Creative Team
Snezana Pesic
Curator & Designer, National Exhibition
Her work has been seen across Canada and internationally within companies such as Banff Centre, Canadian Opera Company, The Confederation Centre of the Arts, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Theatre New Brunswick, Against the Grain Theatre, Ghost River Theatre, Obsidian Theatre, Workshop West Playwright Theatre, Odyssey Theatre, Theatre Asylum, Native Earth and Cahoots Theatre.
Pesic is the recipient of Betty Mitchell Award for outstanding lighting design and Prix Rideau Award nominee for set and costume design. In 2014, she has been shortlisted for the Pauline McGibbon Award for emerging theatre artist. With her work, she participated in numerous international exhibitions, including “Prague Quadrennial” 2007 and 2015 (Canadian National Exhibit), “World Stage Design” in 2009 (Seoul, South Korea) and 2013 (Cardiff, UK) and “Costume at the Turn of the Century “ in 2015 (Moscow, Russia). Soon after completing her curatorial work at Canadian National Exhibition at PQ2019, Snezana will be exhibiting her work at the upcoming exhibition “Innovative Costume of 21st Century; Next Generation” in Moscow, Russia.
Currently, Snezana is professor of design at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto.
David Fraser
Director of Production & Lighting Design, National Exhibition
David is a Canadian artist that works extensively in theatre, dance and opera. With over two decades experience in set and lighting design, his work extends from the National Theatre Centre In Ontario, to the Vancouver Opera in British Columbia, while his international work has been seen with Tania Alvarado’s Azul Abierto (Open Blue) which completed an eleven major-city European tour. Until most recently, when he transitioned to a new position with the University of Calgary’s Theatre Services, David was the Director of Production with Alberta Theatre Projects where he managed the creation and creators of over 50 productions over seven years.
In 2015 David was the Director of Production and Lighting Designer for the English-Canada exhibit at Prague’s Quadrennial of Performance Space and Design. That creative team was honored to receive the Award for Technical Merit by the Canadian Institute for Theatre Technology and was what inspired him to accept the position again in 2019. As a designer, David has been nominated for numerous Canadian design awards which include a Jessie Richardson Award, four Betty Mitchell Awards, a SATA award, and thirteen Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards, and he has been the recipient thrice for his artistry. David is a member of the Associated Designers of Canada.
Paul Cegys
Digital Designer, National Exhibition
Paul Cegys’ work merges multiple practices of performance creation and design, from theatre and opera to site-specific installation and intermedial VR/MR scenographies.
Paul is on Faculty at the University of Waterloo in the Department of Communication Arts and is a PhD. student in the School of Arts, Design and Architecture at Aalto University in Finland.
Upholding his commitment to ecological imperatives, he integrates his artistic work with a sustainability practice, having gained an MSc. in Sustainability Science and Environmental Studies from Lunds University, Sweden. Paul is part of the design team for the The Home: The Digital Oral Histories for Reconciliation VR Experience and recently presented his artistic research at the Venice Biennale in the Finnish Research Pavilion. He is the VR Designer and Co-Creator of the Blue Hour VR Experience and the Co-Curator of the VR Gallery for 36Qº section of the Prague Quadrennial. Paul is a Lecturer at the University of Waterloo, and is a PhD candidate in the School of Arts, Design and Architecture at Aalto University in Finland.
Anton deGroot
Assistant to Set Designer, National Exhibition
Anton deGroot is a set, light, and sound designer with an MFA from the University of Calgary. Select credits include: Brontë, HMS Pinafore, Treasure Island (Stratford Festival); The Hollow, The Thin Man, Dracula: the Bloody Truth! (Vertigo); The Shoplifters, Mary Poppins (Theatre Calgary); GIANT, Reverie, End of the Line (Ghost River); Smoke, Good Fences, In the Wake, Sequence (Downstage); The Circle, Cockroach, Waiting for the Parade, Charlotte’s Web (ATP); Jersey Boys, Drinking Habits 1 & 2, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder; Baskerville! (Stage West); King Lear (Shakespeare Company). Anton received the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Light Design for Macbeth, All’s Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare Company – 2016 & 2017), and Nine Dragons (Vertigo – 2018), as well as for Outstanding Set Design for Travels With My Aunt (Vertigo – 2014) and Crime Does Not Pay (Downstage – 2018). In 2017, Anton was named Top 40 Under 40 by Avenue Magazine. See more @an_tonD and adegroot.ca.
Jessica Sarah Bertrand
Assistant to Digital Designer, National Exhibtion
Jessica (Jess) Bertrand is a fourth year Honours Bachelor student in the Theatre and Performance program at the University of Waterloo. Within her program she has gained experience as an assistant stage manager, actor, dramaturg, and collaborative creator. Outside of her program she has worked as an usher, house manager, and VR game operator. Currently she is a Creative Assistant to Paul Cegys for PQ19, working on the Blue Hour VR installation, the Professional Canadian Exhibit, and the 36Q VR Emerging Artist Gallery. Jess is an aspiring theatre creator who has taken the opportunity to learn and grow alongside her work for this international theatre festival. She values celebrating, expressing and exploring theatre as an artistic medium.
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