LOCATION: Online: a ZOOM link will be sent to all participants the week of the event.
SHOW TIMES: March 10, 7pm JOIN ON ZOOM HERE AT 7PM
RUN TIME: Approximately 2 hours
Grab a glass of wine, put on your favourite at-home outfit, and prepare to be inspired – from the comfort of your own couch! We’re gathering some remarkable local women of various ages and specialties for a FREE virtual chat inspired by International Women’s Day 2022 theme: #BreakTheBias. The evening will start with an engaging conversation hosted by TRU’s Writer and Storyteller Alicia Ashcroft. Our incredible line up of panelists includes: local Indigenous playwright Laura Michel (whose new work Echoes of the Homesick Heart premieres with WCT in June!), social media marketing expert and author Blair Kaplan Venables, The Boss Chick Project podcast host Kennedy Aberdeen, and Founder and CEO of the creative marketing agency Pepper Stacey Owen. PLUS! Following the discussion, we’ve got two interactive breakout rooms for you to choose from:
1. Enliven the Body & Access Creative Capacity with Tania McCartney: Join Yoga and Movement instructor Tania McCartney in an collaborative discussion exploring movement, breathing, self-awareness, journaling, and expressive arts therapy. This is the perfect breakout room for those looking to decompress, connect with the body, and clear the mind. Materials required: Paper, pens or crayons, body figure printouts (optional) 2. Following Your Passion: A Joyful Discussion over Wine and Cheese with Terri Axani: Award-winning tour operator Terri Axani will lead participants through the ins and outs of a proper wine tasting – pair that with a lively chat about following your passions, squeezing joy out of your professional and personal life, and investing in community, and you’ve got a perfect evening! The first 20 people to register in advance for this breakout room can pick up a free sample of wine and cheese from the Pavilion Theatre. Otherwise it’s BYO your favourite wine and cheese. Wine and cheese are not required to fully enjoy this breakout room. The event Zoom link and instructions will be sent to everyone who RSVP’s Thursday afternoon.
Click on the panelist's name to see a headshot and bio:
ALICIA ASHCROFT Panel Discussion Host BLAIR KAPLAN VENABLES Panelist KENNEDY ABERDEEN Panelist LAURA MICHEL Panelist STACEY OWEN Panelist TANIA MCCARTNEY Breakout Room Host TERRI AXANI Breakout Room host
Kennedy Aberdeen completed a dual degree in Accounting and Theatre and Performing Arts from Thompson Rivers University. Through her program and performances with TRU’s Actor’s Workshop Theatre, Kennedy has developed a passion for educating others with the skills developed in theatrical training. This motivated her to design public speaking workshops for both undergraduate and law students in universities. She currently studies at Peter A. Allard School of Law at UBC. Kennedy sees the value in consistently learning from others and so in her spare time she co-hosts an educational podcast aimed at sharing stories from local women entrepreneurs and storytellers.
Alicia Ashcroft (she/her) is the Writer & Storyteller for the Faculty of Student Development at TRU. She's an imperfect ally, performer, reader, camp enthusiast, and plant lady – above all; she's Bluebear's mother. Alicia loves sparkling dialogue and strong women and looks forward to participating in A Broad's Way Festival.
Terri Axani, a lover of life, a traveler, and recipient of a Distinguished Service Award from the City of Kamloops. Her resume is diverse; she worked as an Executive Director for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Kamloops, has more than three decades in the hospitality industry and is now an award-winning tour operator. Terri measures her success by the amount of fun she is having. As a proud Rotarian since 2001 and soon to be President of the Rotary Club of Kamloops Daybreak, she understands the importance of service above self. Doing what you love and knowing that it matters, who could ask for more?
Tania McCartney has been exploring movement in some way for the last 35 years. She completed a BFA in Acting at York University in Toronto and spent time creating collective movement-based theatre. She has been teaching yoga and movement from a trauma-informed perspective with diverse populations for 15 years. Tania will complete a Bachelor of Social Work this summer and is passionate about research and policy regarding older adults. Her most current work is on a collaborative anthology about mothers and daughters and the sandwich generation with Toronto actor/writer Dharini Woolcombe and local writer Tamara Macpherson Vukusic. If you have any questions about contributing to this project, please email Tania at tania.mccartney@gmail.com.
Laura Michel is an Adams Lake Band member from the Secwepemc Nation in the BC interior. She is a Thompson Rivers University alumnus, with a Bachelor of Arts, with a Major in Theatre and a Minor in Sociology. Her personal work in the community is focused around community-engaged arts, including serving on the Board of Directors for the Kamloops Arts Council. Echoes of the Homesick Heart, her full-length Multigenerational Language Verbatim Theatre project in partnership with Western Canada Theatre, TRU CURA (Thompson Rivers University – Community University Research Alliance), Canada Council for the Arts, and First Peoples Cultural Council premieres with Western Canada Theatre in June 2022.
Stacey Owen is the Founder and CEO of Pepper, a creative marketing agency that handles modern marketing strategy and content creation for creative entrepreneurs, and Conference + Chill a worldwide virtual photography conference born out of a need to connect and create during the pandemic. Stacey, a successful wedding photographer, began Pepper when she started to feel burnt out in her career, realized she needed help and knew that she couldn't be the only one struggling to juggle it all. The Pepper team is a group of badass women with knowledge and education in marketing, content creation & SEO.
Blair Kaplan Venables is an expert in social media marketing and the president of Blair Kaplan Communications, a British Columbia-based PR agency. She brings fifteen years of experience to her clients which include global wellness, entertainment, and lifestyle brands. As a pioneer in the industry, she has helped her customers grow their followers into the tens of thousands in just one month, win integrative marketing awards, launch their businesses and more. Yahoo! listed Blair as a top ten social media expert to watch in 2021. She has spoken on national stages and her expertise has been featured in media outlets including Forbes, CBC Radio, Entrepreneur, and Thrive Global. Blair is also the #1 bestselling author of Pulsing Through My Veins: Raw and Real Stories from an Entrepreneur and co-host of the Dissecting Success podcast. When she’s not working on elevating the business community, you can find Blair growing The Global Resilience Project, an online community where users share their stories of overcoming life’s most difficult moments.
Thank you to our partners and donors for their generous support of WCT's A Broad's Way Festival