Dream. Act. Work. Nurture.
Upintheair Theatre’s mentorship program for emerging Artistic Producers
DAWN.
Each sunrise is like a blank canvas, inviting creativity and progress.
DAWN is a fresh start for emerging artistic producers. Paired with experienced mentors at Upintheair, participants gain hands-on experience at rEvolver festival and independent productions. Like a sunrise, the program sparks creativity, growth, and new possibilities—breaking past limits, building skills, and illuminating the path forward.
The DAWN program pairs emerging artistic producers with a skilled mentor at Upintheair to learn through doing at rEvolver festival and our independent productions.
As the sun rises, potential comes into view. Light grows, clarity emerges, and suddenly you can see how far you’ve come—and all the possibilities ahead.
DAWN: Dream. Act. Work. Nurture.
A creative mentorship program for emerging Artistic Producers providing hands-on experience in festival and art event production at Upintheair Theatre.
Dream: Encourage artists to dream big and envision where their creativity can take them. Inspire boldness and a sense of possibility.
Act: Take action and make things happen. Ideas and inspiration lead to tangible steps and progress.
Work: Emphasize the importance of focus, effort, and perseverance. Art production requires practice, consistent work and life-long learning.
Nurture: Collaborate in a supportive environment where creativity, capacity and well-being are values
The DAWN mentorship centres potential, provides guidance through challenges, offers real learning opportunities, and celebrates progress.
DAWN recipients are selected through an invitation process.
DAWN recipients work with the Managing Artistic Director to determine how the mentorship will best serve their career path. They receive:
- Minimum $500 Honorarium
- Professional Development Granting Opportunities
- Artistic Creation Opportunities
- Production, Artist Liaison and Marketing Experience
DAWN Recipients 2026: Connor Runnings
Connor Runnings’ Project: Built Different
Connor Runnings is a performer and creator from Lasqueti Island, Canada, currently based on the unceded and stolen traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples, including the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. With a lifelong passion for the arts, Connor began acting in school plays as a child and has since performed in university mainstages, theatre festivals, and short films.
Beyond acting, Connor has done stand-up comedy, festival photography, and scriptwriting. He is deeply committed to creating accurate and empathetic portrayals of disability, drawing on his lived experience growing up with autism. Built Different offered Connor a platform to channel this commitment, combining his artistic practice with advocacy and representation in meaningful ways.
About Built Different.
Built Different is an autistic hangout dramedy about young adults who embark on a weekend getaway in rural BC after the death of their behavioural consultant. Over the weekend, they address continuing grief, unresolved personal drama, and how their relationships with their autism changed as they became adults. The primary theme of the piece is grief, which is something that all walks of life can relate to. I wrote the script following the unexpected deaths of both my father and my most influential teacher growing up, and through the script, I was able to channel my grief into these characters mourning someone who filled both of those roles for them. Through making this figure their behavioural consultant, I was able to tie in the universally relatable theme of grief in with the more niche theme of the neurodiverse experience. It is important to me that, while this play was written with a specific group of people in mind, it still has something that wider audiences will be able to see themselves in.
~ Connor Runnings, Playwright
I was deeply moved as an audience member at the Nanaimo Fringe performance of Built Different. Featuring a neurodivergent writer and cast that revealed a secret and personal world, the play subverts neurotypical narrative perspective reflecting a seldom heard, unique voice. With development, I believe it has potential to tour nationally.
- David Mott, Artistic Director
2025 DAWN Mentee: Head Full of Rocks
Head Full of Rocks, a 2024 rEvolver work-in-progress company connected through their work at rEvolver joined forces with Upintheair to build their relationship and promote them through the 2025 UITAT season. https://www.headfullofrocks.ca/