inkPulse 2009 Instructors

Timothy Anderson (Author/Performer) – Special Guest, Edmonton Camp

Timothy Anderson has had an eclectic career. He has had a novel and a collection of poetry published, as well as short fiction and essays, but most of his work has been for the stage. His works have been produced by the Canadian Opera Company, the Banff Centre, Nexus Theatre and others. His interest in theatre includes a long career onstage at the National Arts Centre, MTC, Banff Centre, Citadel, Theatre Calgary, Edmonton Opera, Fringe festivals, and in musicals - including the original Canadian cast of Phantom of the Opera. He was also a literary editor with The Books Collective for more than a decade, and has taught writing for U of A, MacEwan and Metro. 2007 was a big year: he won the BookTelevision 3-Day Novel reality TV series, got his MFA in creative writing from UBC.

Amber Borotsik (Dance and Theatre Artist) – Special Guest, Sherwood Park Camp

Amber Borotsik is an Edmonton based actor, choreographer, dancer and founder/co-artistic director of Dammitdance Theatre. In 2004 Amber founded the Expanse Movement Arts Festival with Azimuth Theatre Artistic Producer Murray Utas, and now serves as its Festival Director. Secretly longing to be a world traveler Amber has delighted in studying and performing all over Canada, the United States, Panama and Spain. 

Ellen Chorley (Playwright, Actress) – Instructor, Sherwood Park Camp

Ellen Chorley is delighted to be joining the team at InkPulse this summer. A playwright and theatre artist, Ellen has written plays that have been produced in  Edmonton, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Montreal, Regina, and Athabasca including a play about teen violence called "Mixed Up," a script for Calgary's Heritage Park and four other plays for young audiences.

Derrique DeGagné (Drama and English Educator) – WGA Youth Programs Coordinator

This is Derrique DeGagné’s second year working with the fantastic folks at the WGA and for the past five years, she has had the privilege of teaching Drama and English Language Arts in Edmonton.  As well as a Bachelor of Secondary Education degree, Derrique holds a diploma in Theatre Arts from Grant MacEwan and has abundant experience with arts-based camps. Derrique believes in the power of the Arts to spark growth locally and incite change globally, so she is thrilled to be a part of this exciting new initiative.

Tegan Forbes (Street Artist) – Special Guest, Sherwood Park Camp

Tegan is currently working in her print studio nestled in the heart of Calgary’s industrial wasteland. She is organizing an army of visual tidbits to combat the grey urban sprawl. Inspired by graffiti and street art, Tegan has plans to expand her creative revolution through thoughtful acts of spontaneity and self-expression.

Bob Jahrig (Singer/Songwriter) – Special Guest, Edmonton Camp

Edmontonian Bob Jahrig’s songwriting reveals his love of language, melody and a search for beauty in the human spirit and the natural world.  His debut CD, Tree Tops was released in 2002.  Bob just released his second CD, Colour of the Moon in the fall of 2008.  In addition to performing at folk venues across Alberta, Bob teaches songwriting to youths as an artist in residence and as an instructor with the Writers Guild of Alberta. 

Shantelle Landry (Acting Clown Artist) – Instructor, Edmonton Camp

Brendan McLeod (Spoken Word Artist/Fiction Writer)

Brendan McLeod is a novelist, performance poet and musician based out of Vancouver.  He is a former Vancouver and Canadian SLAM poetry champion, and finished runner-up at the 2005 World Slam Championships. His first novel was nominated for the 2008 Re:Lit Award, one of Canada'a top literary prizes for independent presses. He is a member of the critically acclaimed music group, The Fugitives, which was nominated for a 2007 Canadian Folk Music Award. In the past four years he has performed at over 250 literary and musical events all over the world.

Bob Stallworthy (Poet/Author) – Special Guest, Edmonton Camp

Bob Stallworthy has been writing poetry for 24 years. His work has been published in magazines across Canada. He has four full-length books of poetry and one non-fiction e-book published. He has given over 150 workshops/readings around Alberta. His third book, Optics, was short-listed for the 2004 W.O. Mitchell City of Calgary Book Prize. He is a co-recipient of the 2002 Calgary Freedom of Expression Award. Bob is a Lifetime member of the Writers Guild of Alberta.

Sam Varteniuk (Writer/Performer/Director) - Instructor, Sherwood Park Camp

Sam Varteniuk is an Edmonton-based writer, director, actor, and producer.  His theatre company Mostly Water is a fixture at the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival where they perform a blend of live sketch comedy and video shorts.

Trent Wilkie (Autodidactic Journalist) – Instructor, Edmonton Camp

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