La Seizième

Creation project: Dilemme

The Artistic and Managing Director of Théâtre la Seizième, Cory is an actor, director, creator, acting coach, and translator. He is developing the project Dilemme and has directed the production Ce que je sais de vrai for la Seizième, as well Liste des enfants dévorés par les loups. Cory holds a Master of Fine Arts in Actor Training and Coaching from the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, as well as a Bachelor of Performing Arts from Capilano University. He is the recipient of the Prix de l’École Nationale for Artistic Training (2020) and the Prix Roland-Mahé (2022).

Together with his friend François Bernier (Théâtre DuBunker), Cory is working on the development of Dilemme, a project inspired by a Danish film that seeks to adapt a genre still rarely represented on stage: the psychological thriller. Exploring a hybrid form between theatre and cinema, Dilemme takes place in a suicide prevention call center. At the end of a story filled with humanity and suspense, a question arises that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats: how far are we willing to go to save someone?

Creation project: Dilemme

François Bernier is an actor, writer, and director. Since graduating from the Conservatory, he has taken part in over 40 theatre productions. He is the General and Artistic Director of Théâtre DuBunker, with whom he co-wrote Le NoShow (150 performances, including 100 in Europe) and Ensemble. He directed the stage production J’t’aime encore by Roxanne Bouchard, with whom he also co-wrote and directed 5 balles dans la tête, a documentary play presented at La Licorne in 2024, reprised in the En rappel series at Duceppe, and currently on tour across Quebec. He also directed the comedy show by Silvi Tourigny and will be directing Club sandwich mayonnaise, the next creation by Porte Parole, written by Manuelle Légaré and scheduled for April 2026. With Théâtre DuBunker, he has led several creative labs as a director, writer, and dramaturg, including for Dilemme (a co-production with Théâtre La Seizième), Béluga, and Suzanne va sortir.

On television, he has appeared in Alertes, Indéfendable, Les Bombes, and Les bogues de la vie. He also wrote for and performed in several shows on Vrak, including Frank vs Girard. In parallel, he lends his voice and writing to the youth podcast project Allo la puce!. He has just completed writing his first feature film, for which he received a grant from Netflix.

Project in writing: Triptyque gothique boréal

Mishka Lavigne (she/her) is a playwright, screenwriter, and literary translator. Her works have been produced and developed in Canada, the United States, Europe, Australia, Haiti, and Mexico. She was a finalist for the prestigious Siminovitch Prize in 2023. Her play Havre, premiered by La Troupe du Jour (Saskatoon), won the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2019. Copeaux, produced by Théâtre de Dehors (Ottawa), received the same award in 2021, along with the Jacques-Poirier Prize. Murs, initially produced as a podcast by Transistor Média, Créations In Vivo, and Théâtre populaire d’Acadie, received recognition in France, was staged in 2023, and was a finalist for the Michel-Tremblay Prize in 2024. Mishka also writes in English. Her play Albumen, produced by TACTICS in 2019 (Ottawa), received the QWF Playwriting Prize. Her play Shorelines, presented in Ottawa by TACTICS in 2023, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award in 2024, the QWF Playwriting Award, and the Carol Bolt Award. As a translator, working both from English to French and French to English, Mishka has translated nearly twenty works of theatre, prose, and poetry. She is currently working on a gothic boreal three-piece project, gathering the texts Granite, Lichen and Loup-Cervier.

Creation project: DRAGONS

Patrick Blenkarn and Milton Lim are conceptual artists exploring urgent questions around the social value of art, digital labour, and the political potential of games. Mixing their backgrounds in performance, philosophy, psychology, and digital media, their collaborations have manifested in video games, participatory installations, digital archives, and card games. In addition to asses.masses, Patrick and Milton are also the co-founders of the Canadian national video archive of performance (videocan) and the co-creators behind a performing arts economy trading card game (culturecapital). Their projects have been presented across Canada and the world in more than 10 languages. They are the co-founders of STUDIO FUNFUG.

Independent project: Age is a Feeling

Siona Gareau-Brennan is an actress and creator. Her artistic approach combines social, ecological, and feminist themes. A graduate of Studio 58, she has over 15 years of experience in theatre, dance, and physical theatre. She is a two-time Jessie Richardson Award winner and has received a national award from the ATFC Foundation. For la Seizième, she performed in Selfie, À toi, pour toujours, ta Marie-Lou, Bonjour là, bonjour, Le NoShow, Ce que je sais de vrai, and soon Liste des enfants dévorés par les loups. She also explores directing and translation. She was part of the Pépinière internationale at the International Francophone Theatre Commission in Marseille (2025). She is performing in Dilemme (in development/la Seizième and DuBunker) and working on translating Age is a Feeling by Haley McGee, as well as in the research and development phase of a new theatre creation, Le sublime est ici.