1 SAMER AL-SABER is a Palestinian theatre director, writer, actor, and scholar. He researches the intersection of cultural production and political conflict in the Middle East. He completed a PhD in Theatre History, Theory, and Criticism at the University of Washington (2013) and currently holds an Andrew W Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at Davidson College (2013-2015). His areas of scholarly interest include Middle Eastern culture, theatre, and performance, Palestinian theatre, the modern history of East Jerusalem, and the performance culture of the Roman Middle East. He is currently preparing a monograph based on his dissertation, “Permission To Perform: Palestinian Theatre in Jerusalem (1967-1993).”

2 PATRICK BLENKARN is a theatremaker currently living between Halifax and Wolfville, NS. For three years, he has been making theatre with his art group, Wheelwright. In 2013, he received a BA Combined Honours in contemporary continental philosophy and theatre studies, and a minor in film studies from the University of King’s College. He recently worked as a teaching assistant in the Early Modern Studies Programme at King’s and in the Department of Theatre at Dalhousie University. Philosophers Jacques Derrida and Gilles Deleuze and filmmakers Chantal Akerman and Peter Greenaway hold special places in both his artistic and academic work.

3 KAREN FRICKER is Assistant Professor in the Department of Dramatic Arts at Brock University, and previously worked as lecturer in contemporary theatre at Royal Holloway, University of London. Her co-edited volume, with Milija Gluhovic, Performing the ‘New’ Europe: Identities, Feelings, and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest, was published in 2013 by Palgrave Macmillan, and she is completing a monograph, Making Theatre Global: Robert Lepage’s Original Stage Productions for Manchester University Press. She has published articles and chapters in Contemporary Theatre Review, Globe: Revue internationale d’études québécoises, L’annuaire théâtrale, SQS (Journal of Queer Studies in Finland), and The Routledge Companion to Director’s Shakespeare (ed. John Russell Brown); and has chapters forthcoming in Cirque Global: Québec’s Expanding Circus Boundaries (eds. Charles Batson and Louis Patrick Leroux). Karen is a professional theatre critic and the founding editor in chief of Irish Theatre Magazine. She has reviewed and broadcast for The Guardian, Variety, The Irish Times, The New York Times, BBC, RTÉ, and the CBC, amongst other outlets.

4 HERVÉ GUAY enseigne au Département de lettres et communication sociale de l’Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. En 2010, il a publié L’Éveil culturel. Théâtre et presse à Montréal 1898-1914 aux Presses de l’Université de Montréal. Il s’intéresse non seulement aux discours sur le théâtre et aux relations entre les médias et les arts de la scène, mais aussi à la dramaturgie québécoise et aux interactions avec le spectateur dans les pratiques contemporaines. Au fil des ans, il a signé des articles dans bon nombre de publications et dirigé des dossiers pour L’Annuaire théâtral, Voix et Images et Tangence, revue savante dont il est le directeur. Président de la Société québécoise d’études théâtrales depuis 2011, Hervé Guay est membre du Centre de recherche interuniversitaire sur la littérature et la culture québécoises.

5 ERIN HURLEY, author of Theatre and Feeling and National Performance: Representing Quebec from Expo 67 to Céline Dion, and editor of Theatres of Affect, teaches in the Department of English at McGill University.

6 KATHLEEN IRWIN (Doctor of Arts, Aalto University) is a scenographer, writer, and educator (Head, Theatre Department, University of Regina), whose practical and theoretical research focuses on site-specific, community-based practice, and alternative performative spaces including found space and the internet. As co-artistic Director of Knowhere Productions Inc., she produces large-scale, site-specific performances. She presents regularly at international conferences and has given workshops in Helsinki, Belgrade, Tallinn, Istanbul, Utrecht, Melbourne and Cardiff. Her research is published as articles and chapters in Canadian and international journals / anthologies and is disseminated through documentaries and web-based archives. As Canadian Education Commissioner / OISTAT, she participates regularly in the Prague Quadrennial of Space and Performance and is active on the board of the Canadian Association for Theatre Research. Publications include Sighting / Citing / Sighting (Ed. Canadian Plains Research, 2009) and The Ambit of Performativity (University of Art and Design Helsinki Press, 2007).

7 BRAD KRUMHOLZ is a PhD student in Theatre at the Graduate Center, City University of New York and is co-founder and Artistic Director of North American Cultural Laboratory (NACL Theatre). He has taught acting at City College, and is currently an adjunct lecturer at Hunter College and Macaulay Honors College. Publications include “The Problem of Movement Theatre,” in the Allworth Press book, Movement for Actors, and “Locating the Ensemble: NACL Theatre and the Ethics of Collaboration,” in the Methuen Press book, Encountering Ensemble.

8 LOUISE LADOUCEUR est professeure au Campus Saint-Jean de l’Université de l’Alberta, où elle est en charge du programme d’études théâtrales et dirige le Théâtre au Pluriel. Elle est aussi rédactrice associée francophone de la revue Recherches théâtrales au Canada. Ses recherches et nombreuses publications portent sur la traduction théâtrale, la dramaturgie francophone du Québec et de l’Ouest canadien et sur la lecture publique comme performance. Son livre Making the Scene : la traduction du théâtre d’une langue officielle à l’autre au Canada, paru en 2005, a reçu le Prix Gabrielle-Roy et le Ann-Saddlemyer Award. La version anglaise de l’ouvrage est parue aux Presses de l’Université de l’Alberta en 2012. Elle a aussi co-signé Plus d’un siècle sur scène ! Histoire du théâtre francophone en Alberta de 1887 à 2008 paru en 2012 et elle a produit un site web portant sur les théâtres francophones de l’Ouest.

9 YANA MEERZON is an Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre at the University of Ottawa. Her research interests are in drama and performance theory, theatre of exile, and cultural and interdisciplinary studies. She has completed a study on Michael Chekhov’s acting theory and pedagogy, A Path of the Character: Michael Chekhov’s Inspired Acting and Theatre Semiotics (2005). Her research project “Theatricality and Exile” has been sponsored by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). Her manuscript Performing Exile – Performing Self: Drama, Theatre, Film was published by Palgrave in 2012. She has co-edited two books on a similar subject: Performance, Exile and ‘America’ (with Silvija Jestrovic) (2009) and Adapting Chekhov: The Text and Its Mutations (with J. Douglas Clayton) (2012). Her current projects include: Routledge Companion to Michael Chekhov (co-edited with Marie-Christine Autant-Mathieu); and History, Memory, Performance (co-edited with David Dean and Kathryn Prince), forthcoming Fall 2014.

10 ANDREA PELEGRÍ KRISTIĆ est comédienne, étudiante de doctorat en études théâtrales, chargée de cours à la Universidad Católica de Chile et titulaire d’une maîtrise du Département de théâtre de l’Université d’Ottawa. Elle travaille aussi comme directrice de la revue Apuntes de Teatro de la même université. En 2006, elle a fondé, avec l’acteur Mauricio Quevedo, la compagnie Tiatro, dont les productions ont été plusieurs fois primées. Elle est également traductrice et a obtenu en 2012 une subvention du gouvernement canadien pour traduire la pièce La litière de Louis Patrick Leroux. Elle a publié des articles et des traductions dans des revues savantes chiliennes. Andrea est membre de la Fédération internationale de recherche théâtrale (FIRT-IFTR) et, avec Emer O’Toole et Stuart Young, est en charge de l’édition d’un recueil d’articles du groupe de travail en traduction, adaptation et dramaturgie de cette même organisation.

11 MELISSA POLL is a final-year PhD candidate in Drama at the University of London, Royal Holloway. Since completing a BFA in Acting and an MA in Theatre History and Criticism at the University of British Columbia, she has worked as a professional actor (The Arts Club Theatre, Théâtre de la Seizième), adjunct professor, and freelance theatre critic for The Vancouver Sun, Vancouverplays.com, and The British Theatre Guide. Her current research focuses on scenography and interculturalism in Robert Lepage’s extant text productions. Melissa has published in Body, Space & Technology Journal and Canadian Theatre Review.

12 SYLVAIN SCHRYBURT est professeur au département de Théâtre de l’Université d’Ottawa. Il a été critique de théâtre à la revue Jeu et rédacteur en chef de L’Annuaire théâtral. Il a écrit sur l’américanité du théâtre québécois, le financement du théâtre, l’institution théâtrale québécoise et l’histoire du programme de théâtre au Québec. On lui doit également un livre, De l’acteur vedette au théâtre de festival. Histoire des pratiques scéniques montréalaises (1940-1980), publié en 2011 dans la collection « Socius » des Presses de l’Université de Montréal. Ses plus récents travaux portent sur le théâtre de festival et la constitution d’un champ théâtral international.

13 DRAGANA VARAGIC is an award winning actor, director and Artistic Director of the Toronto-based April Productions. Dragana holds an Honours BA in Acting (Faculty of Dramatic Arts, Belgrade), a Specialization in Shakespeare (Shakespeare Institute, Stratford-upon-Avon, British Council Fellowship), and an MA in Drama (University of Toronto). Her directing credits include The Penelopiad, (April Productions/ Purgatorio Festival, Montenegro), Vindication (April Productions), Dantes Divinus (Dalhousie Arts Centre/ Dalhousie University), Not My Story (April Productions/Artword Theatre), Princess T. (Graduate Centre for Study of Drama, University of Toronto). Her Canadian acting credits are many and before coming to this country, she was a leading actress of the National Theatre in Belgrade. She has taught acting in the Theatre Program of Dalhousie University and University of Windsor. She is currently an Associate Professor at the Academy of Arts in Belgrade. Next term, as a Visiting Professor, she will teach and direct The Last Days of Judas Iscariot at the University of Ottawa. In addition to her Dora nomination for Outstanding Actress, Dragana is also a recipient of major theatre awards in Former Yugoslavia that include Best Performance Awards from the National Theatre, Yugoslav Theatre Festival, Serbian Theatre Festivals, and Serbian Equity Association.

14 KATHERINE ZIEN is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English at McGill University. She received her PhD from Northwestern University’s Interdisciplinary Program in Theatre and Drama. Zien’s pedagogy and research focus on theatre and performance in the Americas, with emphasis on transnational mobility, competing cosmopolitanisms, and comparative performances of racialization in both “high” and popular cultural forms. She is currently completing a book manuscript, “Claiming the Canal: Performances of Sovereignty in Panama, 1903-1999,” which covers a century of performances about sovereignty and imperialism in the Panama Canal Zone. Zien’s research is featured in journals including Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies, The Journal of Popular Music Studies, e-misférica, alt.theatre, Global South, Identities, and Latin American Theatre Review. She may be contacted at katherine.zien@mcgill.ca.