Silversides Theatre Artist Series

 

The Silversides Theatre Artist Series is named after Brian Silverside, a Canadian Actor and stage technician who died in 2000. His family set up an endowment to offer an annual artist talk with leading Canadian Theatre artists. Theatre and Performance professor, Naila Keleta-Mae will moderate a panel of three impassioned speakers on the topic of Women in Theatre. Through their different perspectives – researcher, dramaturg and artistic director/performer, they will discuss the trends they have witnessed over the last twenty-five years and how theatre educators can facilitate
the representation of under-represented people and ideas.

---

Speakers: 

Rebecca Burton: Rebecca Burton has a BA in theatre and history from the University of Guelph, an MA in theatre history from the University of Victoria, and PhD ABD status from the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies in collaboration with the Women and Gender Studies Institute at the University of Toronto. Her area of specialization is Canadian theatre and feminist theatre. Currently, Rebecca is the Membership and Professional Contracts Manager at the Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC). She additionally serves as the staff liaison for PGC’s Women’s Caucus projects. Rebecca also co-founded Equity in Theatre (EIT). Rebecca also works as an editor, educator, and researcher. Rebecca has taught at Brock University, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University, and York University. Rebecca occasionally works as a practitioner in different capacities, as an actor, collective creationist, director, dramaturge, playwright, and technician.

Lisa O'Connell: A fierce ad

vocate for regional theatre artists, Lisa O’Connell is the founding Artistic Director of Pat the Dog Theatre Creation, a catalyst for new works of theatre and PlaySmelter, Northern ON’s New Work Theatre Festival. O’Connell is a two-time recipient of a Special Jury Award from Arts Awards Waterloo and has delivered the closing Keynote address at the Canadian Association of Theatre Researchers Conference. She was past Caucus Chair at the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres, Advocacy Committee of the Playwrights Guild of Canada, Steering Committee Equity in Theatre and is the creator of Regional Women Lead, a national initiative to address gender parity for women in theatre. O’Connell has
been published in Canadian Theatre Review, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Chatelaine, amo ng others.

Evalyn Parry: Evalyn Parry is the artistic director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto. An award-winning performance creator, she is a writer/performer, director, songwriter and collaborator whose trans-disciplinary work is inspired by intersections of social justice, history, and auto/biography. Recent creator / performer credits include Kiinalik: These Sharp Tools (Edinburgh International Festival, Dora Award for Best New Play); Gertrude and Alice (nominated for a 2018 Governor General’s Literary Award); SPIN (a musical exploration of the feminist history of the bicycle); recent directing credits include Buddies’ queer intergenerational production The Youth/Elders Project and Obaaberima by Tawiah M’Carthy (Dora Award for Outstanding Production). She is also the recipient of the KM Hunter Award for Theatre, the Ken McDougall Award for Directing, and The Colleen Peterson Songwriting Award.