ABOUT

Jessica Anne Nelson (she/her) is an award-winning theatre director, creator, producer, and intimacy director, living and working on the stolen, occupied, and traditional homelands and waters of the Coast Salish peoples; the Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh (Squamish), ̓Səlílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), xwməθkwəyə (Musqueam), q̓ ic̓ əy̓ (Katzie), q̓ wɑ:n̓ ƛən̓ (Kwantlen), and Semiahma (Semiahmoo) Nations.

Growing up in rural Langley on a plant nursery with her grandparents, Jessica's life has always been deeply connected to nature and her family. With countless nooks and crannies to explore outdoors with her two older brothers and the rest of her family, she let the wild and pure nature outside her bedroom window nurture her imagination and help to create and turn her into the Theatre Artist she is today.

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Jessica sets the bar for creating respectful, caring, and imaginative spaces for artists to play and explore in her gripping and provocative productions. Her intimacy direction centers on the principles of creating consent based and trauma informed work, and trained with the National Society of Intimacy Professionals (Canada) and Theatrical Intimacy Education (USA). With her MFA in Directing (UBC), and many years of experience in devising, creation-based techniques, and community collaborations, her work focuses on stories that shine a light on stereotypically negative or dark characters and stories, while also striving for social change. Jessica is praised as being one of the most kind- and open-hearted directors’ actors have had the pleasure to work with. Her positivity, enthusiasm and supportive nature enables her actors and artists to succeed, whatever is being asked of them.