louise casemore

Executive Director

LOUISE CASEMORE is an artist advocate, prairie nuisance, and two-time Sterling Award winning playwright. Based in Alberta on Treaty 6 and 7 Territory, she is the recipient of the ATP/Enbridge Playwright's Award, was shortlisted for the inaugural John Palmer Award from the Playwright's Guild of Canada, and is an Edmonton Artist Trust Fund honoree. Original plays include OCD (Canadian tour), GEMINI (Edmonton/Calgary/Toronto),Undressed (Alberta Theatre Projects), and LUCKY CHARM (Defiance Theatre/CGAS/Theatre Yes). Louise remains active in the national community by way of dramaturgy, teaching, and research; in 2021 releasing the long-range national study on new play development, "Surveying The Landscape". Louise is a member of the PGC, LMDA, and completed an MFA in Theatre Practice from the University of Alberta. She proudly sits on the Board of Concrete Theatre and is the Company Manager for the Banff Centre Playwright’s Lab.

Ellen Kartz

EDMONTON ASSOCIATE

Born and raised in Edmonton, Ellen Kartz lived in Calgary for four years while completing her Bachelor of Arts degree. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and a professional writing certificate from Mount Royal University. As an active writer and freelance editor throughout her career, Ellen worked with and for the Edmonton Poetry Festival for many years as a volunteer coordinator, event planner, founding member, and board member. Currently, she is also the Communications and Partnerships Coordinator for the Writers’ Guild of Alberta and the administrative assistant for the Edmonton Stroll of Poets.

In 2018, she self-produced a one-person stage show and poetry chapbook, both titled The Tenderness of Stone about a trek she made in 2016 through Nepal’s Khumbu Valley to Mount Everest Base Camp. In 2021, Ellen founded Armistice Press and launched a quartet of chapbooks by emerging queer Edmonton authors.

Jenn Taylor

Managing Director

Born and raised in Calgary, Jenn holds a Master of Arts in Shakespearean Studies from King’s College – London, as well as a Bachelor of Arts, Honours, in Theatre History from the University of Victoria. Currently the Managing Director of Alberta Playwrights’ Network, Jenn also works as a consulting dramaturg for various Alberta playwrights.

Recent production dramaturgy credits include Porcelain Dolls, Romeo and Juliet, and Persephone for Full Circle Theatre (2018, 2014, 2013), as well as Jaan for Scorpio Theatre Society (2017). Most recently, Jenn provided dramaturgical services for the world premiere of 333 by Jay Whitehead, at Theatre Outré (2021).