NDN Acts opens the Talking Stick Festival with five new works by Indigenous artists curated by Lisa Cooke Ravensbergen. Artists are paired across disciplines and invited to create something new together, developed specifically for this night. Shared publicly for the first time and in wildly different stages of development, the works respond to this year’s theme, Cultivating Kin. Spanning theatre, film, music, dance, comedy, visual and performance arts, NDN Acts brings creative fusion to the Roundhouse Theatre and celebrates ten Indigenous artists moving forward together.
Interdisciplinary Artist and Scholar
Lisa Cooke Ravensbergen (she/her/kwe) is an interdisciplinary artist and scholar whose practice encompasses performance, creation, curation and dramaturgy, writing, teaching, advising and consultancy. A tawny mix of Ojibwe/Swampy Cree and English/Irish, Lisa’s is grateful to be a visitor and mother on unceded Coast Salish lands and continue her work as an Associate Artist with Full Circle. Her newest work, The Seventh Fire, an immersive audio performance inspired by ceremony, is currently touring Turtle Island and internationally. She is also proud to serve as a Co-Curator for the Canada Exhibition at the 2027 Prague Quadrennial.
Discipline: Theatre / Playwright
Ashleigh Giffen is a 27 year old mixed Oji-Cree multi-disciplinary artist exploring fragmented histories, place, and memory. Her first play, Kamwatan Nipe (Quiet Water) held its first reading at the Arts Club Theatre company, followed by a silver commission and artist in residency at the Arts Club. Her work has been featured in Briarpatch Magazine, Canadian Arts and Stories, and she was the second place winner of Room Magazine poetry contest. She has been in several cohorts and theatre programs including, Green Thumb, Momentum 180, and Block A with PTC theatre. She currently lives in the occupied territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) nations with her two kitties.
Discipline: Multi-media
Bracken Hanuse Corlett is an interdisciplinary artist from the Wuikinuxv and Klahoose Nations. Beginning in theatre and performance, his practice has shifted to combine sculpture, painting, and drawing with digital media, audio-visual performance, animation, and storytelling. He studied at the En’owkin Centre of Indigenous Art and Emily Carr University of Art + Design, and trained in Northwest Coast carving and design with Heiltsuk artists Bradley Hunt, Shawn Hunt, and Dean Hunt. A recipient of the 2014 BC Creative Achievement Award in First Nations Art, the 2022 Portfolio Prize, and the Joseph S. Stauffer Prize, his work has been exhibited and commissioned internationally. He is currently developing the video game Dasa with Spotted Fawn Productions and Wuulhu Studio Inc.
Discipline: Visual Artist
Jacqueline Morrisseau-Addison is an Indigiqueer Saulteaux and English interdisciplinary cultural worker based in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. Born on the traditional lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy, their family ties are to Keeseekoose First Nation in Treaty 4. Their work is rooted in biiskabiyang, spanning beadwork, textiles, performance, photography, and film, nurturing kinship, care, reflection, and intergenerational connection through material and spiritual practice.
Discipline: Film
Joel D. Montgrand is a Leo award-winning actor with more than a decade of experience in film and television. One of his early roles was in the acclaimed film Beans, which tells the story of Kahnawake resistance during the Oka Crisis. His career has since grown internationally, with roles on Netflix and HBO productions. The Hollywood Reporter’s Chief Television Critic praised his work alongside Jodie Foster and Kali Reis in HBO’s True Detective: Night Country as “the best male performance of the season.”. He is also the host of Actors and Ancestors, an Indigenous film and TV podcast.
Discipline: Comedian
Jiovanni Beltran is an Indigenous comedian from the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in North Vancouver. Since beginning his stand-up career in 2022, he has performed and produced comedy shows across venues throughout the Lower Mainland. His recent success includes appearing on the Rez Comedy lineup at the 2026 Just For Laughs Festival. Known for his story-driven, matter-of-fact comedic style, Jiovanni explores real-life experiences and community perspectives through humour. He has performed in shows such as Rez Comedy, Granny’s Corner, and Differences Aside. Beyond the stage, he connects with audiences online through his persona “That Deadly Uncle,” sharing laughter, insight, and relatable wisdom.
Discipline: Visual Arts
Manuel Axel Strain is a 2-Spirit artist from the lands and waters of the xʷməθkʷəyəm (Musqueam), Simpcw and Syilx peoples, based in the sacred region of their q̓ic̓əy̓(Katzie) and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen) relatives. Strain’s mother is Tracey Strain and father is Eric Strain, Tracey’s parents are Harold Eustache (from Chuchua) and Marie Louis (from nk̓maplqs), Eric’s Parents are Helen Point (from xʷməθkʷəy̓əm) and John Strain (from Ireland). Although they attended Emily Carr University of Art + Design they prioritize Indigenous epistemologies through the embodied knowledge of their mother, father, siblings, cousins, aunties, uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents and ancestors.
Discipline: Theater / Dance / Visual Arts
Mary-Rose is a Syilx/Siksika woman, actress, model, and visual artist. Her Syilx name is skʷkʷw̓iɬp (wild rose.) Her Siksika name is PIIHKAKATOSAKII (far away star woman.) Mary-Rose graduated from Studio 58 in spring of 2022 with multiple awards. She made her professional debut in Calgary, Alberta with Making Treaty 7 in their original production O’KOSI in fall of 2022 and was brought back in 2023 to reprise her role. Since then Mary-Rose has starred in Café Daughter and Steel Magnolias at the Globe Theatre and A Sleigh Ride Christmas Carol at the Caravan Farm Theatre. Mary-Rose’s intention is to represent indigenous peoples and our stories with integrity and imagination.
Discipline: Actor, Powwow Dancer
Nyla Bedard (Tahltan, Kaska ) is a multifaceted performing artist currently residing in North Vancouver, BC. She’s an actor, powwow dancer and an elder millennial mom of two. As a theatre artist, Nyla has performed her solo show Dissection of a… Mixed Heritage Woman at the Victoria and Vancouver Fringe Festival in 2019. She’s currently working on a second solo show and trying out stand out comedy cause adding another thing on top of everything else she does seems like a good ADHD idea.
Discipline: Music
Rob Thomson (he/him), a proud member of the Haida Nation (Old Massett), is a versatile musician and artistic producer. He began performing with his family band at cultural and community festivals in 2003, and his apprenticeship as an arts industry professional started in 2016. On electric bass, Rob frequently performs with Francis Baptiste, Anna Katarina, and LEAN. As an artistic producer, Rob has curated events for the Talking Stick Festival, Rumble Theatre, Vancouver International Jazz Festival, and the Bill Reid Gallery.
Discipline: Dance
Yvonne Chartrand is a dance artist, a contemporary choreographer and dancer as well as a national award-winning master Métis jigger. In 2000, she co-founded V’ni Dansi (“come and dance” in Mitchif) where she continues to act as Artistic Director. Yvonne’s Métis dance work was passed to her through many Métis Elders and she is dedicated to preserving traditional Métis dance in Canada. V’ni Dansi’s traditional Métis group the Louis Riel Métis Dancers were formed in 2001. Her contemporary works are always informed by her Métis identity. Yvonne is a winner of the 2011 Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Award from the Canada Council for the Arts.
Discipline: Theatre
Christine Quintana (she/her) is a Los Angeles–born playwright, actor, and co-Artistic Producer of Delinquent Theatre. Raised on Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh lands, her work has been presented in multiple languages. A 2017 Siminovitch Protégé Prize recipient, she holds a BFA from UBC. She is currently the Miriam Bennet Artist in Residence at Arts Club Theatre and is developing new works, including a commission with Manhattan Theatre Club and an adaptation of Frankenstein.
Discipline: Theatre / Film
Conor Wylie is an actor, creator, and director making theatre, film, and video games. His multimedia performance-turned-feature film “K BODY AND MIND” won Best Director of a Canadian Feature at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival. He co-wrote, cast, and voice directed “1000xRESIST”, a Peabody Award winning indie video game made here on unceded MST territory, featuring a majority Asian diaspora cast and creative team. He is a member of multimedia collective A Wake of Vultures, artistic associate of Theatre Replacement, and Associate at Playwright’s Theatre Centre. Conor uses science-fiction to explore themes of immigration, family, and outsider communities.
Discipline: Theatre
Heidi Taylor is a dramaturg, theatre maker, and arts leader based on the traditional stolen and occupied territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaɬ Nations. She thinks a lot about process design, developing performances from first idea through production for sited, text-based, community-engaged and solo works. Through her work at Playwrights Theatre Centre from 2005-2024, she dramaturged the world premieres of Pedro Chamale’s Peace Country, Derek Chan’s Happy Valley, yellow objects, and Chicken Girl, Carmen Aguirre’s Anywhere But Here, Tetsuro Shigetmatsu’s Empire of the Son, 1 Hour Photo, and Kuroko, amongst many others.
Discipline: Theatre
Jeff Gladstone is a Vancouver-based director, actor, and multidisciplinary artist known for ensemble-driven storytelling and collaborative creation. As Co-Founder of Tightrope Impro Theatre and former Artistic Director of the International TheatreSports Institute, his work is shaped by extensive global experience in improvisation. He also served as Curator of the Here Be Monsters Festival, supporting site-specific and experimental performance. Jeff has performed across Canada with companies including Bard on the Beach, Theatre Calgary, and the Citadel Theatre. His screen credits include Bones of Crows, Kingsway (Leo nomination), and Kryptic. He has directed for Monster Theatre, Revolver Festival, and Delta Stageworks, and is honoured to collaborate with Indigenous artists on this project.
Discipline: Dance / Multi-media
Natalie Tin Yin Gan (顏婷妍) is a dance artist, writer, and facilitator. She lives and learns on the ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Natalie is Co-Artistic Director of company Hong Kong Exile and lead writer at indie video game company, Sunset Visitor Studios. She teaches contact improvisation and Fitzmaurice Voicework®, a body-centred and trauma-aware approach to the voice. Natalie is the younger daughter of a mother from Hong Kong and a father from Malaysia. She speaks Cantonese poorly and fervently.
