PTC is thrilled to welcome Davey Calderon as our new Dramaturg, Public Engagement. In this position, Davey will lead on our Unscripted program, our Blocks, and our ongoing commitment to engaging communities in the development of new work. He will also continue his own active dramaturgical practice.

“It is with delight that I welcome Davey Calderon as PTC’s new Dramaturg, Public Engagement. You can read Davey’s full bio below, and experience his curatorial work at the 2020 e-Volver festival. Davey’s return to PTC is particularly meaningful because of his work five years ago with us through the BC Arts Council’s Early Career Development program. He implemented our WrightSpace residency at SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts, and developed the solo project that would become Big Queer Filipino Karaoke Night! Now, five years later, he returns to the company in a new role. I am excited to see Davey’s expertise in devised theatre-making, producing, and connecting communities infuse PTC’s work.
– Heidi Taylor, Artistic & Executive Director

 

Davey Samuel Calderon is an emerging director, curator, writer, producer, drag artist, dramaturg and settler on the unceded territories of the coast salish peoples: the hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) and səlil̓wətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, and the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Sníchim-speaking Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation). He has a BFA in Theatre Performance and Communication from Simon Fraser University and is Co-Founder of New(to)Town Collective, an emerging theatre collective aspiring to provide accessible, experimental training workshops and creating new interdisciplinary works together.

Davey’s first written solo show, Big Queer Filipino Karaoke Night!, premiered at the 2018 Vancouver Fringe Festival (Produced by Tender Container and associate producers New(to)Town Collective and Neworld Theatre) and was read at the 2020 Tales of the Flipside Festival (Carlos Bulosan Theatre, Toronto). He also wrote the short film RUN, that premiered at the 2018 Vancouver Queer Film Festival. He is the co-creator and assistant director for the award-winning My Name Is Sumiko that premiered at the 2019 Vancouver Fringe Festival. Davey has worked with nationally recognized companies and individuals – including Neworld Theatre, Alley Theatre, Paul Wong, rice and beans theatre, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival, and Greater Vancouver Professional Theatre Association – that have allowed him to not only work in the arts professionally, but also to make many amazing connections with various communities in Vancouver. He is currently the 2020-21 Emerging Dramaturg for vAct’s MSG Lab series and Co-curator for Upintheair Theatre’s 2020 e-Volver Festival (a festival of new, live-digital performance works by emerging and mid-career artists).

By way of introduction, Davey says:

“I am a loud and proud theatre maker who can be found either typing furiously on my laptop to dance music, or in the studio on my feet exploring the worlds within, and outside, my imagination.

My role as Dramaturg, Public Engagement is a stewardship of the many artists and people who come to PTC, where mutual trust is forged when melding stories into meaningful theatre for our community. That’s the thing: theatre that is rooted in collaboration, community, and connection is what is most important to me within the process. Whether it’s my work with my theatre collective, New(to)Town Collective, or with other companies, or with the communities I’m proud to be a part of – proudly queer and Canadian of Filipinx descent – I can attest to the rich contributions communities can lend to theatre. And on the flipside, I have witnessed the powerful catharsis communities experience, especially those of underrepresented identities, when they see themselves represented on Canadian stages. In the foreseeable future, my dramaturgy and artistic mandate revolves around those values. I am eager to be of service to these folks through PTC.”