2023/24
Chromatic Theatre is so excited to Introduce our 2023/24 Playwrights Unit Cohort! Take some time and get to know each playwright
Alia Aluma is an award-winning artist, designer, and writer who works in various industries, including academia, philanthropy, and creative. She has lived, worked, and studied on three different continents, gaining notable experiences with the fashion and fine art networks of Hong Kong, as a muralist in Italy, a fashion photographer in England, and creative director, curator, and designer in Calgary, AB. With three degrees from top ranked global universities, Alia also devotes a great deal of time to education as a public speaker, guest instructor, or mentor in her fields of study: Art & History, Communications, Commerce, Film, and World Culture. Her global and enriching experiences have lent her toward a pursuit in philanthropy where she works with organisations that support youth through mentorship and fundraising, and is in the early stages of starting the Aluma Scholarship Foundation with her father, a leader within his community, and twin brother, while also donating hundreds of hours to
in-kind services annually.
Sofia Huarte Aguilar (they/them) is a first generation Mexican immigrant residing in Moh’kins’tsis, and pursuing a combined degree in Drama and Philosophy at the University of Calgary. Also an activist and a student organizer, Sofia’s artistic and academic practice revolves around constructing radical pedagogical tools for performance. They are deeply passionate about diversifying the theatre, and utilizing it as a critical tool for liberation. Their recent acting credits include Argonautika, directed by Randi Edmundson at the SCPA, and Hookman, directed by Jenna Rodgers and produced in collaboration with Chromatic Theatre and the SCPA.
Mara Teare is an emerging interdisciplinary artist. Originally from Saskatoon, she has recently found a new artistic home in Calgary. She made her Calgary debut as Mowgli in Alberta Theatre Projects production of The Jungle Book. Graduating from the National Theatre School of Canada's acting program, Mara is dedicated to amplifying marginalized voices through her work. She's eager to develop her skills as a writer. Her stage credits include; The Jungle Book (Alberta
Theatre Projects), Crypthand (Gale Force Theatre), Cymbeline (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan), Everybody, Indecent (National Theatre School), and Young Ones (SUM Theatre). Additionally, she has written one previous play sad girls watch The Princess Bride.
Nakota Starr Tobias (they/them) is a Queer Trans Two-Spirit Indigenous actor and playwright currently residing in Calgary, Alberta but is from Treaty 6 Territory, and is Nakota Sioux/Anishinaabe Ojibwe. They are in their 3rd year of a Bachelor in Fine Arts degree, mainly focusing on acting but interested in writing as well. They aim to tell stories of joy, connection, and love through the lens of their intersectional identities, whether this is through bringing it to life as an actor or being the one to write the story themself. Which has motivated and encouraged them to write their play Wild Spirits, that is somewhat based on one of their friendships and has aspects of their personal experience entwined within. They also strive to inspire and uplift the generations to come, and bring forth representation they never had growing up.