Andrew Kushnir is a playwright, director and performer who lives in Toronto. He is artistic director of the socially engaged theatre company Project: Humanity, a leading developer of verbatim theatre in Canada. His produced plays include The Middle Place (Toronto Theatre Critic’s Award), Small Axe, Wormwood, The Gay Heritage Project (co-created with Paul Dunn and Damien Atkins, 3 Dora Award nominations) and Freedom Singer (co-created with Khari Wendell McClelland, toured nationally to 14 cities/towns). His most recent theatre piece, Towards Youth: a Play on Radical Hope, premiered in February 2019 in a co-production between Project: Humanity and Crow’s Theatre; his associated documentary film Finding Radical Hope premiered in February 2021. Spring 2021 saw the release of Andrew’s theatre history investigative podcast series, This Is Something Else, which he created and hosted for the Arts Club Theatre Company. He is a graduate of the University of Alberta, a Loran Scholar and alumnist of the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction at the Stratford Festival. In April 2019, he became the first-ever recipient of the Shevchenko Foundation’s REACH prize. kushnirandrew.com
Vancouver-based Khari Wendell McClelland originally hails from Detroit and has over the past decade become a darling on the Canadian music scene for his distinct mix of soul and gospel. In 2017, he premiered his multi-disciplinary work of theatre, history and music, Freedom Singer which recreated the songs that fugitive slaves carried on their journey north into Canada. Interweaving re-invented songs with verbatim interview transcripts, the piece had three national tours. A much sought-after facilitator and teacher, Khari leads workshops around the globe fostering community, the arts and justice through values-based creative facilitation. khariwendellmcclelland.com
