed recordings have received radio play in Canada and Europe and her songs have been covered by artists in Canada and the UK. Jeanine also works in theatre and is especially proud of a Christmas collective called “2000 Candles” for which she arranged and wrote the music. Her work on Brookstone Theatre’s “Dixie Gospel” earned her 2 Dora Nominations.
Jeanine has also taught at the North York Suzuki School of Music for 30 years. She is currently working on a recording with Kingston producer Matt Baetz called “The Last Song You Forgot” which is a collection of old songs and hymns in honour of her mother who died of Alzheimer’s disease.
www.JeanineNoyes.com
Sarah Ronald is a multimedia visual artist who grew up and studied in the Okanagan. In 2020 she started creating hand-drawn animations of wildlife, and in 2021 she began projecting her animations in outdoor spaces as a means to experience her animated animals ‘in the wild’ and outside of traditional art spaces. Sarah has recently started to include site-specific installations into her art practice and sees this work as a way to present wildlife in new ways. www.sarahronald.com
Note: Sarah’s hand drawn animation, “Encounter-Encounter” will be projected outside (weather permitting) for 3 evenings:
May 11, May 20, May 21.
Sarah: “The ephemeral nature of the work is in reference to how we often encounter real wild animals [which] appear and dis- appear quickly. It is an elusive story of a strange coexistence.”
Dr. Derek Schuurman is professor of computer science at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan and author of Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology published by InterVarsity Academic Press. He has contributed his audio talk titled “The Challenge of Transhumanism: Discerning a Christian Response” presented at the 2019 American Scientific Affiliation Conference at Wheaton College.
Derek Schuurman's personal story includes working in industry for several years before returning to academia. His interest in computers began in his early teens with his first computer, a Timex-Sinclair ZX-81. He is also interested in the bigger picture (metaphorically, not in the number-of-pixels sense) and the various issues related to faith and technology. He has taught previously at Redeemer University and as a visiting professor at Dordt Unviversity and is currently a professor of computer science at Calvin. He has participated in various service projects with computing in developing countries with his students. He is author of the book Shaping a Digital World and is available to speak to groups as time allows.
Prof. Schuurman is a fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation, part of the leadership team for the West Michigan ASA chapter, an associate fellow of the The Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge, senior member of the IEEE, member of the ACM, CES, ACMS, a book review editor for Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, a regular contributor to the Christian Scholars Review blog, and a regular columnist for Christian Courier.
Note: Although Derek is unable to be here in person, he is contributing an audio talk:
”The Challenge of Transhumanism: Discerning a Christian Response” first presented at the 2019 American Scientific Affiliation Conference, Wheaton College. www.asa3.org/ASAradio/ASA2019Schuurman.mp3
https://sites.calvin.edu/derek
Patrick Scott, Ph.D. is a talented author and activist who has done a variety of fascinating jobs in and for community in the North West Territories, where he first connected work- ing for CBC on reports about the Berger PIpeline several de- cades ago. He has lived and worked in Canada’s North for 4 decades, currently in Yellowknife. His career has included journalism, film production, community development and indigenous claims negotiations and implementation. He, with his wife Gabrielle, have 8 children and 12 grandchildren. All are Tlicho citizens. He has authored two books in response to, and support of, his community; ‘Stories Told’ and ‘Talking Tools’. Patrick attained a Fine Arts Phd from the Unversity of Dundee Scotland in 2010.
Scott has worked as a ‘workers adviser’ for the WSCC, in media with the CBC, in community development with World Vision Canada and in negotiations with the GNWT (Tlicho Claim) and the Dehcho First Nations. He is Co-owner, at Birchwood Coffee Kǫ̀ and Consulting Associates, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Tetsuro Shigematsu is a former writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes and the first person-of-colour to host a daily national radio program in Canada, as host of The Roundup on CBC Radio. Dubbed “the voice of our Azn generation” by Ricepaper magazine, Tetsuro’s theatrical solo-work Empire of the Son was named the best show of 2015 by the Vancouver Sun. His other solo-work, 1 Hour Photo garnered five Jessie nominations, winning for Significant Artistic Achievement, and was named as a finalist for the 2019 Governor General’s Award for Drama. The Georgia Straight recently declared him to be, “one of the city’s best artists. www.shiggy.com
Governor General’s Award finalist, Tetsuro Shigematsu, became the first person-of-colour to host a daily national radio program in Canada, where he coproduced nearly a thousand hours of network programming, as well as writing and producing over 50 pieces of radio drama. A former writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Tetsuro’s solo-work Empire of the Son was described by theatre critic Colin Thomas as, “one of the best shows ever to come out of Vancouver. Ever.” In 2018, he earned his PhD in Education at UBC as a Vanier scholar, and now serves as Creative Director of UBC’s Research-based Theatre Lab.
Arnold E. Sikkema, Ph.D
During his undergraduate studies in physics and mathematics at the University of Waterloo, Arnold worked and published in general relativity and cosmology. He switched to theoretical condensed matter physics for his graduate studies at the University of British Columbia, working in the quantum theory of magnetism and superconductivity. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Florida, he taught physics at Dordt College for eight years where he was involved in faculty reading groups on the Reformational philosophy of the Dutch school associated with Herman Dooyeweerd. Since 2005, he has been at Trinity Western University (TWU), where his research interests developed into theoretical biophysics and the Christian philosophy of science, particularly in the relationship between physics and biology. He is also the chair of the Mathematical Sciences Department and of the University Senate. He has served on the executive council of the Canadian Scientific & Chrtistian Affiliation (CSCA) since 2011, first as Vice President, President, and Past President, and since 2018 as Executive Director. He was the program chair for the CSCA/TWU 2018 conference “From Sea to Sea … to Sky! Science and Christianity in Canada” and convened an invited panel on "Natural Sciences and Philosophy in the Reformed Tradition" at the 2021 conference of Association for Reformational Philosophy. He and his wife Valerie (a professional horticulturist) have three children, two grandchildren, and one poodle.
Lincoln Tatem is a Vancouver-based musical poly- math. After years of singing, playing, writing, and producing as an integral part of the sound of a number of the Vancouver area’s finest music makers, and finally went into the studio under his own name. The resulting recording, “A Voice, and Hope, and a Drum” garnered multiple Gospel Music Award nominations and one Covenant Award win. He is also a sought-after clinician and adjudicator and serves as Program Director of the Institute of Music Ministry in Surrey, BC.
Lincoln is also deeply devoted to his three children and to his wife Joellel Tatem, who, if she is available, will be performing with him. lincolntatem3.wordpress.com
Ellen Van Eijnsbergen has recently retired as the Fine Arts Coordinator for the City of Burnaby. where she served as the Director/Curator of the Burnaby Art Gallery and managed the city’s Public Art Program. As manager of the City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection she focused on balancing the collection by increasing the holdings of works by women, people of colour and Indigenous artists. She has extensive experience working with the private and municipal public art sector and has organized and curated numerous local, regional and international contemporary art exhibitions.
After graduating with a BFA from Simon Fraser University in 2001, van Eijnsbergen became the visual arts education coordinator at Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre. From there, in 2005, she became Evergreen Cultural Centre’s visual arts manager. In 2011, Ellen joined the City of Burnaby as the fine arts coordinator at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.
Desiree Wallace is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, photojournalist and digital communicator. With an Associate of Arts Degree in Global Stewardship and a Documentary Film Certificate from Capilano University, she is sharing narratives that inspire social change around the world. Desiree is also an active com- munity organizer in climate justice movements, which she has captured through the lens for several years. Storytelling is the perfect medium to unite her passion for art and activism, which is exactly what her production company, Pro Libertate Productions reflects.
www.prolibertateproductions.com
Rosemary Wallace is a Langley City Councillor and has served as a Langley School Trustee. She is a mother of seven, a visual artist, photographer, and singer/songwriter/musician. Passionate about the arts she has volunteered in schools and the community supporting musical theatre and visual arts. She once owned a gallery in Langley City “Freedom Arts Collective” believing it is vital for communities to provide spaces for the arts to thrive. The many ways in which the arts have enriched the lives of Rosemary and her family are a continual remind- er of how creativity is essential for wellness and connection.
‘Wild Blue Herons’: Darlene Cooper & Bill Sample
Play mostly groove-oriented jazz. It’s a little bit hip, a bit cool, a bit smoky, a bit bluesy. They perform original songs and select standards, ranging from funk to blues to R &B but with a jazz twist and a definite gospel influence. Many of their original songs come from their own life experiences as well as a mutual concern for equality, love, and compassion around the globe. They are all about ‘heart and soul’ in music - taking their listener on an emotional journey. This husband and wife team work together as directors, composer/arrangers for the Vancouver- based Marcus Mosely Chorale (MMC) alongside Marcus Mosely.
They released their first album as Wild Blue Herons (“On the Outside”) in 2017 and have just released a Jazz Standards (“You & I”) limited edition vinyl album featuring the artwork of Vancouver artist Joe Average. Bill has been an in-demand sideman for almost 50 years, working as musical director & pianist for the legendary David Foster, whilst Darlene has built a reputation not just as a go-to jazz singer, but an educator, choral conductor and session musician too. She designed and directed the Institute of Music Ministry from 2003 - 2014 and a number of her songs have been nominated for Covenant Awards.
www.wildblueherons.com | www.darlenecoopermusic.com | www.billsamplemusic.com
Kaitlin Williams is an interdisciplinary theatre artist named Artistic Director of Pacific Theatre in 2020. She has also worked with Bard on the Beach, the Arts Club, the Belfry Theatre, ITSAZOO, Delinquent Theatre, the Electric Company, Chemainus Theatre, Western Canada Theatre, Touchstone Theatre, Rumble Theatre and many others. Kaitlin has been nominated for multiple Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards and her Pacific shows have received 8 nominations, including “Outstanding Ensemble” (Almost, Maine) and “Outstanding Production and Direction” (Kim’s Convenience).
www.kaitlinwilliams.com
Marnie Wooding is a screenwriter and story editor for both film and television, and is currently a founding partner in a motion picture development company. She has authored over a dozen books with such publishing houses as HarperCollins, Moody Press, Tyndale, Thomas Nelson, and Broadman & Holman. As a screenwriter and story editor, Marnie has worked with publishers, authors, academics, journalists, and filmmakers. Whether walking the halls of King’s College or Washington D.C., she loves the diversity of storytelling. Currently, Marnie is a Producer partnered with Generation Studio in Delta, B.C., working on the pre-production of a new original children’s television show, Pika Creek; planned as a 2022 in-studio production. She says, “We have gathered an award-winning team of artists, educators, entertainers, film and television professionals, to design and create an enchanting new world in children’s entertainment. I wish I could share more about that, but then we would have to MIB ‘Flashy Thing’ neutralize your memory.”
Shelby Wyminga (she/they) was born purple from asphyxia and couldn't cry for the first several moments of her life. Thankfully, she soon managed to catch her breath and hasn't shut up since. Raised by two Presbyterian ministers in the wilds of BC's central interior, Shel spend their childhood riding rodeo, running barefoot in the snow and telling strange stories in silly costumes with her little sister long before either knew what theatre was. She eventually embraced the inevitable and completed her BFA in Acting through the School of the Arts, Media, and Culture at TWU where she studied Visual Art alongside her theatrical pursuits. Primarily an actor, Shelby has enjoyed the freedom to dabble in many areas of theatre creation, developing skills as a scenic painter, costume designer, playwright and producer.
After completing the Pacific Theatre apprenticeship in 2019, Shel announced the formation of their own theatre company, Far From The Tree Productions, founded in collaboration with their long time creative partner and sharer of genetics, Joelle Wyminga. A true Shakespeare fanatic, Shel and is particularly interested in playing with classical text through ensemble exploration with the goal of breaking past some of the "shoulds" to find more "coulds." They love nothing more than diving into traditionally male roles, approaching from a different vantage to provide new understanding of familiar characters.
Recent acting credits include Edgar in King Lear (Promethean), Peter Pan in The Neverland Night Circus (Geekenders), Jane in the apocalyptic audio drama, (/hello, world); (Mindstorm Radio), Jo in Little Women: an Audio Play (Far From The Tree), Marta Reddy in Caribou Magi (Far From The Tree) and King Henry in Shakespeare's Henry V (Stone's Throw).
Maki Yi was an apprentice at Pacific Theatre in 2011/12. In 2013/14 season, she presented at Pacific Theatre Lobby Project: Suitcase Stories. In 2015, her collaboration with culturally diverse artists for the interpretive movement piece of a Korean short story, Weaver Woman, premiered at the Dancing on the Edge Festival. After being invited to Uno Festival in 2015, Suitcase Stories, premiered at Pacific Theatre, and then at Evergreen Cultural Centre in 2017/18. Maki appeared in Kim’s Convenience at Pacific Theatre in 2018 and in Chicken Girl by Derek Chan, from Rice & Beans Theatre in May/June 2019. In January 2020, she returned to the PT stage to perform Gramma, another autobiographic play, and moved onto Arts Club tour of Kim’s Convenience.
Carolyn Arends has released 14 albums and is the author of 3 critically-acclaimed books. 15 of Arends’ songs have become top 10 radio singles on the Canadian pop and US Christian charts. Arends has earned 2 Dove Awards, 3 Juno Nominations, and was recognized as the West Coast Music Awards’ Songwriter of the Year. Her prose has been recognized by The Word Guild, The Evangelical Press Association and The Canadian Church Press Awards.
In addition to her busy touring and speaking schedule, Carolyn has been a regular columnist for Christianity Today, Faith Today, and CT Women, and has served as an adjunct professor at Trinity Western University, Regent College, ACTS Seminary, Pacific Life Bible College, Columbia Bible College, and Prairie Bible College. She has a degree in Psychology and English from Trinity Western University and a Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Regent College. She lives in Surrey, BC with her husband, Mark, and their young adult children Benjamin and Bethany.
Carolyn is currently the Director of Education for Renovaré, a far-reaching organization that encourages and nurtures personal and spiritual renewal. She continues to be available on a select basis for speaking, retreat facilitation, concerts, worship leading, and songwriting and performance seminars.
John Auxier, has a Ph.D. in Rehabilitation Counselling from the University of Arizona, and an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary. He is an Associate Professor of Marriage & Family Therapy at Trinity Western University and the Associate Dean of Trinity Western Seminary. John is interested in the complex issues of transhumanism and has written about this topic for academic papers. He also has a keen interest in comic books, visual storytelling and song writing.
John Auxier works in the Graduate School of Theological Studies, teaching in the M.A. in Marriage & Family Therapy, the M.A. in Christian Studies and the Master of Divinity programs. He is a practicing marriage and family counsellor.
He brings a diverse background to his teaching and leadership within ACTS. He is an ordained minister with the Evangelical Free Church of Canada and has twelve years fulltime ministry experience, having served as Associate Pastor for seven years and as solo Pastor for five years. He also has many years experience in mental health.
John is married to Doris Hutton Auxier, retired, Associate Professor of Art at Trinity Western University, and they have three wonderful adult children.
Cheryl Bear from Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, is a speaker, teacher and multi-award winning singer/songwriter. She has released three albums: Cheryl Bear (self-titled), The Good Road, and A’BA which have received three Indigenous People’s Choice music awards, two Covenant Awards and a Native American Music Award. Cheryl is a founding board member of NAIITS, an Indigenous learning community and Associate Professor at Regent College in Vancouver, BC. She has a Doctorate from The King’s University in Los Angeles, and Master of Divinity degree from Regent College. Cheryl served two terms (4 years) as a band councilor for her community of Nadleh Whut’en First Nation. She is currently serving as a the Director of Community Ministry at First United Church on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, BC
Cheryl Bear, from Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, is well known as an important and respected voice on behalf of Canada’s Indigenous peoples, a speaker and teacher who has traveled to over 600 Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States sharing her songs and stories. She also visits non-Native communities (schools, government, churches and businesses) holding workshops to raise awareness and understanding of Indigenous issues.
Cheryl is a multi-award winning singer/songwriter who shares stories of Indigenous life through story and song. She has released three albums: Cheryl Bear (self-titled), The Good Road, and A’BA. Cheryl’s albums have received three Indigenous People’s Choice music awards, two Covenant Awards and a Native American Music Award.
Cheryl is a founding board member of NAIITS, an Indigenous learning community. She is also an Associate Professor at Regent College in Vancouver, BC. Cheryl has an earned Doctorate from The King’s University in Los Angeles, and Master of Divinity degree from Regent College. Her doctoral work presents an approach to First Nations ministry from the foundations of Indigenous worldview and values. She believes that leaders who are more fully informed about Indigenous worldview, culture and values will see a dramatic increase in their effectiveness in ministering to Indigenous people in North America as well as the practical missiological and theological principles explored can be implemented in any cross-cultural ministry context.
Cheryl served two terms (4 years) as a band councillor for her community of Nadleh Whut’en First Nation from April 2014 to April 2018.
She is currently serving as a the Director of Community Ministry at First United Church on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, BC..
www.cherylbear.com
Rev. Dr. Jason Byassee Ph.D. is the inaugural holder of the Butler Chair in Homiletics and Biblical Hermeneutics at the Vancouver School of Theology. He is the author or editor of thirteen books, including Trinity: The God We Don’t Know (Abingdon, 2015). His work has also appeared in Christianity Today, Theology Today, Books & Culture, Sojourners, and First Things. He has participated in theological education on four continents, including writing about churches in Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda and lecturing and preaching in Indonesia, the Philippines, France, and the UK. Jason is a board member of A Rocha, an international Christian organization which, engages in scientific research, environmental education, community-based conservation projects and sustain- able agriculture. It works to restore salmon habitat, train young scientists, inspire school children, and feed low-income families.
Jason Byassee is a full professor and the inaugural holder of the Butler Chair in Homiletics and Biblical Hermeneutics at the Vancouver School of Theology in British Columbia. His primary vocation is to reinvigorate today’s church with the best of ancient and contemporary wisdom for creatively faithful living.
At VST, he directs the summer school program and the school’s joint PhD program with Durham University in the United Kingdom. During his years at VST, only some 10% of schools accredited by the Association of Theological Schools (ATS) have actually grown in enrollment. VST is among that blessed few, increasing nearly 50% in course hours taken and 100% in enrollment.
He was previously senior pastor of Boone United Methodist Church in the Appalachian mountains of western North Carolina. There he directed eight other pastoral staff members, led a staff of sixteen, and pastored a congregation of 1500 from five worshiping communities. He has also served as pastor of a small, 80-person congregation in NC and as interim senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Vancouver, BC. He currently preaches weekly for Vancouver Chinese Presbyterian Church.
He studied at Davidson College and Duke University in his native North Carolina, and earned a Ph.D. in systematic theology from the latter in 2005. He is also a contributing editor to Christian Century magazine, where he served in Chicago as an assistant editor from 2004-2008. He has served previously as a Fellow in Theology and Leadership at Duke Divinity School and as a Research Fellow in the New Media Project at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He has been a visiting fellow of St. John’s College and of the Department of Theology and Religion at Durham University.
He is the author or editor of eighteen books, including, most recently, Northern Lights: Resurrecting Church in the North of England and, with Ross Lockhart, Better than Brunch: Missional Churches in Cascadia (both with Cascade). His work has appeared in Christianity Today, Theology Today, Books & Culture, Sojourners, and First Things. He is editor of the projected nine-volume Pastoring for Life series with Baker Academic. His own book with Andria Irwin, Following: Embodied Discipleship in a Digital Age, has just been released in that series.
At Vancouver School of Theology he teaches subjects as various as preaching, biblical interpretation, leadership, church history, and writing. He has previously taught as an adjunct at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, North Park Theological Seminary, Northern Seminary, and Wheaton College. He has preached at churches as varied as Tenth Church (a multi-site megachurch with the Christian and Missionary Alliance), St. Gregory’s Armenian Orthodox Church, Canadian Memorial United Church of Canada, Duke Chapel, Christ Church Cathedral (Anglican), Durham Cathedral (UK), and a variety of congregations in Presbyterian, Mennonite, Plymouth Brethren, Pentecostal, and evangelical denominations. He has participated in theological education on four continents, including writing about churches in Kenya, South Sudan, Uganda and Rwanda and lecturing and preaching in Hong Kong, Indonesia, the Philippines, France, and the UK.
He is married to Jaylynn Warren Byassee, who is senior pastor of North Lonsdale United Church in North Vancouver, BC. Together they have three boys, ages 18, 16, and 14, who attend secondary schools in east Vancouver. Things break in their house.
Steve Bynum, was senior producer for Worldview, WBEZ’s 25-year global affairs/news program for nearly 2 decades. He lectures, facilitates, and moderates discussions on topics related to media’s role in democracy, culture, and communities. Steve is a current fellow for Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism and a former International fellow at the University of Alberta’s Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life. He serves as a board director for the organizations Chicago Cultural Alliance, CircEsteem (a youth social circus), United For Peace USA and Fulcrum Point New Music Project. Steve also serves on the Advisory Committee of the National Indo-American Museum (NIAM). Steve is also a big fan of science fiction.
For nearly two decades, Steve was senior producer for Worldview, WBEZ’s 25-year global affairs/news program. He has won numerous awards in broadcast excellence and also lectures, facilitates, and moderates discussions on topics related to media’s role in democracy, culture, and communities.
Steve is a current fellow for Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism and a former International fellow at the University of Alberta’s Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life. He serves as a board director for the organizations Chicago Cultural Alliance, CircEsteem (a youth social circus), United For Peace USA and Fulcrum Point New Music Project. Steve also serves on the Advisory Committee of the National Indo-American Museum (NIAM).
Prior to joining WBEZ, Steve worked as: program manager for WYLL 106.7 FM in Elk Grove Village, IL; morning show producer for WMBI 90.1 FM in Chicago; producer at WSCR sports radio in Chicago; and editing assistant/freelance sports reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
Steve is completing his Master’s degree thesis in Public Policy and Administration (MPPA) at Northwestern University and is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.
He’s also a big fan of science fiction (Doctor Who, especially), Duran Duran, as well as foreign and (precode) 1930s film.
Ins Choi is an actor and a playwright who was born in South Korea but grew up and currently lives in Toronto with his wife and two children. He has performed with theatre companies such as Stratford, Soulpepper, fu-GEN, vAct, PTE, and Pacific Theatre. His award-winning play, Kim’s Convenience, was adapted into a TV series with Thunderbird Films available on CBC and Netflix. He is retooling his solo show Subway Stations of the Cross and working on his next play, Bad Parent.
Ins was born in South Korea and grew up in Scarborough, now part of the city of Toronto. He is a poet, playwright and actor who graduated from the acting program at York University in 1998. His first play, Kim’s Convenience was a huge success at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival where it won the New Play Contest and Patron’s Pick Award. Subsequently the play was remounted in an acclaimed version by Soulpepper Theatre Company. Kim’s Convenience was adapted into a television series airing on CBC.
Choi also completed a Master of Theological Studies at Wycliffe College, University of Toronto.
Patricia Clarke, is a British Columbia based artist, writer and speaker who draws much of her inspiration from the natural splendour that surrounds her and real life experiences. Her first published book, The Unknown Sister, is coming out in Fall 2021 and her second book, which is already in the works, will follow in 2022. Patricia has been seen on screens and stages educating about the topics of: adoption, secrets, art and spirituality and often her art and book are woven into her speaking. When she’s not in her studio creating, you can often find her travelling and spending time in nature. patricia@patriciaclarkecreations.com
‘Trish’ Clarke is a fine-art artist focusing on floral and landscape paintings and figure drawings. She lives in British Columbia’s beautiful Lower Mainland and draws much of her inspiration from the natural splendour that surrounds her. Trish is enamoured of organic shapes, the elegance and flow of nature, from floral petals to the human form. She is especially interested in exploring new ways to emotionally engage the art viewer and believes in using her creative materials in ever-expanding and unique ways. She counts Georgia O’Keeffe and fellow British Columbian Emily Carr among her primary influences. She studied visual arts at Kwantlen College and the Academy of Art in Vancouver before leaving her import/export business in 2010 to devote herself to art full-time.
Rev. Dr. Greg Cootsona Ph.D., is Project Co-director of Science for the Church and Lecturer in Religious Studies and Humanities at California State University at Chico. He is the author of seven books, including Mere Science and Christian Faith, C.S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian, and most recently, Negotiating Science and Religion in America. Greg is passionate about the power of connecting mainstream science with “mere Christianity”. He and his wife, Laura, live in Chico, California and are parents of two fabulous young adult daughters. He loves to drum, read great books, and hike and bike through the beautiful Chico hills.
I began teaching at Chico State in fall 2014 with Science and Religion (RELS 204/PHIL 240) and continued with a Great Books and Ideas course (HUM300Z) on Transcendence and Human Knowledge in spring 2015. In addition, I am serving on a master's thesis committee supervised by Dawn Clifford in the Nutrition Department, helping direct a project that brings together nutrition and Christian spirituality. Teaching in the Department of Religious Studies and Humanities affords me the opportunity to engage in grand themes and ideas through a variety of disciplines such as philosophy, religion, and literature.
Before starting at Chico State, I completed my Ph. D. at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley and wrote my dissertation comparing the thought of a scientist-philosopher and a theologian, Alfred North Whitehead and Karl Barth respectively. This project was revised and subsequently published by Peter Lang in 2000. I taught Religion and Science and Brooklyn College (CUNY) that same year and Western Religions at Butte College from 2005-7. My most recent book is C. S. Lewis and the Crisis of a Christian (Westminster John Knox, 2014). My current research areas are religion and science, the New Testament, western religions, and literature and philosophy since the Enlightenment. I am currently managing a grant on 18-30-year-olds’ attitudes on faith and science, “Science for Students and Emerging, Young Adults,” and am simultaneously working on articles and a book manuscript, all of which arise from this research.
Zack Running Coyote is a playwright, actor, musician, and screenwriter. He is a graduate of the acting pro- gram at Rosebud School of the Arts and the former artist in residence at Making Treaty 7. Adopted at six months old, with Mi’gmaq and settler ancestors, Zach’s work focuses on stories for the displaced and disenfranchised, the marginalized and oppressed, as he continues his own search for community, healing and the unwinding of generational trauma.
His body of work includes:
- As writer: Snowblind (Lunchbox Theatre/Making Treaty 7), Kohkum & me (The Rest of Us Theatre Co.) and a TV adaptation of The Hayloft, in development at the CBC.
- As performer: Bright Star, Cariboo Magi (Rosebud Theatre), Romeo & Juliet (Theatre Calgary/Shakespeare by the Bow) Pawakan (Workshop at The Stratford Festival), The Street (Pounds Performance) as well as performing his own shows Kohkum & me and Snowblind
Charlie Demers is a comedian, author, and voice actor born & raised in Vancouver. A regular on CBC Radio’s ‘The Debat- ers’, he co-stars on two Emmy-winning Netflix animated series, ‘Beat Bugs’ and ‘The Last Kids on Earth’; has written scripts for stage and screen; and is the author of six books of fiction and non-fiction. His stand-up comedy album ‘Fatherland,’ from 604 Records, was nominated for Best Comedy Album at the 2018 Juno Awards. www.charliedemers.com
Charles “Charlie” Demers “Just Demers” is a Juno-nominated stand-up comedian, BC Book Prize-nominated author, & co-star of two Emmy-winning Netflix animated series, Beat Bugs and The Last Kids on Earth. He can typically manage only one paragraph in the third person. Please check out
www.charliedemers.substack.com for new writing weekly & the Full of Chit-Chat podcast!
- To buy any of the books written by Charles Demers, go here.
- To buy any of the books edited by Charles Demers — as part of the Robin’s Egg humour imprint at Arsenal Pulp Press — go here.
- To book Charlie Demers for a live stand-up performance, talk to this guy.
- To have Charles Demers do voice-acting for your cartoon (both wacky & non-wacky), speak to these good people.
- To speak to the literary agent of Charles Demers, here ye be.
- Interested in Charlie Demers’s Juno-nominated comedy album “Fatherland” from 604 Records? It’s right there.
- Like his peers Paul McCartney & Barack Obama, Charlie, too, has been a featured guest on WTF with Marc Maron. If you’d like to hear that episode, go here.
Amy Dyck is a visual artist based in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Her work is a unique mix of representational and abstract expressionism and strives to express something deeper in the human experience than can be observed by the eye. Using collage, oil paints and drawing mediums, and pulling from anatomical studies and visual research, her work is influenced by old and new masters and is always evolving. Amy has been interviewed for CBC Art Minute, has had her work featured in art magazines, and has won awards in several art exhibitions. She actively teaches on how to create skill-based and meaningful art in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley and has her work in collections in Canada and Internationally.
www.amyjdyck.com
Duane Forrest is a singer-songwriter and multimedia artist from Toronto. His unique sound blends jazz, reggae, bossa nova, and soul. He has toured in Canada, Europe, and Central America. In 2017, Duane debuted his first theatre production, Climb, which played again at the 2018 Toronto Fringe Festival where Toronto Fringe Festival founder Gregory Nixon described Duane’s show as “an engaging, multilayered work of song, storytelling and movement” and “one of the highlights of this year’s Fringe.”.
Duane’s forthcoming double jazz and fusion album Sol e Sol builds on themes of love, heartbreak, and self-discovery reflecting musically Duane’s growth as an artist and a human being.
As well as his innate drive to create beautiful things, Duane also has a passion for arts education. In 2011 he founded Genesis Community of the Arts, a registered Canadian charity offering music and arts education to marginalized children and youth in Toronto and Central America.
www.duanesguitar.com | www.genesisartschool.com
John Franklin, is the Executive Director of IMAGO Arts and also an adjunct professor in theology at Tyndale Seminary and Trinity College at the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto. His training and teaching were done in the field of philosophy and recently his special interest has been research and teaching in theology and the arts. He served as the arts coordinator for the Lausanne International meetings in Cape Town South Africa in 2010 and was a consultant and catalogue contributor for the very successful 2016-2017 Mystical Land- scapes Exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario.
John is the Executive Director of Imago, a national initiative in support of Christians in the arts in Canada. He is based in Toronto and, before joining Imago in 1998, he taught philosophy at Tyndale College. Currently, he is an adjunct professor in theology at Tyndale Seminary and Trinity College at the Toronto School of Theology, University of Toronto. His special interest is in theology and the arts. He has served on the Board of Lausanne Movement Canada for 13 years, and is Coordinator of the World Evangelical Alliance - Mission Commission’s Task Force on Art in Mission. John is a writer and contributor of papers to conversations in the space of the Arts and Spirituality.
www.imago-arts.org
Fern Gabriel, ancestral name, Sesmelot, was born and raised in Kwantlen First Nation situated in Fort Langley B.C. Sesmelot is a graduate of the University of British Colum- bia where she received her Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Education. Sesmelot lived in Musqueam First Nation in Vancouver for a decade and learned hənq̓əm̓in̓əm̓ dialect. She was hired by Langley School District Aboriginal Program in November 2016 to teach the hənq̓əm̓in̓əm̓ dialect to the indigenous and non-indigenous students. Fern is a gifted storyteller and has been host for the annually recurring Kwantlen Walking Tour Series and has been nominated for a British Columbia Multicultural Award for her efforts in championing multiculturalism in the community and beyond.
Fern Gabriel, ancestral name Sesmelot, is from Kwantlen First Nation. She is a Language & Cultural Teacher and a gifted storyteller.
Fern has hosted the Kwantlen Walking Tour Series as well as on-site storytelling, and was nominated for a British Columbia Multicultural Award for her efforts in championing multiculturalism in the community and beyond.
Watch Fern Gabriel online as she leads us on a journey of appreciation and understanding of the people who have called Fort Langley home for thousands of years.
Kwantlen Stories with Fern - Time of the Eulachon:
Click HERE to watch the video on YouTube
David Goa, was the Founding Director of the Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life and former Curator of Folklife & Collections, Royal Alberta Museum, Edmonton, Alberta where he aimed to deepen thinking on contentious issues and find ways for those with strongly held and competing perspectives to engage each other and find hospitable ground to nurture the common good. From 1973 – 2004, he developed the program for the study of culture at the Royal Alberta Museum through his extensive field research in many religious communities that make Alberta their home (Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish, Muslim and Christian). He is the author of over twenty books and hundreds of essays and articles on religion and modern culture. David lectures widely throughout Canada and most recently in Romania, Spain, Syria and Turkey.
David is curator of the internet exhibition The UEncounter (uencounter.org), exploring fundamental human questions, and was the chief curator for the internationally acclaimed exhibition Anno Domini: Jesus Through the Centuries, 2000.
His recent book The Christian Responsibility to Muslims is the fruit of his work in Muslim communities. He is Teaching Faculty, The King’s University, Edmonton and Saint Stephen’s College, University of Alberta, Edmonton. www.davidgoa.ca
Note: David has contributed an article in the Creature Chronicle catalogue.
David Goa focuses on deepening the capacity of the faithful to think through the gifts of the Christian tradition: the spiritual life, the theological traditions, and our responsibility to the public world. Four themes are at the centre of his concern: the Incarnation, the Trinity, the spiritual life as a journey toward wholeness, and the meaning of Ecclesia in service to the life of the world. A deeper understanding of these revelatory gifts, and the depth of the tradition of understanding through which they emerge, will enlarge and strengthen the capacity of the faithful in their personal lives, engage with the life of the church in the world, and discern how the faithful may engage the public square about the most important issues of our time.
Henry Heillig is a Toronto bassist, composer and producer. Henry is perhaps best known in Canada for his 30+ years as musical director of Manteca, the Juno-award-winning (Canadian Grammy) nine-piece “afrolatinsalsaworldbeatbig- band” that toured North America and Europe in the 1990s. Since 1997, he has worked extensively with renowned harmonica giant Carlos del Junco. Henry also leads his own contemporary jazz quartet, Heillig Manoeuvre. For ten years, he was the Musical Director for The Journey, a musical about and including members of the revitalized Regent Park community in Toronto.
Shayna Jones is a mother, award-winning actor, performance storyteller, spoken word artist, and folklorist specializing in the Traditional Oral Storytelling of African and Afro-Diasporic Folklore. She is the founder and leader of The Black and Rural Project, a multi-year artistic investigation into the hearts and minds of black folks tucked away on the Canadian countryside. Partnering with both arts and heritage organizations, her vision is to gather, honor and showcase black and rural Canadian life through her touring performances and gallery exhibition. Shayna has performed for audiences across Canada. As a Folklorist, Shayna combines her passion for live performance with the in-depth study of Afro-centric Folk History, Folklore and Contemporary Experience
www.wearestoryfolk.com
Angela Konrad is a director, teacher, and dramaturg who has been working in theatre for more than 20 years. She has been nominated for several Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, winning once for Outstanding Direction and three times for Out- standing Production. She is Artistic Director of Dark Glass Theatre, for whom she curates and hosts the ongoing storytelling series Trespass. Her long-time day job as Professor of Theatre at TWU will soon be ending, as the University is closing the Theatre Department, leaving Angela to ponder what she wants to be when she grows up.
“As a theatre director and educator, I have a passion to make art that changes the world. Theatre has the capacity to foster empathy with revolutionary potential. We have the privilege of being in the same room, breathing the same air, as others we might normally cross the road to avoid or those who teach us love is possible. Bringing these stories to life is my joy.”
www.darkglasstheatre.com
Edith Krause is a Langley-based printmaker and former biologist. Her work, mostly employing woodcut, screenprint and digital media, often layering and juxtaposing imagery from the natural and constructed worlds, focuses predominantly on her love of nature and her anxi- ety over our present ecological crisis.
Edith will open her studio (5 minutes from Swallowfield) to share works that encompass several bodies of work, and 20 years of art practice obsessed with our ecological predicament – the trajectory of losses that human ambition has set in motion.
“At Risk: Meditations on what we stand to lose”, May 7-15, 1 - 4 pm,
Sperling Farm Printshop, 24419 68 Ave Langley, B.C.
Pieter Kwant has been a bookseller, publisher, and literary agent for almost fifty years, a lifelong enthusiast for the arts. He is the International Director for the Langham Literature programme of Langham Partnership, and Publisher of Langham Creative Projects. He has a great love of books and has worked for IVP, UK and Paternoster, as well as founding his own publishing company, Piquant Editions, started in 1999. He loves theology, art and mission and has been working in these areas for a lifetime. Pieter and his wife, Elria, live in the UK and have four married sons and ten grandchildren.
Pieter, through Piquant Editions, UK, is the publisher of the Creature Chronicle catalogue. www.piquanteditions.com
Susan McCaslin is a Canadian poet residing outside Fort Langley, British Columbia, who has published sixteen volumes of poetry, including her most recent, Heart Work (Ekstasis Editions, 2020). Her Into the Open: Poems New and Selected was published by Inanna Publications in 2017. Demeter Goes Skydiving (University of Alberta Press, 2012) was shortlisted for the BC Book Prize for Poetry (Dorothy Livesay Award) and the first-place winner of the Alberta Book Publishing Award (Robert Kroetsch Poetry Book Award) in 2012. She has recently had a chapbook titled Cosmic Egg published by the Alfred Gustav Poetry Series. Susan can often be found walking with her dog Rosie along the Fraser River, better known to the Kwantlen First Nations as the Stó:lō, the Halqemeylem word for “river.”
www.susanmccaslin.weebly.com
Phil Miguel is Pacific Theatre’s Production Manager and takes every other spare opportunity to design, direct, produce, act, or write for theatre. His design work has been featured in Jessie recognized shows for outstanding production for Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train, The Seafarer, Outside Mullingar. Phil recently had the opportunity to feature his directing on the Pacific Theatre stage with a staged reading of Nowheresville. In his spare time, he likes to drink tea and start theatre companies including Cave Canem which produced the Jessie nominated show, The Lonesome West, for outstanding production.
Phil Miguel is Pacific Theatre’s longest-standing staff member, having started there as an apprentice in the 2010-11 season. He knows the theatre inside out and long-time audiences may have seen him in The Verona Project, The Great Divorce, or climbing to the very top rung of ladders to reach that tricky grid bar.
Suzanne Northcott is an interdisciplinary visual artist. Always a painter, she has moved through video, installation and photography. She has collaborated with poets, biologists and artists in other disciplines. Recently, environmental and feminist concerns drew her to textile and hand stitching. Themes of swarm behaviour, migration and the relationship of the one to the many compel her. Influences include Ger- hard Richter and Barnett Newman. Her work is held in private and public collections in Canada and worldwide.
www.SuzanneNorthcott.ca | www.morphology.studio
Jeanine Noyes is a Toronto based singer/songwriter who has toured Canada and Europe, playing music festivals and churches, living rooms and beer gardens, bars, coffeehouses, castles and caves, theatres, wine cellars, conferences and kitchens. Her favourite gigs? The ones where she is connecting with an audience, where they are close...no matter the size of gathering. Jeanine’s two critically acclaimed recordings have received radio play in Canada and Europe and her songs have been covered by artists in Canada and the UK. Jeanine also works in theatre and is especially proud of a Christmas collective called “2000 Candles” for which she arranged and wrote the music. Her work on Brookstone Theatre’s “Dixie Gospel” earned her 2 Dora Nominations.
Jeanine has also taught at the North York Suzuki School of Music for 30 years. She is currently working on a recording with Kingston producer Matt Baetz called “The Last Song You Forgot” which is a collection of old songs and hymns in honour of her mother who died of Alzheimer’s disease.
www.JeanineNoyes.com
Sarah Ronald is a multimedia visual artist who grew up and studied in the Okanagan. In 2020 she started creating hand-drawn animations of wildlife, and in 2021 she began projecting her animations in outdoor spaces as a means to experience her animated animals ‘in the wild’ and outside of traditional art spaces. Sarah has recently started to include site-specific installations into her art practice and sees this work as a way to present wildlife in new ways. www.sarahronald.com
Note: Sarah’s hand drawn animation, “Encounter-Encounter” will be projected outside (weather permitting) for 3 evenings:
May 11, May 20, May 21.
Sarah: “The ephemeral nature of the work is in reference to how we often encounter real wild animals [which] appear and dis- appear quickly. It is an elusive story of a strange coexistence.”
Dr. Derek Schuurman is professor of computer science at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan and author of Shaping a Digital World: Faith, Culture and Computer Technology published by InterVarsity Academic Press. He has contributed his audio talk titled “The Challenge of Transhumanism: Discerning a Christian Response” presented at the 2019 American Scientific Affiliation Conference at Wheaton College.
Derek Schuurman's personal story includes working in industry for several years before returning to academia. His interest in computers began in his early teens with his first computer, a Timex-Sinclair ZX-81. He is also interested in the bigger picture (metaphorically, not in the number-of-pixels sense) and the various issues related to faith and technology. He has taught previously at Redeemer University and as a visiting professor at Dordt Unviversity and is currently a professor of computer science at Calvin. He has participated in various service projects with computing in developing countries with his students. He is author of the book Shaping a Digital World and is available to speak to groups as time allows.
Prof. Schuurman is a fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation, part of the leadership team for the West Michigan ASA chapter, an associate fellow of the The Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology in Cambridge, senior member of the IEEE, member of the ACM, CES, ACMS, a book review editor for Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, a regular contributor to the Christian Scholars Review blog, and a regular columnist for Christian Courier.
Note: Although Derek is unable to be here in person, he is contributing an audio talk:
”The Challenge of Transhumanism: Discerning a Christian Response” first presented at the 2019 American Scientific Affiliation Conference, Wheaton College. www.asa3.org/ASAradio/ASA2019Schuurman.mp3
https://sites.calvin.edu/derek
Patrick Scott, Ph.D. is a talented author and activist who has done a variety of fascinating jobs in and for community in the North West Territories, where he first connected work- ing for CBC on reports about the Berger PIpeline several de- cades ago. He has lived and worked in Canada’s North for 4 decades, currently in Yellowknife. His career has included journalism, film production, community development and indigenous claims negotiations and implementation. He, with his wife Gabrielle, have 8 children and 12 grandchildren. All are Tlicho citizens. He has authored two books in response to, and support of, his community; ‘Stories Told’ and ‘Talking Tools’. Patrick attained a Fine Arts Phd from the Unversity of Dundee Scotland in 2010.
Scott has worked as a ‘workers adviser’ for the WSCC, in media with the CBC, in community development with World Vision Canada and in negotiations with the GNWT (Tlicho Claim) and the Dehcho First Nations. He is Co-owner, at Birchwood Coffee Kǫ̀ and Consulting Associates, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada
Tetsuro Shigematsu is a former writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes and the first person-of-colour to host a daily national radio program in Canada, as host of The Roundup on CBC Radio. Dubbed “the voice of our Azn generation” by Ricepaper magazine, Tetsuro’s theatrical solo-work Empire of the Son was named the best show of 2015 by the Vancouver Sun. His other solo-work, 1 Hour Photo garnered five Jessie nominations, winning for Significant Artistic Achievement, and was named as a finalist for the 2019 Governor General’s Award for Drama. The Georgia Straight recently declared him to be, “one of the city’s best artists. www.shiggy.com
Governor General’s Award finalist, Tetsuro Shigematsu, became the first person-of-colour to host a daily national radio program in Canada, where he coproduced nearly a thousand hours of network programming, as well as writing and producing over 50 pieces of radio drama. A former writer for This Hour Has 22 Minutes, Tetsuro’s solo-work Empire of the Son was described by theatre critic Colin Thomas as, “one of the best shows ever to come out of Vancouver. Ever.” In 2018, he earned his PhD in Education at UBC as a Vanier scholar, and now serves as Creative Director of UBC’s Research-based Theatre Lab.
Arnold E. Sikkema, Ph.D
During his undergraduate studies in physics and mathematics at the University of Waterloo, Arnold worked and published in general relativity and cosmology. He switched to theoretical condensed matter physics for his graduate studies at the University of British Columbia, working in the quantum theory of magnetism and superconductivity. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Florida, he taught physics at Dordt College for eight years where he was involved in faculty reading groups on the Reformational philosophy of the Dutch school associated with Herman Dooyeweerd. Since 2005, he has been at Trinity Western University (TWU), where his research interests developed into theoretical biophysics and the Christian philosophy of science, particularly in the relationship between physics and biology. He is also the chair of the Mathematical Sciences Department and of the University Senate. He has served on the executive council of the Canadian Scientific & Chrtistian Affiliation (CSCA) since 2011, first as Vice President, President, and Past President, and since 2018 as Executive Director. He was the program chair for the CSCA/TWU 2018 conference “From Sea to Sea … to Sky! Science and Christianity in Canada” and convened an invited panel on "Natural Sciences and Philosophy in the Reformed Tradition" at the 2021 conference of Association for Reformational Philosophy. He and his wife Valerie (a professional horticulturist) have three children, two grandchildren, and one poodle.
Lincoln Tatem is a Vancouver-based musical poly- math. After years of singing, playing, writing, and producing as an integral part of the sound of a number of the Vancouver area’s finest music makers, and finally went into the studio under his own name. The resulting recording, “A Voice, and Hope, and a Drum” garnered multiple Gospel Music Award nominations and one Covenant Award win. He is also a sought-after clinician and adjudicator and serves as Program Director of the Institute of Music Ministry in Surrey, BC.
Lincoln is also deeply devoted to his three children and to his wife Joellel Tatem, who, if she is available, will be performing with him. lincolntatem3.wordpress.com
Ellen Van Eijnsbergen has recently retired as the Fine Arts Coordinator for the City of Burnaby. where she served as the Director/Curator of the Burnaby Art Gallery and managed the city’s Public Art Program. As manager of the City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection she focused on balancing the collection by increasing the holdings of works by women, people of colour and Indigenous artists. She has extensive experience working with the private and municipal public art sector and has organized and curated numerous local, regional and international contemporary art exhibitions.
After graduating with a BFA from Simon Fraser University in 2001, van Eijnsbergen became the visual arts education coordinator at Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre. From there, in 2005, she became Evergreen Cultural Centre’s visual arts manager. In 2011, Ellen joined the City of Burnaby as the fine arts coordinator at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.
Desiree Wallace is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, photojournalist and digital communicator. With an Associate of Arts Degree in Global Stewardship and a Documentary Film Certificate from Capilano University, she is sharing narratives that inspire social change around the world. Desiree is also an active com- munity organizer in climate justice movements, which she has captured through the lens for several years. Storytelling is the perfect medium to unite her passion for art and activism, which is exactly what her production company, Pro Libertate Productions reflects.
www.prolibertateproductions.com
Rosemary Wallace is a Langley City Councillor and has served as a Langley School Trustee. She is a mother of seven, a visual artist, photographer, and singer/songwriter/musician. Passionate about the arts she has volunteered in schools and the community supporting musical theatre and visual arts. She once owned a gallery in Langley City “Freedom Arts Collective” believing it is vital for communities to provide spaces for the arts to thrive. The many ways in which the arts have enriched the lives of Rosemary and her family are a continual remind- er of how creativity is essential for wellness and connection.
‘Wild Blue Herons’: Darlene Cooper & Bill Sample
Play mostly groove-oriented jazz. It’s a little bit hip, a bit cool, a bit smoky, a bit bluesy. They perform original songs and select standards, ranging from funk to blues to R &B but with a jazz twist and a definite gospel influence. Many of their original songs come from their own life experiences as well as a mutual concern for equality, love, and compassion around the globe. They are all about ‘heart and soul’ in music - taking their listener on an emotional journey. This husband and wife team work together as directors, composer/arrangers for the Vancouver- based Marcus Mosely Chorale (MMC) alongside Marcus Mosely.
They released their first album as Wild Blue Herons (“On the Outside”) in 2017 and have just released a Jazz Standards (“You & I”) limited edition vinyl album featuring the artwork of Vancouver artist Joe Average. Bill has been an in-demand sideman for almost 50 years, working as musical director & pianist for the legendary David Foster, whilst Darlene has built a reputation not just as a go-to jazz singer, but an educator, choral conductor and session musician too. She designed and directed the Institute of Music Ministry from 2003 - 2014 and a number of her songs have been nominated for Covenant Awards.
www.wildblueherons.com | www.darlenecoopermusic.com | www.billsamplemusic.com
Kaitlin Williams is an interdisciplinary theatre artist named Artistic Director of Pacific Theatre in 2020. She has also worked with Bard on the Beach, the Arts Club, the Belfry Theatre, ITSAZOO, Delinquent Theatre, the Electric Company, Chemainus Theatre, Western Canada Theatre, Touchstone Theatre, Rumble Theatre and many others. Kaitlin has been nominated for multiple Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards and her Pacific shows have received 8 nominations, including “Outstanding Ensemble” (Almost, Maine) and “Outstanding Production and Direction” (Kim’s Convenience).
www.kaitlinwilliams.com
Marnie Wooding is a screenwriter and story editor for both film and television, and is currently a founding partner in a motion picture development company. She has authored over a dozen books with such publishing houses as HarperCollins, Moody Press, Tyndale, Thomas Nelson, and Broadman & Holman. As a screenwriter and story editor, Marnie has worked with publishers, authors, academics, journalists, and filmmakers. Whether walking the halls of King’s College or Washington D.C., she loves the diversity of storytelling. Currently, Marnie is a Producer partnered with Generation Studio in Delta, B.C., working on the pre-production of a new original children’s television show, Pika Creek; planned as a 2022 in-studio production. She says, “We have gathered an award-winning team of artists, educators, entertainers, film and television professionals, to design and create an enchanting new world in children’s entertainment. I wish I could share more about that, but then we would have to MIB ‘Flashy Thing’ neutralize your memory.”
Shelby Wyminga (she/they) was born purple from asphyxia and couldn't cry for the first several moments of her life. Thankfully, she soon managed to catch her breath and hasn't shut up since. Raised by two Presbyterian ministers in the wilds of BC's central interior, Shel spend their childhood riding rodeo, running barefoot in the snow and telling strange stories in silly costumes with her little sister long before either knew what theatre was. She eventually embraced the inevitable and completed her BFA in Acting through the School of the Arts, Media, and Culture at TWU where she studied Visual Art alongside her theatrical pursuits. Primarily an actor, Shelby has enjoyed the freedom to dabble in many areas of theatre creation, developing skills as a scenic painter, costume designer, playwright and producer.
After completing the Pacific Theatre apprenticeship in 2019, Shel announced the formation of their own theatre company, Far From The Tree Productions, founded in collaboration with their long time creative partner and sharer of genetics, Joelle Wyminga. A true Shakespeare fanatic, Shel and is particularly interested in playing with classical text through ensemble exploration with the goal of breaking past some of the "shoulds" to find more "coulds." They love nothing more than diving into traditionally male roles, approaching from a different vantage to provide new understanding of familiar characters.
Recent acting credits include Edgar in King Lear (Promethean), Peter Pan in The Neverland Night Circus (Geekenders), Jane in the apocalyptic audio drama, (/hello, world); (Mindstorm Radio), Jo in Little Women: an Audio Play (Far From The Tree), Marta Reddy in Caribou Magi (Far From The Tree) and King Henry in Shakespeare's Henry V (Stone's Throw).
Maki Yi was an apprentice at Pacific Theatre in 2011/12. In 2013/14 season, she presented at Pacific Theatre Lobby Project: Suitcase Stories. In 2015, her collaboration with culturally diverse artists for the interpretive movement piece of a Korean short story, Weaver Woman, premiered at the Dancing on the Edge Festival. After being invited to Uno Festival in 2015, Suitcase Stories, premiered at Pacific Theatre, and then at Evergreen Cultural Centre in 2017/18. Maki appeared in Kim’s Convenience at Pacific Theatre in 2018 and in Chicken Girl by Derek Chan, from Rice & Beans Theatre in May/June 2019. In January 2020, she returned to the PT stage to perform Gramma, another autobiographic play, and moved onto Arts Club tour of Kim’s Convenience.