Get to Know Us

Executive Team

pia kleber

Dr. Pia Kleber (Program Director)

Professor Pia Kleber is the Director of the University College Summer Drama for International Students. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate students in Drama and Comparative Literature. Currently she is exploring interdisciplinary approaches to employing the use of technology and A.I. in theatrical performance.

Laurie Maher (Program Coordinator)

Laurie Maher (she/her) earned a degree in fashion from Toronto Metropolitan University and went on to become Global Experience Designer for MAC Cosmetics (Estee Lauder), working with actors, dancers and in-house design teams, traveling globally to liaise with artists and to produce videos. She acted in and provided character development and wardrobe design for the National Film Board’s Madame Tutli Putli, an animated short nominated for an Academy Award and winner of Best Short Film at the Cannes Film Festival. She has also worked as a scenic painter and a wardrobe pattern cutter for theatre and film.

Program Instructors

Paula Wing (Acting)

Paula Wing is a playwright, translator, dramaturge, and teacher. She is currently at work on Roadkill, an original play for teen audiences about the after-effects of violence, and Wicked Nix, an adaptation of a children’s book slated for production next spring at Young Peoples Theatre. Her translation of Stefano Massini’s Intractable Woman will be produced at Brandeis University in 2025. Paula has been a story consultant for the Calgary Stampede Museum, and she writes the program notes of all of the productions at Soulpepper Theatre. Her teaching takes her across the province with the Gryffon Trio’s Listen Up program. She designs and delivers drama-focused youth programming for Soulpepper, Tarragon and Young Peoples Theatres. She is a Sessional Professor at the University of Windsor and the University of Waterloo. For the past twelve years she has been the creative writing instructor at the Native Men’s Residence in Toronto.

Robyn Stevan (Acting)

Robyn Stevan has worked as a professional actor locally, nationally, and internationally in theatre, film, and television. She is a founding member of Soulpepper Theatre Company. Robyn also has a Bachelor of Education, Honours, from York University, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in English and Art History. Currently, she teaches at the Toronto Waldorf School as head of the Drama Department, as well as teaches English, History, and Drama in Middle school and High school. She is a recipient of a Genie Award, as well as a nominee of both a Gemini Award and a Dora award.

David Rokeby (Performance & AI – BMO Lab Director)

David Rokeby’s early work Very Nervous System (1982-1991) was a pioneering work of interactive art, translating physical gestures into real-time interactive sound environments. It was presented at the Venice Biennale in 1986.
Several of his works have addressed issues of digital surveillance, including Taken, and Sorting Daemon. Works such as The Giver of Names and n-cha(n)t critically examination of the differences between human and artificial intelligence.
He has exhibited and lectured extensively in the Americas, Europe and Asia. His awards include a Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, a Prix Ars Electronica Golden Nica for Interactive Art, and a British Academy of Film and Television Arts “BAFTA” award in Interactive Art.
He is the Director of the BMO Lab for Creative Research in the Arts, Performance, Emerging Technologies and AI at the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies at the University of Toronto.

Cameron Tinklenberg (Digital Media & Sound Design)

Cameron Tinklenberg is an award-winning pianist, producer, and educator with over 12 years of experience across North America. Trained in composition, production and performance, his teaching reflects his keen understanding of music creation’s multiple facets. He has shared the stage with prominent artists such as Herman Burnley, Delfaeyo Marsalis and Joe Chambers, and opened for Grammy-nominated artists including Lupe Fiasco, Ceelo Green, and Nappy Roots.

Cameron built his teaching experience at one of the top jazz programs in the USA, UNC Wilmington, and has gone on to teach at top private music schools in Toronto. His experience has instilled a strong belief that unleashing full creative potential requires a deep-rooted foundational understanding, and he aims to build that with each of his students. He currently resides in Toronto as a full-time performing artist and educator, having recently performed at the 2022 Toronto Jazz Fest, Winnipeg Jazz Fest, and Ottawa Blues Fest.

Zakriya Bashir-Hill (Digital Media & Sound Design)

Zakriya Bashir-Hill (he/him) is an Audio Engineer, Producer, and Arranger based out of Toronto, ON. Having grown up in the musical theatre scene of the San Francisco Bay Area, he’s garnered an appreciation for a variety of musical styles and idioms. A current master’s student of Music Technology and Digital Media at the University of Toronto, he completed his undergraduate studies in Contemporary Writing and Production at Berklee College of Music.

Peter Freund (Production)

Peter Freund has had the good fortunate to be involved in the development, creation, and presentation of theatre for over 45 years. His work is primarily backstage as a stage manager, lighting designer, technical director, and production manager. In 1989 Peter joined the UCDP at the University of Toronto as its technical director and production instructor. Since then he has taught, mentored and built friendships with several hundred students. To see so many of his former students become innovative leaders and exciting theatre artists continues to give him immense joy. Peter is looking forward to teaching and learning with the students of the UC Summer Drama program.