True Voices: Pride Storytelling & Tea

August 1, 2024, 7pm
Gateway Theatre Second Floor Lobby
Free to Attend with Registration

24/25 Season
Presented by Gateway Theatre
True Voices Pride

Join us at Gateway Theatre for a celebration of Richmond Pride Week! You are invited to True Voices, our free storytelling event, where you’ll hear powerful and inspiring stories from local queer voices. Afterwards, enjoy a warm cup of tea and engage in an intimate Q&A with our storytellers. We are proud to provide a safe space for the queer community and allies, so whether you are curious, anxious, or looking to connect with the community, we welcome you to join us.

REGISTRATION for TRUE VOICES

We request your registration ahead of time for this event so we can accommodate the number of people attending. Limited spots are available so register early!

Looking for more ways to get involved in Richmond Pride Week? Visit richmond.ca to learn more about 2024 Pride Week events!

Meet the Storytellers

LEA & JOYCE

Storytellers
Story: Lessons from an Interracial Relationship

Bio

LEA & JOYCE

Storytellers

Lea Love

She/Her

Lea Love is a queer writer, blogger, and domestic violence advocate. She’s represented by Transatlantic Agency. She teaches Write From Your Heart: From Wounded to Warrior – a free women’s creative writing workshop that’s offered to shelters and transition homes. She now teaches this workshop to the public. She’s a board member of the Federation of B.C. Writers and has been a keynote speaker for International Women’s Day at The University of the Fraser Valley.

Lea’s Website: lealove.com

Instagram: @lealovewriter

Joyce Yang

She/Her

Joyce Yang: Born in beautiful Taipei, Taiwan, and grew up in Burnaby, BC. Self-proclaimed coffee, bubble tea and food lover. Cat mom. 50-50 Extrovert and Introvert. Mobile/In-Home Registered Clinical Hypnotherapist and Coach. I help people with anxiety, sleep, trauma, fears & phobia, addiction, stress relief, confidence, motivation, limiting beliefs…just to name a few.

Joyce’s Website: iamcoachjoyce.com

Instagram: @i.am.coach.joyce

SAMANTHA SUN

Storyteller
Story: The Importance of being Fujoshi (Rotten Girl)

Bio

SAMANTHA SUN

Storyteller

She/They

Samanatha Sun is a theater technician at Gateway Theater; A sound designer just finished her diploma in Software Engineering. She has been a Flame storyteller since 2019 and performed in both Mandarin and English. Samantha recently shared her stories at TAIWANfest, The Flame – Back Home Again at Chutzpah! and Asian Queer Stories Collection at VPL.

IRENE

Storyteller
Story: Coming Out for My Daughter

Bio

IRENE

Storyteller

She/Her

Irene is a mother of two from Taiwan. She had been a full time mother for more than twenty years before becoming a farmer. She grows garlic and is now the grandma of 6 beautiful chicken

JORDY MATHESON

Storyteller
Story: French Kissing 101

Bio

JORDY MATHESON

Storyteller

He/They

Jordy Matheson is a theatre artist and improviser working primarily in Vancouver on Unceded Coast Salish territories. He is a graduate of the Douglas College acting program, and has a BA in Theatre Studies from UBC. As an actor he primarily works in improv and live comedy, performing with Tightrope Theatre, QueerProv, Little Mountain Improv and others. He has also had plays developed through Pull Festival and Arts Club’s LEAP program. Since 2021 he has been a co-deviser and director of We Deserve to Work with the Community Living Society and Canadian Institute for Inclusion and Citizenship.

Instagram: @marys_meigs

NICOLA SPURLING

Storyteller
Story: A Journey to Authenticity

Bio

NICOLA SPURLING

Storyteller

She/Her

Nicola Spurling spent her youth feeling confused and lacking the vocabulary to describe why. As an adult, she found the words to describe the incongruence between her identity, her body, and how she was perceived. Through transition, volunteer work, politics, and advocacy, she has transformed her life, experiencing great successes and tribulations along the way.

Nicola’s Website: NicolaSpurling.me

Instagram: @NicESpurling

KATHLEEN OLIVER

Storyteller
Story: The Green Notebook

Bio

KATHLEEN OLIVER

Storyteller

She/Her

Kathleen Oliver is a dormant playwright, retired theatre critic, and fledgling birder. She teaches in the English department at Langara College and lives with her partner and their son in East Van.