About This Episode:

What happens when three goblins discover the complete works of Shakespeare and decide to stage Macbeth? Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak, the creative minds behind Spontaneous Theatre and the Goblin Empire, join Phil to share the wild origin story of Goblin:Macbeth; from a rushed eight-day creation to becoming a phenomenon at major Canadian theatre festivals. They discuss the challenges of performing in Hollywood-grade silicone masks, the art of caring for audiences while embodying creatures, and how they've managed to sneak improvisation into prestigious Canadian theatre companies like the Stratford and Shaw Festivals.

This episode explores:

 * The serendipitous eight-day creation of Goblin Macbeth and performing in expensive silicone masks
 * How mask work, clown technique, and bouffon influence the goblins' relationship with audiences
 * Sneaking improvisation into mainstream Canadian theatre at Stratford and Shaw Festivals
 * The legacy of Keith Johnstone and Loose Moose Theatre Company in shaping Canadian improv
 * Why live theatre is the antidote to artificial intelligence and isolation
 * And much more!

Guests: 🎭 Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak

Rebecca Northan is a "Jill-of-all-trades": actor, director, playwright, improviser,producer, and sometimes-prop-maker. She is the Artistic Producer of Spontaneous Theatre, known for its audience-centered creations that almost always break the fourth wall. Rebecca has worked across Canada as an actor and director. Most recently she co-created Murder-on-the-Lake for the Shaw Festival, which played to 87% houses in the 2025 season. In 2026, Rebecca will travel to Bard on the Beach, in Vancouver, to direct the Merry Wives of Windsor, and will then remain perform in Goblin:Oedipus. Rebecca, and co-creators Bruce Horak & Ellis Lalonde continue to expand the "Goblin Empire", with several future Goblin projects in the hopper. Rebecca is a Canadian Comedy Award Winner, and has also starred in two Canadian TV series ("Alice, I Think", and "The Foundation"). She also teaches improvisation occasionally, and hopes to someday launch a training facility. Rebecca's hit show, Blind Date, has toured across Canada, parts the US, off-Broadway, and in London & Oslo.

Bruce Horak is originally from Calgary, Alberta where he trained in Theatre and Improvisation at the prestigious Loose Moose Theatre. He has worked professionally in Canada and abroad for over 25 years. He can be seen onscreen in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for Paramount Plus as the Chief Engineer, Hemmer. When not creating new works and performing onstage, Bruce devotes his time to painting, composing, and writing.

Connect with Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak:

🌐 Spontaneous Theatre: spontaneoustheatre.com [https://spontaneoustheatre.com]

📸 Instagram: @spontaneoustheatre [https://www.instagram.com/spontaneoustheatre]

📸 Instagram: @rebeccanorthan [https://www.instagram.com/rebeccanorthan]

📸 Instagram: @brucehorak [https://www.instagram.com/brucehorak]

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy [https://patreon.com/stageworthy] Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stageworthy/id1071732834] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0b9Vl5lsMKqDc1UIYl5thh] |

Rebecca Northan and Bruce Horak Are Sneaking Improv into Mainstream Canadian Theatre

About This Episode:

This week on Stageworthy, Phil Rickaby is joined by the vibrant and multifaceted Tika McLean. In a conversation that is as funny as it is profound, Tika reflects on her journey from a self-described "shy kid" who once froze during a church solo to becoming a bold, multidisciplinary artist who uses her voice to challenge the status quo.

In this episode:

 * The "General Creative" Philosophy: Why Tika refuses to choose just one lane between acting, dancing, and painting.
 * Art as Social Commentary: Using satire to address racism and the "distraction economy."
 * Navigating the Industry with Disability: The reality of chronic pain, healthcare "sensitivity," and accessibility on stage.
 * The K-Pop Connection: How global fandoms and the South Korean idol system inspired her new musical project.
 * And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Tika McLean

Tika McLean is a performer who uses acting, singing, dancing & painting as creative outlets to express her performance abilities to her audience. She created her one woman (for now) production company, Beyond A Productions, and shares her comedy skits, cover songs and dances on her YouTube channel TIKA! (@tikacreates), & LOVES to perform live! Tika strives to build mutual aid networks in her community through her work with various organizations as an outreach worker for people experiencing homelessness, hosting clothing drives and a portable soup kitchen, and handing out Covid fun packages for people in isolation. She continues to volunteer in her community by mentoring youth & young adults to create their own community initiatives & achieve their career goals. She also is the proud creator of GIVE ‘EM LOVE, an art fundraiser platforming communities experiencing oppression due to stigma, to finally have the opportunity to tell their stories to the world. Tika wants you to know that mutual aid networks are key to creating positive change in our communities.

Connect with Tika:

📸 Instagram: @angry_black_womban [https://www.instagram.com/angry_black_womban] 🎥 TikTok: @angry_black_woman [https://tiktok.com/@angry_black_woman] 📺 YouTube: @TikaCreates [https://youtube.com/@TikaCreates]

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy [https://patreon.com/stageworthy] Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stageworthy/id1071732834] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0b9Vl5lsMKqDc1UIYl5thh] | Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stageworthy-416634] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca3db4c6-c5b6-4791-b23f-2af83272ac85/stageworthy] | iHeart Radio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1310-stageworthy-271061892/] 📺 Watch on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Stageworthy] – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Tika McLean is Building Community in Art and Every Day

About This Episode:

This week on Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby sits down with Emily Jeffers for a thoughtful and wide-ranging conversation about artistic identity, collaboration, and carving out a sustainable life in theatre.

Emily shares insights into her creative journey, reflecting on the evolution of her practice and the realities of working as an artist today. From navigating uncertainty to embracing curiosity, she speaks candidly about the challenges and rewards of making work that feels both personal and communal. The conversation explores process, risk-taking, and the importance of staying open to change in an ever-shifting theatrical landscape.

This episode explores:

 * Emily’s path into theatre and the experiences that shaped her voice
 * The balance between artistic ambition and practical sustainability
 * Collaboration as a creative engine
 * The role of vulnerability in performance and creation
 * Redefining success on your own terms
 * And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Emily Jeffers

Emily Jeffers is an actor, producer, comedian and clown based in Toronto. She has developed her comedic sensibilities through instructors and training from l’École Philippe Gaulier (France), Spymonkey Theatre (UK), the Idiot Workshop (Los Angeles), Second City, Bad Dog Theatre, and Sweet Action Theatre. Emily is known for absurd, physical characters like Bitty-Bat, the Mathemagician, and her drag persona Sheonardo DiCaprio. She has performed at Second City, Toronto Sketchfest, Montreal Sketchfest, the Montreal Clown Festival, Toronto Fringe and Edinburgh Fringe. Ever a champion of the ridiculous, Emily also produces the variety shows Tight Five and Sketch Party as well as workshops to support the professional development of clowns and performers in the Toronto community.

Connect with Emily:

🌐 website: www.emilyjeffers.ca [https://www.emilyjeffers.ca/]

📸 Instagram: @blemilybleffers [https://www.instagram.com/blemilybleffers/]

📸 Instagram: @bittybatshow [https://www.instagram.com/bittybatshow/]

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy [https://patreon.com/stageworthy] Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stageworthy/id1071732834] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0b9Vl5lsMKqDc1UIYl5thh] | Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stageworthy-416634] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca3db4c6-c5b6-4791-b23f-2af83272ac85/stageworthy] | iHeart Radio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1310-stageworthy-271061892/] 📺 Watch on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Stageworthy] – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Emily Jeffers is Making Theatre on Her Terms

About This Episode

In this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby speaks with Virginia Woodall, producer at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival.

With the festival entering its 21st year, Virginia shares the story of how she moved from volunteer to producer, how 164 submissions become a 12-day lineup of 78 troupes, and why sketch comedy deserves recognition as its own artistic discipline.

In this episode:

 * The evolution of the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival
 * How the programming committee evaluates 160+ submissions
 * Why sketch comedy is a distinct art form — not just “theatre adjacent”
 * Community-building within the sketch scene
 * The role of monthly comedy cabarets
 * Why Virginia calls Sketchfest “Comedy Christmas”
 * And more!

Guest: 🎭  Virginia Woodall

Virginia Woodall is a producer at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival. She's an arts administrator and creative producer with a background that bridges the cultural and corporate sectors (she’s a textbook Libra: very balanced). Drawing on years of experience in comedy, live performance, and festival production, she combines strategic thinking with a deep love for the creative process. Her prior work in corporate sales and marketing helps her build buzz, grow partnerships, and develop organizational growth strategies. Virginia is passionate about creating inclusive, accessible, and joyful arts experiences that support artists and strengthen community.

Connect with Virginia & Toronto SketchFest

🌐 Website: torontosketchfest.com [https://torontosketchfest.com/]

📷 Instagram: @tosketchfest [https://www.instagram.com/tosketchfest/]https://www.instagram.com/tosketchfest/

📷 Instagram: @iamvirginiawoodall [https://www.instagram.com/iamvirginiawoodall/]

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy [https://patreon.com/stageworthy] Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stageworthy/id1071732834] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0b9Vl5lsMKqDc1UIYl5thh] | Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stageworthy-416634] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca3db4c6-c5b6-4791-b23f-2af83272ac85/stageworthy] | iHeart Radio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1310-stageworthy-271061892/] 📺 Watch on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Stageworthy] – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Virginia Woodall is Building Community at the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival

About This Episode

In this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby speaks with acclaimed playwright, actor, and screenwriter Anusree Roy about her newest play, Through the Eyes of God, now onstage at Theatre Passe-Muraille. The conversation explores Roy’s evolving artistic process, the deeply personal roots of her storytelling, and her journey between theatre and television writing.

In this episode:

 * Writing as an act of witnessing and responsibility
 * The emotional and ethical weight of socially engaged theatre
 * Navigating the Canadian theatre landscape as a playwright of colour
 * Collaboration, trust, and the rehearsal room as community
 * Sustaining an artistic life while carrying urgent stories
 * And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Anusree Roy

Anusree is a two time Governor General’s Award-nominated and four-time Dora Award-winning writer, actor, and director.

Anusree is currently the Co-Executive Producer and writer for the Allegiance S3 (CBC) television series. She has also worked on Interview With The Vampire S3 (AMC), Allegiance S2 (CBC), Transplant S2 (NBC/Netflix/CTV), I Woke Up a Vampire (Netflix), SkyMed (Paramount+/CBC), Remedy (Global TV), Killjoys (SyFy), and Nurses S1 & S2 (NBC/Global TV).

For theatre, Anusree’s plays include: Through the Eyes of God, Sisters, Trident Moon, Little Pretty and The Exceptional, Sultans of the Street, Brothel # 9, Roshni, Letters to my Grandma, and Pyaasa. She is the recipient of the K.M. Hunter Award, the RBC Emerging Artist Award, the Carol Bolt Award and the Siminovitch Protégé Prize. She was the 2018 finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women writing for English-speaking theatre). Currently, she is the commissioned playwright at Tarragon Theatre, writing her new play, 147, 8th Street. Anusree is presently developing a feature film inspired by her audio play, Sisters, as well as directing and premiering her short films, The Birthday Party and God’s Plan (winner of Best Performance & Best Editing at WIFF). She is also an adjunct professor of playwriting at the University of Toronto and a professor of creative writing, teaching advanced drama to MFA students, at the University of British Columbia.

Anusree's playwright residencies include: Nightwood Theatre, Young People's Theatre, Factory Theatre, The Blyth Festival, Theatre Passe Muraille, The Canadian Stage Company and Tarragon Theatre. Anusree spent two seasons as an actor at the Stratford Festival of Canada. She holds a B.A. from York University and an M.A. from the University of Toronto, and most of her plays have been published by Playwrights Canada Press. Anusree was a board member for Playwrights Canada Press for over five years and a juror for the Toronto Arts Council, Ontario Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts, Michael Than Foundation Award, Toronto Arts Foundation Awards and the George Luscombe Mentorship Award. Her works have appeared in multiple anthologies including: Refractions: Scenes, Refractions: Solo, Love, Loss and Longing: South Asian Canadian Plays, Truth in Play, Dramathemes, TOK: Writing the New Toronto, and Diaspora Dialogues Anthology. Anusree's plays have been taught at the University of Toronto, York University, Ryerson University, Wilfried Laurier University, the University of Calgary, the University of Guelph, the University of Regina, McGill University and the National Theatre School.

Connect with Anusree

🌐 Website: www.anusreeroy.com [http://www.anusreeroy.com/]

📸 Instagram: @writeranusreeroy [https://www.instagram.com/writeranusreeroy]

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon:

Anusree Roy Writes in Service of the Story

About This Episode:

In this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby sits down with Dienye Waboso Amajor — a Dora-nominated Nigerian actor, writer, and interdisciplinary artist living and working in Ontario. With an academic background in theatre and performance studies and ongoing doctoral research, Dienye’s practice bridges performance, scholarship, and cultural storytelling.

This Episode Explores:

 * Dienye’s journey as a Nigerian artist working in Canada
 * The relationship between scholarship and performance practice
 * Creating work grounded in lived experience and research
 * The role of voice — personal, cultural, and artistic
 * Balancing academic study with creative practice
 * And much more!

Guest:

🎭 Dienye Waboso Amajor

Dienye Waboso Amajor is a Dora Nominated Nigerian Actor, Writer, Performer and Mother who lives and works in Ontario. Dienye holds an MA in Theatre and Performance studies from York University with a keen interest in Pre-Colonial African Theory, Performance and Development. Dienye is a published writer whose work can be found on the online publication She Does the City. In 2022, she developed and debuted a new visual and photographic work titled “Rest” which seeks to prioritize and localize the exploration and imagery of Black bodies in a state of Rest. Dienye is currently continuing her studies as a PhD student in the Theatre Dance and Performance program at York University. She currently works with Suitcase in Point Multi Arts company as the Associate Artistic Director.

Connect with Dienye

📸 Instagram: @sodiandtheboys [https://www.instagram.com/sodiandtheboys]

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy [https://patreon.com/stageworthy] Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stageworthy/id1071732834] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0b9Vl5lsMKqDc1UIYl5thh] | Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stageworthy-416634] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca3db4c6-c5b6-4791-b23f-2af83272ac85/stageworthy] | iHeart Radio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1310-stageworthy-271061892/] 📺 Watch on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Stageworthy] – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Scholarship Meets Theatre and Art with Dienye Waboso Amajor 

About This Episode:

In this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby sits down with Tim Porter, founding Artistic Director of Tweed & Company Theatre, to talk about what it means to build a sustainable professional theatre company outside of major urban centres.

This Episode Explores:

 * Founding Tweed & Company and building a company from the ground up

 * Why regional and rural theatre matters in Canada

 * Audience relationships outside major urban centres

 * Sustainability, scale, and expectations in Canadian theatre

 * The difference between serving a community and chasing prestige

 * And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Tim Porter:

Tim is a performer, writer, and director from Tweed Ontario. As Tweed & Company’s founding Artistic Director, he’s written/directed several full Canadian musicals and directed/performed in countless others. Acting credits include: Nine seasons with Drayton Entertainment performing in countless shows including Buddy the Elf in ELF!, George in the Drowsy Chaperone, six pantos as the Buttons track, Les Mis, Man of La Mancha, Marathon of Hope, Kinky Boots, Singing in the Rain, and many more.; multiple North American tours as Rooney Doodle in CBC’s ‘The Doodlebops’; the original Canadian Productions of ‘Evil Dead: The Musical’ and ‘Cannibal: The Musical’. Tim is also a King Charles the 3rd Coronation Medal recipient, two time Premier’s Award of Ontario nominee and Terry Doyle Memorial Award recipient (Drayton Entertainment). He is honoured to produce quality theatre for Hastings County and Eastern Ontario.

Connect with Tim and Tweed & Company:

🌐 Website: www.tweedandcompany.com [https://www.tweedandcompany.com] 📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tweedandcompany/

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy [https://patreon.com/stageworthy] Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stageworthy/id1071732834] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0b9Vl5lsMKqDc1UIYl5thh] | Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stageworthy-416634] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca3db4c6-c5b6-4791-b23f-2af83272ac85/stageworthy] | iHeart Radio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1310-stageworthy-271061892/] 📺 Watch on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Stageworthy] – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Tim Porter Makes Theatre Work Outside the Big City

About This Episode:

In this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby speaks with Jack Burrill, actor, director, acting coach, and Artistic Director of Unchained Theatre. What begins as a shared nerd-out over Shakespeare quickly becomes a wide-ranging conversation about why these 400-year-old plays still matter - and how indie theatre is often where their most exciting reinventions happen.

This episode explores:

 * Founding Unchained Theatre during the pandemic

 * Modernizing classic texts without losing their soul

 * Performing Shakespeare in small, intimate spaces

 * Why indie theatre matters in Toronto’s ecosystem

 * Theatre as an irreplaceable live experience

 * And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Jack Burrill

Jack Burrill is an actor, a director, a writer, teacher and the proud Artistic Director and co-founder of Unchained Theatre. As Jack has taken part in productions that he has both acted in and directed (often at the same time.) Some of Jack’s credits include Denise Shepard (Laramie Project), Wargrave (And Then There Were None), Sir Toby Belch (Twelfth Night), Titania/Theseus (Midsummer Night's Dream), Falstaff (Henry IV Part 1). And recently Jack will be Claudius in Hamlet. Jack was recently nominated by Broadway World for his performance as Titania/Thesus in Thaumatrope Theatres production of Midsummer Nights Dream. Jack was trained at Centennial CollegeTheatre Arts and Performance program. As well as being trained in both the Grotowski method by Ara Glenn-Johanson and the Michael Chekhov Technique by Rena Polley and Lionel Walsh, with an aspiration to be trained in more of the legendary practitioner’s methods. He hopes to continue his work and research by producing Shakespeare and learning the different approaches to the craft of acting to pass it on to future generations of actors and artists.

Connect with Jack Burrill & Unchained Theatre:

📸 Instagram: @jackieb123_______ [https://www.instagram.com/jackieb123_______/]

📸 Instagram: @unchained_theatre_company___ [https://www.instagram.com/unchained_theatre_company___/]

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy [https://patreon.com/stageworthy] Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stageworthy/id1071732834] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0b9Vl5lsMKqDc1UIYl5thh] | Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stageworthy-416634] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca3db4c6-c5b6-4791-b23f-2af83272ac85/stageworthy] | iHeart Radio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1310-stageworthy-271061892/] 📺 Watch on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Stageworthy] – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Jack Burrill Makes Shakespeare Feel Dangerous Again

About This Episode:

In this solo Stageworthy episode, host Phil Rickaby takes a deep dive into the idea of “nation-building” — and why Canada keeps getting it wrong. Sparked by post-election rhetoric around pipelines, railways, housing, and AI infrastructure, Phil argues that these are construction projects, not nation-building ones. True nation-building, he suggests, happens through culture — and specifically through the arts.

Drawing on Canadian history, from the Massey Commission to the creation of the Canada Council for the Arts, Phil traces how arts funding was once understood as a form of national defence — a way of protecting Canadian identity from cultural erasure. He contrasts that history with today’s fixation on GDP, ROI, and “bankable” outcomes, and asks what happens to a country when its soul is treated as discretionary.

This episode is part rant, part cultural history lesson, and part call to action — urging Canada to remember that theatres, music, film, and storytelling don’t just entertain us. They define us.

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy [https://patreon.com/stageworthy] Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stageworthy/id1071732834] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0b9Vl5lsMKqDc1UIYl5thh] | Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stageworthy-416634] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca3db4c6-c5b6-4791-b23f-2af83272ac85/stageworthy] | iHeart Radio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1310-stageworthy-271061892/] 📺 Watch on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Stageworthy] – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

The Arts Are a National Defence Strategy

About This Episode:

In this episode of Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby sits down with Gabrielle Martin, Artistic Director of Vancouver’s PuSh International Performing Arts Festival. Gabrielle discusses her unconventional path into arts leadership, the realities of curating large-scale interdisciplinary work, and the responsibility of presenting challenging, global performance within a local context.

This episode explores:

 * Gabrielle’s journey into arts leadership and festival direction

 * The role of PuSh Festival within Vancouver’s cultural ecosystem

 * Curating interdisciplinary and international performance

 * Audience engagement and accessibility in contemporary performance

 * The realities of producing large-scale work in Canada

 * Care, sustainability, and leadership in the performing arts

 * And much more!

Guest: 🎭 Gabrielle Martin

Gabrielle Martin is a cultural producer and live arts curator practicing transformative experiential design in one of society’s few remaining ritual spaces. Her work prioritizes embodied criticality, imagination, pluralism, and risk. It centres the body, and is framed by social and political urgencies.

Gabrielle has a BFA in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University (Montréal), a Certificate in Dramaturgy from the Centre National des Arts du Cirque (Châlons-en-Champagne), and an MA in Arts and Cultural Management from Rome Business School.

Recently, Gabrielle has participated on curatorial and selection juries for Denmark’s CPH Stage International Days, England’s Horizon Showcase, and Canada’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in Dance. Before joining PuSh in 2021, she worked as Festival Manager with the Vancouver International Dance Festival. Prior to working in arts management, Gabrielle performed over 1,400 shows internationally with Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK – The First Flight and Cavalia, participated in choreographic residencies in Belgium, Sweden and France, and presented her work in the UK, US, and across Canada.

Connect with Gabrielle:

🌐 Website: https://pushfestival.ca/

📷 Instagram: @pushfestival [https://www.instagram.com/pushfestival]

Support Stageworthy: If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy [https://patreon.com/stageworthy] Patrons get early access to episodes, participate in conversations about topics to cover, and more. With three backer levels: $2, $7, and $20.

Subscribe & Follow: 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stageworthy/id1071732834] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/0b9Vl5lsMKqDc1UIYl5thh] | Podchaser [https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/stageworthy-416634] | Amazon Music [https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/ca3db4c6-c5b6-4791-b23f-2af83272ac85/stageworthy] | iHeart Radio [https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1310-stageworthy-271061892/] 📺 Watch on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@Stageworthy] – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!

Gabrielle Martin is Programming the World for Local Audiences

Hosted by writer and performing, Phil Rickaby, Stageworthy is a weekly podcast about the performing arts in Canada. In each episode features intimate and knowledgeable discussions with artists from different disciplines, about creating and presenting work, the creative process, and more. Episodes arrive every Tuesday, with bonus episodes now and then.

Phil

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