MAINSTAGE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR PROGRAM

Daniel Fong is a mixed-race actor, singer and voiceover performer born and raised in Calgary Alberta. He is proud to be a guest of the long tradition of storytelling in the Treaty 6 region of Alberta and hopes to continue lifting up and creating art with the communities he loves. Daniel was the recipient of the 2020 Stephen Hair Emerging Artist Award and his select stage credits include: The Three Musketeers (Citadel); Forgiveness (The Arts Club/Theatre Calgary); A Christmas Carol (Theatre Calgary); Romeo & Juliet (Bard on the Beach); Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, The Skin of Our Teeth (Rosebud Theatre); US (The Globe); Alberta Kitchen Party, The Lion The Witch And The Wardrobe, Fortune Falls, The Circle (ATP).

Citadel: Directing – Encounters and Bust ‘Em Up Burlesque (in association with Send In the Girls Burlesque).

Other Theatre: Directing highlights include: Robot Girls (Shadow Theatre); Nightshrine (Workshop West); Jack & The Beanstalk (Alberta Musical Theatre Co); Tudor Queens: A Burlesque and A Bronte Burlesque (Send In the Girls Productions).

Lana is a theatre artist based in Edmonton and is the Associate Artistic Director at Shadow Theatre.

Citadel: Director, A Giraffe in Paris and other plays in the KidsPlay@The Citadel series.

Other Theatre: Director, The Space Between Stars at SkirtsAfire, Fresh Hell at Shadow Theatre.

Tracy (she/her) has held Artistic Associate positions at The Citadel and Alberta Playwrights’ Network and is presently the Managing Director at Catalyst Theatre where The Invisible by Jonathan Christenson just wrapped a successful Western Canadian tour.

Citadel: Director, Pride and Prejudice, A Brimful of Asha, After Juliet (Young Company), Assistant Director, A Christmas Carol.

Other Theatre: Director, Burning Mom (RMTC), Alberta Kitchen Party (ATP), Parts and Labour (Fieldwork), She Kills Monsters (Studio Theatre), Songs My Mother Never Sung Me (Concrete Theatre/SOUND OFF/Persephone/Arden/Inside Out), Consent (Concrete Theatre), The New Canadians – workshop (Roundhouse), The Nest – workshop (nightswimming) Playwright, The Silver Arrow (Citadel), Burning Mom (RMTC, Arcola Theatre London UK), The Red Priest (Guild Festival, ATP, Workshop West, Tarragon, Globe, nomination: Governor General’s Award). Upcoming directing: Burning Mom (Arts Club). Recipient: 2023 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Award.

Elena Belyea is a queer and trans playwright, performer, producer, arts educator, and Artistic Director of Tiny Bear Jaws (@tinybearjaws). They were born and raised in amiskwaciwaskahikan (colonially known as Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory, and have had works produced across Turtle Island and internationally (including Hungary, Austria, Berlin, New York, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, and Quebec City). They’ve been programmed by companies like Factory and Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (Toronto), One Yellow Rabbit (Calgary), Verb Theatre (Toronto), UpintheAir Theatre (Vancouver), the Centaur Theatre (Montreal) to name a few. Elena was the recipient of the 2023 Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical, and their company, Tiny Bear Jaws’ production of Smoke won the 2023 Sterling Award for Outstanding Indie Production. In 2024, Elena was a member of Spindle Films Inaugural Trans and Non-Binary Filmmaking Intensive, and will be filming their first short in Spring 2025. More at elenabelyea.com (@elenabelyea on Instagram).

Photo credit: Brianne Jang

Brett is a queer writer, performer, drag artist and director and they are thrilled to be assisting Jackie Maxwell this season. Selected Directing Credits: Strange/Familiar  and Pretty Ugly (Theatre Outré); Hecuba, Cock, and This Property is Condemned (UofA). Assistant Director Credits: Rochdale (Studio Theatre); Cymbeline (UofA); Men Express Their Feelings, rihannaboi95 (Downstage); and King Lear (The Shakespeare Company). Brett is about to graduate from the UofA MFA-Directing program and will be directing Troilus and Cressida later this season. Brett is the incoming Artistic Director of Theatre Outré and is a recipient of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award.

Elena Belyea (they/she) is a queer playwright, performer, producer, arts educator, and Artistic Director of Tiny Bear Jaws. She was born and raised in amiskwaciwaskahikan (colonially known as Edmonton) on Treaty 6 territory and have had work produced across Turtle Island and internationally (including Hungary, Austria, Berlin, New York, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, Quebec, and Wells). Her play Smoke was recently published by Playwrights Canada Press. They’re also half of queer sketch duo Gender? I Hardly Know Them (on Tiktok + Instagram at @genderihardlyknowthem). Elena was the recipient of the 2023 Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical. Her company, Tiny Bear Jaws’ production of Smoke won the 2023 Sterling Award for Outstanding Indie Production.

Lianna Makuch is a Ukrainian Canadian playwright, director, performer, co-Artistic Director of Pyretic Productions, and a producer with Punctuate! Theatre. She has travelled several times to Ukraine to research and develop her plays Barvinok and Alina, which have garnered awards and recognition including the Shevchenko Foundation’s 2020 REACH Award, a 2022 Edmonton Artist Trust Fund Award, and was shortlisted for the 2022 Alberta Playwrighting Award. She was recently Assistant Director of Jane Eyre and A Christmas Carol (Citadel Theatre), and Director of First Métis Man of Odesa (Punctuate! Theatre), which has been on tour across Canada and for which she won a 2023 Dora Award for Outstanding Direction.