Out at School, Toronto Pride 2019
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Out at School was last performed at Toronto Pride in June 2019 as a Pride Community Event. Our three performances between June 14 and June 15, 2019 contained 22 scenes of verbatim monologues and dialogues, a set of visual images to accompany the scenes created by benjamin lee hicks, and three original songs by Kate Reid which draw on a number of themes embedded in the monologues.
The cast and crew included professional actors, members of the LGBTQ Families Speak Out research team, and undergraduate students from the Critical Studies in Equity and Solidarity at New College, University of Toronto. For a review of the performances by Neeharika Hemranjani from University of Toronto's The Varsity click here: https://thevarsity.ca/2019/06/30/what-it-means-to-be-out-at-school/ Testimonies for Out at School, Toronto Pride, 2019Out at School was inspiring, moving, and one of the best examples of research creation I've ever encountered! After attending this play, one of my family members talked at length about her experiences in highschool and how much the stories she heard resonated with her. We struggle to find resources that validate her experiences and the play really filled that gap. We all adored this play. Many more people including students, educators, and policymakers need to see it! ~ Linn Clarke, MSW
Aside from being marvellously entertaining, I found Out of School to be remarkable in the depths to which it explored this subject. Out at School should be seen by all educators and administrators in education, and it could also act as an important resource for parents. ~ Ralph Jell, PhD Recently, my husband and I had the privilege of attending a performance of Out at School. Besides being entertaining, it was very thought provoking and enlightening. It made me think of several issues that LGBTQ people face daily. This play is so important and should be seen at all schools by teachers, students, and parents. Please don't let this important work sit on a shelf when it could be helping so many people, young and old. ~ Nancy Reid Out at School is an important piece of work. In this unique theatre experience, the multi-faceted stories, drawn from research, come from authentic interview material from LGBTQ individuals and their families. This is a great piece for shining a light on personal narratives around sexual and gender identities, and helps audiences deepen their understanding of themselves and others. Bravo! ~ Larry Swartz, Drama Instructor, OISE |
Published Scripts of Out at School
A published version of the script performed in 2018 at The L Fest in Llandudno, Wales is included in the 2019 Taylor and Francis book, Teaching Gender and Sexuality at School: Letters to Teachers by Tara Goldstein with contributions by benjamin lee hicks, Jenny Salisbury, and Pam Baer.
A published version of the script performed in 2019 at Toronto Pride under the title This is Our Family is included in the 2021 Myers book Our Children are Your Students: LGBTQ Families Speak Out by Tara Goldstein with contributions by Pam Baer, benjamin lee hicks, Bishop (Yasmin) Owis, Kate Reid, and Jenny Salisbury. Receive 25% off this title at www.myersedpress.com (Use code MEP25 at checkout. This is a limited time offer).
A published version of the script performed in 2019 at Toronto Pride under the title This is Our Family is included in the 2021 Myers book Our Children are Your Students: LGBTQ Families Speak Out by Tara Goldstein with contributions by Pam Baer, benjamin lee hicks, Bishop (Yasmin) Owis, Kate Reid, and Jenny Salisbury. Receive 25% off this title at www.myersedpress.com (Use code MEP25 at checkout. This is a limited time offer).
The Making of Out at School for Toronto Pride, 2019
Watch our short documentary videos on the making of the multi-media theatre production, Out at School, which is based on the interviews we conducted with LGBTQ families and youth about their public school experiences in Ontario, Canada. Below, we have two versions of this documentary; a short version (5 mins.), and a longer version (11.16 mins.). Enjoy!
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Biographies of the Cast and Crew
Adam Lee
My name is Adam Lee, I’m 19 years old and the videographer for Out at School. I was born here in Toronto but then soon moved to Guelph where I grew up and currently live. Now I am studying kinesiology and competing for the University of Guelph Gryphons as a track and field athlete. My experience in videography started with editing training videos for my track team. I began to develop an interest media and eventually became in charge of my high school’s athletics social media. Now I am proud to have the opportunity to film and produce the documentary of the making of Out at School, as well as editing some of the Gailey Road Productions social media content.
Alanis Ortiz Espinoza
Alanis Ortiz has a B.A. (Hons) Political Science and Equity Studies from the University of Toronto. She is heavily passionate about social justice issues, equity studies, and the field of law. She has served on the University of Toronto’s Tribunal as a student panelist, the University’s Council of Athletics and Recreation as a student representative, the Canadian Hispanic Congress, and will be studying Law at the University of Leicester commencing in September 2019.
Amaka Umeh
amaka ameh is a Toronto-based creative with homes and heart-parts in both Calgary, AB, and Lagos, NG. a graduate of the Musical Theatre Performance Program at the Randolph College for Performing Arts, she has had the incredible fortune of receiving many wonderful opportunities to collaborate with diverse artists in this community, and their work has been generously recognized with three Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations and two MyEntertainmentWorld Critics’ Pick Award nominations. they also completed the Factory Theatre Mechanicals and Toronto Fringe T.E.N.T. Programs. Selected credits: Ensemble in Towards Youth (Project:Humanity/Crow’s Theatre), Goalie in The Wolves (Howland Company/Crow’s Theatre), Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (High Park), Christa in Beethoven Lives Upstairs (Grand Theatre 100 Schools Tour), Hasana in All Our Yesterdays (Chloe Hung, Toronto Fringe). Upcoming: Bobbi in Hilda’s Yard (Foster Festival), Portia in Portia's Julius Caesar (Shakespeare...Ruff/Hart House), Octavius in Julius Caesar (Groundling/Crow's).
benjamin lee hicks
benjamin lee hicks is a visual artist, elementary school teacher and PhD candidate in Curriculum and Pedagogy at the Ontario Institute for Education (OISE), University of Toronto. They taught JK-grade 6 classrooms in the Toronto District School Board for 8 years prior to beginning graduate studies full time. benjamin has written and designed curriculum materials on topics of sustainable community building, queering school space and arts-based activism. They are interested in how we might better support teachers to expect queerness and welcome all gender identities in their classrooms. benjamin is also passionate about centring the voices and experiences of trans and non-binary people navigating the school system as students, staff and caregivers. Their current work explores how visual storytelling and comic art can help to engage teachers more personally and continuously in professional learning(+action) for social justice. www.benjaminleehicks.com
Bishop Owis
Bishop is a PhD student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). They are a graduate of the Masters of Teaching program at OISE/UT where they earned their teaching qualifications in the Junior-Intermediate division. Their research at OISE explores how teachers and students can co-create queer and trans inclusive sex education curriculum by using participatory action research. They are a member of the Advisory Council for the Young Women’s Leadership Network, a Junior Fellow at Massey College, and a facilitator for Queer and Trans Chat at OISE. They also facilitate workshops with Planned Parenthood as a member of the TEACH team, and work as an external educator with the Sex Education Centre at the University of Toronto. Bishop is passionate about equity issues in education, LGBTQ+ advocacy and creating equitable spaces for people of colour in educational and political spaces.
Brendan Chandler
Brendan Chandler is a Cree English artist who recently finished Humber College Theatre for Performing Arts in Toronto. Humber Theatre works with a devised creative process. In his final year Brendan got to play Penelope in To Ithacadirected by Tatiana Jennings. Brendan has also created his own show called How Did You Find Me Here?which appeared in the Toronto Fringe Festival and was chosen as one of the top 5 artists to watch by CBC. Recently Brendan finished a duo piece with his creation partner Jessica Bowmer for the cabaret in Paprika Festival called A series of unfortunate behaviors. The piece is a bouffon piece and will be on YouTube soon. Brendan is honoured to be a part of this project and very pleased to work with such beautiful artists.
Briar Wells
Briar Wells has been working with the LGBTQ Families Speak Out project and Out at School since March 2019. She is a communications professional who has helped Gailey Road with media relations and socialmedia work.
Charlotte Stewart
Charlotte is a fourth year undergraduate student in the Anthropology and Equity Studies programs at University of Toronto, whose interests lie social and environmental justice activism in education. Last year, she worked as a Special Projects Assistant at University of Toronto's Centre for Community Partnerships, helping to run Community Kitchen events that brought students and community members, food equity advocates, and local chefs together to cook a meal and share their stories. Originally from Calgary, AB, her passion projects include planning hiking trips, making a playlist for every mood, and adventuring to discover the best coffeeshop in Toronto.
David Fisher
David Fisher has been working as a theatre professional throughout Canada for the past fifteen years. He is the general manager of Theatre Museum Canada's Toronto Theatre Database, a website devoted to archiving all of the theatre productions that have ever happened in the city of Toronto. As a theatre technician, he has worked on productions for Theatre Passe Muraille, Factory Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and Theatre Direct, to name a few. Currently he is the head technician at Theatre Passe Muraille's Mainspace Theatre. He is a graduate of Ryerson Theatre School's technical theatre program.
Edil Ga’al
Edil Ga’al is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto, with a BA in African Studies and Political Science, with a minor in Equity Studies. Edil is interested in both equity issues and the arts.She joined the LGBTQ Families Speak Out research team in February 2018, and was the stage manager Gailey Road’s 2018 productions of Out at School and Castor and Sylvie in Llandudno, Wales.
Jenny Salisbury
Jenny Salisbury is a SHRCC funded PhD candidate at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto. Her teaching and research interests include contemporary Canadian play creation and devising processes, with a focus on audience, community-engaged theatre, and the role of the artist as researcher. She is a co-founder and associate director of The Centre for Spectatorship and Audience Research, and is Artistic Director Common Boots Theatre along with Jennifer Brewin and Alex Bulmer (www.commonbootstheatre.ca). Jenny has enjoyed sessional work at Huron University College, Western University, as well as serving as the program coordinator for Ask & Imagine, a leadership program for youth and youth leaders.
Jorie Morrow
Jorie is a professional Actor, Social worker, Meditation Teacher and Activist. She has appeared in both film and on stage. This is her 4thproduction as a performer with Gailey Road Productions. She first appeared as “Worried Mother” in Pound Predators12 years ago! A tremendous amount of gratitude to Tara Goldstein for inviting her back for this special event. A big shout out to family and friends for their ongoing support! Love to Bob and Hailee. “I feel that being a part of this theatre experience brings us all together- we are a community of many different voices! Now more than ever, this research about the LGBTQ community and the education system is needed. As an artist, my hope is to support and strengthen the powerful messages of all these good people, these good families represented here today. To send a powerful message that we are joyful, we are proud and we will stand together.” Up Next: You will find Jorie performing in the award-winning play, Checkpoint 300 by Michelle Wise. This will be at Factory Mainstage at the Toronto Fringe Festival 2019.
Kate Reid
Slam storytelling and folk poetry collide with a roots-country vibe as Kate Reid’s musings about identity, love, queer life, and the interesting people they meet merge in songs that just might have you rolling in the aisles with laughter or dabbing tears from your eyes. A whip-smart wordsmith with a knack for candid songwriting that is charged with humour and clever social commentary, Kate has five albums under her belt and performs at music and Pride festivals, youth and arts conferences, public schools, universities, community service organizations, and in people’s living rooms. Cutting across boundaries and bringing her diverse audiences to a place of common ground, Kate is funny, feminist, queer as a three-dollar bill, and she’s sure to entertain. Kate is currently working on their PhD at the University of Toronto where they are researching the use of queer folk songs in curriculum development about gender and sexual diversity. www.katereid.net
Max Cameron Fearon
Max Cameron Fearon (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, disabled theatre artist, and a recent graduate of the UofT Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies. As an actor, director, dramaturge, and facilitator, their work focuses primarily on issues of identity, community, and mental health. They've performed and directed/AD'd with the Toronto Fringe, InspiraTO Festival, Hart House Theatre, Aluna CAMINOS Festival, Seven Siblings, Driftwood Theatre, Mixed Company Theatre, UofT campus groups, and are a current member of the Nightwood Theatre Young Innovators Program. Max is currently working on accessibility and event coordination for Lakeshore Arts and the Toronto Community Dance Love-In, with the hopes of expanding options for disabled artists and audiences in community arts settings. They're so grateful to be part of such a touching and inspiring story, and to be representing trans and non-binary youth. Enjoy the show! #ProtectTransKids
Pamela Baer
Pamela Baer is a theatre and media artist with a focus on community engaged work. Drawn from a young age to storytelling as a way of connecting people and building community, her work revolves around personal narratives, oral histories, and life stories. Pamela has facilitated community arts projects with diverse groups, and wide-reaching themes, in England, Ghana, and Canada. Her current work focuses on LGBTQ families, stories, and representations, and explores the role of collective community creation in the production of participatory media. Pamela has a B.F.A in Theatre and Development from Concordia University, a M.A. in Theatre and Media for Development from the University of Winchester, and a M.A. in Education from The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Pamela is the Research Manager on the LGBTQ Families Speak Out project, a PhD Student in Education at the University of Toronto and the Program Coordinator at Charles Street Video, an artist-run video production facility in Toronto.
Ryan Singh
A Toronto-based performer, educator, and activist, Ryan is thrilled to be a part of this cast sharing the moving and beautiful words of some amazing queer & trans parents and youth. Ryan has fought for LGBTQ2 rights for over 15 years, as well as educating youth across Canada on diversity, inclusion, and creating social change. In a past life he co-founded Fly By Night Theatre Company and directed, produced, & performed with them several times. Currently, he is president of the board of Common Boots Theatre. Thanks Jenny & Pam for asking and your guidance, Tara for your gigantic heart, an amazing team surrounding us, my husband two times over, this beautiful cast, and most importantly, the participants whose stories build this world. You inspire me to work harder for our rights and speak our truths more clearly than I ever have.
Sandakie Ekanayake
I had the pleasure of working with Tara and benjamin during the fall of 2018 in their undergraduate course on Equity and Activism in Education, and it was through this that I was first introduced to the project and the research. I have joined the team for the production as an actor and I am truly grateful to be a part of such a collaborative team. I am a recent graduate from the University of Toronto with a BA, majoring in Equity Studies. I aspire to work as an educator and continue to be an outspoken ally to the queer community, prioritizing marginalized and intersectional perspectives and experiences.
Tara Goldstein
Tara Goldstein is a professor, ethnographer and playwright in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto where she teaches an undergraduate course called Equity, Activism and Education for the Equity Studies program at New College and a graduate course called Gender, Sexuality and Schooling. Tara is also the Founding and Artistic Director of Gailey Road Productions, a theatre company that produces research-informed theatre on social and political issues that affect us all (www.gaileyroad.com). Tara co-wrote the Toronto Pride script of Out at School with artist researchers Pam Baer and Jenny Salisbury. Tara’s next production will be Castor and Sylvie which is about French feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir and her companion Sylvie Le Bon. Castor and Sylvie was workshopped at the Toronto SummerWorks Festival in 2015, revised and performed the L Fest in Llandudno, Wales in 2018, and will be performed again in Toronto in March 2020 in celebration of International Women's Day.
Tianyue Ma
Tianyue Ma is in her last year of a BA program the University of Toronto, and a student in Equity Studies. She joined the LGBTQ Families Speak Out research team in 2018, and works as Gailey Road's knowledge mobilization and communication assistant.
Tsholo Khalema
Tsholo Khalema is an actor, photographer and aspiring theatre/film director. He recently performed in the 2019 revival of Michel Marc Bouchard' play Lilies at Buddies in Bad Times. He is also known for his film work in Unexpectedly Trans (2018) Almost Heroes (2011) and Beyond a Friend (2007).
Ty Walkland
Ty Walkland is a writer and social justice educator who works with teachers and youth to confront issues of power and privilege. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Curriculum & Pedagogy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, where his research explores critical and holistic approaches to drug education. Before returning to grad school, Ty taught secondary English, Social Science, and Special Education for the Simcoe County District School Board. He helped organize Simcoe County’s first-ever “Pride Prom” for LGBTQ+ students and their allies in 2014 and has developed numerous resources for colleagues to better support queer and trans youth. He continues to facilitate professional development for education workers across the province to help meet the needs of diverse youth and families.
My name is Adam Lee, I’m 19 years old and the videographer for Out at School. I was born here in Toronto but then soon moved to Guelph where I grew up and currently live. Now I am studying kinesiology and competing for the University of Guelph Gryphons as a track and field athlete. My experience in videography started with editing training videos for my track team. I began to develop an interest media and eventually became in charge of my high school’s athletics social media. Now I am proud to have the opportunity to film and produce the documentary of the making of Out at School, as well as editing some of the Gailey Road Productions social media content.
Alanis Ortiz Espinoza
Alanis Ortiz has a B.A. (Hons) Political Science and Equity Studies from the University of Toronto. She is heavily passionate about social justice issues, equity studies, and the field of law. She has served on the University of Toronto’s Tribunal as a student panelist, the University’s Council of Athletics and Recreation as a student representative, the Canadian Hispanic Congress, and will be studying Law at the University of Leicester commencing in September 2019.
Amaka Umeh
amaka ameh is a Toronto-based creative with homes and heart-parts in both Calgary, AB, and Lagos, NG. a graduate of the Musical Theatre Performance Program at the Randolph College for Performing Arts, she has had the incredible fortune of receiving many wonderful opportunities to collaborate with diverse artists in this community, and their work has been generously recognized with three Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations and two MyEntertainmentWorld Critics’ Pick Award nominations. they also completed the Factory Theatre Mechanicals and Toronto Fringe T.E.N.T. Programs. Selected credits: Ensemble in Towards Youth (Project:Humanity/Crow’s Theatre), Goalie in The Wolves (Howland Company/Crow’s Theatre), Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (High Park), Christa in Beethoven Lives Upstairs (Grand Theatre 100 Schools Tour), Hasana in All Our Yesterdays (Chloe Hung, Toronto Fringe). Upcoming: Bobbi in Hilda’s Yard (Foster Festival), Portia in Portia's Julius Caesar (Shakespeare...Ruff/Hart House), Octavius in Julius Caesar (Groundling/Crow's).
benjamin lee hicks
benjamin lee hicks is a visual artist, elementary school teacher and PhD candidate in Curriculum and Pedagogy at the Ontario Institute for Education (OISE), University of Toronto. They taught JK-grade 6 classrooms in the Toronto District School Board for 8 years prior to beginning graduate studies full time. benjamin has written and designed curriculum materials on topics of sustainable community building, queering school space and arts-based activism. They are interested in how we might better support teachers to expect queerness and welcome all gender identities in their classrooms. benjamin is also passionate about centring the voices and experiences of trans and non-binary people navigating the school system as students, staff and caregivers. Their current work explores how visual storytelling and comic art can help to engage teachers more personally and continuously in professional learning(+action) for social justice. www.benjaminleehicks.com
Bishop Owis
Bishop is a PhD student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto (OISE/UT). They are a graduate of the Masters of Teaching program at OISE/UT where they earned their teaching qualifications in the Junior-Intermediate division. Their research at OISE explores how teachers and students can co-create queer and trans inclusive sex education curriculum by using participatory action research. They are a member of the Advisory Council for the Young Women’s Leadership Network, a Junior Fellow at Massey College, and a facilitator for Queer and Trans Chat at OISE. They also facilitate workshops with Planned Parenthood as a member of the TEACH team, and work as an external educator with the Sex Education Centre at the University of Toronto. Bishop is passionate about equity issues in education, LGBTQ+ advocacy and creating equitable spaces for people of colour in educational and political spaces.
Brendan Chandler
Brendan Chandler is a Cree English artist who recently finished Humber College Theatre for Performing Arts in Toronto. Humber Theatre works with a devised creative process. In his final year Brendan got to play Penelope in To Ithacadirected by Tatiana Jennings. Brendan has also created his own show called How Did You Find Me Here?which appeared in the Toronto Fringe Festival and was chosen as one of the top 5 artists to watch by CBC. Recently Brendan finished a duo piece with his creation partner Jessica Bowmer for the cabaret in Paprika Festival called A series of unfortunate behaviors. The piece is a bouffon piece and will be on YouTube soon. Brendan is honoured to be a part of this project and very pleased to work with such beautiful artists.
Briar Wells
Briar Wells has been working with the LGBTQ Families Speak Out project and Out at School since March 2019. She is a communications professional who has helped Gailey Road with media relations and socialmedia work.
Charlotte Stewart
Charlotte is a fourth year undergraduate student in the Anthropology and Equity Studies programs at University of Toronto, whose interests lie social and environmental justice activism in education. Last year, she worked as a Special Projects Assistant at University of Toronto's Centre for Community Partnerships, helping to run Community Kitchen events that brought students and community members, food equity advocates, and local chefs together to cook a meal and share their stories. Originally from Calgary, AB, her passion projects include planning hiking trips, making a playlist for every mood, and adventuring to discover the best coffeeshop in Toronto.
David Fisher
David Fisher has been working as a theatre professional throughout Canada for the past fifteen years. He is the general manager of Theatre Museum Canada's Toronto Theatre Database, a website devoted to archiving all of the theatre productions that have ever happened in the city of Toronto. As a theatre technician, he has worked on productions for Theatre Passe Muraille, Factory Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and Theatre Direct, to name a few. Currently he is the head technician at Theatre Passe Muraille's Mainspace Theatre. He is a graduate of Ryerson Theatre School's technical theatre program.
Edil Ga’al
Edil Ga’al is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto, with a BA in African Studies and Political Science, with a minor in Equity Studies. Edil is interested in both equity issues and the arts.She joined the LGBTQ Families Speak Out research team in February 2018, and was the stage manager Gailey Road’s 2018 productions of Out at School and Castor and Sylvie in Llandudno, Wales.
Jenny Salisbury
Jenny Salisbury is a SHRCC funded PhD candidate at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto. Her teaching and research interests include contemporary Canadian play creation and devising processes, with a focus on audience, community-engaged theatre, and the role of the artist as researcher. She is a co-founder and associate director of The Centre for Spectatorship and Audience Research, and is Artistic Director Common Boots Theatre along with Jennifer Brewin and Alex Bulmer (www.commonbootstheatre.ca). Jenny has enjoyed sessional work at Huron University College, Western University, as well as serving as the program coordinator for Ask & Imagine, a leadership program for youth and youth leaders.
Jorie Morrow
Jorie is a professional Actor, Social worker, Meditation Teacher and Activist. She has appeared in both film and on stage. This is her 4thproduction as a performer with Gailey Road Productions. She first appeared as “Worried Mother” in Pound Predators12 years ago! A tremendous amount of gratitude to Tara Goldstein for inviting her back for this special event. A big shout out to family and friends for their ongoing support! Love to Bob and Hailee. “I feel that being a part of this theatre experience brings us all together- we are a community of many different voices! Now more than ever, this research about the LGBTQ community and the education system is needed. As an artist, my hope is to support and strengthen the powerful messages of all these good people, these good families represented here today. To send a powerful message that we are joyful, we are proud and we will stand together.” Up Next: You will find Jorie performing in the award-winning play, Checkpoint 300 by Michelle Wise. This will be at Factory Mainstage at the Toronto Fringe Festival 2019.
Kate Reid
Slam storytelling and folk poetry collide with a roots-country vibe as Kate Reid’s musings about identity, love, queer life, and the interesting people they meet merge in songs that just might have you rolling in the aisles with laughter or dabbing tears from your eyes. A whip-smart wordsmith with a knack for candid songwriting that is charged with humour and clever social commentary, Kate has five albums under her belt and performs at music and Pride festivals, youth and arts conferences, public schools, universities, community service organizations, and in people’s living rooms. Cutting across boundaries and bringing her diverse audiences to a place of common ground, Kate is funny, feminist, queer as a three-dollar bill, and she’s sure to entertain. Kate is currently working on their PhD at the University of Toronto where they are researching the use of queer folk songs in curriculum development about gender and sexual diversity. www.katereid.net
Max Cameron Fearon
Max Cameron Fearon (they/them) is a queer, non-binary, disabled theatre artist, and a recent graduate of the UofT Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies. As an actor, director, dramaturge, and facilitator, their work focuses primarily on issues of identity, community, and mental health. They've performed and directed/AD'd with the Toronto Fringe, InspiraTO Festival, Hart House Theatre, Aluna CAMINOS Festival, Seven Siblings, Driftwood Theatre, Mixed Company Theatre, UofT campus groups, and are a current member of the Nightwood Theatre Young Innovators Program. Max is currently working on accessibility and event coordination for Lakeshore Arts and the Toronto Community Dance Love-In, with the hopes of expanding options for disabled artists and audiences in community arts settings. They're so grateful to be part of such a touching and inspiring story, and to be representing trans and non-binary youth. Enjoy the show! #ProtectTransKids
Pamela Baer
Pamela Baer is a theatre and media artist with a focus on community engaged work. Drawn from a young age to storytelling as a way of connecting people and building community, her work revolves around personal narratives, oral histories, and life stories. Pamela has facilitated community arts projects with diverse groups, and wide-reaching themes, in England, Ghana, and Canada. Her current work focuses on LGBTQ families, stories, and representations, and explores the role of collective community creation in the production of participatory media. Pamela has a B.F.A in Theatre and Development from Concordia University, a M.A. in Theatre and Media for Development from the University of Winchester, and a M.A. in Education from The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Pamela is the Research Manager on the LGBTQ Families Speak Out project, a PhD Student in Education at the University of Toronto and the Program Coordinator at Charles Street Video, an artist-run video production facility in Toronto.
Ryan Singh
A Toronto-based performer, educator, and activist, Ryan is thrilled to be a part of this cast sharing the moving and beautiful words of some amazing queer & trans parents and youth. Ryan has fought for LGBTQ2 rights for over 15 years, as well as educating youth across Canada on diversity, inclusion, and creating social change. In a past life he co-founded Fly By Night Theatre Company and directed, produced, & performed with them several times. Currently, he is president of the board of Common Boots Theatre. Thanks Jenny & Pam for asking and your guidance, Tara for your gigantic heart, an amazing team surrounding us, my husband two times over, this beautiful cast, and most importantly, the participants whose stories build this world. You inspire me to work harder for our rights and speak our truths more clearly than I ever have.
Sandakie Ekanayake
I had the pleasure of working with Tara and benjamin during the fall of 2018 in their undergraduate course on Equity and Activism in Education, and it was through this that I was first introduced to the project and the research. I have joined the team for the production as an actor and I am truly grateful to be a part of such a collaborative team. I am a recent graduate from the University of Toronto with a BA, majoring in Equity Studies. I aspire to work as an educator and continue to be an outspoken ally to the queer community, prioritizing marginalized and intersectional perspectives and experiences.
Tara Goldstein
Tara Goldstein is a professor, ethnographer and playwright in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto where she teaches an undergraduate course called Equity, Activism and Education for the Equity Studies program at New College and a graduate course called Gender, Sexuality and Schooling. Tara is also the Founding and Artistic Director of Gailey Road Productions, a theatre company that produces research-informed theatre on social and political issues that affect us all (www.gaileyroad.com). Tara co-wrote the Toronto Pride script of Out at School with artist researchers Pam Baer and Jenny Salisbury. Tara’s next production will be Castor and Sylvie which is about French feminist philosopher Simone de Beauvoir and her companion Sylvie Le Bon. Castor and Sylvie was workshopped at the Toronto SummerWorks Festival in 2015, revised and performed the L Fest in Llandudno, Wales in 2018, and will be performed again in Toronto in March 2020 in celebration of International Women's Day.
Tianyue Ma
Tianyue Ma is in her last year of a BA program the University of Toronto, and a student in Equity Studies. She joined the LGBTQ Families Speak Out research team in 2018, and works as Gailey Road's knowledge mobilization and communication assistant.
Tsholo Khalema
Tsholo Khalema is an actor, photographer and aspiring theatre/film director. He recently performed in the 2019 revival of Michel Marc Bouchard' play Lilies at Buddies in Bad Times. He is also known for his film work in Unexpectedly Trans (2018) Almost Heroes (2011) and Beyond a Friend (2007).
Ty Walkland
Ty Walkland is a writer and social justice educator who works with teachers and youth to confront issues of power and privilege. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Curriculum & Pedagogy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, where his research explores critical and holistic approaches to drug education. Before returning to grad school, Ty taught secondary English, Social Science, and Special Education for the Simcoe County District School Board. He helped organize Simcoe County’s first-ever “Pride Prom” for LGBTQ+ students and their allies in 2014 and has developed numerous resources for colleagues to better support queer and trans youth. He continues to facilitate professional development for education workers across the province to help meet the needs of diverse youth and families.