Marcus Youssef‘s plays almost always investigate some aspect of otherness or difference. They have been produced in multiple languages in twenty countries across North America, Europe, and Asia, from Seattle to New York to Reykjavik, London, Venice, Hong Kong, Vienna, Athens, Frankfurt, and Berlin. Marcus is the recipient of Canada’s largest theatre award, the Siminovitch Prize for Theatre, for his body of work as a playwright, as well as Berlin, Germany’s Ikarus Prize, the Vancouver Mayor’s Arts Award, the Rio Tinto Alcan Performing Arts Award, the Chalmers’ Canadian Play Award, the Seattle Times Footlight award, the Vancouver Critics’ Innovation award (three times), the Canada Council Staunch-Lynton Award, and an Honorary Fellowship from BC’s Douglas College. Marcus was artistic director of Neworld Theatre in Vancouver from 2005-2019 and co-founded the East Vancouver artist-run production hub Progress Lab 1422. He teaches regularly at the National Theatre School of Canada, UBC, and Studio 58. 

Seth Klein is the Team Lead for the Climate Emergency Unit (a project of the David Suzuki Institute). Previously, Seth served for 22 years as the founding British Columbia Director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a public policy research institute committed to social, economic and environmental justice. He is now a founder and board member of the BC Society for Policy Solutions. He is a writer, speaker and policy consultant, and an adjunct professor with Simon Fraser University’s Urban Studies program. He writes a regular column for Canada’s National Observer. Seth’s book – A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency – was published in September 2020. Seth is a founder and served for eight years as co-chair of the BC Poverty Reduction Coalition, he was a co-founder of the Metro Vancouver Living Wage for Families campaign, previously served on the board of Dogwood, and is an advisory board member for the Columbia Institute’s Centre for Civic Governance. A social change activist for over 40 years, Seth lives in East Vancouver with his partner (BC’s Minister for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation Christine Boyle) and two children.