Jesse Stong (they/them) is a proud foster parent of twins, a graduate of Playwriting from the National Theatre School of Canada, and received a Master’s in Art Education from Concordia University. Jesse is an award-winning playwright, dramaturge, and educator. Over the years, they have supported over 140 emerging Canadian Storytellers as director of Playwrights Workshop Montreal’s Young Creators Unit, and launched/leads PWM’s New Stories Project for Neurodivergent artists. 

With a background in Social Work (BSW, Ryerson University), Jesse has generated and edited content for several NFP organizations including: Children’s Aid Ontario (Out and Proud Program), SKETCH art studio for Street Involved Youth, Toronto Association for Community Living, McGill University, and It Gets Better Canada. 

Jesse is an occasional content creator/editor for Moment Factory, and was recently Manager of Children’s Programming for media-giant Watchmojo.com, Associate Curator for the National Arts Centre Disability Summit, and Host of the Montreal English Theatre Awards. Jesse continues to be Festival Director of Centaur Theatre’s Queer Reading Series.

Burcu Emeç (she/her) is a queer Kurdish-Turkish theatre artist and intimacy coordinator. Originally trained as an actor, she works across live art, theatre, and film. Burcu’s interdisciplinary directing and performance work has been presented in a variety of settings like theatres, galleries, and parks. In her work, she focuses on social commentary and images, often exploring the tensions between performativity and non-acting. Her work has been supported by festivals, theatre companies, and municipal, provincial, and federal art councils across Canada, including the Festival TransAmériques (FTA), La SERRE-arts vivants, MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels), SummerWorks, Playwrights Workshop Montreal, and Public Recordings. Recent awards include the Mécènes investis pour les arts, OFFTA Hybridity Award, and five META nominations.

As an intimacy coordinator, Burcu provides support to tell stories that involve nudity, intimacy, and/or sensitive subject matter with both artistry and safety. She is a member of Intimacy Directors and Coordinators (IDC), the SAG-AFTRA accredited and premier organization for certifying intimacy professionals.

Erin Lindsay (she/they) is a feminist writer/creator and dramaturg who values interdisciplinarity, technology, collaboration, care, and experimental forms of performance and storytelling. She has a background in Theatre and Ethics, Voice and Performance, Communications and Media, and an MFA in Creative Writing exploring hybrid forms from UBC. Erin has performed at the National Arts Centre, Studio Jean-Vanier (The Other Theatre), the Banff Centre for the Arts, Centre D’Art et de Musique Dramatique, Wilder Space and Monument National to name a few. Her creative work (in poetry, libretto writing and playwriting) has appeared at Makerspace North, Saw Gallery, Studio Porte Bleue, Brave New Play Rites, Chamberfest, Mainline Theatre and the Rialto Theatre. Erin has been working as a freelance dramaturg and as a dramaturg and writing coach with Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal. She has worked in Montreal non-profit arts organizations as an associate artist for 8 years (most notably Imago Theatre and Black Theatre Workshop). Erin is the recipient of the SSHRC award for her hybrid form novel, another word for care, which is currently being adapted into a play in collaboration with PWM. Her work explores technology’s impact on humanity, experimental, interdisciplinary and hybridized forms, and the possibility of healing and humanity in harmful and unjust systems.

Follow Erin’s poetry Instagram account @crowlake or visit www.crowlake.space  

Amir (he/him) is an actor, lawyer and unrepentant mixed-reality theatre enthusiast. He has appeared in numerous films and television series, including 19-2, X Men: Dark Phoenix and Random Acts of Violence, and has lent his vocal and motion-capture talents to several video games, including Assassin’s Creed Origins and Valhalla. On stage, he has worked with the Segal Centre, Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal, Black Theatre Workshop, Tableau d’Hôte Theatre, Teesri Dunya Theatre and Infinithéâtre. He was a member of Black Theatre Workshop’s Artist Mentorship Program ensemble and participated in the DémART-MTL program through the Conseil des arts de Montréal, in collaboration with Centaur Theatre, and also participated in the Alliance program at Montréal Arts Interculturels in addition to being a Research-Creation grant recipient at the Canada Council of the Arts. His legal practice is oriented towards representing small and medium-sized arts, media and entertainment organizations.