It is with sadness that we share the news of Colleen Lanki’s passing. Colleen started with the department as an adjunct and sessional instructor before becoming a Theatre Studies PhD candidate in 2018. Her research focus was on the theatre practice of contemporary Japanese playwright Kishida Rio, who was the only woman writing plays in the first wave of the 1960s-80s “angura” (avant-garde theatre) movement in Japan. Colleen was passionate about sharing Rio’s work with the English-speaking world. Colleen was an integral part of the Vancouver theatre community having founded Tomoe Arts, a dance theatre company, in 2009. She will be greatly missed by all of us. Our condolences go out to her friends and family.
A memorial to celebrate her life will be held on February 11 at 1 pm PST. It will also be livestreamed here.
