Elaine Carol is an artist, writer, performance artist and director whose work has been seen and heard internationally. Born and raised in Montréal,and moving to Vancouver 27 years ago after an 18-year stopover in Toronto, Elaine has more than 50+ years-experience as a professional artist in Canada.

Her interdisciplinary practice includes: solo and community-engaged performance art; documentary film; experimental theatre; public art; soundart/music and lens-based art (photography, film and video).

She has been involved with community-engaged art since 1990, has worked withyouth for more than 35 years, and co-founded MISCELLANEOUS Productions (MP) in 2000.

For MISCELLANEOUS Productions, where she is known fondly as the “benevolent drill sergeant”, Elaine has directed, produced and written/co-written all of the company’s community-engaged performances in Canada, the US and Europe. She produced and co-programmed the Raincity Rap: History of Hip Hop in Vancouver festival in 2011, and was the producer and programmer of the 2013 Raincity Rap festival.

Elaine was artist-in-residence at the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in1996 as well as artist colonies in Belgium, France, and Catalonia in 2015, and screened her documentary films in Barcelona, Marseille, and Brussels to packed houses and standing ovations.

Nominated by Libby Davies, MP, Elaine received the 2013 Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medallion for community service for her work with MISCELLANEOUS Productions.

Elaine is committed to furthering artistic collaborations within the community, using performance art and theatre as tools for personal transformation and social change, and in cultivating long-term relationships with the communities she works with -- especially integrated groups of culturally and socially representative, multi-barriered and mainstream youth.

Elaine is currently developing a new film work exploring international and Indigenous folklore and fairy tales. Guided by the brilliant scholarly work of Jack Zipes, this work will be made in collaboration with socially and culturally representative, multi-barriered young people.

Email Elaine

Dakota comes from a family of Cree-Ojibway chiefs and holds the title of Senior Cedar Cottage Powwow Princess in East Vancouver.

As a youth, Dakota participated in MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ Stock Characters: The Cooking Show and POWER, and has worked as an intern and Indigenous youth outreach consultant for the performance and tour of Haunted House, and the tours of Monsters and AWAY with HOME.

She has also worked as an outreach and sexual health educator at YouthCo in the Yúusnewas Program, an Indigenous peer-led education program that provides workshops on HIV and sexual health in urban and rural communities across British Columbia. The Yúusnewas Program approaches the topics of sexual health and harm reduction by centering Indigenous perspectives and incorporating traditional teachings.

Dakota provides educational consultation to MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ youth and staff on best practices for working with Indigenous youth.

Megan discovered her focus for theatre and film while training at Capilano University in the Costuming for Stage / Screen, and the Textile Arts Programs. The courses helped her construct with an eco-artistic approach to cloth manipulation.

During school, a four-show apprenticeship as a costume builder for the designers of The Caravan Farm Theatre, instilled a core belief in reusing beautiful materials.

Megan has worked as MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ costume designer for five on-stage shows and two short films. Megan’s up-cycled design aesthetic delivers unique and eco conscious costumes, in hopes to inspire others.

Yvan, who has worked with MISCELLANEOUS Productions since 2006, has designed sets for many Vancouver and Western Canadian theatre companies, such as the Arts Club Theatre Company, Touchstone Theatre, Théâtre la Seizième, Belfry Theatre, Prairie Theatre exchange, Vancouver Playhouse, and Bard on the Beach, among others.

As well as over 20 years designing sets and lights for the performing arts and events industry, including many award-winning projects, Yvan also worked with students in the Film Arts program at Langara College, has been a set design mentor for the Bachelor of Performing Arts Program at Capilano University, and has taught set design for Studio 58 at Langara College.

Yvan’s previous and varied experience also includes training and performing as an actor and professional juggler, and working as an arts reporter for Radio-Canada. His hands-on approach to design is an integral part of his success as a designer, mentor, and educator.

Yvan currently teaches at Langara University in the Design Department.

Born in Kitchener, Ontario and raised in Nova Scotia, Brad completed his education at Ryerson University in Toronto before recently moving to North Vancouver. In Toronto he did lighting design for Ballet Creole, the Panasonic Theatre production of Cats, and designed for singer Matt Dusk, magician Ted Outerbridge, the National Chinese Acrobats, and the Dalai Lama’s appearance at Toronto’s Skydome. In Las Vegas Mark lit Menopause the Musical at the Luxor Hotel, and in Victoria he created lighting for the Citadel Theatre production of REDPATCH.

Local credits include: AWAY with HOME and Monsters for MISCELLANEOUS Productions; Where The Wild Things Are for Presentation House Theatre; The Events for Pi Theatre; and Salmon Girl for Raven Spirit Dance and Carousel Theatre.

Brad is also a freelance contributor to Professional Lighting and Production Magazine.

Mary is a freelance editor and post-production supervisor for films, documentaries and commercials. Among her credits are: A Feeling Called Glory, which won several Leos and a Genie; Bitter Paradise, which won Best Political Documentary at Hot Docs: and Haiti Betrayed, the opening film at the 2021 International Political Film Festival in Buenos Aires. Her most recent documentaries are: Overwhelmed and Not Quite That.

Mary attended the 1998 Resident Editor’s Lab at the Canadian Film Centre, has been a resident editor at the Canadian Film Centre and at Women in the Director’s Chair at the Banff Arts Centre, and is a member of the International Documentary Association. She has edited numerous research documents and academic speeches, as well as working closely with author Helen Waldstein Wilkes to create the book Letters From the Lost.

Mary is a recipient of the Vancouver Women in Film Lifetime Member Award for her work as board member, president, and supporter of the organization.

Mary has been working with MISCELLANEOUS Productions on all of our major digital video and documentary productions since 2006.

A multi award-winning composer and sound designer for film and television, Dennis has contributed to more than 120 films, and his work can be seen regularly on network and cable TV. His many credits include musical scores and sound design for Picture Start by Harry Killas, Sister In Arms by Beth Freeman, and Tailor Made: Chinatown's Last Tailors which won the prestigious Golden Reel Award for Best Short Film at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

In addition, Dennis has created a number of multi-media sound works, installations, and web-based interactive collaborations, both as a solo artist and in collaboration with the likes of David Rimmer, Stan Douglas and Landon Mackenzie.

A professional musician for more than 30 years, Dennis has performed with many jazz greats, including Mose Allison, Herb Ellis, and Ernestine Anderson. Dennis has been an Associate Professor Emily Carr University since 1987.

Dennis has worked with MISCELLANEOUS Productions on their documentaries as a story editor (POWER), sound editor and sound designer since 2006.

Thom Stitt was lucky to discover his love of filmmaking as a child in the early 1990s at the far edge of Fort Hood, Texas, between an army base and a wild oak forest. There he borrowed his neighbour's VHS camcorder and directed his first science fiction B-movies and stop-motion animations.

As a young adult he came to BC and graduated from Vancouver Film School as an accomplished director, cinematographer, and editor. He never looked back, working in film ever since. His work spans social and political activism, charity fundraising, yoga and meditation, series pilots, experimental live concert visualizations, narrative films, documentaries, and the occasional viral video, including a rare acting turn as a hapless yoga student studying under a two-year-old master.

Thom has created hundreds of promotional trailers for television shows and movies, and an award-winning official trailer for Sony's hit videogame LittleBigPlanet 2. By night he continues to work on offbeat passion projects and biographical documentaries.

In love with strange photographs in strange light, Thom always pursues the mood that gives you the feeling you’ve peeked behind the curtain for just a second. Thom has found his calling as a storyteller and pursues those tales that offer medicine to the audience. He is at his most fulfilled making creative discoveries in his work.

Thom has been working with MISCELLANEIOUS Productions since 2014's Haunted House and has been part of every project since, and was the director of photography on The Next Generations’ Ghosts of Productions Past (2018).

Helen has been exploring hip hop, popping, and other Street Dance styles in both choreography and freestyle forms since moving to Canada in 2012. She has performed and competed internationally with both the TwoFourSeven Company, and the Diamonds In The Rough crew, and is a current captain of TwoFourSeven Company.

As part of TwoFourSeven Company, Helen has competed for Canada in competitions such as: VIBE, Bodyrock, and World of Dance. Helen has also worked extensively in the film and television industry on projects such as: Riverdale, Christmas Chronicles II, and Julie and the Phantoms. Additionally, she has worked with Kinjaz dance crew on the KDA “More” motion capture performance at the 2020 League of Legends World Championship Finals opening ceremony.

Helen has always supported local artists, performing in music videos such as: Missy D ft. Kimmortal – XX, Brooklyn"Imagine", and Jon Bryant’s Candied Tangerines. With almost ten years of teaching experience, Helen is always excited to share her knowledge and passion for inspiring her students in finding their true selves through dance.

Helen worked as a dancer and freestyler on MISCELLANEOUS Productions' I AIN'T NO SUPERMAN and OVERWHELMED!, and as a dance teacher for our workshops 2022 tour to Toronto and Winnipeg and the GRIMM tour to BC Regional Indigenous Child and Youth Communities.

Petra was the lead dancer/actor in MISCELLANEOUS Productions' I AIN'T NO SUPERMAN and a featured dancer in MP's OVERWHELMED!

Trained locally in Burnaby, BC, Petra Ayedzi has been consistently expanding her knowledge for Hip Hop culture. A student at A3District, she can also be found casually teaching drop-ins on Thursdays for their “New Kids on the Block” slots. Petra’s passion for growth and individuality is acknowledged by many, and is considered to be her main inspiration for teaching and educating young dancers - as she brings character, education, and foundations of Hip Hop to all her work.

Petra worked as a dance teacher for our 2022 tour to Toronto and the GRIMM tour to BC Regional Indigenous Child and Youth Communities.

Marissa Wong is a Chinese-Canadian dance artist who has the privilege to create, play and share on the unceded territories of the Skwxwú7mesh, Səlílwətaɬ, and xwməθkwəyəm Nations, also named Vancouver, BC. Her engagement with the Vancouver dance community has demonstrated her ability to produce, perform, and host works. Marissa is invested in continuous learning and growth. Her work reflects her observations of the human experience. She strives to change the systemic structure in dance through the facilitation of inclusive and sustainable arts spaces.

Marissa is the artistic director of The Falling Company, formerly the response. She was previously a member of TWObigsteps Collective, which she founded in 2015. Since then she has choreographed works that have been presented internationally, including TEDxSoma (San Francisco), Dance in Vancouver, EDAM Fall Choreographic Series, and Nextfest 2022.

Marissa has also been hosted for choreographic residencies through Banff Centre for the Arts, Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, The Dance Centre, New Works, Dance West Network, Left of Main, MascallDance, SAFEhouse Arts, and DORSALEDanse.

She acknowledges the continued support from Canada Council for the Arts, City of Vancouver, and BC Arts Council.

Marissa worked with two young pre-professional dancers, on MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ OVERWHELMED! to create a new contemporary choreography specifically for them.

For more information visit: www.thefallingcompany.com

Amber Funk Barton is contemporary dance artist, born and raised in Vancouver. She received her training with Goh Ballet Academy, Arts Umbrella, The Banff Centre Dance Training and Ballet British Columbia’s Mentor Program.

Upon completion of her training, Amber established herself as a professional dance artist and has danced for various companies and choreographers, such as Joe Laughlin (Joe INK), Lola MacLaughlin (Lola Dance), Jennifer Mascall (Mascall Dance), Karen Jamieson (Karen Jamieson Dance Company) and Dana Gingras (Animals of Distinction) to name a few. She has been featured as a guest artist with Company 605 and performed in Neworld Theatre’s King Arthur’s Night, which received a Jessie Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble.

As a choreographer Amber has had her work presented in venues nationally and internationally, including a commission from the National Arts Centre and performances at the Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff, Wales and the NW New Works Festival in Seattle.

She has also worked in theatre, where she has choreographed for Horseshoes & Hand Grenade’s This Stays in the Room, which received the Critics’ Choice for Innovation from the Jessie Richardson Awards. This led to Amber’s collaboration with theatre director Mindy Parfitt on their two-women play am a.

Amber is the inaugural recipient of The Dance Centre’s Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award, has been awarded the Holy Body Tattoo Emerging Artist Award, and is one of the few Canadians to receive a danceWEB contemporary dance scholarship to study and attend the ImPulsTanz festival in Vienna, Austria.

In 2008, Amber founded her own Vancouver based contemporary dance company, the response.

Recent and current projects include the creation of Silas for Joe Laughlin’s solo show, Studio 58’s production of Mortified and upcoming projects with Marisa Smith of Alley Theatre, MISCELLANEIOUS Productions, and an invitation to create a work for Ballet Kelowna in 2019.

Amber created a new solo choreography for herself on MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ digi-film, OVERWHELMED!

Tiffany is an artist, designer, snow sculptor and sustainable eco-educator. She graduated in 2016 from Emily Carr University of Art + Design and holds a Bachelor of Design with a major in Interaction Design and a minor in Social Practice and Community Engagement.

Tiffany has been a volunteer and outreach coordinator with local event recycling social-enterprise Green Chair Recycling since 2012. She has worked at events and festivals throughout the Lower Mainland guiding volunteers in the process of diverting waste away from landfills and oceans. She has also trained volunteers in public speaking and school presentations, where they raised awareness of a minimal lifestyle in a practical and very fun way.

In 2016 Tiffany auditioned for the MISCELLANEOUS Productions show Monsters and has been involved with the company ever since, taking part in the Monsters European and Canadian tours in 2017 and 2018, and the Toronto GRIMM tour in 2022.

With the support of MISCELLANEOUS Productions artistic director Elaine Carol, Tiffany has developed storyboarding skills to help her further illustrate the stories that MISCELLANEOUS shares with the world.

Tonye Aganaba is a multidisciplinary artist, musician, and performer residing on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish & Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. They were born in London, England to parents of Nigerian and Zimbabwean heritage, and raised on Treaty 8 and Treaty 6 territory of what is known to many as Canada.

Tonye’s style is fluid (or at the very least non-binary) - and weaves playful threads of Soulful Neo-Folk, Funk, Hip-Hop and R&B. They are a steadfast fixture in their local arts community - and a passionate and political being. When they’re not making music or art - they’re actively unlearning, relearning and having conversations. Join in - @tonyeaganaba on Instagram and Twitter.

Tonye has worked on two MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ projects: MUSIC 101 pilot (2020-2022) as a featured artist, and as a composer on MP’s OVERWHELMED!

Vibrant, genuine and soulful, Dawn Pemberton has deep musical roots that take her powerful voice from gospel and soul, to jazz and funk. Her latest release Say Somethin’ won the 2015 Western Canadian Music Award for Urban Recording of the Year and crowned her as Canada's newest Queen of Soul!

Dawn has become a staple of the Vancouver music scene and can often be found tearin’ it up as a vocalist and go-to girl for live performances and studio sessions.

Dawn has been the singing/vocal coach to MISCELLANEOUS Productions youth performers since 2008.

A passionate performer, Dawn crafts her music with a sense of adventure, quirkiness, and serious groove and shapes it into her own unique and dynamic package. Tight, expressive and bold, Dawn will hit you where it counts, funk you up, and make you say Go ‘head!.

Learn more about Dawn at dawnpemberton.ca.

Contemporary R&B singer-songwriter Natasha Pheko , born and raised in East Vancouver, fell in love with the arts at an early age, taking to the stage as a dancer, actress, and singer.

As a pre-teen, she was a youth participant in MISCELLANEOUS Productions Power and Power 2, where she dove into her first real exploration of rapping, songwriting, and solo performance. Throughout high school she attended the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, where she took her first official voice lessons -- developing her technique, exploring her voice and honing her skills as a performer.

It wasn’t until she graduated from high school that Natasha made the decision to pursue her career and post-secondary education in music and vocal performance. She attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston on a full scholarship from the Slaight Family Foundation, where she studied vocal performance, music business, and songwriting, developing her unique style and refined her songwriting skills.

Throughout her time in college Natasha did some work singing as a background vocalist on projects including Marianas Trench, and Aloe Blacc’s hit single The Man, but before long she found herself yearning to tell her own stories.

Natasha has worked on MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ performances, films, and plays as a hip hop lyricist/composer since 2014, including collaborations with Chin Injeti. In 2019 she is creating two new commissioned compositions – a hip hop/rap work and a new-soul piece – for MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ next performance.

Receiving critical acclaim from outlets such as NPR, Nylon Magazine, and The 405 Ones to Watch, as well as having her’ 80s inspired ballad, Feel You gain more than 100,000 streams on Spotify, and About Us being featured on Spotify’s Just Vibing playlist, Natasha Pheko is excited to share her debut EP CRISIS, currently available worldwide.

Learn more about Natasha at BXB LOVE.

Taiko means drum in Japanese, and Uzume is the Japanese Goddess of Laughter.

Uzume Taiko is known around the world for its bold musical collaborations, humour, and theatrical stage presence. They have hand-crafted a unique brand of West Coast Canadian taiko drumming that offers a visual, sonic and sensual experience to their audience. With its powerful synthesis of music, movement and theatre, Uzume Taiko has won fans throughout the world.

Using a diverse collection of percussive and melodic instruments as well as taiko drums, Uzume Taiko has developed a dynamic fusion of old and new styles of drumming — bringing a vibrant, contemporary sensibility to an ancient art. Bonnie Soon has served as artistic director of Uzume Taiko since 1999. She incorporates choreography and theatrical elements with the festival drumming style of Japan to create new work for taiko drums, often in collaborations with musicians and artists from diverse cultures and art forms.

She builds taiko drum gear and leads taiko workshops and artist residencies in schools and communities. Bonnie began her performing career as a dancer touring with Paula Ross and Kokoro Dance companies and Snake in the Grass Moving Theatre. She has professional credits in stage management and has worked in media production.

ason Overy divides his time between performing, teaching and composing in the world of percussion. He has served as music director of Uzume Taiko since 2004, providing direction on Uzume’s collaboration projects and national and international tours. Jason holds a BMus from the University of Victoria and has been the percussion section leader of the Band of the Fifteenth Field RCA for the last 20 years. He has developed curriculum in percussion, hand drumming and Taiko drumming and teaches music in a variety of settings. Jason holds a Sandan in Shotokan Karate-do and a Shodan in Kokodo Jujutsu.

Teaching and composing for MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ performance work, Bonnie and Jason have also taught and composed new music for the company’s Stock Characters: The Cooking Show (2006 – 2007) and AWAY with HOME (2019).

Learn more about Uzume Taiko at www.uzume.com.

Robin is a regular fixture on the B.C. festival circuit, collaborating with a wide spectrum of folk and world artists. His recent touring engagements have taken him to Europe, Mexico, China, the U.S. and Canada. His love for music, rhythm, and culture have led him to study with master percussionists in Cuba, Guinea, Mali, and Mexico.

Robin currently performs with Locarno, Mazacote, Tambura Rasa and his own group Robin Layne and the Rhythm Makers. He recently released his debut marimba record Memories this spring and has been touring the province in support of it. He is also in demand as a freelance percussionist for recordings, performances and tours.

Recent highlights include working with Juno Award winning artists Quique Escamilla, The Paperboys, Donne Roberts (African Guitar Summit), Alpha Yaya Diallo, Celso Machado and Silk Road Music.

Robin strongly believes that the gift of music should be accessible to everyone. He is the senior percussion instructor at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music, the artistic director of the World Rhythms for Youth Society, and co-artistic director with Tom Landa of the Vancouver World Music Festival.

Robin has worked on the following MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ projects: MUSIC 101 pilot (2020-2022) and GRIMM tour to BC Regional Indigenous Child and Youth Communities 2022. He is currently collaborating with Elaine on further developing MUSIC 101 with the Sarah McLachlan School of Music.

Enthusiast of the unconventional, emerging composer Jaya Story strives to be the oxymoron of accessibility. Her music challenges the audience by stretching the perceptions of familiarity, integrating key ideas that make the unexpected feel more like home. Her works have been performed by numerous ensembles and artists, including Standing Wave, Ecstatic Waves, and the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra.

As a performer, Story is an accomplished percussionist and pianist. In addition to the odd gig, she has performed in drumlines at Canucks games, percussed and keyed in various theatre productions, and runs masterclasses and adjudicates at band clinics.

Aside from her civilian musicianship, Story runs the band program at 513 RCACS, where she is employed as an officer with the Canadian Armed Forces Reserves and conducts weekly rehearsals with the cadets in the program.

Story joined the MISCELLANEOUS Productions team as the composer for two of their short films: Jack Zipes: Resurrecting Dead Fairy Tales and OVERWHELMED!

Melanie Thompson is a freelance writer, stage manager and arts administrator. She has worked with MISCELLANEOUS Productions since 2007, in a variety of capacities.

Melanie’s theatre credits include: The Full Light of Day for Electric Company; Theatre Les Filles du Roi for Fugue Theatre and Urban Ink; Little Women: The Musical and FAME: The Musical for Bring On Tomorrow Co.; Rock Legends with the Chemainus Theatre Festival; Sonic Elder for The Chop, Silenced with Urban Ink Productions; The Out Vigil for FirePot Performance; The Last Five Years for LionFish Entertainment), Underneath the Lintel with Pacific Theatre; Shrek: The Musical for Theatre Under the Stars; Arvaarluk: An Inuit Tale with Pangaea Arts, The Spitfire Grill for the Midnight Theatre Collective and Pacific Theatre; and AWAY with HOME, Monsters, and Kutz & Dawgs with MISCELLANEOUS Productions.

Outside of her theatre work Melanie manages communications for the Vancouver Inter-Cultural Orchestra (VICO) and writes grant applications and other copy for the VICO, DreamRider Productions, MISCELLANEOUS Productions, and other clients in the performing arts.

She is also a member of the Board of Directors of Theatre Under the Stars.

In a previous professional incarnation, Melanie was a publicist and/or media relations coordinator for a wide range of artists and arts organizations, including: the Songwriters Association of Canada (Bluebird North); Blackbird Theatre; the BC Highland Games; the Vancouver International Storytelling Festival; the World Peace Forum (2006); the Vancouver International Film Festival; and MISCELLANEOUS Productions (2006 – 2009).

A graduate of The National Films School, Dun Laoghaire, Ireland, with over 15 years in the industry, Mark specializes in location sound and system building for complicated projects. His credits include work on the CBC TV series This Is High School, the Discovery Channel’s Cold Water Cowboys Highway Thru Hell, History Channels Yukon Gold, and the Knowledge Network’s Emergency Room: Life + Death at VGH.

Mark has worked with MISCELLANEOUS Productions as a sound recordist since 2014, including on the documentaries / documents of Haunted House, Monsters, and OVERWHELMED!

Zefanya was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia. She has been Involved in theatre productions and acting since her school days at the Teater Canetai, in Indonesia. Zefanya moved to Vancouver in 2018 to pursue her writing and performing aspirations and joined MISCELLANEOUS Productions in October 2018 as a youth performer and writer on AWAY with HOME. She then joined the MISCELLANEOUS Productions administrative team as youth administrative trainee, and joined the company as a dance and theatre Intern/assistant tour coordinator on the 2022 tour to Toronto and Winnipeg, and the GRIMM tour to BC Regional Indigenous Child and Youth Communities.

Julian comes from a family of Cree, Saulteaux, Ojibway and Métis people from Treaty 4 Territory in Saskatchewan. They are a freelance web developer, experience designer, IT, project management, and data analysis professional and are currently a guest, living on the ancestral, traditional and unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan Nation (Kelowna, BC).

Julian is a 3D art graduate of Kelowna’s Centre for Arts and Technology and is currently working as the Manager of Communication and Engagement with the BC First Nations Justice Council.

They provide their clients with front-end development, online content creation, digital marketing, and website management services. In addition Julian supports his clients regarding their IT procurement and other technology needs.

Previously, Julian has worked with Electronic Arts Canada, Roundhouse Radio, etc.

MISCELLANEOUS Productions’ website was created by Julian in 2018 / 2019 and is presently managed by him.

Connect with Julian on LinkedIn.

Vancouver-based and multi-award-winning Barb Snelgrove of megamouth media consulting brings more than 20 years of public relations and communications experience to MISCELLANEIOUS Productions, with an extensive background in radio, television, print, public relations, and as a social media strategist and brand influencer. Barb has worked in the communications industry since 1998, and as a professional social media strategist and consultant since 2011, and with MISCELLANEOUS Productions since 2017.

She is the owner of megamouthmedia consulting, a boutique public relations and brand development company specializing in assisting companies, tourism agencies, event producers and non-profit agencies connect with the online market via proven and targeted social media strategies. Barb is also a public speaker on LGBTTQ2+, social media, and public relations topics and has presented at media conferences and events in and around Metro Vancouver.

Most recently, Barb was the promotions and communications director at Roundhouse Radio 98.3, receiving a BC Broadcasters Award in her first year for their promotional Christmas campaign for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. She has been a columnist, radio host, and television interviewer. She co-hosts the annual national telecast of the Vancouver Pride Parade coverage on OUTtv.

Barb has spent decades working as a community advocate, volunteering her time and experience with organizations, boards, and committees that include: the Vancouver Police Dept.; Vancouver City Hall Advisory Committees; Positive Living BC; the LOUD Scholarship Foundation; Qmunity; and the Vancouver Pride Society, to name but a few.

Barb has also served as volunteer emcee for hundreds of local charity and corporate events, as well as high-profile community productions.

Barb has been acknowledged for her many years of community service with accolades such as the Vancouver Pride Society Outstanding Community Member Award, and the TELUS Pride Legacy Award, and was a two-time finalist for a City of Vancouver Award of Excellence, and the YWCA Women of Distinction Award. She was inducted into the Canadian Q Hall of Fame alongside Jane Rule, Jack Layton and other queer advocates and allies in Toronto in 2013.

Learn more about Barb at megamouthmedia.ca.

Barb on socials: @megamouthmedia

Vancouver-born Kevin Dale McKeown has enjoyed a varied career in journalism, media relations and event management. In 1970, at age 19, Kevin launched a gay community news column in the Georgia Straight, chronicling the early days of gay Vancouver’s political, social and business scenes.

He went on to write arts and entertainment columns and reviews for the Georgia Straight, the West Ender and Vancouver Courier community newspapers and later was managing editor of Vancouver Week, Victoria Today, the Williams Lake Tribune, the West Ender, and Montréal Magazine. He also served for several years as the Vancouver Courier’s restaurant critic.

In 1989 Kevin launched a second career, in cultural event marketing, as communications and/or marketing manager for clients such as the Vancouver Folk Music, Writers, Children’s, Dragon Boat, and Word On The Street festivals, and groups and troupes such as Theatre Under The Stars, the Vancouver International Dance Festival, and Hoarse Raven Theatre, and provided project media relations support for Ballet Jazz de Montréal, the United Way, and the BC Federation of Labour.

Closing his firm PublicityPlus Event Marketing in 2009, Kevin joined the BC Alliance for Arts + Culture where he handled media relations, developed and managed advocacy and engagement initiatives, and was a co-producer of the annual Mayor’s Arts Awards and producer of the cultural sector’s annual Arts Summit. Kevin is a recipient of a Canadian Newspaper Award (1978), a Western Magazine Award (1991), and the Empress of Canada’s Humanitarian Award (2010) and in 2011 was inducted into the Q Hall of Fame in recognition of his contribution to the gay community in Canada.

Today, semi-retired but still keeping a hand in as KDM Communications, Kevin provides writing and editing services for a small circle of clients whose work he admires and supports, including MISCELLANEOUS Productions, and publishes a website The West End Journal for Vancouver’s West End community, where he has lived for most of his adult life

KDM Communications.

Jodi Smith, executive director of JLS Entertainment, has been working in the entertainment industry in various capacities for over twenty years. Throughout the years, Jodi has produced live events, is involved in artist management, entertainment coordination (including PNE, Harmony Arts Festival, Dragon Boat Festival & Vancouver Olympics) and has been a freelance publicist for festivals, musical concerts, dance, special events, theatre and literary fests.

JLS Entertainment’s past and present publicity clients include Vancouver Opera, MusicFest Vancouver, Ballet BC, CelticFest Vancouver, Vancouver International Flamenco Festival, Dance In Vancouver, Dancing on the Edge, Carousel Theatre for Young People, Toronto Dance Theatre, DTES Heart of the City Festival, Chutzpah! Festival, and the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival.

Jodi Smith has sat on various boards throughout the years and has taught publicity and marketing at the Trebas Institute.

Jodi worked on print media publicity for MP’s Jack Zipes: Resurrecting Dead Fairy Tales in 2020-2021.