Playwrights Theatre Centre announces new shared leadership

Davey Samuel Calderon, Joanna Garfinkel, and Melanie Yeats to take over from Heidi Taylor

(Left to right) Melanie Yeats, Joanna Garfinkel, and Davey Samuel Calderon. Photo by Nathalie De Los Santos

FOUNDED IN 1970 as the New Play Centre and with a focus on dramaturgical practice, Playwrights Theatre Centre has just announced a new shared leadership model.

PTC will see Davey Samuel Calderon, Joanna Garfinkel, and Melanie Yeats together take over from outgoing artistic and executive director Heidi Taylor for collectively held decision-making, “deeper artistic development with company collaborators, and more meaningful connections to diverse communities”, according to a release.

Contributing to the design of the new leadership model were consultant Jeanne LeSage and Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Alliance executive director Kenji Maeda.

Calderon first joined PTC as a volunteer and became an intern in 2016. He continued on to be a frequent collaborator with the organization in various capacities and in 2020 took on the role of dramaturg, public engagement. Calderon has worked with Neworld Theatre, Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre, Alley Theatre, and Paul Wong Projects, among other organizations.

Beginning in 2010, Garfinkel served as a frequent dramaturgical contractor for PTC, shepherding the Fringe New Play Prize from 2017 to 2020. Joining the PTC staff as dramaturg, creative engagement in 2021, Garfinkel reinvigorated the curriculum for PTC’s dramaturgy training initiative, Block D, which is welcoming its second cohort this year. Specializing in new play development as well as site-responsive and multidisciplinary work, Garfinkel cofounded Universal Limited with Yoshie Bancroft, and their collectively created work has been seen across Canada. Other recent accomplishments include leading the dramaturgy of the National Queer and Trans Playwriting Unit.

Yeats started out at PTC as operations manager in 2016, becoming creative managing director in 2020. She has since worked to refine how the organization approaches governance, human resources, and strategic planning.

Taylor has initiated a fundraising campaign to support the incoming cohort of associates: Undaunted Creation.

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Gail Johnson

Gail Johnson is cofounder of Stir. She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work. She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants.

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