Gavin Fearon

Gavin Fearon is currently the technical director for Dramatic Arts at Brock University’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, and an IATSE stagehand. The majority of his work has been in theatres. As a technician for audio, electrics, and projections, he has worked at the Shaw Festival, Young People’s Theatre, the Tarragon, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, and many others in Toronto and elsewhere. He has also worked as a sound, lighting, and projections designer in Toronto and Niagara.

He and his partner make their home in St. Catharines and cherish a cabin near the ocean in Newfoundland.

Valérie C. Kaelin

Valérie C. Kaelin, MFA, ADC, DGC is a set and costume designer, and a film art director, teaching scenography at Ryerson University, also coordinating the Certificate in Design for Arts and Entertainment. Following her MFA in Theatre from Florida State University, she moved to New York City to study at Lester Polakov’s Studio and Forum for Stage Design, under Frederick Nihda, Richard Bernstein, and Gordon Micunis. She worked as a costume technician in a range of specializations for the New York Commercial Theatre and was an active member of the USITT until her immigration to Montréal, where as assistant professor, she refurbished the costume shop infrastructure and curriculum for Concordia University’s Drama Department. She has designed and constructed (textiles, sculpture, scenic painting) productions in New York, California, Montreal, Toronto, and Seoul.

Valérie produced and directed the film Safe Set Work for Every-Body (64 mins.) co-written with Scott Martin.

Sharon E. Secord

For the last eight years Sharon was the Head of Wardrobe for the University of Waterloo’s Theatre and Performance program drawing on over 32 years of experiences from the professional theatre industry in costume construction and wardrobe administration for small and large-scale, productions such as Mirvish Productions, the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics Opening and Closing Ceremonies as well as The Shaw Festival, and The Grand Theatre. Sharon retired from the University in September 2020 but not from the world of Theatre. She has served on various Academic Advisory Boards for Theatre in Education during her professional career. Currently she sits on the Advisory Committee for the Sheridan College Technical Production for the Performing Arts Industry program.

Sharon has been a member of CITT/ICTS since 1996 and was awarded the Ron Epp Memorial Award for Professional Achievement in 2018.