BKS Artist Bios

Artists: U of T’s Best Kept Secret – Artist Bios Christian Campbell Christian Campbell is a poet, cultural critic, journalist and culture worker. He has presented his work in the Caribbean, the US, the UK and Switzerland, and is widely published in journals and anthologies on both sides of the Atlantic. Campbell read for an MPhil in English at Balliol College, University of Oxford, as the 2002 Commonwealth Caribbean Rhodes Scholar, and completed a PhD at Duke University. He co-founded Slice Mango, a collective of Oxford writers working in non-canonical traditions. His manuscript, Running the Dusk, was named runner-up finalist for the 2005 Cave Canem Poetry Prize by Sonia Sanchez. Christian Campbell at U of T: Campbell is an Associate Professor in the Department of English. Patricia Cano Patricia Cano is an alumna of the University College Drama Program (UCDP), where she met two exceptional theatre artists that dramatically influenced the course of her professional career: Tomson Highway and Jean- Jacques Lemêtre. Highway’s play ROSE received its world premiere at UCDP, and Patricia played the leading role of Emily Dictionary. Patricia continues to collaborate with Highway, traveling all over the world, performing a cabaret of his plays and music. Through Lemêtre, a musician for more than 25 years with Paris’ Le Theatre du Soleil, Patricia was invited to join the company. She stayed four years. She has studied unique traditional Korean folk singing and drumming in Seoul, and spent three months training in traditional Korean and Sri Lankan dance. Patricia is currently collaborating in music with Brazilian, Carlos Bernardo, as well as other exceptional musicians here in Canada. Patricia Cano at U of T: Patricia Cano is an alumna of the University College Drama Program Karen Connelly Karen Connelly is the author of seven best-selling books of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Touch the Dragon, A Thai Journal won her the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction in 1993, and was a New York Times Notable Travel Book in 2002. At 24, she was the youngest to receive the Governor General's Award. Her latest book, The Lizard Cage, won Britain's 2007 Orange Broadband Prize for New Writers, was shortlisted for the Kiriyama Prize 2006, and long listed for the Dublin Impac Award, 2006. Her upcoming work, Burmese Lessons, to be published by Random House this fall, tells the story of her time among dissidents, revolutionaries and refugees in Burma and on the Thai-Burma border. Karen Connelly at U of T: Karen Connelly is currently at U of T’s University College as the Barker Fairley Visiting Fellow in Canadian Culture. Atom Egoyan Best known as a filmmaker, Egoyan’s remarkable body of work has received both critical acclaim and commercial success around the world. One of his 10 features, The Sweet Hereafter, garnered Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also won three prizes at the Cannes Film Festival, and swept the Genies with a total of eight awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director. In 2008, he received the prestigious David Dan Prize for "Creative Rendering of the Past". Atom Egoyan at U of T: Egoyan is the Faculty of Arts and Science Dean’s Distinguished Visitor in Theatre, Film, Music and Visual Studies. Howard Engel Howard Engel is a celebrated Canadian mystery writer and CBC producer. He created the enduring and beloved detective, Benny Cooperman, who has appeared in 12 bestselling novels, and become an internationally recognized fictional sleuth. Two of Engel’s novels have been adapted to television, and his books have been translated into several languages. Engel has won numerous awards, including the 2005 Writers’ Trust of Canada Matt Cohen Award, the 1990 Harbourfront Festival Prize for Canadian Literature, and an Arthur Ellis Award for crime fiction. In February 2007, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada. His most recent work, a memoir entitled, The Man Who Forgot How to Read, documents his time overcoming the challenges of a stroke which left him unable to read. Howard Engel at U of T: Howard Engel is a former Barker Fairley Visiting Fellow in Canadian Culture. He is currently a senior fellow at Massey College. Michele George Michele George is a founding member of Peter Brook's International Centre of Theatre Research, based in Paris. She came to Canada by virtue of marriage, and co-directed the then new Graduate Theatre Program at York University. She has acted and directed for years in Canada, and traveled frequently to conferences and seminars throughout the world as a voice specialist and conference weaver. Michele is a New Yorker who is fortunate to have worked with many of the great theatre makers of our time. She is currently developing her first book, which chronicles her extraordinary global adventures. Michele George at U of T: Michele George is a lecturer in the University College Drama Program. Russell Hartenberger Russell Hartenberger is a seasoned musician and long-time member of the bands “Nexus” and “Steve Reich and Musicians”. As both a student and professional percussionist, Russell has traveled the world, recording and performing with internationally revered artists such as: Gil Evans, John Cage, Trichy Sankaran, and Yo- Yo Ma. His eclectic musical background includes a performance on the Grammy Award winning recording Music for 18 Musicians, and on the Academy Award winning Full Length Documentary, The Man Who Skied Down Everest. With the “Steve Reich and Musicians” he has recorded for ECM, DGG and Nonesuch Records. As a member of “Nexus”, he has reached international audiences with leading orchestras in North America, Europe and Asia. Russell Hartenberger at U of T: Russell Hartenberger is the Dean of the Faculty of Music. Srinivas Krishna Srinivas Krishna is an award-winning film director and artist. His work includes the highly acclaimed films Masala, Lulu, and the forth-coming Doubting Thomas, which is currently in pre-production, along with numerous short dramatic films, television series, mini-series and public video art installations. Krishna’s 1991 debut feature, Masala, premiered at the Toronto and Sundance Film Festivals to rave reviews. The film won the 2002 award for “Best Contemporary Drama” at the Birmingham International Film Festival and was voted among the “Top Ten South Asian Films" of the 20th century by the British Film Institute. Krishna is currently in post-production on his first feature documentary, Ganesh, Boy Wonder. Simultaneously, he is adapting Robert Sawyer’s sci-fi thriller novel, The Terminal Experiment, to the big scree. He is also creating new editions of his acclaimed public video installation, When The Gods Came Down To Earth. Srinivas Krishna at U of T: Srinivas Krishna is the Cinema Studies 2009 Universal Screenwriter-in- Residence. Kate Lynch Kate Lynch is a Canadian actor, director and teacher who has both taught and directed (Henry 5, Waiting for Godot, Pericles, Cymbeline) at the UC Drama Program. This summer, she will direct Starchamber at The Shaw Festival, and Michael Healey's newest play The Nuttalls at The Blyth Theatre. Kate Lynch at U of T: Kate Lynch is a lecturer at the University College Drama program. Jeff McFadden (and his guitar ensemble) Jeff McFadden is one of the pre-eminent classical guitarists of his generation. He has performed extensively across North America and Europe and recorded eight highly acclaimed CDs for Naxos. A review of his latest CD states: “McFadden is known the world over as an extremely cerebral player, ever in search of perfection, constantly experimenting, scrutinizing, and revising. The result is an impossibly rich tone, which is then placed delicately within subtle heart-wrenching turns of phrases.” McFadden’s debut recording sold thousands of copies after its world-wide release. His latest CD release features the complete didactic works of 19th century composer, Napoleon Coste. His next release, volume three of the complete works of Agustin Barrios will soon be released on Naxos. Jeff McFadden at U of T: Jeff McFadden is a lecturer in guitar in the Faculty of Music. Marina Nemat Marina Nemat was born in 1965 in Tehran, Iran, and migrated to Canada in 1991. Her memoir of her life in Iran, Prisoner of Tehran, has been published in 24 countries and has been an international bestseller. In 2007, Marina received the inaugural Human Dignity Award from the European Parliament, and in October 2008, received the prestigious Grinzane Prize in Italy. Marina Nemat at U of T: Nemet is an Aurea Fellow at University of Toronto’s Massey College, where she is working on her new book. Johanna Schall Johanna Schall is a gifted actor and director. As the grand-daughter of Bertolt Brecht and Helene Weigel, and the daughter of the great Ekkehard Schall, Johanna has been immersed in theatre since birth. Johanna is a theatre person in her own right. She is a prominent figure in the German arts community, earning her laurels as a top-notch actor and sought after director. For 15 years, she was part of the acting ensemble at the famous Deutsches Theater in Berlin, and worked with celebrated directors such as Alexander Lang, Thomas Landhoff, Frank Castorf, and Heiner Mueller. Johanna made her directorial debut in the mid 90s, and from 2002 to 2007 she was artistic director of the Volkstheater in Rostock, Germany, where she worked on close to 50 productions. Johanna Schall at U of T: Johanna Schall is presently a U of T artist-in-residence while she directs University College Drama program graduates in Moliere’s The Misanthrope, which premieres April 3rd at the Drake Hotel. Djanet Sears Sears has earned international accolades for her work as writer, director, and performer.

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