Ellipses Thinking...

Vern Thiessen's curiosity is forever leading him to the untold story, inspiring plays that have embraced theatres around the world. Thiessen, one of Canada's most produced playwrights, a recipient of numerous awards and honours, including Canada's Governor General's Literary Award, for Einstein's Gift in 2003, continues to seek out those places where a drama might find breath and lead to a life on stage.

Beyond his formal writing career, Vern has always supported other writers, formally in classrooms teaching playwrights of all ages and experience and informally, he has brought his mentorship to inspire a new generation of theatre artists in rehearsal halls, workshop readings and mainstages.

Our conversation ranged from the importance of authenticity as a writer to some lessons learned from failure to the vitally important reorientation in place and space of an artist with privilege.

Throughout these conversations on the creative process, the idea of play features heavily. There's an incredible joy in the experience of inviting our imagination to a party of our own making and then hosting it as the guest of honor. If we believe that the innocent creative child we were when we were small, remains alive within us, then play at any age opens the door to our freedom to express ourselves and be fully alive. For Gianna Vacirca, her playful self seems never hidden within, and in her words and in her life, PLAY shows up as a language.

And so, a few years ago the much sought-after actor, dancer and choreographer turned inwards not to invite PLAY which was already present, but rather she turned to play to invite new connections to her community, to her family story and to her own creativity...and the playground ... was her kitchen and her pasta.

Fred Keating has a long and multi-faceted career in theatre, radio, TV and film in character roles and as a host, motivational speaker and podcast producer/host. I consider Fred to be a dear friend and celebrate him as one of my personal mentors and as someone who left an indelible imprint on me as a young artist and educator. He has always led with generosity, and this was certainly the case in our conversation in which we double-clicked on some of the many learnings that Fred has experienced and continues to gather over a lifetime of living through a creative lens.

Throughout her career as an educator in Toronto and then Victoria, Karen Close aimed to inspire her students through literature and visual arts; she loved to witness young people become better able to articulate themselves and to share their understanding with others through their writing and art making. Karen passionately believes in the importance of storytelling to give us a way to know ourselves more deeply and share our wisdom. So when she stepped away from the formal classroom, it was no real surprise that she brought this same desire to engage imaginations to her new community of Kelowna. In fact, in an interview with a local newspaper several years ago, she acknowledged her dream of helping to build the city into a centre for creative ageing and has fostered numerous local initiatives with that aim. Her passionate belief in the healing power of the arts and the importance of creativity on individual and community wellness is as strong as ever and her definition of community has widened its reach as the online Journal for Creative Ageing, she created in 2011, aptly named Sage-ing: With Creative Spirit, Grace and Gratitude, now boasts readers and contributors spanning the globe.

When a previous guest recently reached out to say that I simply had to speak with Jan Alexandra Smith, who in his words "is one of Canada's finest actors and directors", I thought, "what wonderful idea."

For nearly 35 years, Jan has been stepping onto stages in roles that have entertained, challenged, surprised and thrilled audiences across this country. The work itself has fueled her passion for sharing stories and her love of creative expression. And yet leading up to 2020 and then throughout the pandemic quiet that performing artists were cast in, Jan was becoming aware of what she describes as a dwindling pilot light in her sense of what theatre seemed to be offering to her lifelong passion for it. She began to wonder if the party was over for her and theatre. And then a conversation with a friend and colleague led to her discovery of a highly inventive company whose work felt both exciting and inviting to her imagination, sparking not just a reignition but a bright burst of new flame for her love of movement-based theatre.

From early childhood as a member of the Whitefish Lake Atikameg First Nation in Treaty 8 territory, Roseanne Supernault has held the medicinal impact of story as a deep, core belief; one that guides and strengthens her in both life and art. In honoring her own storytellers, wisdom keepers, mentors and teachers she gratefully acknowledges the shoulders she stands upon and is coming to understand her role in providing the same for those who are following her lead. On the heels of starring in a terrifying new thriller, Cold Road, and beginning the post production process on her first feature film, Dusk & Dawn.as writer, director and producer, Rose continues to navigate her creative adventure with courage and compassion.

Roseanne has been acting since childhood and has appeared in numerous Film and TV productions, including Blackstone, Maina, Rhymes for Young Ghouls and most recently on the CTV comedy series, Acting Good and in the feature Cold Road, directed by Kelvin Redvers, slated for streaming on CRAVE later this year.

Since 2005, Christy Morin has been the heart of Arts on the Ave in Edmonton, Alberta. Arts on the Ave actively celebrates its unique neighbourhood community north of the downtown core as "a place whose "personality" is vividly expressed through the arts; possessing a dynamic momentum, "an arts pulse" where the artist and community continually engage." At the core of the organization, or more accurately, the movement, lives a deep commitment "to the community through the cultivation of positive urban renewal. It is through culture-led urban regeneration initiatives, a vision of creative spaces and place-making that these art-infused communities have begun to flourish and provide a safe, nurturing environment for artists to thrive."

From the earliest days of its dreaming and the establishment of a dedicated creator-centric community coffee house, The Carrot, to expanding to its current scale, hosting two much loved festivals, Kaleido, a fall festival of the arts and its winter companion, Deep Freeze: A Byzantine Winter Festival about to take to the streets later this month, Christy and her team have embraced the Arts as the alchemical element spinning gold through community development and acting as a transformative agent in advocating for the healthy lifestyle of the whole neighbourhood and beyond.

For the past decade theatre artist, Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks has been surfing some incredibly wild waves, fuelling her love of what she refers to as creative chaos. Since graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in 2015, she has appeared across North America on stages of all sizes, hopping confidently from comedy to drama. From the soul building and edifying work of bringing the seed of an idea to life on the smallest of stages to the high-flying adventure of hitching on to an internationally recognized sensation as a member of the San Francisco company of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Cynthia's understanding of what it means to stay present to self, art and life has continued to expand. We sat down together days after it was announced that she would be heading to the Stratford Festival this season in the role of Wendy in the premiere production of Ella Hickson's, Wendy and Peter, the latest iteration of the J.M Barrie classic.

For as long as she can remember, Cassandra Lemoine had been surrounded by pop music and show tunes. Inspired by the acclaimed Canadian tenor, Benjamin Butterfield during a master class he delivered at her high school, she soon found herself in a classical music program at the University of Victoria, where much to her delight everything was new! She delighted in the adventure of living in a kind of translation, not simply of language, as much as the classical opera repertoire demands but of a complete newness of her experience of learning and of music. Sitting in a lecture hall or concert venue with classmates that appeared to her to have been immersed in classical music from infancy, cast her in this intriguing and welcomed space of curiosity.

Over the past decade, Cassandra, has established herself as a highly sought after soprano living in Copenhagen, loving living in a constant state of translation, performing roles ranging from Mozart to Puccini and Sondheim to Lloyd Webber.

Max Wyman's most recent book, "The Compassionate Imagination: How the Arts are Central to a Functioning Democracy" serves as an invitation to consider what might be possible, not if, but when we embrace culture, and creative imagination at the core of what it means to be a member of a thriving, growing, curious, healthy and functioning society. Wyman who worked as an arts critic and columnist for The Vancouver Sun and CBC Radio for over 30 years is the author of 7 books on the arts in Canada. He has served on the board of the Canada Council for the Arts and as President of the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, is an officer of the Order of Canada and holds the Queen's 25th, 50th and 60th Jubilee Medals.

Considered "a timely book that expertly shows how the arts contribute to human flourishing in all its manifestations" by Anne Bamford the Strategic Director of Education, Culture and Skills for the City of London. From its announcement at being named a finalist for the 2023 Basillie Prize in Public Policy, the jury called the book "a profound and beautifully written examination" in which "Wyman offers deep insights into how and why arts and cultural funding is vital to safeguarding Canada's present and future." And finally, from Angela Elster, President and CEO of Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, "At a time when our world is in crisis, this stellar book brings clear vision and strategy. The Compassionate Imagination presents a beacon of hope." Hope: An image that matched perfectly how I felt upon finishing the book myself.