HEYwire Team - Lauren Brady

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR & PRODUCER

Lauren Brady,

is a multidisciplinary artist born in Calgary, Alberta, on Treaty 7 territory. Lauren began her artistic journey training in various dance styles at age 3. In 2021 she graduated from the BFA in Acting program with distinction at the University of Alberta and entered the Alberta arts community. Lauren is currently training through One Yellow Rabbit’s, Beautiful Young Artists program with Denise Clark.

As a creator Lauren is known for her combination of clown and contemporary dance. Lauren has developed her process through research, online workshops with Jan Henderson, self-created work, and mentorship from Michael Kennard. In 2021 Lauren received a Canada Council Grant to pursue clown training with John Turner, Karen Hines, and Michael Kennard (The team of Mump & Smoot). This past summer Lauren came from One North Clown & Creation, where she further studied Mask & Clown with John Turner. Most recently Lauren was commissioned to create a dance clown film for the Vancouver FORM Film Festival which premiered in November 2022.

Lauren has made various works in festivals across Canada including, Vancouver FORM Festival, Play the Fool, The Nextfest Festival, Fluid Festival & The Common Clown festival.

Lauren is also the Co-Creator of Shakespeare’s Hunnies; a website/blog focused on sharing emerging artist’s work and creating a greater community.

CO PRODUCER & ASSOCIATE ARTIST

Autumn Strom (they/them),

is a queer theatre artist based in amiskwaciwâskahikan. They are a recent graduate of the University of Alberta’s BFA in Acting program, and currently work around Alberta as both an actor and sound designer. They are particularly interested in plays that are new or in development. As a designer, Autumn is exploring creating sound that inspires and extends movement, supporting not just the audience’s experience, but also the performer’s.

Select sound design credits include: The Play’s the Thing (Theatre YES, Shadow Theatre), Love, Kurt (MAA & PAA Theatre), Creature of Habit (Expanse 2023), MINE (RISER 2023), @interWEBBED (HEYwire Theatre), New Mythic Works (Thousand Faces Festival), and The Parade (Honest Bandits Theatre).

Select performance credits include: Love, Kurt (MAA & PAA Theatre), The Games of Love and Chance (Primestock Theatre), The Comedy of Errors (Theatre Calgary), The Lobbyists (Azimuth Theatre), Play That One Again (Lunchbox Theatre), The Birds, Dracula, The Secret in the Wings (Studio Theatre), The Glass Menagerie, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Mad Forest (University of Alberta), Mary’s Wedding (Shattered Glass Theatre), The Two Gentlemen of Verona (Primestock Theatre), and Torpor Temper (Art Apart).

ASSOCIATE ARTIST

Meegan Sweet (they/them)

is a queer, neurodivergent multidisciplinary artist, 2020 graduate of the University of Alberta’s Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting, as well as a 2016 graduate of the Theatre Performance and Creation Diploma at Red Deer College (now Red Deer Polytechnic). Since graduating, they have been working as an actor, musician, and florist in Amiskwaciwâskahikan. Meegan brings together their foundations of singing and music, classical training, with the authenticity and vulnerability of Pochinko Clown to create theatre that will galvanize an audience to rethink their daily lives.

Recent theatre credits include, Dvaita: Duality (Soul – Saraswathi Society for Dance and Music 2023), The Games of Love and Chance (Silvia – Primestock Theatre Co. 2022), Pressure (Ricky – Nextfest Arts Co. Edmonton Fringe 2022) White Guy on Stage Talking (Schmee – Edmonton Fringe 2022), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck – Freewill Shakespeare Festival 2022)