Permanent Staff
Co-Founders
Ms. Chris O'Neill, Executive Director of the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts
Ken Schwartz, Artistic Director of Two Planks and a Passion Theatre
Ms. Chris O'Neill, Executive Director of the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts
Ken Schwartz, Artistic Director of Two Planks and a Passion Theatre
Ms. Chris O'Neill, Executive Director of Ross Creek
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I am an actor and playwright and I co-founded Two Planks and a Passion Theatre with Ken Schwartz in 1992, developing it with the board from a small two person operation to a national touring company. I have acted in many productions including national tours, and written four plays with Ken Schwartz, since 1992. Selected Two Planks: Liberation Days, The Tempest and Turn of the Screw, The Miracle Man and Dustbowl Joan, 937, As You Like It and The Iliad, Lysistrata, Beowulf, The Crucible, Jerome, Our Town, and The Odyssey.
In 2000, I turned my attention to making the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, and have helped shepherd it from a cattle farm to an international arts centre. I teach acting and improvsation and in various artist programs and have developed arts programs and outreach for schools, galleries and communities such as recently arrived refugee families. I was the artistic co-director of the National Artist Program of the 2011 Canada Games. Awards: The Queen’s Diamond and Golden Jubilee Medals for contribution to community and Canada, and the Valley Arts Award. |
Ken Schwartz, Artistic Director of Two Planks
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I co-founded Two Planks and a Passion Theatre in 1992 after graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada in both Technical-Production and Directing and doing a year of apprenticeships with theatres in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. I have directed over forty productions for Two Planks and a Passion including The Odyssey, Our Town, Rockbound, As You Like It, Dustbowl Joan, and The Tempest. Recently I directed the critically-acclaimed Willpower Theatre production of Macbeth in Halifax. I participated in the Stratford Festival’s Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Text in 2010 and 2013 where I won the Elliot Hayes Award (Guthries) in 2013. I have also developed a program of theatrical outreach which I have used to work with marginalised communities and to assist with social problems in rural communities and schools. I teach many of the theatre and writing programs at Ross Creek, including Shakespeare workshops and the writing academy. Awards: three Merritt awards for Outstanding Director (09,10,16) and four for Outstanding Production (08,09,10,16). The Established Artist Recognition Award from the Province of Nova Scotia (08), and the Queen’s Golden (02) and Diamond (12) Jubilee Medals. Also nominated for Merritt awards for Outstanding Director (08, 13, 14 (twice), 15,) and Playwright (05,14,15,16). Ken was a finalist for the Nova Scotia Masterworks Award (as director) in 2010 for Rockbound.
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Jessie Forman - Creative Arts Education Director
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I am overjoyed to be a part of the team at The Ross Creek Centre for Arts! I moved to Nova Scotia after 10 years as an arts educator in Vancouver, BC and I am very excited to contribute to the excellent programs that have been established at Ross Creek. I earned my BFA in 2006 from The Alberta College of Art and Design. After moving to Vancouver I taught community arts programs and arts-based Spring and Summer day camps for The District of West Vancouver. I completed a BEd in Fine Arts and Media Education at The University of British Columbia and worked as an arts educator at Artists for Kids in North Vancouver as well as a classroom teacher in The North Vancouver School District. In addition to a passion for the arts I highly value inclusive programming in both the community and the school system and am currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Inclusive Education at Acadia.
I am strongly committed to inspiring children and youth to become curious, confident and creative thinkers and to facilitating access to quality arts programming for children and youth. Through my arts education and my own artistic practice I have become familiar with a variety of art making processes and I am always eager to explore new ways of creative expression with children while encouraging them to discover their own unique creative voices. As a child who grew up seeking creative outlets I can appreciate what a special place Ross Creek is to so many young artists and I’m looking forward to being a part of that magic. |
Alex Kehoe - fund development
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I grew up in the Annapolis Valley, and in my youth attended the Ross Creek Centre arts programs and Two Planks theatre workshops. The Centre facilitated the creation of my artistic portfolio, that I submitted and was then accepted by NSCAD University where I received my BDes in 2011.
I began my career designing custom playground equipment. In 2014, I continued my education in art and design at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockland, Maine, then moved back to the Annapolis Valley where my partner and I set up a studio workshop to design and produce handmade furniture. My position at Ross Creek will allow me the opportunity to continue the mission of providing the arts community and its youth with an inspirational artistic space that strongly influenced my own artistic voice. In addition, I look forward to working among enthusiastic, creative, and hard-working people. |
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Katie Hall - Marketing and Communications
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The Ross Creek Centre for the Arts is an incredible artistic resource and I am honoured to be part of its staff. Art and creativity have always been pursuits that have directed me. In 2011, I graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Design and then continued my schooling and in 2014 completed a Bachelor of Environmental Design (Architecture) at Dalhousie University. These six years of design and architecture study focused my love of form and product design and helped me realize my personal art form: furniture design. My partner and I travelled to Maine to complete an intensive course in furniture-making at the renowned Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. Returning to Nova Scotia, settled near Canning. By the end of of 2015, we developed our own studio workshop: Furniture Makers Hall & Kehoe. Professional practice at The Ross Creek Centre for the Arts is an exceptional opportunity to hone my design skills and work towards noteworthy artistic and personal goals. I look forward to spending my days surrounded by passionate colleagues promoting learning in and through the Arts.
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SEASONAL STAFF
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ANNIE JIVALIAN - GARDENERAnnie Jivalian grew up in Lawrencetown, in the Annapolis Valley. She completed the Landscape Horticulture program at Kingstec, NSCC in 2011, and acquired a Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Horticulture with Honours from Dalhousie Agricultural Campus in 2013. She has worked many summers at the Historic Gardens in Annapolis Royal, and as a landscape gardener in both Halifax and Bracebridge, Ontario. Her hobbies include daydreaming, reading, making crafts, swimming, birding, biking, and slacklining.
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