Patrick McDonald has been the Artistic Director of Green Thumb Theatre since 1988; prior to that he was the Artistic Director of Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa. He has directed over 75 productions for Green Thumb and has overseen the commissioning and development of more than 50 new plays for children, teens and young adults. He has commissioned work from emerging writers like Dave Deveau and Michelle Riml and established writers Morris Panych, Joan MacLeod and George F. Walker. During his tenure Green Thumb productions have won numerous Jessie Richardson Awards, several Betty Mitchell Awards, and three Canada Council Awards for Outstanding Production for Young Audiences. McDonald has been nominated for many awards and has received Jessie Richardson Awards for both directing and “continued excellence in the field of Theatre for Young Audiences”. In 2009 he received the Jessie Richardson Award for Career Achievement, and in 2013 he was a recipient of the Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award. He has directed across the country at theatres including The Belfry, The Grand Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, National Arts Centre, Vancouver Playhouse, Gateway Theatre, Manitoba Theatre for Young People and Arts Club Theatre. He has been a two time member of the Canada Council’s Theatre Advisory Committee and has sat on many peer juries at the provincial and federal levels.
Born and raised in Richmond, BC, Breanne has worked as a professional Stage Manager for close to ten years. She graduated with honours from the University of British Columbia with her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Production/Design, where she was the recipient of the Norman Young Scholarship for Theatre and the Dean of Arts Scholarship; while also completing the Fine Arts Program in Visual Arts at Langara College. Breanne has had the pleasure of working for various theatre companies across Canada, including; The Shaw Festival, Arts Club, National Arts Centre, among many others. She was the Tour & Education Manager at Green Thumb from 2016-2018 and was the Production Manager at Presentation House Theatre from 2013-2014. Breanne is excited to bring her touring knowledge and experiences to Green Thumb Theatre, having completed many cross province, Canada and US tours. Breanne has sat on the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards Society board, the GVPTA's Theatre Engagement Project Steering Committee, the Jessie Richardson Theatre for Young Audiences and Large Theatre juries and was a Stage Management Mentor with the Cultch’s Ignite program. She is the proud mama to her beautiful baby boy.
Rachel is an actor, playwright and now administrator born and raised in Vancouver. She made her professional acting debut with Green Thumb in their production of Souvenirs, and since then has appeared on stages across Western Canada. Her work as an actor has included new works, classics, musicals, and has taken her everywhere from a sold out 700 hundred seat theatre, to a stage on the back of a flatbed pickup truck, performing in public parks for free. Rachel’s first play, Still/Falling premiered in Green Thumb's 2015/16 season and has since played to audiences across North America, receiving the Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for Significant Artistic Achievement. Her second play The Code premiered in 2018 and was recognized with a Jessie Award for Outstanding Production, the Sydney J. Risk Prize for Outstanding Original Script by an Emerging Writer, and was included on Tapeworthy’s Best of Stage 2018 – selected out of almost 200 shows worldwide. Directing credits include Green Thumb’s 2017 revival of Not So Dumb,and most recent tour of Celestial Being, and Studio 58's I Know What I Saw. Rachel was selected for the 2017 Playwrights Lab at the Banff Centre, and was one of only 15 international artists selected for the ASSITEJ Next Generation Program at the 2018 ASSITEJ Artistic Gathering in Beijing.
Ruth grew up in Steveston, British Columbia. In 2014 she graduated from the Production Program at Studio 58, where she was awarded the John F. Parker scholarship for Demonstrating Exceptional Promise. Since graduation Ruth has worked as a professional stage manager in Vancouver for companies including Bard on the Beach, Neworld Theatre, Theatre Replacement, Carousel Theatre for Young People, Full Circle First Nations, Gateway Theatre and most recently Green Thumb Theatre for the 2016/2017 season tour of Alone Together. Ruth was awarded the Mayors Art Award for Emerging Theatre Artist in 2016
Aliya is a director, creator, facilitator, front of house manager, and arts administrator with a keen interest in socially engaged theatre. Previously, Aliya has worked administratively for the Leaky Heaven Performance Society, as rental manager for the Russian Hall in Strathcona, and as Program Coordinator for ROARS; an arts camp run by Leave Out Violence and Little Mountain Neighbourhood House. She is the founder and Artistic Director of The Troika Collective, a multi-disciplinary performance collective that uses Eastern European history and culture as a lens to explore universally resonant stories and themes. Aliya also performs with her own vocal group Vostok, specializing in music from Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Aliya holds a BA in theatre performance and political science, and an MEd in Arts for Social Change from SFU.
Georgia is a performer and arts educator and administrator with a passion for developing community engagement through live performance. She has worked in a variety of capacities for many local non-profit arts organizations including: The Cultch, Carousel Theatre for Young People, Ballet BC, Pacific Theatre, Gateway Theatre, Presentation House Theatre, The Arts Club and Boca Del Lupo.
Susan has been an accountant for over 15 years, and with Green Thumb since 2011. She makes her home in Richmond, BC, with her husband and two twin boys.
