Faculty Associate
loughran[at]yorku.ca
Professor
Department of Theatre, Dance and Performance, 91ÑÇÉ«
Research Keywords:
Canadian theatre; Chinese Canadian history; diversity, inclusion and community-engaged practices
Research Diaspora(s):
Chinese Diaspora
Keira Loughran is a theatre, performing and martial artist. In her 25+ year career as an actor, director, playwright, dramaturg and producer, she has played a significant role in the diversification of the Canadian Theatre landscape. For the Stratford Festival, she directed four productions, and as the inaugural Associate Producer for the Forum and the Laboratory, she spearheaded organizational change to support new work and develop best practices within an EDI framework. Prior, she was Artistic Producer of the SummerWorks Festival and played leading roles in theatres across the country including the Stratford Festival, Theatre Passe Muraille, Young Peoples’ Theatre, Nightwood Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects and Persephone Theatre. Her works are creative explorations of how art, particularly theatre and the performing arts, can strengthen communities and create a shared sense of identity across diverse lived experience. Keira uses interdisciplinary and cross-cultural practices to innovate and shape the work and role of contemporary performance in society. Her feature documentary, Exclusion: Beyond the Silence, premiered at the Reel Asian Film Festival in 2024, was selected for the Maritime Silk Road Film Festival in Fuzhou, China and is available to stream on Telus and Knowledge Network.