Tara Travis
Actor for Stage and Screen
Theatre and I have been having a hot love affair since I was 8 years old. Storytelling, shapeshifting, learning about and reflecting back the human experience…it’s a calling I can’t deny. No, really. I’ve tried. I’ve really tried. Any time I wander too far, my mistress, the stage, woos me back. And I’m always grateful for her call. I’m known in the performing arts world for my prowess as a solo performer, multiple character work, physical shape-shifting abilities and vocal acrobatics. The majority of my acting career has resulted from joyful collaboration and original co-creations (See Theatre Maker below), but I’m always thriiilllled to be brought in to play with others. A handful of select stage credits include Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch (Axis Theatre), Leading Ladies and The Wizard of Oz (Gateway Theatre), Best Picture (Ribbit rePublic) and Bruce Horak’s This Is Cancer. I can be found on screen occasionally as well, most recently in a super fun role supporting the amazing Priyanka in OutTV’s drag romcom It’s All Sunshine and Roses, slated for release in 2023. If you’d like to talk to me about a role, yay! Contact me below.
Theatre Maker
Devised playwright, Collaborative Producer, Creator
Over the course of my many-splendored career, I’ve co-created and performed in over 30 original plays. Select self-penned solo works include; Lavinia: A Modern Fairy Tale of Gigantic Proportions, Searching for Dick: A Paranormal Comedy, and The Unfortunate Ruth, recipient of the PTC New Play Prize. Over the course of a decade as Artistic Producer (now Artistic Associate) of Monster Theatre, alongside the fabulously talented Ryan Gladstone, I’ve had the pleasure of co-creating a multitude of theatrical works. Solo-performed co-creations include Who Killed Gertrude Crump? (co-created with Monster Theatre, written and directed by Ryan Gladstone, nominated for 4 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, including Best Actor, Female) and Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII (co-created with Monster Theatre, written and directed by Ryan Gladstone, toured across North America, winner of numerous awards over the years). With Monster Theatre for Kids, we’ve made dozens of original and adapted works, most notably our adaptation of The Little Prince, for which I was co-recipient of a Jessie Richardson Theatre award for innovative design alongside genius puppet-maker Dusty Hagerüd. I’m currently co-brewing on a new creation with Monster Theatre, inspired by the early days of the Spiritualism movement. OoooOooo. Follow Monster Theatre for more on that as it unfolds! Current Project highlighted below.
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Current Project
The Spinsters, a dream-come-true collaboration with the divinely talented Christine Lesiak, a team of wildly talented artists from across Western Canada, and Edmonton’s Small Matters Productions. Currently in development with the support of The Canada Council for the Arts, The Edmonton Arts Council, The City of Burnaby and Deer Lake Residencies, The Spinsters premieres at The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts Nov. 16-18, 2023. Get your tickets here! For Edmonton residents, we'll be at The Westbury Theatre January 2024. Tickets here!
Stay apprised of when The Spinsters are spinning your way by joining Small Matters’ email list here.
Voice Actor
Full Service or Performance Only
As a Voice Actor, I’ve done everything from goblin voices (Goblins of Elderstone for Outerdawn) to full-length audiobook narration and mastering (All That Was for Tanya E. Williams)…and a whole bunch in-between. Click here to hear my Voice Demos for everything from animation and video games to e-learning, non-fiction and fiction narration.
I’ve got a pro acoustically-treated booth (-70db sound floor) and all the gear, so If you want some voicing (full service or performance only), contact me to explore the possibilities!
Puppeteer for Stage and Screen
I’m a great believer in the transformative power of puppetry. A co-founder of the Vancouver International Puppet Festival (currently on hiatus), I’ve incorporated animated object, hand and rod and shadow puppetry into many of my works. Original puppetry creations include Sticky Fingers Productions’ Down the Drain: A Puppet Traumedy, Swan Lake: A Stormy Puppet Ballet, and Fluffy 10th Street: Confessions of a Dirty Puppet, to name a few. Recent puppetry credits include PikTV’s Keeping up with the Klauses, The Washboard Union’s award-winning music video Country Thunder, and a blue rockstar named Joules with Media Button for FortisBC. I’ve been known to teach workshops from time to time, and it brings me great joy to share the ability to breathe life into the inanimate.
Performance Artist
As a performance artist (in collaboration with and serving the vision of Elizabeth Milton) I’ve vibrated with obsessive delight in “VHS Eyelashes”, cried in 7 different genres for “The Actor Cries”, monologued as an Elizabeth Taylor-esque has-been for “The Audition”, improvised as three deceased individuals for “Portraits”, sucked lemons and repeatedly applied lipstick for Vancouver Art Gallery’s FUSE, and sung The Wind Beneath My Wings repeatedly until I could muster a genuine tear in the enthusiastically received “Misty Moments.” I love making art, and serving the living art of others.
Creative Human
More than anything, I love to collaborate with excellent humans, laugh, share what I know, learn new things every day, play, make offers, explore ways to make the world a lighter and more loving place, and see what magic awaits with any given project, role, or opportunity.
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For Theatre and Creative enquiries contact Tara directly
For film and commercial enquiries, Contact Snejina Stoilova at Alaeria Artists
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