2024 PLAYWRIGHTS

Lava Alapai

Lava Alapai is a Japanese/Hawaiian/Black playwright and director, born in Okinawa, Japan, and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. She has been creating theatre in Portland, Oregon, for almost two decades, and some of her recent directing credits include King of the Yees for Profile Theatre, School Girls, or; the African Mean Girls play for Portland Center Stage, The Chinese Lady, The Revolutionists, and An Octoroon(co-direction) for Artists Repertory Theatre. Writing credits include Middletown Mall (Eugene O’Neill NPC semi-finalist), The Event for Artists Repertory Theatre’s Mercury Festival, T.I.N.A for 48-hour Film Festival, redline for 24-hour Theatre Festival, and Mutt for ManyHats Collaboration. She is a proud member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers Society (SDC) and Dramatists Guild.

Natasha Chew

Natasha is an emerging Filipino-Chinese theatre artist and playwright based on the unceded territories of the xwməθkwəy̓ əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish), and Sel̓ íl̓ witulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. With recent work showcased with Rumble Theatre and the Ignite Youth Festival, their practice is based on collective storytelling and laughter as a tool of healing.

Katica Naude

Photo and bio coming soon

Esar Rabadi

Esar Rabadi is a multi-genred writer and artist in her final year of a BFA at UBC’s School of Creative Writing. Her favourite forms to write in are stageplays, graphic forms, poetry, and spoken word amongst many others. Esar’s literary works are often absurd, humorous, and camp.

Anna Thornsen

Anna Thorsen is a Zambian/Swedish writer, theatre producer and filmmaker from Vancouver, Canada. She’s aSending UBC for her BFA in Crea6ve Wri6ng. Anna has made over 10 short films, works as a Dispatcher for IATSE Local 118 and is an Associate Producer for UBC’s 2024 Brave New Brave Rites fes6val.

Amaruuk Bose

Amaruuk is in her final year of the Creative Writing BFA at UBC. When she’s not drinking coffee and explaining elaborate fan theories to her mother, she can be found in the nearest bookstore daydreaming about Lord Byron.

Acadia Currah

Photo and bio coming soon

Seo Park

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Mercury Rhone

Mercury Rhone (he/him/his) is an experienced neurodivergent actor and writer; he enjoys contributing to theatre productions in any capacity, and is interested in media generally. He is currently studying Creative Writing at UBC, but has also completed courses from various UBC departments, including Journalism, Education, Film Studies, and Film Production.

Kenneth Tynan

Kenneth Tynan is an artist based in the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples or colloquially known as Vancouver. He has worked for the past decade in theatre, film, and TV. More recently, he was a recurring character in Netflix's Zero Chill, a figure skating youth TV program, and he was in Direct Theatre's Monster last Fringe. Kenneth is very excited about his ceative writing journey at UBC, having discovered his joy for writing with his piece Qi-Pao, to start his cr which appeared at the Or Festival (2023).

Marissa Charles

Marissa Charles is a Queer Autistic Metis writer who works in multiple genres, including poetry, creative nonfiction, and stage/screenwriting, and like to dabble in fiction and songwriting. Marissa has been published in multiple Pearls: A Douglas Student Anthology editions with their poetry and screenwriting. Marissa has completed two diplomas at Vancouver Acting School, one in Acting for Film/TV and Voice over and the other from the Comedy Conservatory, before going on and completing her Associate of Arts Degree in Creative Writing at Douglas College. She is currently in her Bachelor of Fine Arts: Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia and producing a Dungeons and Dragons live play podcast.

Xochitl Leal

Xochitl Leal is a visual artist, Art History major and in Creative Writing BFA program at UBC. This is her first attempt at playwriting..

Chance Plomp-Schwiezer

Chance Plomp-Schweitzer was born in the Foothills of Alberta, and has lived on and off in Vancouver for over a decade now; avoiding his true calling as a Sasquatch somewhere in the Rockies.

Neko Smart

bio coming soon

Nicola Wanless

is a non-binary Vancouver-based writer, and is currently pursuing an MFA at UBC. Previous writing credits include, Dynamis Lost (Calgary Fringe Festival), Haunted FM (Calgary Fringe Festival), Submerged (Brave New Play Rites), and Signal (Art Out Loud Festival). Outside of writing they’ve participated in a variety of other roles, including directing, stage management, costume design, and graphic design for theatre. They write and co-produce the narrative fiction podcast The Rest is Electric, two seasons of which are available online