- Nina Lee Aquino – Artistic Director
- Sandra Lefrançois – General Manager
- Kawa Ada – Artistic Associate/Playwright-in-Residence
- Derek Kwan – Associate Producer/Metcalf Intern
- Audrey Dwyer – Administrator
- Joseph Recinos – Young Artistic Intern
- Twitter Signatures (@CahootsTheatre)
- Nina – NLA
- Sandra – SL
- Kawa – KA
- Derek – DK
- Audrey – AD
- Joseph – JR
Nina Lee Aquino
Artistic Director
Nina Lee Aquino is a director, dramaturge and playwright. She is the Artistic Director of Cahoots Theatre Company and an Artistic Associate of the Factory Theatre.
She is also the editor of Canada’s first Asian-Canadian 2-volume drama anthology titled love & relasianships (Playwrights Canada Press, Spring 2009) and the co-editor of New Essays on Canadian Theatre Volume One: Asian Canadian Theatre (Playwrights Canada Press, Spring 2011). Nina co-wrote Miss Orient(ed) and her monologues have been published in Beyond the Pale (Yvette Nolan, ed.) and She Speaks (Judith Thompson, ed.).
Other credits include awards for directing include the Ken McDougall Award 2004, the Canada Council John Hirsch Prize 2008, a Dora Mavor Moore Award for outstanding direction (paper SERIES, Cahoots Theatre Company 2011) and Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations (Singkil, fu-GEN Theatre Company 2007; People Power, Carlos Bulosan Theatre 2008, lady in the red dress, fu-GEN Theatre Company 2009, The Making of St. Jerome, eastBOUNDtheatre, 2010).
Sandra Lefrançois
General Manager
Originally from Montreal, Sandra is a graduate of McGill University and of Humber College’s Cultural Management programme. She has also studied at UC Berkeley, Concordia University, and l’Université de Montréal. She was the Associate Producer at Mammalian Diving Reflex, Nightswimming and DVxT for three years, the General Manager of BirdLand Theatre, and has also worked with Theatre Ontario, Factory Theatre, The Company Theatre, Aluna Theatre and Turtle Gals Performance Ensemble. Sandra is currently the Manager of the Dora Mavor Moore Awards, and is on the Board of the Small Theatre Administrative Facility and the President of the Board of Directors of fu-GEN Asian-Canadian Theatre Company.
Kawa Ada
Artistic Associate/Playwright-in-Residence
(Kawa’s position is made possible by the Canada Council for the Arts Playwright-in-Residence program)
Educated at The Boston Conservatory, Kawa has performed on stages in Canada and the US, including being cast on Broadway in Bombay Dreams. Other credits include Troilus and Cressida (Boston Publick Theatre); The Canny Afghani, his one-person show (Boston Centre for the Arts); Comedy of Errors, It’s a Wonderful Life (Canadian Stage); Mary’s Wedding, The Wizard of Oz (The Grand); paper SERIES (Cahoots); and three seasons with The Shaw Festival. He is a past recipient of the Emerging Theatre Artist Award from Canadian Actors’ Equity. Currently working in the Centre for Student Community and Leadership Development at York University, Kawa holds a certificate in Life Skills Coaching. He is also a national speaker on issues of diversity, inclusion, leadership and motivation. Kawa was born in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Derek Kwan
Associate Producer/Metcalf Foundation Intern
(Derek’s position is made possible through funding from the Metcalf Foundation)
Derek makes his return to Toronto after a number of years living in Shanghai, China, and Bangkok, Thailand where he studied Cultural Management at Chulalongkorn University. Derek most recently served as Director of Marketing and Development at fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company.
Audrey Dwyer
Administrator, New Harlem Productions in partnership with Cahoots Theatre Company
(Audrey’s position is made possible through funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation)
Audrey Dwyer has been working as a theatre artist for over ten years. Recent theatre work includes Studio 180′s The Overwhelming, Canadian Stage’s Dream in High Park, Obsidian Theatre’s Black Medea, Mirvish/MTC’s Medea. Television and Film Work credits include Da Kink in My Hair, The Ron James Show, The State Within, Man of the Year and Atom Egoyan’s Where The Truth Lies. Audrey was the Associate Artistic Director of Nightwood Theatre, is a Dora-Nominated director for Darrah Teitel’s The Apology and is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.
Joseph Recinos
Young Artistic Intern
Joseph is a recent graduate of the theatre performance program at Humber, and alumnus of the 2011 SummerWorks S.L.I.P. program. His film and television credits include Mayday and Dual Suspects. Joseph was also the recipient of the Mark Schoenberg Award for Outstanding Achievement. Joseph will be mentored by all Cahoots staff, and will be fully immersed in the world of theatre creation. He has the makings of an artistic leader, and we hope his time with us will help him serve future generations of culturally diverse artists and art.
