Staff
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Gabrielle Martin
Artistic Director | ext 101 | Pronouns: she/her/hers
Gabrielle Martin is a cultural producer and live arts curator practicing transformative experiential design in one of society’s few remaining ritual spaces. Her work prioritizes embodied criticality, imagination, pluralism, and risk. It centres the body, and is framed by social and political urgencies.
Gabrielle has a BFA in Contemporary Dance from Concordia University (Montréal), a Certificate in Dramaturgy from the Centre National des Arts du Cirque (Châlons-en-Champagne), and an MA in Arts and Cultural Management from Rome Business School.
Recently, Gabrielle has participated on curatorial and selection juries for Denmark’s CPH Stage International Days, England’s Horizon Showcase, and Canada’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Award in Dance. Before joining PuSh in 2021, she worked as Festival Manager with the Vancouver International Dance Festival. Prior to working in arts management, Gabrielle performed over 1,400 shows internationally with Cirque du Soleil’s TORUK – The First Flight and Cavalia, participated in choreographic residencies in Belgium, Sweden and France, and presented her work in the UK, US, and across Canada.
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Annie Clarke
Managing Director | ext 102 | Pronouns: she/her/hers
Annie Clarke (she/her) is a third generation settler, born and raised in Vancouver on the unceded territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) peoples. Annie has recently returned to Vancouver after spending much of her career in Tkaronto (where the trees meet the water) on the ancestral territories of the Anishinaabe, including the Mississaugas of the Credit first nation, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat.
From 2022-2024 Annie worked on more than twenty productions as Producer at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre. She was also the lead producer for Soulpepper’s new play development program and Slaight Music residency program, and led the company’s Compassion Fund pilot with Theatre Direct’s Balancing Act initiative. Previously, Annie spent four years working at Generator, including as Interim General Manager, and was the General Manager of Groundling Theatre Company. Annie also worked as an independent producer and marketing consultant, and has collaborated in various capacities with Discord and Din Theatre, Shakespeare in the Ruff, One Little Goat, Studio 180 Theatre, and Native Earth Performing Arts, as well as Vancouver’s F-O-R-M (Festival of Recorded Movement).
In addition to Toronto, Annie has lived and worked in Montreal, New York, and Paris, and holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University.
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Tricia Knowles
Marketing & Communications Manager | ext.201 | Pronouns: she/her/hers
Tricia Knowles (she/her) is a queer, Mi’kmaq settler artist, arts promoter and cultural producer whose work explores identity through a pre-colonial lens. Rooted in natural spaces where her ancestral threads meet, her interdisciplinary practice blends immersive experience with creative placemaking and community engagement.
With 25 years of experience in media, marketing, and festival production, Tricia has worked with organizations such as Kingston WritersFest, Wavelength Music, National Indigenous Peoples Day, Skeleton Park Arts Festival, the Kick & Push Theatre Festival, and Harvest Fest. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Calliope Collective and the lead artist behind its HYDRA project—an evolving platform for ecological storytelling and site-specific performance.
Tricia has produced large-scale public events with WWF’s Earth Hour, Ottawa’s Music and Beyond, and Fort Henry’s award-winning Fort Fright. She holds a certificate in Cultural Planning and Development from UBC and a diploma in Broadcast Journalism from NSCC.
A stiltwalker, costumer, and circus enthusiast, Tricia’s joy practices include dismantling the patriarchy, swimming, foraging, dancing, and disappearing into the forest—or a good book.
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Lindsay Nelson
Producer | ext 113 | Pronouns: she/her/hers
Lindsay is an arts administrator and theatre performer, with a wide range of experience in the event industry.
As an arts administrator, Lindsay has previously worked with Touchstone Theatre, DOXA Documentary Film Festival, United Players, and the 110 Arts Cooperative. This year marks her fourth season as Festival Producer at PuSh. She is passionate about exposing audiences to culturally urgent work, facilitating discussions among industry professionals from around the globe, and making performances accessible.As a performer, Lindsay holds a Theatre Arts diploma from McEwan University, and an MA in Classical Acting from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA).
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Luka Kawabata
Patron Services and Administration Manager | ext 104 | Pronouns: he/him
Luka Kawabata 川端ルカ is a queer, Nikkei-Canadian artist living and working in the unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh people. As a baritone and producer, he strives to push the boundaries of representation in opera through the creation of new works.
Luka is a graduate of the Yulanda M Faris Young Artist Program with Vancouver Opera and the Beth Morrison Projects: Producer Academy, having performed with companies spanning the continent, including Edmonton Opera, Manitoba Opera, Saskatoon Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria and Opera on the Avalon.
He is the creator of ‘The HAFU ハーフ Project’, a semi-autobiographical musical exploration of the history of Japanese immigration and internment in North America and the social navigation of identity.
Luka is an avid language enthusiast, traveler, coffee lover and recently started to understand the fun of lifting weights! -
Jenny Lee Craig
Development Associate | Pronouns: she/her/hers
Jenny Lee Craig (she/her) believes wholeheartedly in the power of the arts to bring people together and enrich communities large and small. She has several years experience working in various aspects of management and production for many of the lower mainland’s favourite events, including the Vancouver International Jazz Festival, the Vancouver International Film Festival, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Just For Laughs VANCOUVER Comedy Festival and many more.
In her spare you can find her walking her dog Valentina, singing with her community choir, or splashing around with her local synchronized swimming team.
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David Kerr
Production Manager | ext 111 | Pronouns: I celebrate and honour all pronouns, my preference is DK
DK (David Kerr) would like to acknowledge that he was born and raised on Treaty 6 Territory, the Homeland of the Métis. He pays his respect to the First Nation and Métis ancestors of that place and reaffirms our relationship with one another.
While his mother insists that he has two remarkable given names she continues to call him, Bob.., Bill…, Don…., Boh….., Johnny……, David Cameron.
DK has been a fixture in the Vancouver Festival world for the past 30 years. Aside from being with PuSh, for all but its inaugural season, he is also the Production Manager for the Vancouver International Children’s Festival, and the Vancouver International Burlesque Festival, as well he is the Site Manager for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, and a Production Consultant for the Talking Stick Festival
Back in the good old days he was the Second General Manager of Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan.
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Kat Aquino
Digital Communications Coordinator | Pronouns: she/her/hers
Kat Aquino brings a wealth of communications and marketing experience with a special interest in sharing impactful narratives. Known for a compassionate approach, she aims to crafting and delivering compelling stories that resonate and drive meaningful connections.
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Brian Postalian
Industry Producer | Pronouns: any pronouns
Brian Postalian (Բրայն Փոսթալյան) is a performance creator, producer, and educator born and raised in Toronto/Tkaronto by way of Armenia (through Turkey), Ireland, the UK, and the Czech Republic. Brian brings over 15 years of experience producing, facilitating, and creating live performance across Canada and internationally.
Brian is the founding Artistic Director of Re:Current Theatre, a company dedicated to reimagining how we gather. With Re:Current, they toured the interactive playable performance New Societies nationally and internationally, including a Mandarin translation with the National Theatre of Taipei. Brian’s work co-creating the Dora Award nominated Access Me with the Boys in Chairs collective was published by Playwrights Canada Press as part of Interdependent Magic: Disability Performance in Canada. Their work has been recognized with Outstanding Direction (NOW Magazine), Best Production (SummerWorks), and “Best of the Year” honours.
Brian has worked with companies and festivals across the country as a producer and artist, including Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, SummerWorks, Crow’s Theatre, Factory Theatre; Vancouver’s The Dance Centre, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, Rumble Theatre, Presentation House Theatre; and many others. Brian has developed a reputation for building collaborative processes and facilitating across communities, disciplines, and scales of production.
Brian holds an MFA in Contemporary Art (Interdisciplinary Studies) from Simon Fraser University and is a certified facilitator of Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process. Brian has taught at Toronto Metropolitan University, University of Toronto, and Simon Fraser University. Brian also works as the Artistic Producer of Theatre Direct.
You can often find Brian playing with their dog Amie, at home hosting board game nights and playing D&D or on the courts playing queer dodgeball, ultimate frisbee and pickleball. After eight years living on the West Coast, Brian is grateful to be back home with their family in Toronto.
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Chipo Chipaziwa
In Dialogue Coordinator and Curatorial Assistant | Pronouns: she/her/hers
Chipo Chipaziwa is a performance artist based on the unceded territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) peoples. Her practice examines the shifting power dynamics between performer and audience. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of British Columbia.
Chipaziwa has performed nationally and internationally at Index – The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation (Sweden, 2025); REFERENCE.POINT (England, 2025); and Art Metropole (Canada, 2025). Chipaziwa is a recipient of multiple grants from the Canada Council for the Arts, the BC Arts Council, and the City of Vancouver, and has participated on grant assessment juries for both the Canada Council for the Arts and the City of Vancouver.In 2024, Chipaziwa was nominated for the Philip B. Lind Memorial Prize, and her first artist book, My Mother My Home, was published by Archive Books in November 2024.
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River Huckleberry Kero
Box Office Coordinator | Pronouns: he/him
River Huckleberry Kero (he/him) works and lives on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations. He writes off the side of his desk and makes comics when he can. He loves working in the local festival scene. He lives with his husband and his two cats.
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Andrea Cownden
Accessible PuSh Coordinator | ext 204 | Pronouns: she/her/hers
Andrea Cownden (she/her) is a cultural producer and accessibility advocate based on the unceded lands of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations colonially known as Vancouver.
With a background in dance and audio description, Andrea has worked with artists such as Lee Su-Feh, Naomi Brand, and Sasha Kleinplatz and collaborated on choreography and accessibility initiatives with organizations like All Bodies Dance Project. Her experience in integrated access and creative audio description has deepened her commitment to inclusive programming.
Passionate about fostering meaningful artistic experiences, Andrea brings a keen eye for innovative performance and audience engagement. She is excited to continue shaping dynamic and accessible programming in the performing arts.
Photo by K Ho
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Rose Senat
Volunteer Coordinator | Pronouns: she/her
Rose is a multidisciplinary artist based from Hamilton with over a decade of community engagement experience. Her artistic work is autobiographical, informed by her lived experience as a Black woman in Canada and the U.S. with roots in Haiti.
She is passionate about creating safe and welcoming spaces and opportunities for racialized communities to access the arts. She is a serial hobbyist and in her spare time you can find her running TAKEUPSPACE, photographing those around her on film, and caring for her calico Xena and over 50 house plants.
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Steve Chow
Graphic Designer | Pronouns: he/him/his
With a 250 lb. bench press and multiple tournament wins, Steve is arguably pound-for-pound Vancouver’s strongest graphic designer. His unpredictable technique was cultivated in early stints at The Western Front, Ricepaper, and indie music labels; and later refined with LolaDance, Wen Wei Dance, and The Holy Body Tattoo — leading to an undisputed, record-breaking 10-year run as Communications Manager of The Cinematheque.
In addition to PuSh, Steve’s current training partners include the Vancouver International Film Festival, DOXA, the National Film Board of Canada, Vancouver New Music, the Criterion Collection, and independent filmmakers in Canada and around the world.
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Denim & Steel Interactive
Website Designers & Developers
Through digital strategy, design, and custom development, Denim & Steel is behind the online presence for leading artistic and cultural producers like PuSh. Our work brings innovation and reliability to producers and connects audiences with new, memorable experiences through the web and mobile apps.