Tessa Mendel is a theatre director, community-based theatre practitioner and educator who has worked in theatres, universities and numerous community contexts throughout Canada and internationally (Ethiopia/ Jamaica). Tessa was the founding director of a company that created plays with, by and for youth in Toronto’s public housing communities and the founding director of the Women’s Theatre and Creativity Centre of Nova Scotia. Currently the Artistic Director of Halifax Theatre for Young People, Tessa's book, ‘Using the Creative Arts for Transformational Learning’ has been used as a text for university courses in Nova Scotia and New York.

Laith Abadi (He/Him) is a Palestinian-Canadian performer based in Kjibuktuk/Halifax. At the heart of his passions lies a deep love for books; his shelves overflow with stories that teach him about the world around him. He finds himself just as at home on the stage as he does in the pages of a book. He has an extraordinary fascination with vexillology, pouring over flags from countries near and far, each one telling a unique story of history and identity. With a keen eye for detail, he can identify flags from even the most obscure corners of the globe.

Ateka (she/her) is an Afghan-Canadian who is taking her masters at Dalhousie and planning to graduate in 2024 as a Nurse Practitioner.

Ateka is an active member of the Afghan Community of NS who is participating and organizing in events such as dance, fashion show.

When Ateka is not busy with nursing, she likes to camp, sew, bike, cook, dance and help newcomers not only in the Afghan community, but also many other newcomers.

Pasha Ebrahimi (he/him) is a film and theatre professional based in Canada with roots in the Maritime provinces. 

In television, he is best known for supporting roles in acclaimed series such as The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Good Doctor, Six, as well as diverse character roles on prominent shows such as Salvation, Supergirl, Supernatural, Shadow Hunters: The Mortal Instruments, iZombie, and Midnight Mass etc.  

His film career includes the cult classic Hobo with a Shotgun, the award-winning film; Charlie Zone, the international film The Healer and most recently the feature film 8:37 Rebirth, for which he was awarded Best Actor at the Montreal Independent Film Festival.

Pasha has earned numerous film festival nominations, including three ACTRA Award nominations: once for Best Actor in the film Lord of Chaos and twice for Best Supporting Actor in the television series Sex and Violence.
 
You can find an up-to-date list of Pasha's released roles at IMDB. 
Pasha is also a vocal talent with credits on award winning productions such as the documentary Perfume War, video games like Assassin's Creed: Valhalla and Mirage, and most recently the audio book: My Road From Damascus: A Memoir by Jamal Saeed.

Pasha has worked with an array of theatre companies over the years since his start in the industry, performing in both classical and contemporary productions. Most recently he played the part of Hamlet in Neptune's diverse production of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” directed by Jeremy Webb. 
Selected theatre credits include: THE VEIL(Neptune/One Light), THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA (Theatre New Brunswick), THE DRAWER BOY (The Atlantic Theatre Festival), THE TRIUMPH OF JOE T. (Irondale), THE UNDERPANTS (Lions Den), EDWARD THE SECOND (Villains), WASHED AWAY (Dell'Arte International)

A very special thank you to the team at Eastern Front and Kat McCormack for the warm welcome to the Stages Festival.

Pasha Ebrahimi is currently represented by MaryJane MacCallum at The ARC in Ontario, Canada.

Booses for Tiger Lily

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​https://m.imdb.com/name/nm3395644/

natalie abdou – natty (she/they)

I am a community facilitator, artist, life-long learner, earth-tender and creative soul. I love to learn alongside others for the purpose of community creation and transformation. I have spent the last 20 years connecting and collaborating with diverse communities in North America and Egypt, co-creating learning environments that are founded upon shared values of diversity, love, respect, creativity and self-empowerment - embracing a vision of solidarity, social justice and change from the inside-out. I see participatory learning, the arts and embodied wisdom practices as portals of transformative capacity, providing space for our souls to dance, breathe and unleash the deep wisdom that resides within, in service of personal, collective and systemic transformation. My artistry has been primarily expressed through community-based, improvised, participatory theatre – such as Theatre of the Oppressed & InterPlay – creating opportunities for collaboration and deep connection between artists and community in pursuit of sharing stories of social justice and revolutionary change.

I am freelance consultant as Weaving Connections (Toronto, Nova Scotia & Egypt) and collaborate with Bloom Consulting (Toronto), Branch Out Theatre (Toronto), Interplay (Oakland, CA), YES! Jam (California, CA) and various youth activist and practitioners working for justice in Egypt. I have a MEd in Adult Education and Community Development at OISE.

www.weavingconnections.ca