Kayvon Khoshkam is an Iranian/Irish-Canadian, born and raised in Saskatoon, SK. He graduated from the Canadian College of Performing Arts with a focus on playwriting. In 2010 himself and Joel Bernbaum started Sum Theatre, and began work on their play My Rabbi, working closely with Michael Shemata in its development. They would eventually take this piece on an international tour including the Edinburgh Fringe, and garner nominations in multiple cities. In 2012 Joel Bernbaum moved to Saskatoon and opened the Saskatoon chapter of Sum Theatre, while Kayvon launched the Pull Festival with the Vancouver chapter. Pull Festival is a ten-minute play festival which fosters new work, and emerging artists; it is going into its 8th year running. Kayvon remains an active performer in Vancouver and across Canada, and he has been nominated five times in the Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards for his work over the years. In 2015 Kayvon was selected as the only British Columbian member of the National Arts Centre English Theatre Acting ensemble. In that time he had the opportunity to work closely with this countries leading artists. In 2016 Kayvon dissolved Sum Theatre (Vancouver) in order to take over as Artistic Director of Speakeasy Theatre.
Originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Markian moved to Vancouver to study in the acting program at Studio 58. It is here that he met his classmates Mike Gill, Olivia Hutt and Tom Krushkowski. Together they formed SpeakEasy Theatre in early 2015. SpeakEasy Theatre premiered its inaugural production of Chris Craddock's and Nathan Cuckow's "3...2...1" to high praise at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Following that run, the show made its premiere in Vancouver in November of 2015. Fun! Fun! Vancouver! stated "SpeakEasy Theatre Explodes onto the Vancouver theatre scene" and Vancouverscape said: "You're in for a roller coaster ride here as Tarasiuk & Kruskowski are highly talented young actors on the rise". In 2016, Markian stepped down as Artistic Director of SpeakEasy Theatre and now remains with the company as General Manager and Producer. Markian has been the lead producer of Pull Festival since Pull Festival V and most recently SpeakEasy’s hit production of The Shipment. Markian was also the publisher and designer of The Pull Festival Anthology Vol.1. Outside of producing theatre, Markian has been seen on stages across the country. Selected Theatre: Billy Elliot (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre) 3...2...1 (SpeakEasy Theatre), Vincent River (Osimous Theatre), Scratch (Theatre Plexus), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Kosmic Mambo, Innocence Lost, Grease, Karaoke the Musical (Studio 58), A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline, Footloose, The Full Monty (Rainbow Stage), Spring Awakening (Winnipeg Studio Theatre), Over the Tavern (Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre). Film/Tv: The Murders (CityTV), Take Two (ABC), The Magicians (SyFy), Project Mc2 (Netflix), Shut Eye (Hulu), Status Update (Brightlight, Voltage), Britney Forever After (Lifetime), A Time to Dance (Hallmark), iZombie (The CW), The Terry Sawchuk Origin Story (Boomtalk Prod.), Bunks (Disney).
Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan, Mike is a Vancouver based actor and producer and a graduate of Studio 58. Mike has worked with several companies throughout his career including Arts Club, Caravan Farm Theatre, Firehall arts centre, Green Thumb Theatre, Carousel Theatre, Presentation House, as well as Curtain Razors and The Globe Theatre in Regina. New work is what excites him and in the past he has been part of the creation process for such shows as A Date With the Night (Globe Theatre), Old Man and the Sea (Studio 58), and most recently Carmen Angel (Curtain Razors). With SpeakEasy Theatre, Mike’s most passionate about the yearly production of the Pull Festival and the thrilling work of the emerging artists involved.
Olivia is originally from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, and hold a bachelor of Arts in the Social Sciences at Western University and is a graduate of Studio 58. Olivia’s roles at Studio 58 include Isabelle LeBourdais, of Innocence Lost, the world premier of Kosmic Mambo, Oklahoma! and Elbow Room Café: The Musical. Olivia is a Studio 58 scholarship recipient of the Earl Klein Scholarship (2014), the Antony Holland Scholarship (2015), as well as a English Theatre nominee for the Hnatyshyn Foundation “Young Artist Grant” (2014). Past Credits: Jeeves Intervenes (Chemainus Festival), the world premiere of Still/Falling (Green Thumb Theatre).
