Women in Arts & Activism Gala Night
Thursday, September 28th 2017
The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen Street West
Join us for a special evening discussing how the arts can be used as a tool for activism, along with several impressive Canadian women, all of whom are also using their work in the arts for good. Following the panel discussion, you will see the feature production, Lela & Co. followed by a post-show discussion with free-them.ca.
7:00pm: Arts & Activism Panel Discussion
Light food and refreshments will be served, cash bar.
8:00pm: Lela & Co. performance
9:45pm: Post show talk-back with free them and the cast and director of Lela & Co.
COST: $75.00 ($45.00 charitable tax receipt will be issued).
Purchase your tickets HERE
GALA NIGHT PANEL GUESTS:
Zoie Palmer: Actor
Zoie is best known to audiences for her p
ortrayal of Dr. Lauren Lewis on the tv series Lost Girl. Zoie has appeared in an array of television productions, notably starring as Ronald Reagan’s daughter, Patti, in The Reagans, the critically-acclaimed MOW that caused a sensation and was nominated for a slate of Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe. Palmer also appeared in the Emmy Award-winning TV movie, Out of the Ashes, starred in the pilot Devil’s Perch, and portrayed Goth musician Patsy in the series Instant Star. Palmer also starred in Snapshots for Henry, which was nominated for a Genie Award as Best Live Action Short Drama, and was honoured with the Best Actor Award at the Baja California Film Festival for her performance in Terminal Venus, a short by Alexandre Franchi. She was also nominated for an ACTRA award for her work in The Untitled Work of Paul Sheppard Zoie also starred as Coast Guard rescue swimmer Carly Grieg in the hit Global series The Guard and more recently she starred in the movie Cold Blooded a thriller for which she was awarded the best actress award at the Bare Bones International Film Festival. Zoie was nominated for a “Canadian Comedy Award” for her work on the feature film Sex After Kids written and directed by Jeremy Lalonde and she also won the Canadian Screen Fan Choice Award in 2014. Zoie most recently wrapped the third season of the tv series Dark Matter.
Rosa Laborde: Writer, Director, Actor
Rosa Labordé is a critically acclaimed Chilean-Canadian Playwright, Screenwriter, Director and Actor. A finalist for Canada’s Governor General’s Literary Award, Dora award and Canadian Screen Award, she also received the prestigious K.M. Hunter Artist’s Award for Theatre. A graduate of both The Oxford School of Drama in England and Norman Jewison’s Canadian Film Centre, her recent television writing credits include HBO Canada’s Sensitive Skin and, currently, Killing It, for creator Susan Coyne (Slings and Arrows, Mozart in the Jungle). Her newest play Marine Life premieres at Tarragon Theatre in November 2017.
Delane Cooper: Jewellery Designer & Artist
Delane Cooper is a Toronto-based jewellery designer, goldsmith and artist. She is also the Champion for “My Story, The Story of Many” – a collaborative art project designed to show how individuals have used their trauma as a result of childhood sexual abuse as a springboard for growth and the leading of meaningful lives through resiliency and courage. Delane has held leadership roles in the jewellery community as President of the Metal Arts Guild of Canada and as Managing Director for the Toronto International Jewellery Festival. Currently, she is a board member of the Toronto Art Therapy Institute. www.delane.ca
Alex Lalonde: Film, TV & Digital Media Producer
Currently Chief Operating Officer at Digital Howard, Alex’s career spans over 25 years in Film, Television and Digital Media. In 2015, Alex joined Digital Howard, leading digital media and 360 Production house as their Chief Operating Officer, producing the cutting edge AR/VR Adventure game Terracosm and CSA winning Wynonna Earp Digital as well as the many innovative projects coming out of Digital Howard. Previously, Alex spent 5 years in the role of Executive in Charge of Production for First Generation Films; also acting as Head of Business Affairs and Executive Producer on several films including LIFE, REGRESSION and THE WHISTLEBLOWER. Other organizations on her resume include the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Telefilm Canada, the CMF and the Motion Picture Bond Company. Alex also sits on both the WIFT-Toronto Board of Directors and is Chair of the WIFT-Toronto Foundation Board.
Jennifer McNeely: Writer & Documentarian
Jen McNeely is the founder and editor-in-chief of Shedoesthecity. She has lived in Toronto her entire life, minus the four years where she completed a Specialization in Communication Studies degree at Concordia University in Montreal. Before launching Shedoesthecity, Jen worked in publicity and marketing at MuchMusic, Alliance Films and CBC Television. Since the fall of 2007, she has dedicated her life to creating a site for young Canadian women that promotes female entrepreneurship, thought-provoking culture and shares honest stories that, hopefully, inspires readers to take risks and enjoy a full and adventurous life. She has also written for Toronto Life, FASHION Magazine, NOW and The Globe and Mail. She’s quite content walking the city streets for miles with a coffee in one hand and her pomeranian, Rocky, in the other. Other passions include muppets, impromptu dance parties, getting tangled in bed sheets and steam rooms.
Moderator: Melissa-Jane (MJ) Shaw, Director of Lela & Co.
Evening Charitable Partner: FREE THEM
[free-them] is made up of fifteen crazy, incredible individuals who have this vision that slavery can be abolished in our life time. With over 100 volunteers who help and support [free-them] throughout the year. [free-them] is made up of people from all different ethnicity’s, genders, ages, faiths, talents, passions, interests and areas of expertise in the work force – and yet when you bring us together we unite to represent as one voice. A voice for freedom, a voice for justice and a voice for love that states people should never be bought and sold. freethem.ca
