Fay Nass
Artistic Director

Fay Nass is a queer theatre-maker, director, writer, curator, producer, educator, scholar, innovator and tireless advocate for diversity and inclusion. Her practice is dedicated to creating artful, truthful interpretations of gender, race, diaspora and cultural identity.  

Fay’s work has been presented locally, nationally and internationally. Fay is currently the Artistic Director of the Frank Theatre Company, Vancouver.

Board of Directors

Mariane Bourcheix-Laporte
Vice-President

Mariane Bourcheix-Laporte is an interdisciplinary artist and independent curator based in Vancouver who is currently completing a PhD at SFU's School of Communication. Her artistic and curatorial projects have been presented across Canada as well as internationally as part of the Deformes Performance Bienal (Valdivia, Chile, 2014). She has contributed articles to Inter: art actuel, Decoy, Esse: art & opinions and C Magazine; has published and edited a number of artists’ books; and recently contributed a chapter to Curating Live Arts: Critical Perspectives, Essays, and Conversations on Theory and Practice (Berghahn Books, 2018). marianebourcheixlaporte.ca

Shirin Mehrgan
Treasurer

Shirin currently works as Financial Specialist at UBC Student Development & Services. She was part of the cast of Unveiled (2017).

Nadja Rence
Secretary

Nadja Rence obtained her law degree at the University of British Columbia in 2004 and was called to the British Columbia Bar in 2005. Ms. Rence has practiced primarily in the area of child protection and has continued with that practice since joining Somers and Company in 2015.

Contract Artists:

SJ Valiquette Assistant to the Artistic Director/ Operations Manager

SJ Valiquette is a queer theatre practitioner, poet, and photographer from Treaty Seven Territory. She has a BFA from the University of Victoria, and has studied at Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Carmen Alatorre
Director

Carmen Alatorre is a costume designer from Mexico with an MFA in theatre design from UBC. She has designed over 80 productions and is the recipient of 3 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards for Outstanding Costume Design: 2014/15 in the large theatre category and 2016/17 in both large and small theatre categories, as well as an Applause Musicals Society Ovation Award for Outstanding Costume Design in 2013. https://www.carmenalatorre.com

Erin Purghart Marketing Director

Erin Purghart is a multidisciplinary artist based in Lower Mainland, BC. Since graduating from UBC's BFA in Acting program last year, they have worked predominantly as an actor and comedian. When they're not performing, they put to work their type A brain by producing and marketing. They are excited to be joining the Aphotic Theatre team this season!