One thing specifically that I really want to see changed when we get back to the industry is young adults stepping into leadership roles of positions and power within theatre companies, whether it be as Associate Artistic Directors

Live theatre? I miss everything. The artistry, of course. The energy communicated between the performers onstage and the audience. The 3D-ness of it all – watching a filmed play on a screen doesn’t come close to being at the play…

This year-long absence from theatre has not been an escape for me... It definitely has caused me to reflect and re-evaluate my life and my work in a healthy way. As actors and theatre artists, so much of our identity is wrapped up in our creative lives…this year forced me to cultivate an identity outside of those parameters

I’m not without hope. I think a lot of the thinking and the re-considering and the attempt to change the way theatre is structured and administered will be hugely positive in the end. It will be…Right now, mostly it’s a profound sense of how we’re going to move forward.

Crisis reveals character. Some say it builds character and yes, over time that can be true. And what has been interesting to me is that the people who have been able to flourish have found a way to take their creative energy and be of service.

I miss the dust on the floor in the rehearsal hall. I miss having to wear pants. I miss awkward conversation with incredible people. I miss trying to avoid opening nights. I miss eating weird snacks in tech. I miss watching actors work. I miss going into the room at the beginning of a process and coming out into a lobby just before an audience is about to come in and asking myself “How exactly did we get here?”…

…Digital theatre is now a part of the industry along with the live element. Also, the day we can get back into the theatre and see the mish mash of technology and live at the same time, it’s exciting. Yes, it might appear frightening and unnerving, but I like being frightened, I like being unnerved. That means something will come out…

“The keys to the gates are in different hands” and that’s going to change what it all looks like and how it all operates. And I think that’s a good thing as it’s been a long time coming.

The thing that I always think of the most, no matter what I’m doing whether I’m writing music, writing a play or acting is surprises. That’s the thing I think about a lot when I’m crafting something…Where is the moment that I’m going to give something to the audience they don’t expect? And they’ll draw in a collective breath. That’s what I really enjoy doing.

I’m interested in working with young and emerging artists, if I can be of assistance in helping them to reach and claim that potential and soaring. I’ve had opportunities to work in training programs and I always am exhilarated by that.

The only ‘agenda’ I’ve ever brought to my work is wanting young folks of color to see someone that looks like them be central to the stories they see on stage, and with the kinds of shifts I think we will see in the industry, that might be more possible than ever. That’s exciting.

I certainly won’t take for granted the responsibility I have to the next generation to mentor or teach or be of service to them, to be the person that I wanted when I was that age. It’s hard because the younger people can do it themselves. It’s finding that balance.

I never want to take for granted the experience and privilege of having a platform on stage and telling a story. I never want to take a story for granted again.

I think the reality is that theatre as we knew it has changed. And we may never quite see it in that same way again. But I do have hope for what theatre will evolve into…Theatre isn’t dead. It’s under the ground and working it out and figuring it out what can it do…and how can it re-invent itself for what’s to come.

I want theatres to continue to talk to each other because yes we’ve all figured out a way for our companies to operate now, but we’re going to need each other when we do come back again. We’re going to need to talk, to strategize, to come back united not just for the sustainability of the companies but for the audiences, for the artists..

The way we are making art changes so quickly, and our institutions this year are changing so quickly that there is a deep sensitivity to making sure we are doing it right, and that we’re creating art in a responsible way that we never did before.

Theatrical danger is actually just a fear of being uncomfortable. That’s not true-life threatening danger. And I LOVE making people uncomfortable in the theatre.

“[The Indigenous peoples] have been treated very much like a distant cousin to the family of Canada, and we should be right at the centre of that family. We do not want to be treated like a distant cousin when we have so much to contribute, so much to offer…

The thing I’m most keenly sensitive about from all this is we’ve all been experiencing some degree of trauma on the spectrum of trauma. I recognize that and have seen it manifested in myself and in others. It manifests in unexpected ways and it has heightened our reactions to so many things.

I’ve always hesitated between pursuing a life in the arts and working in social justice. The arts won but I will no longer work on projects that reinforce the status quo. I will no longer apologize for harping on about race and politics. Whatever the future holds, I will be a different person in it.