Jacqueline Russell (she/her)

Jacqueline Russell is a dynamically disabled director, performer, creator, arts educator, clown, and certified yoga instructor from Mohkínstsis (Calgary) on Treaty Seven territory. A settler of Scottish and British ancestry, she has taught workshops in clown, physical theatre, and creation across the country, from Comox to Montreal. She is particularly drawn to theatrical investigations that playfully examine gender, feminism, and disability. Selected directing credits include Gilgamesh (Ambrose University) She Kills Monsters (Brandon University) Stigma, Pistil and Style (Wee Witches) The Wicked Witch of the Wetlands (Evergreen Theatre) Munsch-O-Rama, Peg and the Yeti (New West Theatre) A Christmas Carol (Keyano College) One Good Marriage (Lunchbox Theatre) and Legoland (Urban Curvz).

As a performer/creator she has contributed to many new works, including her feminist sketch comedy show Raunch (with co-creator Alice Nelson) which was held over at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in 2009 and appeared at Fem Fest (Sarasvati Productions) in 2010 and Magnetic North in 2012. With her co-conspirator Jed Tomlinson she has created and toured two full-length clown shows, The Sama Kutra & Hushabye, to festivals across the country. She was an artist-in-residence at the Manitoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance from 2014 -2016, the Artistic Producer of Handsome Alice (formerly Urban Curvz) Theatre from 2011-2015, the 2013-14 RBC Emerging Director at Lunchbox Theatre and the Artistic Producer for Evergreen Theatre from 2008-2013. Jacqueline is a graduate of the BFA program in Acting at the University of Alberta and completed her MFA at the University of Calgary where her thesis research examined the intersection of clown ways of knowing and feminist ways of thinking. In February 2021 she performed as part of an international lineup of female clowns for the online Red Pearl Festival in Helsinki. Jacqueline has taught for the School of Creative and Performing Arts at the University of Calgary, the University of Lethbridge, Brandon University, Ambrose University, Inside Out Theatre and Artstrek.