The role of mentor suits Jenna Rodgers’ love of partnership whether she’s sitting alongside a playwright in the supportive role of dramaturg, as the leader of an artistic ensemble somewhere in the midst of bringing a story to the stage or in the past few years as a mother of two, learning how to best respond to the wild wonder of early childhood; an improvisation unto itself. While her professional path following her double Science and Arts major led her to a life in the theatre, Jenna remains committed to a practice that embodies the inquisitive curiosity of a creative laboratory.

A graduate of the National Theatre School’s Artistic Leadership Residency, the Banff Centre’s Cultural Leadership Program and a member of the artEquity National Facilitator Training cohort, Jenna also holds an MA in International Performance Research from the universities of Amsterdam and Tampere. Highly committed to shifting the landscape of opportunities in the theatre, Jenna remains an active and passionate advocate for equity in the arts. Most recently Jenna was appointed the Artistic Director of Edmonton’s Concrete Theatre and as she enters into the next scene of her creative narrative, she finds herself in the familiar space of preparation.

For the past decade, Toronto-based singer songwriter, Jordan Hart has been engaged in an adventure in letting go; no small task for someone who admittedly holds tightly to the controls every time he enters the studio. His tendency to lean towards the idea of perfection, has been anchored in a desire to connect deeply with his listeners. Lately, Jordan has begun to dance more freely with the idea that in letting go, he is able to experience a kind of freedom to be even more fully connected, trusting that every listener, of recordings and performances, is going to define perfect by their own standards and that the music will resonate as it is able given each new moment.

The transformative work of the Writer’s Collective of Canada is anchored in the core belief in the power of seeing, hearing and inviting ourselves to know one another better. Shelley Lepp joined the WCC as a volunteer facilitator in 2018, then Co-Executive Director in 2019, and early in 2024 stepped into the role of Chief Executive Officer.

Shelley holds a Master’s Degree in Adult Education and Community Development from OISE, University of Toronto. Her academic research has focused on the practice and pedagogy of expressive writing as a non-clinical mental health intervention. She is a passionate writer, mental-health advocate, and community builder.

Shelley and the work of WCC, through free writing workshops, accessible to all is deeply rooted in the belief that ‘creative expression nourishes the physical and mental health of individuals and creates more resilient communities. It sparks activism and action, bridges and builds connection, fosters dialogue, helps us make sense of the world and fulfils our innate need to feel seen and heard.” She remains endlessly curious about the power of story to build connection with self and others.

New Season Launches Oct 11

Shannon Litzenberger is keenly committed to the exploration and rehearsal of new ways in doing and being in the practice of art and living. As a dancer and performance maker, her work explores our relationship to land, the politics of belonging, and the forgotten wisdom of the body. She collaborates frequently with the wind in the leaves collective and has been an invited resident artist with major arts organizations nationwide. As a skilled freelance strategist, leadership developer, and embodiment facilitator, she works with organizations in the arts, academia, and the corporate sector.

Sparked by her own experiences and observations of Canada’s cultural reality during and emerging out of the pandemic, Shannon wrote a powerful essay titled, State of Emergence: Why we need artists right now. Anchored in systems and policies shaping society, she asks the question: What would it mean to ambitiously mobilize artists to do their most essential work well and fully, with the aim of catalyzing transformative change? She goes on to ask, Could the chaotic domain of the artist’s creative process be the fertile ground from which a healthier and more sustainable, just, and caring society emerges?

Stephen Nachmanovitch, an accomplished and classically trained violinist, has for years been espousing the life affirming power of stepping away from the notes on the sheet to explore the freedom of playing between, within and around the notes, of music, art and life as one beautiful composition. He performs and teaches internationally at the intersections of multimedia, performing arts, ecology and philosophy. He is the author of Free Play: Improvisation in Life and Art (1990) and The Art of Is: Improvising as a Way of Life (2019); both of which make the compelling argument “that artistic power is available to anyone at any moment. It is not a psychological tool or an artistic one...it is a way of being.”

For more information on Stephen and his work, visit www.freeplay.com

Brent Allan has always led with heart, art and a deep passion to make positive impact on the world he encounters. Drawing strength from his early personal experiences during the dark days of the HIV crisis in Edmonton, Toronto and Vancouver, Brent has come to be recognized globally as a highly respected and sought after advocate and crusader for people living with HIV, through education, the arts, health policy and practice and industry. The way they have defined and designed life, community and family speaks to a true embodiment of the creative spirit. In fact, Brent often finds themself being sought after by peers and professional colleagues when they are in search of unconventional wisdom and fresh perspective. I caught up to Brent at their home, bearing the wildly saucy name, Buggery Acres on the Da Da Wjurng lands of the Kulin Nation just north of Melbourne, Australia.

You can find a documentary on the HIV Science as Art project that Brent curated for the 2023 International HIV Conference in Brisbane by visiting ordinarypodcasts.com and clicking on the Ellipses Thinking page which will take you to this specific episode.

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.