The SExT Creatives
A group of professionals dedicated to the project
Shira Taylor
Creator & Director
Dr. Shira Taylor is a public health advocate and theatre artist who completed her PhD at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health (BSc. Psychology & MSc. Epidemiology, Queen’s University). As her dissertation, Shira created, implemented, and evaluated the award-winning SExT: Sex Education by Theatre in Toronto’s Thorncliffe/Flemingdon Park. Since 2014, youth peer educators have performed SExT over 100 times for approximately 10,000 youth. SExT was performed to rave reviews at Canada’s largest theatre festivals and was attended by former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, which led to a school tour and classroom pilot. Since 2018, SExT has been touring nationally to communities disproportionately affected by HIV/STIs in partnership with CANFAR. In 2019, SExT responded to the Northwest Territories' gonorrhea and syphilis outbreak in partnership with the Chief Public Health Officer. SExT received the ArtBridges/ToilesDesArts Remarkable Innovation Award, and Shira received the TD Michaëlle Jean Bursary for excellence in addressing issues of national concern through the arts for her work with SExT. In 2019, Shira was awarded CIHR Gold and a Gairdner Award from among the top 5% of PhD students nation-wide. Shira and her puppet doppelganger Lucy perform with the multiple award-winning theatre company, Shakey-Shake and Friends. Shira works with Indigenous youth in the Northwest Territories as an evaluation consultant and facilitator with FOXY/SMASH. She was also the research coordinator at SickKids on the cross-Canada, Art for Social Change (ASC!) project, working closely with artists and change-makers to further the use of the arts in social change agendas.
Elena Juatco
Creative Facilitator
Elena is an award-winning actress and singer for film, TV, and stage. She currently plays Cale on CTV's Jann. She played the role of Nicola in Mirvish's Kinky Boots at the Royal Alexandra Theatre and also played Dr. Scarlet McWhinnie on Open Heart which aired on YTV, TeenNick, ABC Spark, and Netflix International. Other stage credits include Les Misérables (Mirvish) and leading roles in Onegin (Musical Stage Co.), I Love You Because (Angelwalk), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Vancouver Playhouse - Jessie Award for Best Actress), Miss Saigon (Drayton), and Snow White and the Group of Seven (Dora Nomination - Best Actress) among other shows across the country. Elena is also a singer-songwriter whose debut album Beyond This Line was released on International Women’s Day with partial proceeds benefitting the Assaulted Women's Helpline and the Vancouver Rape Relief & Women's Shelter. Elena attended Queen's University and graduated with a B.A.H. in Drama and Women's Studies. Elena is thrilled to be involved in the creative process with such a talented and empowering group of performers, and to mentor budding writers via the SExT blog. Special thanks to my wifey, Shira, for having me on board this important and exciting project!
www.elenajuatco.ca / @elenajuatco
www.elenajuatco.ca / @elenajuatco
Debora Joy
Vocal Coach
Debora is a voice/text coach, singing teacher, actor, singer, and director. She has been a member of Canadian Actor’s Equity (CAEA) and Actra for many years. As a voice coach, she has worked on over 60 plays, including productions at the George Brown Theatre School, Theatre by the Bay (Barrie) and with Pamela Sinha’s Dora award-winning show, Crash. She has also taught voice workshops for Soulpepper, Elevated Grounds, and with Workman Arts, a not-for-profit arts company working in partnership with the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health. A Tyrone Guthrie award winner, Debora spent many seasons performing at the Stratford Festival and toured with the company to Broadway and the Old Vic in London, England. She has directed and acted in many professional productions across Canada, and continues to love every second of it! “Huge thanks to Shira Taylor for inviting me to work with this brave and talented company!” www.deborajoy.com
Ming-Bo Lam
Guest Choreographer
Ming-Bo is known, first and foremost, for her love of dance and her ability to share that passion with all whom she encounters. Lam graduated with an Honours BFA in Theatre Performance Dance, from Ryerson University, as Valedictorian. While completing her undergrad, she worked with choreographers including Matjash Mrozewski and Robert Glumbek, in addition to training with Allen Kaeja, Vicki St. Denys, Karen Duplisea, Kenny Pearl, and Nadia Potts. Since graduating, she has crossed the line between classical dance genres and the commercial industry, performing at the Much Music Video Awards, with the Toronto Raptors’ Dance Pak, at the NBA All Star Weekend, and numerous private and corporate events. Recently, Lam has returned to her contemporary roots, completing a creative process under the mentorship of Hanna Kiel and Jasmyn Fyffe; setting a work on Dancestreams Youth Dance Company, on Vancouver Island; choreographing for SeXT: Sex Education by Theatre’s Toronto Fringe Festival performance; developing her artistic practice through ‘Composing for Dance’, a course for Masters of Composition students at the University of Toronto. www.mingbolam.com
Sarah Bruckschwaiger
Website Design
Sarah is an award winning director, writer, academic, and educator who has toured shows nationally and abroad, working with diverse companies from various countries. She received her Masters in Drama from the University of Toronto and will receive her Bachelor of Education from York University this spring. Her areas of interest include Solo Audience Member Theatre (theatre with just one audience member!) and children's theatre, including years of work with the multi-award-winning puppet Shakespeare company for young audiences, Shakey Shake and Friends. She is excited to be a part of the SExT team, a company dedicated to arts-based education, with accessibility and equity at the core of its mandate. Congratulations to our incredible youth performers whose passion and bravery make all of this possible!
