This conversation brings together theatre-makers whose work examines systems of justice. Audrey Dwyer, Cole Alvis, and Kim Senklip Harvey reflect on the ways in which art can shape, uphold, and subvert narratives about the justice system, and the ways in which performance can help imagine alternative understandings of harm, accountability, and repair. Moderated by Nikki Shaffeeullah.
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Theatre credits at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre include, as Director: The Mountaintop, Women of the Fur Trade; as Intimacy Director: Orlando, Fun Home; as Consulting Director: Bang Bang (with Belfry Theatre); as Actor: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (with Mirvish Productions), Good People, Medea (with Mirvish Productions). Theatre credits elsewhere include, as Actor: thirsty (NAC); The Crucible, Theory (Tarragon Theatre), Clybourne Park and The Overwhelming (Studio 180 with Mirvish Productions), The Tempest (Canadian Stage, Dream in High Park), Black Medea (Obsidian Theatre); as Director: Blink (University of Winnipeg); Prairie Nurse (Lighthouse Theatre); Calpurnia (Nightwood Theatre/Sulong Theatre); The Apology (Rabiayshna Productions).
Audrey is Royal MTC’s Associate Artistic Director. She has won three Dora Mavor Moore Awards and the Cayle Chernin Award for Theatre. She was nominated for the Pauline McGibbon Award for Direction twice. Audrey co-wrote The D-Cut, a six-episode series produced by Shaftesbury Films. The multiple award-winning series is on Crave (Canada) and Shaftesbury’s KindaTV channel. She wrote the libretto for Backstage at Carnegie Hall (Bradyworks), which will open in Montreal in 2022. She was commissioned to write The Legend of Daddy Hall for the Tarragon Theatre, which was part of their Acoustic Season (2020/2021). She has been commissioned by Nightswimming Theatre to write The Generations, an epic five-hour drama about the legacy of a Black family over eons of time. She was a recipient of CBC’s Creative Relief Fund for her television pilot called The Gordons. She has been a writer-in-residence at Obsidian Theatre and the Tarragon Theatre, where she was also the Urjo Kareda Artist-in-Residence and the Assistant Artistic Director. Audrey graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada in 2001.
Au théâtre, ses collaborations avec le Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, comme metteuse en scène, comprennent : The Mountaintop, Women of the Fur Trade; comme coordonnatrice d’intimité : Orlando, Fun Home; comme metteuse en scène consultante : Bang Bang (avec Belfry Theatre); comme actrice : Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (avec Mirvish Productions), Good People, Medea (avec Mirvish Productions). Autres collaborations au théâtre, comme actrice : thirsty (CNA); The Crucible, Theory (Tarragon Theatre), Clybourne Park et The Overwhelming (Studio 180 with Mirvish Productions), The Tempest (Canadian Stage, Dream in High Park), Black Medea (Obsidian Theatre); comme metteuse en scène : Blink (Université de Winnipeg); Prairie Nurse (Lighthouse Theatre); Calpurnia (Nightwood Theatre et Sulong Theatre); The Apology (Rabiayshna Productions). Audrey est directrice artistique associée au Royal MTC. Elle est lauréate de trois prix Dora Mavor Moore et du prix Cayle Chernin en théâtre. Elle a été deux fois finaliste au prix Pauline McGibbon (mise en scène). Elle est l’autrice du livret Backstage at Carnegie Hall (Bradyworks), qui sera présenté à Montréal en 2022. Le Tarragon Theatre l’a chargée d’écrire The Legend of Daddy Hall, dans le cadre de sa saison « acoustique » (2020-2021). Elle a écrit The Generations à la demande du Nightswimming Theatre, et a reçu une bourse du fonds d’aide à la création de la CBC pour The Gordons. Diplômée de l’École de théâtre du Canada.
Kim Senklip Harvey is a proud Syilx and Tsilhqot’in award-winning director, writer and actor who is known for her ability to craft stories that inspire, nourish and delight.
Kim was the first Indigenous woman to win the Governor General’s Award for Drama in 2020 with her play Kamloopa. She is the host and lead creative producer of the podcast The Indigenous Cultural Evolutionist which is streamed in over 20 countries.
Kim is currently developing three TV series, writing her first book of prose and is in pre-production for her next play Break Horizons: A Rocking Indigenous Justice Story. Kim has her Masters in Creative Writing and is currently getting her PhD in Law. Harvey believes that storytelling is the most compelling medium to move us to a place where everyone is provided the opportunity to live peacefully.
Kim Senklip Harvey est une metteure en scène primée, autrice et interprète membre des Nations Syilx et Tsilhqot’in qui est reconnue pour sa capacité à construire des récits inspirants, instructifs et captivants.
En 2020, elle devient la première femme autochtone à remporter le Prix littéraire du Gouverneur général en théâtre pour sa pièce Kamloopa. Elle anime et assure la production artistique du balado The Indigenous Cultural Evolutionist, qui est diffusé dans plus de 20 pays.
Elle travaille présentement à l’écriture de trois séries télévisées et de son premier ouvrage en prose, en plus de s’atteler à la production de sa prochaine pièce, Break Horizons: A Rocking Indigenous Justice Story. Titulaire d’une maîtrise en création littéraire, Kim Senklip Harvey termine actuellement son doctorat en droit. Pour elle, le récit est le meilleur moyen de transporter le public dans un univers où règne la sérénité.
Nikki Shaffeeullah (she/her) is a director, writer, actor, and facilitator who creates theatre, film, and poetry. Past roles include artistic director of The AMY Project, and editor-in-chief of alt.theatre magazine.
As a facilitator, Nikki supports grassroots groups to navigate collective processes and to uphold equity and accountability in all aspects of their work. An award-winning theatre and film artist, Nikki collaborates with companies and artists from across Canada. She has held residencies with organizations including Canadian Stage, Why Not Theatre, The Theatre Centre, SummerWorks, and others. She has an MFA from the University of Alberta and is a fellow in the Salzburg Global Forum for Cultural Innovators.
Nikki believes art should disrupt the status quo, centre the margins, engage with the ancient, dream of the future, and be for everyone.
Nikki Shaffeeullah est une metteure en scène, autrice, comédienne et animatrice dans les domaines du théâtre, du cinéma et de la poésie. Précédemment, elle a été directrice artistique du AMY Project, et rédactrice en chef de la revue alt.theatre.
À titre d’animatrice, Nikki Shaffeeullah aide les associations à gérer les différents processus collectifs en vigueur et à s’assurer qu’elles respectent les principes d’équité et de responsabilité dans tous les aspects de leurs activités. Artiste de théâtre et de cinéma primée, elle collabore avec des compagnies et des artistes de tout le Canada, en plus d’effectuer des résidences auprès de plusieurs organisations, telles que la Canadian Stage Company, le Why Not Theatre, le Theatre Centre ou SummerWorks. Titulaire d’une maîtrise en beaux-arts de l’Université de l’Alberta, elle participe au Forum mondial de Salzbourg pour les innovateurs dans le domaine culturel.
Nikki Shaffeeullah croit que l’art se doit de secouer le statu quo, de faire la part belle au non-conformisme, de s’intéresser au passé, d’imaginer le futur et d’être universel.