Electic Company Theatre: Vancouver BC, Canada

For the past eleven years Kim Collier has been co-Artistic Director of Electric Company Theatre, a creation-based ensemble she co-founded with Jonathon Young, Kevin Kerr, and David Hudgins and with whom she has co-authored seven of their original plays. For Electric Company Kim has directed such productions as The Score, The One That Got Away, The Fall, and Studies in Motion. Co-directing credits with Electric Company include Brilliant!, The Wake, Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, Flop, and At Home With Dick and Jane. Outside of Electric Company Kim has directed for Studio 58, Western Canada Theatre, Chemainus Theatre Festival, Runaway Moon and Vancouver Moving Theatre . In 2004 she directed and led the creation of Storyeum, a 22 million dollar processional theatrical exploration of BC’s history for Historical Xperiences. In 2005, Kim made her debut as a film director with the feature length adaptation of Electric Company’s The Score produced by Screen Siren Pictures and CBC. Along with its multiple broadcasts on CBC Television, The Score as played at international film festivals in Vancouver, Banff, Mexico, Taiwan, and Japan. A graduate of Studio 58 Acting Program, Kim has also trained in Toronto at Mime Unlimited and at the University of Victoria department of theatre. As an actor she has performed across with  Dance Arts, Vancouver Playhouse, National Arts Center, Felix Culpa, Western Canada Theatre, Richmond Gateway Theatre, Touchstone Theatre, Graphic Mime, Limelight Theatre and others. She has also created and performed environmental theatre in the Yukon and performed and taught in Nigeria as part of company promoting social change and education through theatre. In 2000 Kim received the Ray Michaels Award for Outstanding Emerging Director and has twice won Jessie Awards for Outstanding Direction (The Score, The One That Got Away) as well as receiving nominations for her direction of The Fall and Studies in Motion. She has also shared in Jessie awards for Original Script (Brilliant! and The Score), as well The Alcan Performing Arts Award awarded to Electric Company for their work with Carmen Aguirre on the adaptation and production of Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. A believer in the power of community and the collaborative process, Kim spearheaded the formation of Progress Lab, an affiliation of some of Vancouver’s most exciting creation-based independent theatre companies. Progress Lab is a resource sharing and community building network that promotes the development of new theatre and encourages artistic risk, excellence, and alternative models of creation. Kim was instrumental in the development of Progress Lab’s first performance initiative, HIVE, which was a collaboration by eleven member theatre companies and featured short installation theatre pieces running continuously in one venue. Along with providing emerging artists with numerous opportunities through mentorship positions in nearly every Electric Company production, Kim has also taught UBC’s department of Theatre and has appeared as guest speaker in numerous workshops and conferences. Upcoming directing projects for Kim include Titus Andronicus for Bard on the Beach, and assistant directing at Vancouver Opera, along with the ongoing work at Electric Company. She lives and works with actor/writer Jonathon Young and their daughter Azra.