Our Values
We acknowledge that the Vallican Whole Community Centre, and thus this event, is located on the traditional and unceded təmxʷulaʔxʷ of the Sinixt people.
The producers of the Country Road Rural Theatre Lab are devoted to creating a space that strives to achieve equity through peaceful discussion and inclusivity. We value perspectives which honour the dignity of LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and disabled community members, and we appreciate and respect positions designed to be held exclusively by LGBTQ+, BIPOC, and/or disabled individuals. Any racism, homophobia, or transphobia will not be tolerated, and this includes any behaviours which harm LGBTQ+, BIPOC, or disabled people, through direct violence or otherwise. We ask that all participants of the Country Roads Rural Theatre Lab adhere to these values for the complete duration of the weekend.
Our Workshop Leaders
Val Campbell
Michelle Hart
Bessie Wapp
Lisa Dery
Kelly Rebar
Pat Henman
Lindsay Clague
Val Campbell is a performing artist, director and movement educator who has worked for decades in many modalities of actor training and theatre and has a passion for creative collaboration. She is an Associate Professor Emerita from the School of Creative and Performing Arts – Drama, University of Calgary.
Michelle Hart is a multi-disciplinary artist, specializing in theatre and improvisation. Since graduating from Mount Allison University with a theatre degree, she has trained, taught and performed with theatre institutions across North America to hone her craft. Michelle is the recipient of the Pat & Tony Freedom Fund, Outstanding Sketch/Improv Productions from My Entertainment Weekly, and was featured on JFL42 Sirius FX Just For Laughs Festival. She has worked as a cast member for MSC Seaside, The Second City, and the Bad Dog Theatre Feature Players. Currently, she is the Co-Director of The Canadian Improv Games: Improv Camp and one of the head writers of Southern Interior, a Nelson-based Sketch Show.
Instagram:
@ReallyCoolProductions (Sketch/Comedy/Improv Shows)
@WeirdHart (Personal)
Musician, theatre-maker, educator, and Nelson BC’s 2015 Cultural Ambassador, Bessie Wapp has performed original work at The Kennedy Centre (Wash. DC), Lincoln Centre (NYC), Festival D'ete (Montreal), Zagreb Danceweek (Croatia), and the Vancouver Intl Jazz Festival. She has directed performances large and small, from solo shows to 30 performers on a train to at-risk/Indigenous youth engagement (Mortal Coil, Ellie Reynolds, From the Heart). Bessie currently conducts Rimon Women’s Choir, teaches privately and through Oxygen Art Centre, and performs with the Bill Lynch Trio and Klezmeridian.
Lisa Dery is passionate about the power of voice and the joy of self-expression. For over twenty years, Lisa has helped artists discover their confidence and the thrill of being center stage. With training from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (A.M.D.A.), Canada’s National Voice Intensive, Sande Shurin Studios, and Studio 58, Lisa guides others to unleash their creative potential, embracing the joy of performance and the power of owning their voice. Looking forward to exploring and sharing the joy of vocal warm-ups with you during the Country Road Rural Theatre Lab.
Nelson writer Kelly Rebar is best known for her play Bordertown Café, which won her the Canadian Author’s Award for Drama in 1990, and a Genie nomination for best feature film adaptation. Other plays include Chatter, Checkin’ Out, First Snowfall, and Cornflower Blue. She has written for television and film, including the television feature film, Lives of Girls and Women. She is pleased to be working in theatre once again with back-to-back plays, Remarkable Windows and Chick and Dove, True Love, both written in narrative verse, set to music.
Originally from Nova Scotia, Pat Henman trained as an actress at Dalhousie University Theatre Program. She studied voice at the Halifax Music Conservatory. Pat has worked in theatres across the country as a performer, director and producer including Neptune Theatre, Mermaid Theatre, Muskoka Festival, The Globe Theatre, Theatre on the Move, Theatre Newfoundland and Labrador and Palace Grande Theatre/Diamond Tooth Gertie Casino. She has directed several local large musicals for Black Productions such as Cabaret, Hedwig and Angry Inch, and Mamma Mia! She is the 2012 Kootenay Music Award winner for Best Song (Movin’ On) on her debut album, Pat Henman Solo; she is the recipient of the 2018 Special Citation in recognition for her “considerable Contribution to Arts, Culture and Heritage in Nelson, and the 2023 recipient of the British Columbia Courage to Come Back Award. Her first nonfiction, Beyond the Legal Limit: Surviving a Collision with a Drunk Driver, was published by Caitlin Press in 2021. Pat lives in the Nelson, BC area, where she and her family have resided for twenty-four years. Pat is a lifelong advocate for the arts, serving six years on the BC Arts Council, and is also deeply involved with serving those who fight for the rights of victims of crime. When asked what her superpower is Pat quotes “hard work will win over talent”.
Lindsay grew up performing in Vancouver and graduated from The Neighborhood Playhouse in New York City. Returning to Canada, she performed locally and regionally in touring productions and worked in the film industry. Now living in Nelson, she works regularly as an actor, dancer, singer, director, choreographer and voice-over artist. As an actor, recent shows include: Vacant Lot (Wife), The Importance of Being Ernest (Lady Bracknell), Birthday Present for Myself (Wife), I’ll Be Back Before Midnight (Jan), ‘Night Mother (Jessie), Mamma Mia (Tanya), Liberation Days (Emma DeBruin). As a director: The Cherry Orchard, The Addams Family, and The Gin Game.