THE ACADEMY

Based on the traditional, stolen and occupied territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, Heidi has been developing performances from first idea through production for the past 25 years.

She was co-founder of Proximity Lab/Arts (2003-2016), an interdisciplinary creation and performance collective that created cabarets, performance installations and outdoor sited dance works, amongst other unclassifiable projects. As an artist at Playwrights Theatre Centre from 2005-2024, she dramaturged the world premieres of Pedro Chamale’s Peace Country, Carmen Aguirre’s Anywhere But Here, Tetsuro Shigetmatsu’s Empire of the Son, and Amber Funk Barton’s How to Say Goodbye, amongst many others.

In addition to her work as a dramaturg and as Artistic and Executive Director at PTC, Heidi taught acting at SFU for 15 years and continued her teaching and mentorship practice at PTC. 

Heidi is the descendant of settlers who arrived to Robinson Superior Treaty land from England, and to Treaty 3 (Between the Lakes) territory from south of the 49th parallel, originally from Germany, the British Isles, and other unknown places. She was raised on Treaty 6 lands, near amiskwaciy-wâskahikan.

Alex is Artistic Director of Fight With a Stick Performance, recognized as one of Canada’s most innovative performance companies. Alex completed his PhD at UBC in Scenography and Embodied Cognition, has been published in several academic journals, and writes on theatre and contemporary dance for several journals. He is a veteran of the Vancouver theatre scene, has performed lead roles at Canadian Stage, The Vancouver Playhouse, The Arts Club, The Belfry Theatre, and Bard on the Beach — to name some of the larger theatre companies. He has performed with, written text for, and been a dramaturg with some of Vancouver’s leading contemporary dance companies including MACHiNOiSY, Holy Body Tattoo, Kokoro Dance, Shay Kuebler, and others.

His preference is for working with smaller, more flexible performance groups and to collaborate with visual artists, dance artists, structural engineers, sound artists, philosophers, and fashion designers. As a director he has also developed and presented applied theatre advocacy work with the Philippine Women’s Center of BC in Vancouver, Berlin, and Manila. He studied as an actor at Studio 58, and as a professional has received several awards for acting and directing. As a playwright he has been produced by Rumble Productions, Main Street Theatre, Vanity Productions, and others. His “action poetry” ensembles AWOL Love-Vibe and VERBOMOTORHEAD broke ground for poetry performance and toured internationally at everything from main stages of jazz and folk festivals to book stores. His current interest is in scenography, embodied cognition, transdisciplinary performance, and collaborating with other-than-human-materialities. Recent work (2022) includes Migration, a live main-stage collaboration with visual artist Tomoyo Ihaya, The Refrain: Getting in Sync with the World, a new podcast series, and Now Showing, an animated short created with animator Shehzar Abro and composer James Maxwell.

Paula is an interdisciplinary artist and collaborator who prioritizes slow, process-based collaborations that emphasize site-specific devising. With a rich educational background that informs her practice, Paula combines elements of design, photography, carpentry, and technical direction to create immersive experiences.

In addition to her artistic practice, between 2018 and 2023, she held the position of SCA Technician at the Simon Fraser University, where she supported and oversaw the contemporary arts students’ shop facilities. In this role, she guided students in the use of various techniques, tools and materials, supporting their creative growth and helping them realize their project specific visions. More recently, she was invited to join the
Realwheels Academy as a Technical Director, and support the first cohorts’ final academic term and graduating showcase. Her practice as a collaborator and deviser supports her presence in these learning environments, enhancing mentorship opportunities for students in the arts.

Since relocating to the unceded ancestral territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations in 2014, she has been deeply inspired by the natural rhythms of the Pacific Ocean, particularly the low tides that shape her artistic exploration.

She holds a degree in Industrial Joinery, and a BFA in Theatre: Production and Design.

Holding a Master’s Degree in Theatre in Education from the University of Victoria, Sandra has been developing performance-focused pedagogy for over thirty years. She has supported learners of all ages and abilities in the development of individual and collective performance-creation methodologies through Vancouver’s Playhouse Theatre (founding and leading the Creativity Lab and the Intensive for the Young Artist; the Arts Club Theatre (developing curriculum and co-teaching the Musical Theatre Intensive), Bard on the Beach (co-founder of the Young Shakespeareans program), Carousel Theatre (instructor) and Theatre Terrific (member of the education team).

She has taught and developed learner-centred curriculum at the post-secondary level for Calgary’s Mount Royal University, University of British Columbia and Capilano University where she most recently led the revision of the Bachelor of Performing Arts. Sandra has been a Senior Instructor in Voice and Text at the Vancouver Film School and is currently on faculty at the University of the Fraser Valley.

Sandra’s practice is centred on encouraging students to interrogate who they are as artists and define their practice by exploring and translating the principles of compelling performance through their unique physicality, perspective and lived experience. Her goal is to nurture cultural entrepreneurs, able to sustain a thriving career in the arts.

Adam is a theatre-maker, movement artist, writer, arts educator, and wheelchair-user whose career in performance spans more than 20 years.

Now based in Vancouver, Adam was born and raised in Newfoundland where he spent his early twenties as a radio columnist for the CBC Morning Show. In that time, he also became the province’s youngest ever winner of both the Arts and Letters Award for Fiction, and the George Story Medal of Excellence in the Arts.

Adam then moved west to study at Vancouver Film School, where he went on to teach in both the Writing for Film and Television, and the Acting programs. His films have screened as official selections at festivals including California’s Newport Beach Film Festival, the National Screen Institute’s Online All-Star Reel, and the Vancouver International Film Festival – where his film “Float” took home the honours for Best Canadian Short in 2012. In 2016, Conocerlos: Get to Know Them earned him his first BC Film Award nomination for Best Screenwriting.

In performance, Adam is a Jessie Award winning actor whose west coast highlights include productions of his own shows, Last Train In and Lights, as well as Touchstone Theatre’s Kill Me Now, and Realwheels Theatre’s CREEPS. Looking ahead, his latest play, Saturday Nights at Axles, is in development with Realwheels where he is now Co-Artistic Director. And in July of 2024, following an Associate position with Vancouver’s All Bodies Dance Project, Adam joined the Scotiabank Dance Centre as Artist-in-Residence with a focus on developing movement theatre. His new piece, Good Bully, is slated to premiere in 2025.