Introducing the 25/26 Cohort
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Buhle Ngaba is a multi-award winning South African actor, writer and speaker.
Her research and performance interests include developing new thought processes around the role of storytelling and creativity in unearthing and amplifying African women's voices from the archive; to inspire new narratives and push the boundaries of performance. Buhle studied Acting and Contemporary performance at Rhodes University and Processes of Performance at the University of Leeds (UK). She performed in the world premiere of John Kani’s play Missing at the Baxter Theatre (SA) and went on to tour internationally with the production earning her nominations for the “Best Supporting Actress” for the South African Fleur Du Cap Theatre Awards as well as the Naledi Theatre Awards. Buhle has most recently been awarded the prestigious Barney Simon artists residency at the Market Theatre (Johannesburg) and is currently writing her latest theatre production that will she perform at its world premiere in June at Vienna Festival (Austria) 2024.
A recipient of the prestigious Brett Goldin bursary, Buhle expanded her knowledge and acting ability of Shakespeare during her residency at the Royal Shakespeare Company (Stratford upon Avon). Following the residency, Buhle has appeared on several Shakespearen stages; she also developed Shakespeare Grounded, a radical workshop program and approach to accessing Shakespeare's stories and their meaning in institutions. Buhle started her own business in 2016 and has used the company as a means to accrue value for her work through; producing, writing, as well as performing. The company continues to produce her internationally acclaimed books as well as theatre productions. She played Jodie in Mirror Mirror (directed by Asanda Sandulela) which premiered at Toronto Film Festival 2022, showed at Berlinale Generation film festival and was awarded Best Short Film at the 2023 Durban International Film Festival.
She wrote her first play Swan Song during her time at Stratford and since its premiere, Ngaba has won two South African Kanna Theatre awards including “Best Upcoming Artist”. The production has also received rave reviews and boasts sold out seasons at Suidooster Kunstefees (South Africa,2021), Wiener Festwochen (Vienna,2022) and Basel Theater Festival (Switzerland,2022). In 2018, Buhle was nominated for a Fleur Du Cap Theatre Award for “Best Leading Actress” for her performance in What Remains ; a theatre production by acclaimed writer Nadia Davids and multi-award winning director, Jay Pather.
As a published author (The Girl Without A Sound, The New Girl Code) , Buhle seeks to promote diversity in children's literature and to develop the legacy of storytelling amongst the youth. The Girl Without A Sound and Swan Song were both written and produced by her company Maru Factory(Pty)Ltd. Maru Factory was formed to give expression to Ngabas dream of being a renowned global producer of entertainment content .
In 2022 Ngaba completed a Prohelvetia Swiss studio residency in Basel culminating in the first iteration of her latest play (to premiere in 2024). As a digital curatorial artist in residence at the Centre for Humanities Research (UWC) she recently completed writing the puppetry theatre production on the life and times of Charlotte Maxeke the first black woman to graduate with a university degree in South Africa with a B.sC from Wilberforce University Ohio in 1903.
In 2023, she curated the Triggers from the Future; 76’ - Present exhibition in collaboration with Babalwa Solwandle (UWC, Mayibuye Archives) and Robben Island Mayibuye Archives (Cape Town, South Africa).
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Denise Bolduc is an established creator, director and producer who programs to transform perspectives and activate change. Her career represents countless contributions and connections with numerous artists, thinkers and institutions nationally and internationally. For over three decades, she has led and curated small to large-scale multi-disciplinary arts events and festivals. Most recent & key activities include as writer & director of the film Zaagidiwin, as co-editor and contributing writer of the award-winning book, Indigenous Toronto: Stories That Carry This Place, and as lead curator of The UNcommon Wealth and Build on Genocide. She has received several awards, is a member of a number of boards and committees, is a mentor, instructor, host, facilitator, witness and advisor.
Denise is Anishinaabe and French, born and raised in the Lake Superior-Robinson Huron Treaty Territory, and is a member of the Batchewana First Nation with familial ties in Garden River First Nation.
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Paula González Seguel (1983, Santiago de Chile) is an Artist, Director, playwright, academic, documentary filmmaker, musician and cultural manager. She is a graduate of the Performing Arts program at Mayor University (2009), specialized in Theatre Direction at La Memoria Theatre Research Center (2010), and has a master in Documentary Film from the University of Chile (2022). Paula is the Founder and Artistic Director of KIMVN Theatre Company (2008-2023). Since 2017 she has collaborated in Art and Social Sciences, with the Center for Intercultural and Indigenous Studies CIIR, at the Catholic University of Chile.
Paula has directed Documentary theatre works; “Ñi Pu Tremen - My Ancestors” (Santiago, Chile, 2008), “Descuajado Territory. Testimony of a mixed country” (Santiago, Chile, 2011) “Galvarino” (Santiago, Chile, 2022), “ÑUKE. An intimate look of the Mapuche resistance” (Santiago, Chile, 2016), “ÑIAMI TAÑI PIXAN - her soul disappeared” (Mérida, México, 2017), the theatrical concert "UL KIMVN. Wisdom singing" (Santiago, Chile, 2018), “TREWA. State - Nation or the specter of Betrayal” (Santiago, Chile, 2019), “La Mémoire Bafouée” (Festival Sens Interdits, France, 2021), “IXOFIJ MONGEN. All Lives Without Exception” (Teatro A Mil International Festival, Chile, 2022), “Ancestral Future” (TEPI Festival, São Paulo-Sesc, 2023), “La Lègion Imaginaire” (Royal Conservatory of Liège, Belgium, 2023), among others.
Her research and creation work in performing arts, around the documentary genre, addresses themes related to memory, native people, political violence and human rights, and has been recognized in Chile, France, Brazil, South Korea, Argentina, Australia, Cuba and Mexico, among other territories. She has also been part of important festivals with her creations and pedagogical activities: “Santiago a Mil International Theatre Festival”; “Les Translatines” Bayonne, France; “Sens Interdits” Lyon, France; “FIT & SESC International Theatre Festival”, São Paulo, Brazil; “Seoul Marginal Theatre Festival” Seoul, South Korea; “IX Latin American Group Theatre Show” Cooperativa Paulista, Sao Paulo, Brazil; “Eighth La Rendija Theatre Festival” Mérida-Yucatán, México; “IV Meeting of Young Thought and Creation in the Americas” Havana, Cuba; “Wilberto Cantón Performing Arts Festival” Peón Contreras Municipal Theatre, Mérida-Yucatán; México, “MITSp”, Sao Paulo, Brazil; “ESCÉNICA”, Mexico City; “COMING SOON”, KVS- Belgium; “WARM UP ” Montpellier, France; and “Rimes” TNP International Stage Direction Meeting, Lyon, France; “International Book Fair” of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In 2018, she published the book “Dramaturgies of the Resistance. KIMVN Teatro Marry Xipantv”, and in 2022 she premiered her first documentary film: “ÑI PU TREMEN. The film”, being part of the Indigenous Film + Video Showcase, “Sens Interdits Festival”, “Arica Nativa Film Festival” and “Fic Wallmapu”.
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Originally from Ottawa, of mixed settler and Anishinabe decent. A member of the sketch troupe Tonto's Nephews, former Artistic Associate at Native Earth Performing Arts. Toured Darrell Dennis’ Tales of an Urban Indian across Canada and Australia.
Theatre credits: Bad Roads (Crow’s Theatre) Little Red Warrior & his Lawyer (N.A.C), The Darkest Dark (Y.P.T), Detroit (The Coal Mine), Where the Blood Mixes (Soulpepper), Midsummer Night’s Dream (Stratford), The Drawer Boy (Theatre Passe Muraille), Thunderstick (Persephone Theatre), King Lear (N.A.C), Trudeau & Levesque (VideoCaberet).
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Jo-Ann Saddleback started out her career as a television/film producer, script writer and host for Alberta Native Communications Society, ITV, CTV and Access Alberta. She was also an Associate Producer on 2 projects with National Film Board, community coordinator on Aboriginal films (small contract) and Production Manager for independent film.
When her Father, Stan Daniels died, she took up his political legacy and forced the government to change the Native Child Welfare Act: for the first time giving Indigenous peoples a say in the future of their own children. She has since worked as a Policy Analyst/Researcher for women’s organizations writing the report: Violence Against Aboriginal Women; and Executive Director for Metis Settlements General Council heading up Legal and Governmental Affairs. She also worked as a community developer for 25 years, travelling across North America developing and delivering workshops on Culture, Health, Indigenous research processes, Roles and Rights of First Nations Women; and cross-cultural workshops for RCMP, Corrections Canada, Alberta Health, Healthcare workers across Canada and Alberta Justice judges and crown prosecutors. She is invited to make presentations at major conferences from the National Aboriginal Policy/Research Conference to the International Association of Women Police and National Police Vice issues. She worked diligently on the issue of Domestic Human Trafficking of Indigenous Women and their Children. She sat as Kôhkom for Alberta Justice/Aboriginal Sexual Assault Committee and co-authored its final Report; sits as Lead Elder for Canadian Research Initiative on Substance Misuse (CRISM -University of Alberta) and Co-Primary Investigator/co-author for Project PASPINAM; Elder Cultural Advisor for the City of Edmonton, Dreamspeakers and City of Edmonton Matriarch Circle. Jo-Ann was Cultural Advisor to Truth & Reconciliation Commission when it was in Edmonton. Jo-Ann is invited to communities and various organizations to share Culture and history.
Jo-Ann went back to her artistic roots and is currently an Artist, poet, writer and designer.
She and her Husband Jerry Saddleback owned Câhcacêp Art and Tea House which featured gallery exhibits. Now it is Câhcacêp BowsArt. Jo-Ann is involved in many Indigenous arts initiatives and has been advisor to many Indigenous artists and art groups like Dave Garneau, Dawn Marie Marchand, Lana Whiskeyjack, and Ociciwan Indigenous art collective; and much more. She is currently the Elder-in-Residence for the Edmonton Public Library and supports, promotes and helps to establish Indigenous writers, artists, filmmakers and Knowledge Keepers. Jo-Ann Saddleback is now a Playwright for Pemmican Collective working on a play and is also working on a film for 2024. She looks forward to keeping alive her writing roots.
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Matthew MacKenzie is a citizen of the Métis Nation of Alberta and proud father of Ivan (Eevan, Vanya, Vanichka). Artistic Director of Punctuate! Theatre, Matthew is also the founder and an Artistic Associate with Pyretic Productions, a founding member of the Pemmican Collective, as well as Canadian Liaison of the Liberian Dance Troupe. Matt’s plays include First Métis Man of Odesa, Bears, After the Fire and The Particulars.
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Teneil Whiskeyjack is a Plains Cree performance artist from Saddle Lake Cree Nation whose work spans theatre, film, and television as an actor, playwright, and creator. Beginning her artistic journey at the age of eight, she has developed a multidisciplinary practice rooted in storytelling, movement, and embodied performance.
She is widely recognized for her breakout role in Dreamkeeper and has appeared in the television series Tribal and RenegadePress.com. Teneil holds a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Concordia University of Edmonton and is a 2024 Esquao Award recipient for the arts, honoring her contributions to Indigenous artistic leadership and community.
Her creative work centers original storytelling as a living, relational practice. Her debut play Ayita was the headlining production at the SkirtsAfire Festival, and she has toured across North America with the acclaimed production Bear Grease. Other stage credits include Wolf Cull and Strife. Teneil is also a Community Liaison with Punctuate Theatre and was a member of the 2023 Pemmican Collective Writing Cohort.
In addition to her performance work, Teneil is an experienced facilitator and speaker. Her approach is informed by her background in acting, writing, and movement, alongside a commitment to holistic and embodied practices that nurture creative expression, presence, and confidence.
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Taanishi kiyawâw. Danielle LaRose dishinikashoon. Ni wahkômâkanak michif de nipaapaa, au nom de Daze, Nadeau, Marchand, Bouvette i LaRose, Pembina (Red River Valley) d’ooshchiw. My matrilineal Mennonite family, names Abrams and Kehler, also trace our settler roots back to the Red River Valley. Aen koonteur niya, okitohcîkew niya. I am a guest on Treaty Six territory and a proud member of the Métis Nation of Alberta. I currently live in Amiskwâcîswakahikan and I have had the privilege of working as a playwright, performer, director, composer, and storyteller across Turtle Island and the UK. "The Poisoner's Daughter" will delve into my family history using elements of Michif language, Métis folklore, and traditional Métis music. With this piece, I hope to share the story of my great-great-grandmother, Hélène LaRose nee Bouvette, in the spirit of kwayaskâstâsowin- setting things right.
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Cree-Saulteaux Metis performing artist Margo Kane is the Founder and Artistic Managing Director of Full Circle: First Nations Performance. With a career spanning over 50 years, she has made significant contributions as an actor, performing artist, and community cultural worker. Her commitment to sharing meaningful artistic performances with Indigenous peoples has been the driving force behind her extensive work, travels, and consultations with Indigenous communities throughout Canada and abroad. Kane’s celebrated one-woman production, Moonlodge, is regarded as an Indigenous Canadian classic. The show toured nationally and internationally for more than a decade, earning high praise from critics and audiences alike. During the inaugural Festival of the Dreaming in Australia, The Sydney Press lauded the performance, describing it as "in the top echelon of solo performance."
As a trailblazer in Indigenous Performing Arts, she developed and runs the annual Talking Stick Festival which celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2021 and numerous programs including Moccasin Trek: Arts on the Move!, Indian Acts and an Indigenous Producer’s Program in Vancouver. These initiatives have provided valuable opportunities for Indigenous artists and have fostered community engagement through the arts.
Margo Kane’s outstanding contributions to the performing arts have been recognized with several prestigious awards and honors including an International Citation of Merit from ISPA – International Society for the Performing Arts, an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of the Fraser Valley, the Order of Canada from the Governor-General, an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from SFU – Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC. and the National Arts Centre Award for Distinguished Contribution to Touring, Ottawa, ON Canada.
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Hailing from the prairies, Michaela Washburn is a proud Métis artist of Cree, French, English and Irish ancestry. Michaela has performed internationally at festivals and theatres in Wales, Aruba and across Canada, and the United States. With a background in Human Relations Counselling, her practice now lives primarily in performance; spanning theatre, film, television, writing, spoken word, improvisation, clown, audiobook narration, hosting, workshop facilitation and stand-up.
An award winning actor and author, Michaela also has multiple nominations; most notably for the Johanna Metcalf Performing Arts Prize, the Ontario Arts Council’s Indigenous Arts Award, and the K. M. Hunter Artist Award for Theatre.
Washburn’s first play, Water Under the Bridge, which she co-wrote with Carrie Costello, toured with Carousel Players. Frozen River (nîkwatin sîpiy), a play she co-wrote with Carrie Costello and Joelle Peters, toured nationally, won the 2021 Sharon Enkin Plays for Young People Award, and is now available through Playwrights Canada Press. Currently, this collective is working on their next collaboration, Going Under; a play about teen suicide.
Michaela has been honoured to serve as a mentor for numerous emerging story creators with such organisations as the National Arts Centre, the Stratford Festival, Native Earth Performing Arts, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Industry Theatre, Soulpepper, Paprika Festival and Children’s Peace Theatre.
With a few audiobook narrations under her belt, she also made her directing debut with Lee Maracle’s Celia’s Song narrated by Columpa Bobb for ECW Press.
Selected theatre credits include: Strife (Punctuate! Theatre/Tarragon), Kohkom’s Babushka (Punctuate! Theatre/Pyretic Theatre/Banff Center for the Arts), Romeo and Juliet (Canadian Stage), Takwahiminana (Punctuate! Theatre/Soulpepper), Honour Beat (New West Theatre), This Is How We Got Here (Native Earth), Guarded Girls (Tarragon/Green Light Arts), Grace (Nightwood), Confederation and Riel (VideoCabaret/Soulpepper; *Dora Award), Animal Farm (Soulpepper), Fortune of Wolves (Theatre New Brunswick), In Care (Gordon Tootoosis Nikaniwin Theatre), The Hours That Remain (Magnus Theatre), The Speedy (UnSpun Theatre), Where the Blood Mixes (Western Canada Theatre/Theatre Aquarius/Theatre Network), The Rez Sisters (Factory Theatre), Such Creatures (Theatre Passé Muraille), Salt Baby (Native Earth), Spirit Horse (Roseneath Theatre), Three Little Birds (Workshop West Theatre), Death Of A Chief (Native Earth/National Arts Center), Dreary and Izzy (Native Earth)
Film/TV: Bloodlines (Devonshire Productions/Assini Productions), Skymed (Paramount/CBC/CBS), Pretty Hard Cases (CBC), Burden of Truth (CBC), Baroness Von Sketch (CBC/IFC), The River You Step In (Marjory Avenue Productions and Film Coop), Just One Word (Paper Canoe Projects), Guilt Free Zone (APTN), Remedy (Global TV), Breakout Kings (A&E), By The Rapids (APTN)
Presently, Michaela is honoured to be the Resident Community Engagement Liaison with Punctuate! Theatre and a member of the 2026 Pemmican Collective writing cohort.
Punctuate! Theatre is thrilled to once again partner with the Pemmican Collective for the 2025/2026 Creators’ Cohort- Turtle Island’s largest collective of Indigenous playwrights.
We are honoured to support these Indigenous playwrights and their work!.
Thank you to our Funders
