The Team

Managing Artistic Director

Dave Mott

Dave is a BFA graduate of University of Victoria, founding member of Upintheair Theatre, lead curator of rEvolver Theatre Festival, an actor, director, performance diviser, playwright and creator. He was born on the unceded and ancestral territory of the Coast Salish People, in the city known as North Vancouver, and is committed to betterment of these lands through generosity, sharing and respect for others. He holds a non-hierarchical world view, values inclusion, loves nature, and reveres Indigenous culture, ceremony, and storytelling. Committed to the creation of new plays and performance, supporting and presenting artists at transitional points of their careers, community building, and training the next generation of theatre makers, Dave’s true passions are exhibited best when he is mentoring artists, presenting their work, and visiting other Canadian cities to view works in development.

Outside of Upintheair Dave is also a Vancouver based business manager, independent artist, event producer, and Artistic Lead of The Fox Queen Collective. He is co-owner of Brandywine Bartending School, and is a highly respected competitive mixologist, corporate trainer and team builder. Dave is a permanent staff member at The William Davis Centre at VanArts instructing in direction, acting, play creation, physical theatre and ensemble building techniques. His early creations and directorial projects challenged theatrical boundaries by generating performance for non-theatre venues, site installations and pop-ups at all-night rave dance parties. Since 2020 Dave has begun co-leadership The Fox Queen, with Tamara McCarthy and Tsatassaya White.

Selected Upintheair credits: The Array: Beyond the Knowledge of Humankind – Termination Shock, The Array: The Shape of the Galaxy – Starman, A Brief History of Human Extinction, The City and The City, Inside the Seed, Guide to Mourning, Borborygmi, Wedgie, Johnny Grant, Pyropornomania, Moxie, Men of the World, & 120bpm. Other Stage and Screen: Ostar: Untrue Stories live: Dead Drone, Messages on Doors: Snuneymux, Messaged on Doors: nuu-chah-nulth, Anywhere But Here, iZombie, Supernatural, Stupid is as Stupid Does, Rearview, Escape From Happiness, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Glengarry Glen Ross, Hopscotch, Sea of Sand, & King Lear.

Festival Curator

Sarah Roa

Sarah is a Filipino Canadian; an Actor, Creator, Producer, Teaching Artist and Arts Administrator. She holds an Acting Diploma from Douglas College and a BFA in Acting from UBC. Selected performance credits include: Mary’s Wedding (The Firehall Arts Centre), In Wonderland (Alberta Theatre Projects), Turn of the Screw (Aenigma Theatre), Robinson Crusoe + Friday (Axis Theatre), The Drowning Girls (Theatre North West), and Pride & Prejudice (Arts Club). Upcoming, Sarah will be making her debut on the Bard mainstage in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the role of Puck. As an Arts Administrator, Sarah has worked with The Granville Island Theatre District as a front of house manager, venue manager, social media coordinator, and event services manager. Sarah is invested in enriching her skills and passions by continuously learning, adapting and being inspired by her community. As a BIPOC Artist, Sarah is committed to uplift new and emerging artists by creating a space where they feel valued and honored. Sarah is thrilled to be joining the Upintheair team as the Resident Curator!

Resident Curator

kelsi james

Kelsi James (they/she) is a white queer and asexual theatre creator, producer and performer, who works most often from the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) and səlil̓wətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) First Nations, and from the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples (Tkarón:to/Toronto). Kelsi has an honours degree in Musical Theatre Performance from Sheridan College, and a certificate in ASL & Deaf Studies from VCC. Kelsi has composed for Driftwood Theatre, Theatre Rusticle and Coquitlam Heritage, and has been a Creative Producer at Dreamwalker Dance since 2021. They have been a featured performer at Vancouver Pride (twice!), and they annually produce a micro-festival for asexual and asexual-spectrum folks (Art For Ace Week). Kelsi has developed queer-centered work through programs at Paprika, Arts Club, Tarragon, Evergreen, Rumble, and the frank. Selected acting credits include Alice in Gertrude and Alice (United Players), Helena/Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Driftwood), and Alex in Catfish (Alley Theatre/rEvolver). Kelsi is honoured to have had their work performed nationally and internationally, in over 30 ‘Canadian’ cities, as well as in China and the Philippines. Kelsi is passionate about new work and its capacity for tender, human-to-human social change. She is very grateful to come on as Resident Curator for rEvolver 2025 and 2026.