New Young Reviewers Program

Stephanie Fung (they/she) is an interdisciplinary artist and arts worker from Tkaronto/Toronto who is fascinated by the concept of convention and how we contest culture. A performer, writer, director, theatre critic—they are drawn to concepts that explore monstrosity, consumption, exposure, and grief. Learn more at http://www.stephaniefung.ca

Signy Lynch is a theatre scholar, critical dramaturg, educator, and Governor General’s Gold Medal winner (2022). Her areas of research specialization include contemporary intermedial, participatory, intercultural, diasporic and Black theatre in Canada; audience research; and theatre criticism. As of July 2023 she is Assistant Professor at UofT’s Mississauga campus, and Centre for Drama, Theatre, and Performance Studies. She is co-director of the Centre for Spectatorship and Audience Research (centreforspectatorship.com). Her essay “Performing at Home in the Pandemic” (Canadian Theatre Review vol. 191) was named runner-up for Outstanding Critical Essay by the Canadian Theatre Critics Association (2022).

Libin Ahmed is a black, Muslim student, author, poet, and impact producer whose passion for the arts and storytelling knows no bounds. She is especially an avid lover of theatre (to her financial detriment) and creating and existing spaces for BIPOC people to participate in theatre. Ask her about her least favourite theatre productions!

Gus Lederman, sometimes known as Gus Grass, is a performer and writer settled in Tkaronto. They’re entering their final year in OCAD’s Creative Writing program, minoring in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Gus enjoys composing original music, poetry, and combining their love for theatre by writing for and about the stage. Besides theatre and writing, they’re passionate about climate justice, transness, and puppetry. Gus is a white settler and Ashkenazi Jew devoted to Palestinian liberation and Indigenous sovereignty. Their community organizing and activism is directly intertwined with their creative practice and is at the core of everything they do. Gus is incredibly excited and honoured to be participating in the Fringe’s 2024 New Young Reviewers Program and cannot wait to join audiences for the magic of the Fringe Festival.

Lulu Liu (she/they) is a Chinese-Canadian filmmaker and critic based in Toronto. Her current work explores the monstrous feminine, leveraging horror as a weapon for female body politics. Her projects have been featured with local organizations such as TIFF, CBC, TACLA. Lately, she is wrapping up her directorial debut on a dark-comedy short titled Cherry On Top. You can catch her hastily zipping down Shaw Street on her bike. Catch her if you can, or find her later @lulu.lemonless on Instagram.

Nelson Ives is an emerging writer (they're writing this bio right now) and performer currently based in Tkaronto/Toronto who is constantly trying to divine the intersection between magic and story. As a writer and viewer they find themselves drawn to anything exploring ideas of Identity, community, and the absurd moments hidden in the pages of everyday existence. He is excited to be taking part in the New Young Reviewers program before heading off to obtain a master's in Creative Writing from Queen's University of Belfast in September.

Catie Thorne (she/her) is an emerging multi-disciplinary theatre artist based in Toronto. Catie is an actor, writer and producer, having staged work at the Toronto Fringe Festival and performed with companies like Canadian Stage and the live entertainment branch of Netflix. She is also an undergraduate student studying at Toronto Metropolitan University in their Creative Industries program, where she specializes in Acting and Dance Studies and Storytelling in Media. Catie is captivated by the strange, sublime and deceptively honest.

Kosar Dakhilalian, is a writer and a theatre artist with a current focus on directing, collective creation and education. Kosar has a BA in English Literature and an MA in Studies in Comparative Literatures and Arts. Kosar has worked as a teaching assistant in the Department of Dramatic Arts at Brock University and as an assistant instructor/director at Young People's Theatre, Toronto. Kosar was a Nest Artist in Residence with Suitcase in Point Multi-Arts Company where she developed and directed her play, “Ruby” which was a part of Niagara's 2023 In the Soil Festival. Kosar is passionate about research and supportive leadership; she was previously an editor-in-chief of Zeitgeist Courier, a magazine of literature and arts, for two years. Kosar's interests in research include theatricality, performativity, and art activism.

Riel Reddick-Stevens is a multidisciplinary artist from Nova Scotia, now based in Toronto. She mainly works as an actor, sound designer/ composer, playwright and arts educator. Alongside collaborator Aaron Jan, she is an inaugural winner of Highland Art theatre’s Rita Joe Playwrighting award, for their musical in development LAYUP. Riel is interested in creating works centred around themes of discovering self, identity, Blackness and joy. She is constantly looking for ways to create work that is accessible and opens up who is invited to the theatre. One of the ways she has recently done this is by founding of Roots of Creation; a Nova Scotia based collective that provides Black youth with accessible theatre training experiences. Riel looks forward to learning more on how to use her voice and writing as another tool to create accessible, relatable, and honest art!

Jenna James (she/her) is a queer storyteller, performer, and critic. A student of Sheridan College’s Hon.BA of Creative Writing & Publishing program, she has previously been published in B222. She is a joyful dancer with a passion for weird fiction. Jenna is originally from Ktaqmkuk (Newfoundland) but is fulfilling her degree as an interim mainlander.

Jonnie is a trans performer, creator, strange creature from the woods, and dramaturg stumbling through side-quests of sentience in Tkaronto. They love to play in worlds of pop-art melodrama, overflowing with colour and camp and fun hats, reveling in the ephemerally fantastical unrealities theatre lets us communally construct. Recently, they’ve been a pigeon in Featherhead (Birdbrain Theatre Co.), a snail-mountain lovechild in Curses! (Big Kablammo Collective), a Wizard DJ in UVGP (Pickles Theatre Co.), and are constantly nibbling away at their magnum-ish opus “EEK!” or the “Mice Turned Me Trans!” Play. They are a forever friend of the Fringe and are so excited to wax (poetically tbd) about theatre with the New Young Reviewers!

Chase Thomson (he/they) is a writer, educator, and artist originating from Vancouver and living in Toronto. He holds an MA in Cultural Studies and Critical Theory from McMaster University and is currently pursuing his PhD in Adult Education and Community Development. His research looks at community building for gender nonconforming emerging adults through critical engagements with life writing and archival materials. A long time lover of theatre, Chase had the opportunity to write and co-produce his own production in 2019 with the White Rock Players Club. Additionally, Chase co-hosts the podcast "Filmme Fatales," where he reviews modern and classic films through varying sociocultural lenses.

Ferron Delcy is a writer and researcher who discovered her love of language through the theatre. Born and raised in Winnipeg, MB, she is now pursuing her PhD in 17th century literature and performance at the University of Toronto. Her fiction has appeared in Underwood online magazine and The Antigonish Review. Ferron is a big fan of ghost stories, fog machines, and strange metaphors--and is thrilled to participate in the 2024 New Young Reviewers cohort!