Team
CTYP is championed by a dedicated team of theatre makers.
Co-Artistic & Managing Directors Dave Deveau and Jennica Grienke
Staff
Jennica Grienke
Co-Artistic & Managing Director
Jennica (she/her) is a producer, educator and director with TYA companies across the country and spent four years as an Artistic Associate at Persephone Theatre before taking over CTYP. She studied at both the University of Winnipeg, where she graduated with Honours in performance, and the Studio 58 Acting conservatory in Vancouver. Since her graduation in 2012, Jennica has toured extensively with Green Thumb Theatre, Quest Theatre (Calgary), and as a solo performer in her pieces This Time I Get What I Want and An Inheritance, which was published in 2013. She’s a leader, a multitasker, and loves a good laugh. And no matter where you find her, she will bring the perfect combination of professionalism and goodhearted joy. A recent career highlight includes directing Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls for CTYP, for which she won the Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Direction. Jennica is ecstatic to bring her passion for creating magical experiences for young people through the power of theatre to CTYP.
Dave Deveau
Co-Artistic & Managing Director
Dave (he/they) is a playwright and producer who has dedicated his life to developing intelligent, theatrical plays for young people that foster conversation. His plays for young audiences include Out in the Open, tagged (Dora nominated), Celestial Being (Jessie nominated) for Green Thumb Theatre, and Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls (Dora nominated) for Roseneath Theatre. His work has been produced across North America, as well as Israel, Poland, Ireland, and Germany. He is also the Associate Artistic Director of Zee Zee Theatre, a Vancouver-based theatre company that amplifies voices from the margins with a focus on LGBTQ2S+ work.
Kezi Jacob
Production & Facilities Manager
Raised by artists in Kingston, Ontario, Kezi Jacob (she/her) has been involved in the art world since childhood, always working behind the scenes. Kezi has a BFA in Theatre Production & Design from Simon Fraser University and worked as a Production Manager, Technical Director and Set/Prop Designer in Ontario and Vancouver before joining CTYP in the fall of 2024
Rebecca Miner
Guest Services Coordinator
Originally from Calgary, Rebecca (she/her) is a theatre artist who moved to the West Coast to follow her passion for performing arts. She graduated from the University of Victoria with Honors in Performance in 2023. Since then, she has performed with Theatre SKAM and the Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival (Victoria) before taking on the role of Guest Services Coordinator for CTYP.
Mitchell Janzen
Box Office Coordinator
Mitchell (he’s the one on the right) is a full time uncle and part time theatre artist/administrator currently living on the stolen lands of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Semiahmoo, Stó:lō and sc̓əwaθən məsteyəxʷ (Tsawassen) peoples. He is passionate about supporting Theatre in Vancouver in whatever way he can and is thrilled to find himself currently wrangling ticketing software and more at Carousel.
Cory Philley
General Manager
Cory is a visionary leader and theatre arts professional with over 30 years of working in all aspects of the performing arts industry. She also has a strong background in operations and is a skilled professional in Nonprofit Organizations, Directing, Writing, Acting, Producing and Event Planning, Film, and Event Management.
For 20 years, Cory worked as the Artistic Director for the theatre season and developed the Artist-in-Residency program at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. She was fortunate to collaborate with award-winning companies Theatre Replacement, Crystal Pite, Neworld Theatre and assist over 500 artists in their artistic development. Cory’s writing credits include Peaches & Scream (co-written with Mercedes Baines), Marking Time, Faith, Bob, Contrary, Sorry, Scarlet, Late, Slippage and Fever Cabaret. Favourite acting credits include Mud & Men Inside (Ruby Slippers Productions), Bad Dollies (Women in View Festival) Faith and Bob (La Luna Productions, Slippage (Wild Filly Productions) and The Year of Magical Thinking (Tomo Suru Theatre). She was also a founding member and co-artistic director of La Luna Productions (1998-2007) whose mandate was to reflect the Canadian cultural diaspora on stages nation-wide.
Cory is a graduate of the Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts and also holds an MA in Graduate Liberal Studies from SFU. She is currently workshopping her new play, Hoarding Paradise, which will premiere in 2025.
Cory is thrilled to be joining the staff at Carousel and looks forward to supporting Jennica and Dave and their amazing vision for the company.
Loose Lips Media
Digital Marketing and Social Media
LOOSE LIPS MEDIA is a digital marketing and social media content creation agency operating in Vancouver. We specialize in local film and screen-based media initiatives in BC, with a focus on community management, digital campaigning, and online engagement.
Markian Tarasiuk
Graphic & Web Design
Markian Tarasiuk is a versatile creative professional specializing in graphic and web design with the Art Left Creative Group (www.artleftcreative.com), where he has worked with notable Vancouver clients such as Green Thumb Theatre, Bard on the Beach, Pi Theatre, Urban Ink, Brightlight Pictures, Lighthouse Pictures, Touchstone Theatre, and Studio 58. In addition to his design work, Markian served as the General Manager of SpeakEasy Theatre and the Pull Festival, contributing to Vancouver’s vibrant theatre scene. He is also an accomplished actor and emerging director, with a passion for storytelling in all its forms.
Ashley Chodat
Workshop Facilitator
Ashley (she/her) is a playwright, dramaturg, deviser and teaching artist. In these roles, she has been fortunate to work for companies like Bard on the Beach, Arts Club, The Cultch, Green Thumb, Arts Umbrella, Little Mountain Lion, Carousel Theatre for Young People (Vancouver) Theatre SKAM, Kaleidoscope (Victoria) She is passionate about stories that explore girlhood, science fiction and intergenerational relationships. Recent playwright credits include: June Bug (Vancouver Fringe winner of TYP Family Forward Award, UpintheAir’s rEvolver Festival, Victoria Fringe) FRANK (Impulse Theatre Peek Show 14/Intrepid Incoming Fest). Ashley holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Applied Theatre from Uvic and a diploma in Theatre Performance from Douglas College.
Board
Alan Pronger
Board Member
Alan Pronger is an experienced theatre artist and producer working with Too Fly Productions, a local theatre production company that focuses on creating original works that promote radical self-love. Since 2010, Alan switched paths to focus on raising his newly adopted daughter, and is currently the Department Head for Fine Arts and Dance Teacher at Sir Winston Churchill Secondary in Vancouver.
Jocelyn Macdougall
Board President
Jocelyn (she/her) is a convener and facilitator who delights in bringing together groups of interesting, committed, and passionate people for meaningful, productive conversations. She values equity, justice, and dignity as foundational and believes that getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is a necessary skill in today’s divided world. Jocelyn believes the arts are a price of admission component of a sane, healthy society, having a unique propensity to enable self and social reflection. She is also lucky enough to sing with Vancouve’’s hottest funk and Motown band, Queer As Funk.
Krysta Chapman
Board Treasurer
Krysta (she/her) is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CA) and a Chartered Financial Analyst charter holder. She holds a Bachelor of Mathematics and a Masters in Accounting from the University of Waterloo. She has served as a Chief Financial Officer and Controller for many startup private and public mining companies. Although sadly not blessed with any natural artistic abilities of her own, Krysta and her young daughter are avid fans of musical theatre. She is excited to share her passion for change and driving growth to Carousel Theatre.
Chloe Sauder
Board Secretary
A long-time local theatre fan, Chloe (she/her) is thrilled to be cast as a member of CTYP’s Board of Directors. She was bit by the acting bug at an early age and minored in theatre as part of her undergraduate degree at the University of McGill. During her gap year, Chloe played the part of Jane Bennet in Metro Theatre’s production of Pride & Prejudice before starting law school at Windsor Law. Chloe now works as a lawyer at Haddock & Company where her practice areas include landlord and tenant law, co-operative housing law, construction law, strata property law, and insurance defence. In her spare time, she enjoys trivia and cracking terrible puns.
Sarah Louttit
Board Member
Sarah (she/her) is an experienced human resources professional and the current HR Manager for the Faculty of Applied Science at UBC. She is passionate about creating engaging and equitable work environments. Sarah believes the arts are an integral part to any community and is excited to be a part of CTYP. In her spare time, you can find Sarah attempting to make elaborate dinners (and even more elaborate messes) for her family, going on long walks with her daughter, or planning her next renovation project.
Gurvinder Atwal
Board Member
Gurvinder is a former banker-turned-HR professional working in a large tech company. She holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and a Post-Baccalaureate in Human Resource Management. Gurvinder is excited to be part of CTYP and be a contributing member of the arts. She’s an avid reader and enjoys taking her young daughters to explore the arts and culture scene within the Lower Mainland.
Yanting Qiu
Board Member
Ever since Yanting Qiu(she/they) fell in love with Kunqu, a traditional Chinese theatre genre, she has been a "professional" audience member and an "amateur" theatre maker for two decades. Outside of her day job as a theatre/event producer, Yanting is a foodie and FLAME storytelling facilitator, collecting new recipes and old stories from the community. As a co-founder of TSL (Theatre as a Second Language Society), she also works to build a community for artists and audiences who use English as a second language. She is thrilled to join CTYP with a belief in the magical power of live theater and a passion to bring more young people to experience it.
Cathleen Gingrich
Board Member
Music and theatre have been a life long love affair for Cathleen Gingrich (she/her). Studying both for a remarkable amount of time (and number of degrees!), she has gone on to perform and produce professionally, while also working diligently behind the scenes to make sure other performers and administrators also have the opportunity to create. Outside of her day job as an Arts Administrator and Fundraiser, Cathleen still sings in choir (and in the car!) As a queer parent, who was once an odd kid out, she knows first hand how hard it can be to find a place to belong. Cathleen is delighted to support CTYP in creating safe and nurturing space for so many young people to find their place.