About Us

ACTivist Theatre Collective is a new Vancouver-based theatre company dedicated to exploring Human Rights issues in a truthful and artistic way. We aspire to Create Change through Creative Acts of all kinds, and we foster an environment of Supportive Creative Freedom for the members of our collective.

In honor of Amnesty International’s 50th Anniversary we have teamed up with Amnesty, and we are excited to jointly present Short and Sweet: Small Plays for Big Ideas coming this September to the Vancouver International Fringe Festival 2011.

To bring you the most outstanding socially engaged plays in the world! (Well we did have submissions from three countries…), ACTivist Theatre Collectiveand Amnesty International hosted a playwriting competition. Our selection panel consisted of theatre maker Camyar Chai, Amnesty International regionalcoordinator Don Wright, and two of ACTivist Theatre Collective’s core members Jessica Neilson and founder Zoe Green. The decision was difficult and there were more than a few fistfights, but we finally settled on two plays that we know you will love.

Right now we are lining up our live music, organizing the art contest, spreading the word, drinking lots of fair trade coffee, and, of course we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves.

Watch out for our upcoming call for art contest submissions!



Zoe Green

The founder of ACTivist Theatre Collective, Zoe is a Theatre for Living Facilitator and has studied devised theatre with Anne Bogart (NYC), and Zen Zen Zo (AUS). Zoe teaches spin, Pilates, and yoga, and studies Classical Ashtanga Yoga with Beryl Bender Birch (NYC), and Laban Movement Analysis with Integrated Movement Studies (UC Berkeley). She is co-chair for the Amnesty International Vancouver Film Festival. Zoe holds a Commercial Pilots License from CFC, and a BFA from UBC, where she was awarded the UBC Yvonne Firkins Graduating Prize for outstanding achievement in Directing and Staging.

Don Wright

Don Wright is a regional coordinator with Amnesty International, based in Vancouver. He works with Amnesty International members and the public to raise awareness and foster social action on human rights. He believes in theatre as an agent for social change and in 2003 co-produced Chiapas and Other Distractions by local playwright Lalo Espejo, and in 2008 co-produced Super Patriots and Morons by Zimbabwean playwrights Raisedon Baya and Leonard Matsa. He also produced three plays that were performed in the Vancouver Fringe Festival in the late 1990s.

Jessica Nelson

Jessica, a UBC B.A. Honours Theatre graduate has most recently been in “Turtle Island” at the Brave New Play Rites festival, and has also Directed “Bridal Blues” for the festival. She created her own devised show “Veiled Afterglow” for her thesis and now spends all her focus on directing and preparing Lucia Frangione’s play “Leave of Absence”! She hopes you will be as moved by the script, or better yet more, than she has been  working on it!

Nihan Sevinc

Nihan works as a community based theatre facilitator at the University of British Columbia and is excited to be part of the ACTivist, as it coincides with her passion of exploring human rights and social justice issues through theatre. Nihan is originally from Turkey and has lived in Canada since 2009. She holds an M.A. in Political Science and a B.A. in Translation and Interpreting Studies and works also as a community interpreter and translator. 

Amanda Konkin

Amanda Konkin has a BA in Political Science and Theatrefrom the University of British Columbia and is currently pursuing her Masters in theatre with a focus on the potential for online media in facilitating live audience experiences.  She has spent the last decade of her life acting, producing and directing in the theatre and loves being part of performance creation on all levels. Amanda is thrilled to be returning to the Vancouver Fringe as part of such an amazing event to celebrate Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary.  She previously was involved with the festival directing in Hive- the new bees in 2009.

Brian Cochrane

Brian grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where he started the Skinny Walrus theatre company in 2004. Some directing credits include: the Canadian Premiere of Itamar Moses’ Love/Stories at Little Mountain Gallery (Kinetichism), Wild Honey, The Flu Season, Rum And Vodka, Far Away (Theatre @ UBC), and assistant directing House/Home (Pi Theatre’s contribution to Hive 3). Brian recently performed in Delinquent Theatre’s Parked as part ofBridge Mix 2011 and will direct Hannah Moscovitch’s East of Berlin for Saskatoon’s Know Tomorrow Theatre company in January 2012.

Emily Griffiths

Emily Griffiths has just earned her Bachelor of Arts in Honours Theatre from the University of British Columbia, specializing in sound design, stage management, and devised theatre.

Her sound design credits include The Madonna Painter (UBC), Pvt. Wars (UBC), and Love/Stories (Kinetichism). Other selected credits include At First I Thought it Was… (Walking Fish Showcase), Wild Honey (UBC) and Capital, Alice! (lucid dream productions). Emily feels empowered working with such beautiful people creating theatre in all its political glory!

Michael J. Cohen
(AWS Creative)

Michael J. Cohen is an illustrator and graphic designer in Vancouver, Canada. His studio, AWS Creative offers all kinds of creative services that make businesses more awesome, like designing logos, websites, digital video and anything else you can think up! In his spare time he likes to paint, read a ridiculous amount of comic books, consume copious amounts of video games, and watch more movies than is healthy. He is also a podcast host, blogger, and the creator and curator of 8-Bits of Destiny, a video game inspired art show.

Everett Jelley
(The Jelley Photography)

Sweet, canned, and sans pectin: words used to describe the preserve. Describing the jelley take a bit more effort: nerd, band geek, “university educated”… oh right, he also takes photos sometimes. What started out as a hobby turned into a career after being given the axe thanks to a few bureaucrats desperately seeking the bottom line, Everett did what any normal person would do. Became a photographer. After all a job with a camera beats the bread lines any day of the week; even Mondays.

Niamh Tennyson
(…)

Niamh has worked as an asm here in Vancouver for visiting Mr Green at the presentation house. She has also worked as an asm for Harvey at the metro theatre. This will be her third show this year.

When niamh is not working as an asm she is working as an actor. She is  living here in Vancouver. She would like to thank her mum for all her support. She would also like to thank the cast and crew. She would love to give a shout out to her one special friend Nic Rhind.

Andrew Lynch

Stage managing is cool.  Selected acting credits: Party This Weekend (House Party Collective) Big News, Wild Honey, The Madwoman of Chaillot, Romeo and Juliet, The Laramie Project, The Dining Room (UBC) Macbeth (Limbo Circus) Voluntary Nothing (Walking Fish).  Directing credits: Phaedra’s Love, Titus Andronicus (Bear Bones Theatre)  Murmel Murmel (RDC)  Andrew has a BFA in Acting from UBC. He is really good at Star Fox.

Playwrights

For details about specific playwrights featured by Activist Theatre Collective, please visit the Productions page.

Actors

For details about specific actors featured by Activist Theatre Collective, please visit the Productions page.