THEATREWIKI - Key Persons
Brad Fraser (born in Edmonton, Alberta on June 28, 1959.)[1] is a Canadian playwright, director, screenwriter, producer and talk show host. He is among the most widely produced Canadian playwrights both on the national and international level, known for plays such as Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love (1989) and Poor Super Man (1995), and shows such as Queer as Folk (2000)[1].
Jenna Rodgers (she/her) is a dramaturg and director based in Calgary, Alberta. Rodgers is the dramaturg for the Playwright's Lab at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity and she is the founding Artistic Director of the Chromatic Theatre company. [1]
Rodgers completed her undergraduate degree in Drama at the University of Alberta in 2008. She also completed her master's of arts in International and Performance Research at the universities of Amsterdam and Tampere in 2010.
During her time in university, Jenna Rodgers took acting classes, in which she got good grades. Despite this, she explains how she never got cast in plays because she couldn't sing, thus disqualifying her from musical productions. In addition to this, she was never considered for roles with family members also cast due to her ethnicity. These were some of the reasons Rodgers feared auditioning for productions and did not further pursue a career in acting.[3]
After finishing her MA in Europe, Rodgers moved to Toronto and started working with fu-GEN theatre[4], a "charitable theatre company dedicated to the development of professional Asian Canadian theatre artists through the production of new and established works". In her time with this company, Rodgers realized she could be an artist, regardless of her credentials in the theatre industry. Through fu-GEN, she joined the Theatre Creators Reserve, which Rodgers described as her first taste of dramaturgy, as she participated in a writer's kitchen. Following this event, Rodgers went on to assist Nina Lee Aquino on three productions.
After moving to Calgary with her partner, Rodgers officially claimed the titles of dramaturg and director in order to carve out a space for herself in the theatre world. Soon after settling in, she was asked by Brian Quirt to join the Banff Centre as the assistant dramaturg of their playwrights lab. She was then able to build her career in dramaturgy through the people she met at the Banff Centre. When describing her career path, Jenna Rodgers says it "started with fear, ended with a lot of luck". [5]
Jenna Rodgers is currently living with her partner on the land called Moh'kin'tsis on Treaty Seven territory, in Calgary[6]. The couple adopted a labradoodle named Bramble [7] in mid-December 2018. Rodgers loves having her in her life, and explains that Bramble helps her see what is truly important and is teaching her patience. In 2020, amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Rodgers and her partner welcomed a baby boy to the world.
Jenna Rodgers is a passionate advocate for equity in the arts. As a mixed-race Asian [9], she has dedicated her career to giving a voice to marginalized groups in theatre. During her time on the Stageworthy Podcast, she wants to "work to change what the broader theatre community can look like".[10] Amongst those things, she is also a vegetarian [11], an Edmonton Oilers fan [12], and, of course, an avid reader of plays. [13]
Job Titles:
- Associate Director of the Theatre Centre
Jennifer Tarver [1] is a Canadian theatre and opera director and creator, whose passion for classic texts as well as cutting edge contemporary work defines her career.
Michael O'Brien is a Canadian Theatre/Radio/Web Writer/Creator/Teacher. His original written works include Mad Boy Chronicle, Restitution, Shores of Wonder, and The Last Temptation of Christopher Robin. His adapted versions of classic and contemporary plays and novels have been produced on CBC Radio and on stages across Canada and beyond.
Rodgers career as a director and dramaturg started in Toronto at fu-GEN theatre and Tarragon Theatre where she started working as an assistant director under established directors like Nina Lee Aquino. After several productions and her first foray into dramaturgy work she moved to Calgary and founded her own company Chromatic Theatre who's focus is on "developing and supporting culturally diverse voices in Calgary's theatre community." Their premier production Cowboy Versus Samurai in 2014 was her debut in Calgary as a director.
Paul Thompson is a Canadian playwright, theatre director and a leader in collective creations. He was born May 4, 1940, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and raised in southern Ontario.
Richard Rose, born January 18, 1955 in Maracaibo, Venezuela, and grew up in Sudbury, Ontario. He is the Artistic director of the Tarragon theatre since 2002, and she is the founding Artistic Director of Toronto's Necessary Angel theatre. He was also the Associate Director for Canadian Stage Company, Director of the Stratford Festival Young Company and spent ten seasons directing at the Stratford Festival.[1]