Meet The Team
Helen Young (She/Her)
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Helen is the Artistic Director and co-founder of Urban Stories Theatre and Knox Theatre Collective. Her first play, BONDS, won a writers circle award at the University of Winnipeg and her plays A Touch of Grace and No Way Back were nominated for CAT Awards for best original script.
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Helen has also developed and continues to organize the Just Acts Play Fest and The Play Off Series both in the Lower Theatre at Knox United Church. These festivals showcase local playwrights just beginning their journeys and local actors, techs, and directors. Aside from developing these important programs Helen also directs, teaches and is currently finishing her Master's of Arts through Athabasca Univeristy.
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Amanda Wheeler (She/Her)
Amanda is the Artistic Producer and co-founder of Urban Stories Theatre. She is a graduate of the Mount Royal Technical Theatre program. Since graduation, she has been a presence in the theatre community from Stage Manager (Rogues Theatre, Calgary Young People's Theatre, Urban Stories Theatre) to Studio Co-ordinator for Company of Rogues Actors' Studio.
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Amanda has since stepped back to a more executive role with Urban Stories and looks forward to an exciting future building this amazing company
Creative Associates
Bryan J. McHale (He/Him)
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Bryan lives by the belief that nothing ventured is nothing gained. He had early beginnings in
science working in a genetics lab then obtaining a law degree and practicing in civil litigation for close to 15 years. Mix in Bryan’s entrepreneurial spirit leading him to open a microbrewery in 2017.
Most significantly Bryan fell in love with the craft of acting in the mid 2000s. He has
trained at Company of Rogues in Calgary, and VanArts in Vancouver, and continues his growth and development in the Arts in TV & Film and Theatre with the recent accomplishment of writing his first theatrical play, Low Tide.
Bryan is proud to be a member of the UST Board and Creative Team promoting emerging artists and fostering the community of like-minded individuals in understanding, expressing and performing what it is to be human.
Sepidar Yeganeh Farid (She/Her)
Sepidar is a Calgary-based artist born in Iran and raised in Turkey. She immigrated with her family to Montreal as an adolescent. Graduated with a degree in Psychology and Drama from St. Mary’s University, Sepidar is currently completing her MSc in Counselling Psychology. As an actor and creator, select stage credits includeThe New Canadian Curling Club (Alberta Theatre Projects) and inVISIBLE (Handsome Alice Theatre). She has collaborated with multiple theatre companies such as Lunchbox Theatre and Sage Theatre in supporting the development of new plays and staged readings and has participated in festivals such as the Ignite Festival (Sage Theatre) and Fluid Movements Art Festival (Springboard Performance). As an avid musician and singer, Sepidar also performs on various stages in Calgary, especially within the Persian community.
Although not primarily a playwright, Sepidar has found her voice in the co-creation of collective pieces which allow the amalgamation of different stories. As an advocate of social justice initiatives in both the world of Psychology and the Arts, Sepidar strongly believes that the arts provide a channel to represent the diversity of the voices we have in our communities and she has become a passionate campaigner for the celebration of these stories.
Steven Morton (He/Him)
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Steven's first involvement with Urban Stories was as an actor in their 2013 Playfest. Since then he has been offering his services as a graphic designer for many of their productions and now is happy to have created a new logo for the company. He has also designed for Cowtown Opera Company and Youth Singers of Calgary as wells as other incidental jobs. His website mortoncreative.ca is coming soon.
