Zoom Plays as Pedagogy

Scott Mealey - Dr. Scott Mealey recently defended his dissertation Recollections Of An Audience, at the Centre For Drama, Theatre And Performance Studies (University of Toronto).His recent publications, “(Ac)counting for Change” (2021), “Performative Measures” (2020), and “Making and Appreciating Theatre” (2020, with Kathleen Gallagher), consider the transformative ramifications of spectatorial sense-making. He has served as a lead analyst on research teams exploring Canadian theatre criticism, civic and audience engagement in the Oberammergau Passion Play, hope and care in international drama classes, and is currently a co-investigator on a SSHRC sponsored examination of livestreamed immersive theatre. He is a co-director of the Centre for Spectatorship and Audience Research.

Karen Hines - Hines is an award-winning writer, director and performer in film, television and theatre. She’s a two-time finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award, a National Magazine Award-winner, and was recently shortlisted for the Siminovitch Prize in Theatre. Hines’s performances and short films featuring her theatrical persona “Pochsy” have travelled internationally, and she is a Gemini nominee for her work with Ken Finkleman, including his Emmy-winning Newsroom (CBC/PBS) and Married Life. Recently, Hines’s solo Crawlspace toured to micro theatres across Canada. Her All The Little Animals I Have Eaten was to have its Toronto and Montreal premieres when all locked down, forcing her hand in the digital realm.

Tabia Lau - Tabia Lau (She/Her) is a Chinese-Canadian playwright, screenwriter, and scholar. Born and raised in Montreal, her plays have been read and produced throughout both the United States and Canada, and her commissioned musicals have made her a 2-time Toronto Fringe Festival Patron's Pick Award winner.Recent projects include: Living Room Play (Crows and Factory Theatre OAC Recommender Grants), The Cyrano Play (Company Theatre OAC Recommender Grant), The Antigone Play (York University), and Tangled (Nightwood Theatre). She holds an MFA in Playwriting from Columbia University and is currently a PhD candidate at York University’s Theatre and Performance Studies program in Toronto. Her research interests include contemporary narrative theory, theatre and film history, queer and feminist theatre, interfaith and comparitive religious studies, and fan culture in new media.

Neil Silcox - Neil Silcox is a teacher, director, and actor who has taught college and university students across the country. He has degrees from Sheridan College, the University of Toronto, the University of Western Ontario, and York University. In 2018, driven by a desire for a space to share with, and learn from, other theatre teachers, Neil founded the Canadian Theatre Educators’ Conference, through which he brings teachers together (virtually and IRL) to support one-another and figure out new ways to teach and take care of our students.

Mitchell Cushman - Mitchell Cushman is a director, playwright, producer, educator and founding Artistic Director of Outside the March. Directing credits include Treasure Island, Breath Of Kings, Possible Worlds (Stratford); Hand To God , The Aliens (Coal Mine); Hand To God (MTC); The Curious Voyage I, Claudia, The Last Of Romeo And Juliet (Talk is Free), Merrily We Roll Along (YES Theatre), The Flick , Dr. Silver, Jerusalem, Tomorrowlove™, Mr. Burns, Vitals, Passion Play, Terminus, Mr. Marmalade (OtM). Mitchell has received numerous distinctions for his work, including a Dora Award for Outstanding Direction, three Dora Awards for Outstanding Independent Production, the Siminovitch protégé award, the Ken McDougall Award, and the Toronto Theatre Critics’ awards for Best Production and Best Director. He is a graduate of the University of Alberta’s MFA Directing program.