Heather Ervin is a culture, communications, and community development specialist with over fourteen years working in the not-for-profit arts and culture sector. For almost eight years she worked for Arts Etobicoke, a community arts organization in the west end of Toronto which focuses on arts-based community development through creative exploration. She is proud to have contributed to the community in which she lives and support the great people who call Etobicoke home.

She enjoys researching and securing funding for creative community-based programming that benefits local communities. In addition to grant writing, stakeholder engagement, and creative outreach methodology. Heather has managed communications for such companies as Theatre Passe Muraille, Theatre Columbus (now Common Boots Theatre), Blyth Festival Theatre, The Toronto Fringe Festival, and Tarragon Theatre.

Originally from Saskatchewan, Heather moved to Ontario to attend the University of Toronto's joint theatre program with Sheridan College. After university, she worked as an independent theatre producer and actor before finding her passion in creative storytelling and arts administration. Heather ran her own small publicity and communications company supporting innovative and alternative theatre in Toronto before focusing on community development through the arts. Heather is an accomplished public speaker and is often engaged to host events, speak on panels, and moderate discussions. Most recently speaking at Humber College, the Dream Warrior Arts Marketing Podcast, an ArtsUnite Augmented Reality and the Arts panel discussion, the National Craft Federation conference, Bereavement Ontario annual conference, and Centennial College. Heather is passionate about creating access to the arts for everyone and ensuring that local communities see themselves reflected in their arts and culture community.

Marianne is the Performing Arts Coordinator-School Tours and Membership Liaison Coordinator with 
OSAC, a position she has held since 2004. Her responsibilities include contracting artists to tour to 
Saskatchewan schools, providing schools with brochure and booking information, and tour routing. She 
is the liaison between the artist and the school. In addition, Marianne is a professional actress and singer and has been involved in many productions throughout the United States, Ontario and
 Saskatchewan. She is the proud recipient of an OSAC Life Membership Award and Regina Little Theatre 
Honourary Life Membership.

Skip’s start in the music business began in the late '80s promoting punk rock shows in Regina. After attending music college, Skip ended up working record retail in Regina and Calgary for a few years before moving back to Saskatchewan to be the Universal Music Promotion Representative for Saskatchewan from 1995 to 2010. There he was responsible for promoting, marketing, securing publicity, and radio play for the entire Universal Music roster in our province, including both Canadian and International artists. Skip is now the Performing Arts Coordinator at OSAC. In this role he helps the organization and its members book over 170 performances in the province each year. Skip attends many showcase events each year including Contact East, Pacific Contact and the ECMAs and routinely sees over 100 showcases a year. This experience has given him extensive knowledge about Canada’s provincial touring networks and, specifically, Canadian arts organizations’ Showcase events.

Anita (she/her) is an actor/director/producer/mother who is also the Artistic & Executive Director of 25th Street Theatre.  A dedicated and active member of the Saskatoon theatre community, Anita has appeared in Fruitcake (25th Street Theatre); The Penelopiad (Ferre Play Theatre); The Revolutionists, Boeing Boeing, Trout Stanley, Quick Bright Things (Persephone); Twelfth Night, The Winter’s Tale, and Julius Caesar (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan) among others.  Anita also regularly works as a director and is proud to have directed J. Caesar, As You Like It (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan); and The Invisible Girl (Persephone).  A passionate feminist, Anita is a founding member of Ferre Play Theatre whose inaugural production of The Penelopiad received numerous SATAwards. In addition, Anita has produced 18 musicals, seven provincial theatre tours, and three Fringe festivals.  Anita is proud to be a YWCA Young Woman of Distinction Award recipient for her work in bringing theatrical opportunities to youth in rural Saskatchewan.  Upcoming: in the spring, Anita is excited to be directing The Birds and the Bees, a co-production between Persephone Theatre and the Globe Theatre.

Jess Grant is the owner of Rebel Marketing and Media, a boutique marketing strategy company located in Regina, Saskatchewan. After obtaining a B.A in English, a B.F.A in Theatre (Acting), and a Certificate in Public Relations, Jess started her career in corporate marketing. After having worked for some of the largest national brands that are headquartered in Regina, she decided to take her experience and use it to help small businesses, independent artists, and non-profit organizations. From launching national branding campaigns to creating buzz through grass roots marketing on a shoestring budget, Jess has worked in all levels on marketing. From building a website to engaging with journalists, Jess provides strategic guidance and training to ensure that your brand make an impression.

I received my CGA designation in 1992 in Toronto while working for what is now the Canada Revenue agency. I moved home to Saskatchewan in 1997 and worked with a bookkeeping company in 1998 for a tax season and loved it so much I bought the business! I have grown the company from 2 full time employees (who are still with me 23 years later) to 8 full time employees and a student from Sask Polytech during the tax season. We service about 1,000 individuals for personal tax returns and about 500 businesses including proprietor and corporations. We are a full service accounting firm including payroll, bookkeeping, personal and corporate tax returns and Review Engagement statements. I have facilitated classes for individuals considering starting their own business including how to organize the business, the importance of bookkeeping and tax implications including income tax and sales taxes. Many of these students became clients! I have also facilitated tax discussions with various groups including arts organizations, seniors and CNIB members. Outside of work, I enjoy reading, walking, travelling and camping.

Taiwo is a theatre-maker, scholar, theatre manager and entrepreneur. His interest is in amplifying voices and experiences; and re-centering governance models, strategies and systems on the margin through the lens of decolonisation, equity and anti-oppressive approaches. His experience in over a dozen countries across four continents in a variety of contexts focused on socially engaged and community-based creative practice for transformational change. Through storytelling and devised theatre, he works with communities on social issues pertinent to them and his research continues to advance broad-minded thinking within the art and culture sector.

He is the Canada Research Chair in Socially Engaged Theatre and serves as the Director of the Centre for Socially Engaged Theatre (C-SET) at the University of Regina. He is a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa and the founding director of Theatre Emissary International (TEMi) in Nigeria and Canada.

Beth Kates is an award winning Theatrical Lighting, Set, Costume and Projection Designer, Production Manager, and project consultant. She is the co-Creative Director/Designer of Playground Studios a design firm she started with partner Ben Chaisson that is dedicated to creating new spaces, re-inventing the use of traditional and non-traditional theatre spaces, as well as producing original work and offering a full spectrum of design and project management services.

Her work in rock and roll, dance, theatre, opera, and photography has taken her across Canada, the US, UK, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. Career highlights include Lighting Design: Spurt of Blood and Miinigoowezewin (Banff Arts Festival), Anaconda (Tangent Montreal), the Dora Award winning Music For Contortionist (Shaw Festival and Tarragon Theatre), and numerous works by choreographer Learie McNicols. Set Design for the award winning production of Assassins directed by Adam Brazier; Production Design for: the world premiere of Judith Thompsons’s Such Creatures directed by Brian Quirt, LuminaTO/Tapestry New Opera Works’ epic oratorio Dark Star Requiem directed by Tom Diamond, and Julie Tepperman’s Yichud (Seclusion). Yichud was an extensive design that required re-imagining the use of the traditional theatre space to allow the whole building to be converted into a realistic Orthodox Jewish Synagogue.

Heather Cant is a multi-faceted theatre practitioner who has worked as a director, actor, playwright, dramaturg, and producer. She has experience with everything from large scale productions to interactive micro-performance and has worked at theatres across Canada, including the National Arts Centre, Western Canada Theatre, Citadel Theatre, Gateway Theatre, Persephone Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Chemainus Theatre, Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, Pi Theatre, Axis Theatre, Presentation House, Upintheair Theatre, Project X Theatre, Urban Ink, and SkirtsAfire.

In addition to her freelance work, Cant has over 8 years of arts leadership experience. She served as Associate Artistic Director of Western Canada Theatre for six and a half seasons and was Artistic Producer of Project X Theatre for two seasons. She is the Artistic Producer of Phenomania Arts Society and the creator and curator of Secret City, an ongoing digital theatre project that explores the secret life of public spaces in an ever-growing list of cities. Cant recently completed her MFA in directing at the University of Calgary where she developed a practice called Process-As-Relation, an anti-imperial paradigm for centering intersectional empathy in creation — a vital lens that she brings to her new role.

Born in Moose Jaw, with family based in Saskatchewan, Cant has both family and creative ties to the community. Saskatoon audiences may remember Heather from her roles onstage in Hamlet and The Merry Wives of Windsor at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, or from her work as the assistant director on Persephone’s production of Mary Poppins.

Jennifer Brewin recently joined Globe Theatre as its 5th Artistic Director. Prior to moving to Regina, she was the Co-Artistic Director of Toronto’s Common Boots Theatre and before that, Co-Artistic Director of B.C.’s Caravan Farm Theatre.

She has staged large-scale works for outdoor stages across the country, including Ottawa’s National Arts Centre - English Theatre, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, the Caravan Farm Theatre, and six outdoor winter walking shows in Toronto at Evergreen Brick Works and Christie Pits Park.

She has directed premiers of new plays by Marjorie Chan, George F. Walker, Natasha Greenblatt, Martha Ross, Michelle Riml, and Haley McGee.

As a writer she co-authored a number of collective creations including, The Election, The Public Servant, and The Attic, the Pearls and 3 Fine Girls, all for Common Boots Theatre. With Peter Hinton, she created and directed The Frost Fair for the National Arts Centre, and at the Caravan Farm Theatre she wrote numerous outdoor winter productions and collaborated on three large-scale, mainstage musicals.

She is the recipient of a Dora Mavor Moore Award, a Jessie Award, and The Armstrong Award of Excellence (with Estelle Shook).

I have been an actor in Canada for 30 years. I have performed professionally in 5 Provinces and have been apart of over 120 productions. I would love to venture further east into the maritimes as well as our territories. I have a diversified resume and body of interest in the performing arts. I have enjoyed being a Producer, a Writer, Set Carp, Chorus Ensemble Member, an Understudy, a Featured Performer, an 11 o’clock number, a beautiful Character actor, and a Lead along with a variety of other performing art related gigs. I have been very fortunate to have worked with incredible people and with horrible bullies. I am always learning about this craft. I really am someone who enjoys big commercial theatre to little indie projects. I started many years ago and still find passion or excitement in what I do. I enjoy film a great deal, but my love is the stage. I have a beautiful daughter, Sawyer.