SLaM 2024
We are excited to announce the participants in SLaM for 2024.
SLaM is Boca del Lupo’s program to support creative development. SLaM helps emerging ideas and artistic exploration progress to a solid foundation ready for project funding applications and final development.
SLaM this year will be supporting Jiyun Ru, Mark Leiren-Young, Kimira Reddy, Trina Haldar, Farah Nosh, Gloria Mok, Abhimanyu Acharya, Maki Yi, Masae Day and Beth Kates, Radix Theatre (not pictured above), Mariló Núñez, and Damion LeClair. SLaM Students this year are Stefani Grimaldi, Ana Ururahy, Jenny Kwon, Colleen Bayati, and Kady Yeung.
Learn more about the artists and their projects below!
Mark Leiren-Young
Mark Leiren-Young is an award-winning playwright, screenwriter and author based in Victoria, BC. His play, Bar Mitzvah Boy, (which he’s adapting for screen) was long listed for the Leacock Medal for Humour – an award he received for his memoir Never Shoot a Stampede Queen. His previous theatrical exploration of Shakespeare’s infamous Jew, Shylock, has been translated into several languages and produced throughout Canada, the US and Europe. He won the Writers Guild of Canada Award for Best Documentary for The Hundred-Year-Old Whale and hosts Skaana, a podcast about ocean-related environmental issues. He’s currently adapting his best-selling book, The Killer Whale Who Changed the World as a feature film and writing a play about endangered species for Green Thumb Theatre. www.leiren-young.com
The Project: Revisiting Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby-Dick; or, The Whale from the point of view of Moby Dick aka “the whale.”
Kimira Reddy
Kimira is an accomplished Artist, award-winning Set Designer and Creative Director who channels her artistic prowess on the unceded Coast Salish Territories. She also serves as the Communications Director of Raven Spirit Dance. Kimira’s portfolio is a mosaic of immersive extended reality experiences, exhibition/set designs, and art installations. Originally from sunny South Africa, she holds an MFA in Design from UBC. Collaborations with UBC, Vancouver Opera, Canada Wild Arts Society, Indian Summer Festival, Zee Zee Theatre, and other esteemed partners have all contributed to the rich tapestry of her creative odyssey. Explore more at: www.kimirareddy.com
The Project: Kimira brings a wealth of expertise gained from diverse XR projects, where she has seamlessly transitioned between roles ranging from Technical Director to Creator. Now, embarking on the SLam project, Kimira would like to use her skills honed to create her own XR experience as a Creative Director.
Drawing upon her multifaceted background, Kimira envisions the SLam project as a platform to explore the intersection of art, technology, and storytelling within the realm of extended reality. Her goal is to deliver an experience that not only entertains, but incites introspection, and evokes emotions in its audiences.
Trina Haldar
Trina is the Founder and Artistic Director of international touring company Mashi Theatre, created in response to the lack of diverse work in the Theatre for Young Audience sector. ‘Mashi’ meaning ‘aunty’ in Bengali, embraces all as part of one family, not necessarily blood related more as kindred spirits and always part of a community.
As a Freelancer, Trina is an experienced Theatre Director, Programmer, Facilitator, Consultant in Diversity, Equality & Inclusion often speaking as Keynote. She recently stepped down as Associate Director at The Spark Arts for Children in Leicester to focus on her own work. Trina is also Senior Giggle Doctor with the Theodora Children’s Charity, bringing play to the lives of children and families in hospitals.
Farah Nosh
Farah Nosh is an award-winning photographer who has worked in Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Syria, the West Bank, Gaza, and Egypt. Her work has appeared in leading international publications including The New York Times, TIME, and Newsweek. Nosh appeared on CNN’s Inside the Middle East segment entitled “Someone You Should Know,” which features personalities making an impact in the region. Her Iraq work has been exhibited in the New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Dubai, Haida Gwaii, and Vancouver.
The Project: Farah Nosh’s SLaM project explores the unity and polarity of identity within her Iraqi family.
Gloria Mok
Gloria Mok (莫嘉詠) is a theatre creator and arts manager who is the proud daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong. Alongside Chinese-Canadian theatre creators Aaron Jan and Bessie Cheng, Gloria co-founded Silk Bath Collective in 2016, focused on multidisciplinary plays about the Chinese diaspora. As 2b theatre’s Emerging Artist in Residence, Gloria created Long Distance Relationships for Mythical Times, a performance that weaves together her parents’ immigration story, her real-life long distance relationship, and a Chinese astrological folktale about forbidden love. Gloria is currently the Producer at Nightswimming, a dramaturgical company with a national mandate focused on commissioning new theatrical projects and performance research. She is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada’s Production Design and Technical Arts Program. Gloria has long admired Sherry and Jay’s work at Boca del Lupo and is grateful to be part of the SLaM Program.
The Project: Long Distance Relationships for Mythical Times is proudly part of 2b theatre’s Great Little Works series: intimate performances based on humanity’s greatest works of theatre and literature, each brought to life by one performer at a table. These shows are uniquely designed for this moment; shows built for small audiences, safely performable during a pandemic, producing minimal ecological impact, and maximal emotional and spiritual value. Utilizing food, object puppetry, and conversational Cantonese, a dinner table transforms into a liminal space that explores the challenges and triumphs of seeking love and connection at a distance.
Abhimanyu Acharya
Abhimanyu Acharya is a multilingual fiction writer, playwright, translator, and scholar from Gujarat, who is currently based out of Ontario, Canada where he is a postdoctoral fellow at Western University. He has published two collections of stories and his plays have been performed in different cities across India, the US, and Canada. He has won the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2020, the Sahapedia-UNESCO Fellowship in 2019, the Sanhita Manch playwriting award in 2020, and the Majdi-Bou Matar scholarship in 2023. Moreover, he has thrice been longlisted for the Toto Award for creative writing and longlisted for the American Distinguished Dissertation Awards 2023. His works have appeared in Identity Theory, Out of Print, Hakara, Usawa Literary Review, Gulmohar Quarterly, Readingroom, and Karvaan India, amongst others. He currently serves as the creative and academic writing specialist at Kings University College in London Ontario.
The Project: SLaM supported MT Space in bringing Abhimanyu Acharya to the annual conference of the Professional Alliance of Canadian Theatres.
Maki Yi
Maki is a performer and playwright, with a BFA in Theatre Performance from University of Regina and an MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies from Simon Fraser University. She wrote and performed her autobiographic solo plays, Home of My Soul, Gramma, and Suitcase Stories for theatres, festivals, and conferences. Her acting credits include Kim’s Convenience (Pacific Theatre, Arts Club), God Said This (Pacific Theatre), and CHILD-ish (Pacific Theatre). Maki has also enjoyed translation and dramaturgy work for Korean language and culture both in her own work and in collaboration with multicultural artists. She is a member of Asian Theatre Working Group under International Federation of Theatre Research.
Masae Day and Beth Kates
Beth Kates is an award-winning, lighting, set, projection and mixed-reality designer, as well as a ‘digital dramaturg’. Her work has been seen on stages around the world for over 30 years, most recently at the Blyth Festival with James Reaney’s Donnelly Trilogy (adapted & directed by Gil Garratt). Bringing a highly collaborative and dramaturgical approach to design, she has created shows with many celebrated directors including Jillian Keiley, Peter Hinton, Paul Thompson, Jackie Maxwell, and Daniel Brooks. She is the co-founder and creative director of Digital Alchemy Creation Lab and Playground Studios, whose interactive installations include The ToyBox and LightSpan. Beth is a member of NYC-based Double Eye Studios, and was the virtual lighting designer for their VR production Finding PandoraX.
Masae Day is an actor, musician, and theatre creator based in Vancouver, BC. After completing a BMus in violin performance at the University of Victoria, she trained in theatre at Tooba Physical Theatre Centre, Canada’s National Voice Intensive, and Studio 58. She has appeared with theatre companies across Canada including the Blyth Festival, Axis Theatre, Western Canada Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Chemainus Theatre Festival, Carousel Theatre For Young People, Seven Tyrants, and Ensemble Theatre Company. Recent projects: The Donnelly Trilogy (Blyth Festival – performer, violin coach), Mozart and Her Brother (Geniusettes Theatre Society – co-creator, producer, performer, music director). On TV, Masae has appeared in shows such as Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, Supernatural, and the Hallmark movie Ms. Matched. Masae plays fiddle and sings harmony vocals with the indie-folk band LittleFox. For more details: masaeday.com
Radix Theatre
Radix Theatre has been producing innovative and exciting performance events locally and nationally since 1988. Our mandate is to foster the creation and production of original and socially-relevant interdisciplinary performances and media projects, focusing on experimental works and collaborative creation. Radix currently comprises four Artistic Associates Andrew Laurenson, Anthony Lee, Billy Marchenski and Robyn Volk who collectively determine company projects and direction.
The Project: The Library Show (working title) is an immersive audio-based exploration of the Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library (VPL). Utilizing “silent disco” headphones, our audience will be led in small groups through library confines listening to a soundtrack of live and recorded content, exploring the metaphorical possibilities the space offers. Just as every new book offers a different story, The Library Show will offer many stories of what is and what could be in an immersive, intimate, and invigorating experience. As Ray Bradbury said, “Without the library, there is no civilization.”
Mariló Núñez
Mariló Núñez is a Chilean Canadian playwright, director, dramaturge and scholar. She is a 2021 winner of the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Award in Theatre. She teaches playwriting using the Fornes Method and was founding Artistic Director of Alameda Theatre Company. She has an MFA in Creative Writing (University of Guelph) and is currently doing her PhD in Theatre & Performance Studies at York University.
The Project: The play is centered around a young girl’s quinceañera, a coming-of-age ceremony celebrated by many Latin American cultures around the world. Synopsis: Valeria Quintana is turning fifteen, but she has a big secret that she is afraid to tell. Her mother, Dolores, is throwing her the most elaborate and most expensive quineañera ever. Her estranged father, Jorge, is hiding in a broom closet waiting to dance a final waltz with his daughter. And like fairy godmothers, The Chola, The Virgen, and the Latina Lover convene at the quinceañera to help Valeria become the woman she was always meant to be.
Damion LeClaire
Damion is an award-winning Métis and Two Spirit multi-disciplinary artist and facilitator located on the unceded and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səlilwətaɬ Nations. In 2023, Damion was the recipient of the Bill Millerd Artist Fund (Arts Club). Past credits include: Our Town (Peninsula Productions); Juggle Me Not (Axis Theatre); Th’owxiya: The Hungry Feast Dish National Tour 2022/23 (Axis Theatre); They Know Not What They Do (Native Earth Performing Arts). Upcoming: Jeeves at Sea (Chemainus Theatre); Rougarou (SummerWorks) and The Mixolydian (Green Thumb Theatre). Damion is currently represented by Kim Barsanti at Lucas Talent. Damion is a graduate of Studio 58.
The Project: Based on the Métis legend that originated on Turtle Island centuries ago… Pascal is plagued with memories of their missing and potentially murdered sister along the roads of Highway 16. Pascal has never stopped looking for his beloved sister since the day she was taken but now a menacing figure at the edge of the wood stalks Pascal… watching…waiting. Will Pascal find his missing sister or will they fall victim to the same fate?
Stefani Grimaldi
Stefanie Lott was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil and is a current student in Studio 58’s Production Program. She left her career full of spreadsheets and business suits to follow her dream of working in theatre production, specifically in costuming and lighting. She is privileged to work, learn and grow on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Recent theatre credits include: Assistant to the Costume Designer (Blood Wedding, Studio 58), Set Crew Head (The Kitchen, Studio 58), Lighting Crew Head (A Chorus Line, Studio 58), Lighting Designer (Or Festival, 2023) and Production Crew (Bard on the Beach, 2023).
Ana Ururahy
As set designer for “Into the Woods”, Najú Ururahy is the first student designer in Studio 58’s redesigned Production Program to have her work realized on stage. Born and raised in Brazil, and with a background in fine arts and architecture, she deeply appreciated the opportunity to share her unique point of view and love for set design with the Studio 58 community. As a result of the multidisciplinary training at Studio 58, Najú has also found her passion for costume design. She looks forward to Studio 58’s fall 2024 season, when she’ll be joining the costume department in her last production before graduation.
Jenny Kwon
Jenny Kwon is a Korean international student pursuing her passion for lighting technology in theater and concerts. With a rich cultural background and a strong work ethic, she brings a unique perspective to her studies and her craft. Inspired by both traditional Korean performance arts and the vibrant energy of Western musical theater, she seeks to blend elements from both worlds in her lighting designs. Her determination to excel in her field drives her to continuously learn and adapt, ensuring that her contributions to the stage are both innovative and impactful. As she navigates her journey as a lighting technician, she embraces the diversity of experiences and opportunities that come with being an international student, enriching her education and her artistry along the way.
Colleen Bayati
I am a theatrical lighting and projection designer as well as a filmmaker and performer. I enjoy creating work as a lead artist as well as alongside a team of other local artists spanning from indie and community productions to larger commercial productions. I work with traditional and musical theatre processes, found footage, animation, gestural choreography, and devised scripted narrative. My work revolves around hope, apathy, existentialism, individualism vs community, and rediscovering childlike wonder. My goal in my work is to create fantastical worlds as a vehicle of escapism, hope, and wonder, complimented with an underlying commentary about a difficult question that I am facing presently.
Kady Yeung
Final year production student from Studio 58, specializing in sound design, stage management and technical operations.
SLaM is supported by RBC Emerging Artists and the generosity of our donors.