Photo by UBC Brand & Marketing
UBC Theatre and Film is proud to recognize our Class of Fall 2024 graduates. They have grown into remarkable artists, practitioners and scholars, and into even more inspiring members of our greater Theatre and Film community. We are thrilled to celebrate their achievements today, and we cannot wait to see what they do next!
Message from Dr. Kirsty Johnston, Head of the Department of Theatre and Film
To the dedicated, resilient and inspiring class of 2024 Department of Theatre Film graduates,
Congratulations on your achievement!
Graduation is a significant threshold of change in your lives. At this moment of transition, it is important to celebrate the many challenges overcome, ideas learned and generated, skills gained, talents refined, and friendships made. None of this has been easy, but then nothing worthwhile ever is.
Many of you will have commenced your studies during the unprecedented learning conditions of the global pandemic. You demonstrated resilience and creativity in keeping the spark of artistic inquiry, scholarship and performance alive during this challenging time. You also learned new ways of working, communicating and analyzing in a rapidly changing world. That capacity to shift and be flexible when facing challenges will be a tremendous asset in the years to come; so too will be the knowledge that you have acquired alongside your well-honed capacity to acquire and share knowledge. You have become ever better at learning how to learn. You have not done so alone, but through partnership with your colleagues, in discussion with professors and instructors, and, critically, through the power of theatre, film and performance. Our scholarly and artistic disciplines are collaborative, and in your future lives, we hope that you will lead many new and innovative collaborations in the Arts and beyond. Your perspectives, wisdom and talents have never been more needed.
As you step into this next chapter, please remember that our relationship doesn’t end here. You are joining a talented and highly successful group of people—UBC Theatre and Film alumni whose regular connection and involvement with the department is vital for our collective success. We are proud of our graduates and hope to showcase your achievements now and in the future. So please stay in touch, lend us a hand, and set forth to remake the Arts and the broader world for the better. We can’t wait to see what you will accomplish next!
Sending our warmest congratulations to you and those who love and support you,
Dr. Kirsty Johnston
Undergraduate
David Siu (He/Him)
David is a Vancouver-based photographer and recent graduate with a BFA in Theatre Design and Production from UBC, where he specialized in sound design and theatre technical production. Now focusing on event, theatre, and couple photography, David captures authentic, emotional moments with a keen eye for composition and lighting. His style blends vibrant colours and soft natural light to create intimate, candid images that tell a unique story, whether at weddings, live performances, or personal milestones.
Graduate
Jacob Zimmer (He/Him)
Jacob Zimmer is a theatre maker, facilitator and dramaturge. Born in Cape Breton, growing up in Halifax, studying in Vancouver and spending fifteen years in Toronto, Jacob now lives in Whitehorse where he is Artistic Director of Nakai Theatre. In 20 years of co-creating, collaborating and producing performances and conferences, he is grateful to have work with remarkable people in Canada and internationally. He received a BFA from Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts and his MFA in Theatre from University of British Columbia.
Gerrit Krueper (He/Him)
Originally from Germany, Gerrit Krueper graduates with a Ph.D. in Cinema and Media Studies. Specializing in New Media Studies, his research interrogates the socio-political implications of livestreaming platforms and media audiences, drawing upon Marxist frameworks to critique paradigms of audience engagement and agency. Said research was awarded with a UBC Killam Doctoral Scholarships provided from the Izaak Walton Killam Memorial Fund for Advanced Studies. His work extends to the study of video games, focusing on themes of play, leisure, and anti-work as ideological constructs in capitalism.
While our congratulatory message extends to all of our 2024 graduates, this post only includes the profiles of students who have opted-in to be featured.
