Shaheen Ariefdien (Sound design, Editing, and Music co-composer)
As a music producer, Child and Youth Worker, educator and student I am passionate about building community and sharing joy. I’m a South African born hip hop nerd who is interested in the intersection of arts-based practices, social/economic justice and healing.

Diem Lafortune (Charlie), is a Tkaronto-born/based artist of Cree-Métis, (Treaty 6), and Jewish ancestry. A published songwriter, poet, and essayist, the studio produced CD, Beauty and Hard Times was nominated for several awards, including Canadian Folk Music Awards’ Aboriginal Songwriter of the Year, 2013.  My Grandfathers’ Skin, a Canada Council funded photography project, is well underway. In September 2020, Diem began a 4-year conservatory style theatre training program with the Centre for Indigenous Theatre and is excited to be finally doing art, nothing but art and doing it in critically-aware-of-colonization, supportive environment. Lafortune jokes: “Retirement? Time to start – it’s proof of the benefits of a GLI!” www.horizondancer.com.

Dee Marksman-Phillpotts (Leela) is a Canadian artist who works with children and youth, she works from an intersection of arts-based practice, social justice ideologies, and anti-oppressive frameworks. Dee hopes to inspire the folx around her to aim for change and create a more peaceful world.

Evan Mercer (B) is an actor, writer, and comedian from Shearstown, Newfoundland. Evan has worked with many of the province’s best theatre companies and is currently attending the National Theatre School of Canada. He has also worked in film and television, garnering a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards. Evan is most recently known for whispering about Pepsi on the internet.

Dr. Carmen Meyers (Terri) is an artist and educator committed to developing applied theatre practice as a basis for community empowerment. She has been at Bronx Community College, CUNY since 2010, and has over eighteen years of teaching experience at the college level. Her research specialization is in verbatim documentary theatre and ethnodrama addressing women’s issues with a specific focus on political representation, aging, and domestic violence. Professor Meyers holds a Master of Fine Arts from Indiana University and a Doctor of Education in Educational Theatre from New York University.

Daniel Leeman Smith (Chelsea) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist devoted to the exploration of community, education, activism, and art. Daniel is a native Oklahoman and proud citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma currently living in Brooklyn, NY.

Daniel is the 2014 recipient of the New York City Pride Award for his volunteer work with the acclaimed Heritage of Pride. He holds a BFA and MA from Oklahoma City University where he was an American Indian Scholar, a member of the 2006-2007 class of OCULeads, and a Graduate Leadership Scholar. Daniel has completed graduate studies in physical and devised theatre at the SITI Company’s Graduate Theatre Conservatory and is an alumnus of the Teaching Artist Development Lab at Lincoln Center Education. He is an Associate Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC), a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, a member of the SDC Foundation’s Observership classes of 2018-2019, 2019-2020, and 2020-2021, and is a proud member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. Daniel is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree in the program of Educational Theatre in Colleges and Communities at New York University.

Naomi Tessler, M.A. (Ellisha) is an actor, director, playwright, popular theatre educator, Theatre of the Oppressed practitioner, poet, storyteller, vocalist, community arts practitioner and the artistic director and lead facilitator of Branch Out Theatre. She is passionate about using theatre to build bridges and break through barriers.  She has loved bringing the voice of Elisha to life in Hiring Care and believes in the power of ethnodrama to raise awareness about pertinent issues in our world. www.branchouttheatre.com

Melissa Williams (Charlotte) is a Newfoundland born and bred actor, writer, creator and artist. She has many credits from here and there and everywhere, and has loved being a part of this unique journey.  She hopes you find what you need from this audio drama and that you enjoy the world Hiring Care has to share with you.

Zoë Ludski (AKA Cousin Awd) (Editor) found community in the territory of the Tla’Amin Nation after working internationally in media and education for over two decades. Zoë is a Transmedia Artist who creates and teaches storytelling in multiple media. She has been recognized for her media production, sound design, writing and radio broadcasting. She is the host of the long-running radio show/podcast 42 Fish. Her work focuses on Communication and Equity, through Media Literacy, Policy and Direct Action. She works with national organizations that support community-based, nonprofit and noncommercial broadcasters, as well as media produced by volunteers and/or underrepresented communities. (Independent Community T.V., Community Media Advocacy Centre).

Wolfgang Vachon (Producer and Director) has worked with children and youth as a practitioner, artist, and educator for close to three decades. Community-arts practice has informed his work with diverse young people, in multiple contexts. Wolfgang is a faculty member in Child and Youth Care at Humber College, a PhD candidate at the University of Victoria (Tuning into Child and Youth Care: An Audio Drama Inquiry with Child and Youth Care Practitioners Who Have Lived in Residential Placement is his dissertation submission).