About Us
Our Story
Introduced by their (adored) mutual friend, Cristiana Ripeanu and Gillian Clare formed Exact Resemblance with the goal of bringing compelling, clever, provocative, laugh-and-then-cry theatre to Vancouver stages.When the show they had originally planned fell through, Cristiana asked Gillian what plays she wanted to tackle. Gillian came back with a few options, secretly hoping Cristiana would pick one in particular (she did). As the maxim goes, when one author turns down your gender-bending adaptation, do a different play. Thus began the endeavour to co-produce work together.
What does 'exact resemblance' mean anyway?
Exact resemblance is a phrase coined by Gertrude Stein in her poem "If I Told Him, A Completed Poem of Picasso". Choosing our name wasn't easy. We wanted something quirky, punchy, and with some of the self-deprecating humour we enjoy. We liked the consonant sounds in the phrase. We liked the oxymoron, we liked the irony, we liked that it was written by a woman.
OUR MANDATE
Pluralism
We promote the voices of emerging artists from underserved communities, including femme, Indigenous, immigrant, & refugee artists within the local theatre scene. We help support emerging artists by offering free mentorship & training, programs made accessible through flexibility in participation and time commitment.
Rigour
We choose texts of high literary merit. We strive to produce work with detail and discernment. We hope to contribute to the zeitgeist of Vancouver's arts scene.
Partnership
We create cross-sectoral collaboration by building bridges between the arts and community stakeholders. We create a more interconnected theatre community of more compassionate and diverse creators within a healthy working environment.
Who We Are
Meet the Resemblers
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