the collective
Connor Yuzwenko-Martin
FOUNDER and ARTISTIC DIRECTOR | Amiskwacîwâskahikan
Connor is a public relations specialist, performer, producer, and playwright. He has nurtured a lifelong passion for theatre and accessibility, beginning in grade school with simple skits and continuing into his young adulthood with his first professional engagement as a rookie improvisor at Rapidfire Theatre. To date, he has worked with organizations including Edmonton Fringe, Intrepid Theatre/Victoria Fringe, Theatre SKAM, SOUND OFF Deaf Theatre Festival, Nextfest, RISER Edmonton, Tiny Bear Jaws, Good Women Dance, Outside the March, Quickdraw Animation Society, and Sync Canada.
After Faust and CARBON MOVEMENTS were both his original productions developed with the support of many others, some of whom now count themselves as part of The Invisible Practice’s artistic collective.
Connor relentlessly explores the intersections between Deaf/Disability experience, art, advocacy, and leadership. He is a certified Access Activator through Tangled Art+Disability’s training program. In 2021, Connor completed his Public Relations diploma from MacEwan University and also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Alberta (2014).
CRYSTAL ᐋᐧᐸᓇᒐᐦᑯᐢ WOLFE
COLLECTIVE ARTIST | Neyaskweyaw Band, Maskwacis
ᐋᐧᐸᓇᒐᐦᑯᐢ (Crystal Wolfe) is an Indigenous Deaf artist, interpreter, educator, and advocate. She was involved in the advocacy effort for Bill C-91 (An Act Respecting Indigenous Languages), which was led by the B.C. Hummingbird Society of the Deaf and which received royal assent in 2019. She has long defended the rights of the Deaf Indigenous community so that they can access traditional ceremony, participate in cultural duties, and create safer spaces in the wider community.
Crystal aims to spotlight Indigenous Deaf and their accomplishments across the country, help address and resolve ongoing oppressions within our communities, and elevate them as a source of pride for themselves and everyone around them. She records stories and leads ceremonies at various Deaf artistic events, including the annual SOUND OFF Deaf Theatre Festival. She has also performed as a Deaf interpreter in several productions, such as all these things collide inside of me (Good Women Dance/Wild Mint Arts).
Crystal is part of the Nehiyaw and Niitsitapi-Blackfoot Confederacy. She lives and works on Treaty 6 land and is also a member of Neyaskweyaw (Ermineskin) Band of Maskwacis. She is fluent in Plain Indian Sign Language, Nehiyawi ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐃᐧ, and loves writing in Cree, travelling, and spending time with her nôsisimak.
JAN MCCARTHY
COLLECTIVE ARTIST | Amiskwacîwâskahikan
Jan McCarthy (he/him) is a Deaf Queer man residing in amiskwacîwâskahikan in the city currently known as Edmonton. He is a screenwriter, ASL coach/instructor, and actor. He has been involved with several productions, including 9 Parts of Desire (The Maggie Tree), Children of a Lesser God (Walterdale Playhouse) and After Faust (The Invisible Practice). He was a hairstylist and makeup artist and has always veered close to the stage but never quite found his niche. Now that Deaf arts in Canada is growing and becoming increasingly more sustainable, he is excited to support and nurture his creative peers along with the up and coming generations of Deaf artists.
At this time, Jan’s greatest creative curiosity asks how writing differs between the stage and the screen and how the lessons of one can inform the other through the shared mission of Deaf-centric storytelling.
KAYLA BRADFORD-SINASAC
COLLECTIVE ARTIST | Amiskwacîwâskahikan
Kayla Bradford-Sinasac is a full time graphic artist with a side hustle making stained glass, often to fundraise for special causes. She has always had a creative mind and loves making her ideas a reality in various mediums, with a current focus on projection design for creative captions.
Kayla has several performing and directing roles under her belt, including The Vagina Monologues, The Tempest, and After Faust. She plans to continue performing on stage and welcomes opportunities to learn and hone her craft.
