The Fox Queen is Tsatassaya White, Tamara McCarthy and Dave Mott.
Tamara and Dave: These two white artists of settler descent have over 40 years of combined theatre creation, direction, performance, physical training, devising, leadership, independent producing, mentorship, presentation and teaching in the arts sector. Their artistic intersections began in the early 2000’s with their aligned participation in The Core Group, a committed team of emerging artists working to hone physical devising skills through twice weekly training sessions. They connected early through this rigorous work, built a unique and lasting respect for each other, and maintained this long collaborative partnership by supporting their creations through focused relationship development, providing hiring opportunities through their independent projects, and fostering their artistic spirits. Through this time, The Fox Queen unconsciously strengthened their connection through the Walkingfish Festival in multiple creative roles (Actor/Director/Producer), and were vital to the acting ensemble in Upintheair’s award winning production of Inside the Seed.
After working together as director/assistant director on A Brief History of Human Extinction, their recognized alignment on an Indigenous view of collaborative theatre creation, and a shared intention to decolonize themselves along with their arts practices, breathed life into the Fox Queen.
With the COVID-19 lockdown in full swing they then took the slowdown as inspiration to begin their first focused collaborations Messages on Doors and Signals from the Lockdown.
Launching their art project Messages on Doors in 2021 they connected with Tsatassaya to deliver the Snuneymuxw offering bringing connection, healing and reconciliation to the community. This brought the three core collaborators together to continue this work utilizing the strength of theatre arts for healing. Bringing the project to Port Alberi for the nuu-chah-nulth peoples on the Hupacasath First Nation.
The Fox Queen ethos rests solidly inside the founding shared values of Humour, Love, Communication, Listening, Respect, Healing, Song, and Collaboration. They are focused on Community, Responsibility, Survival, Anti-Racist Practice and the Present Moment.
View our Values and Commitments
Tamara is the Artistic Producer of Rusticate Theatre, co-Producer of The Fox Queen and Slamming Door Collective, and was founding member and co-Artistic director of Boca del Lupo Theatre. As the current Associate Artistic Producer for Pacific Coast Stage Company, Tamara produced the first ever online Nanaimo Fringe Festival during COVID in 2020. Known for her artistic involvement in the creation, development, and production of many new works, she has been dramaturg for new plays by Western Edge, MatchMaker, and Weinkauf Productions. Tamara’s continued commitment to decolonizing her life and artistic projects has upended her ingrained European model for theatre creation; she is actively Indigenizing her theatre practices through ongoing anti-racist training and seeking reconciliation. She is the recipient of the 2021 John Moffat and Larry Lillo Award and The Bill Millerd Artists Fund. A producer, teacher and multiple Jessie Richardson Award nominated director and actor, Tamara’s select directing credits include The Double Axe Murders (Rusticate/ PHT/ Gateway/ Evergreen); Julius Caesar (Greater Victoria Shakespeare Festival); A Brief History of Human Extinction (The Cultch/ upintheair); Into the Woods (Vancouver Island University); The Out Vigil (Theatre Newfoundland Labrador); Love/Sick (Douglas College); A Hundred Words for Snow (United Players); La Bohème (Opera Nanaimo); The Sea; A Doll’s House (Slamming Door); Gruesome Playground Injuries (Dark Matter); Between the Sheets; Reasons to be Pretty (Western Edge); James and the Giant Peach (Chemainus Theatre Festival). Recent appearances as an actor include world premieres, With Glowing Hearts (TheatreOne) and HELLO (Theatre Terrific/ Firehall).
Dave is a Vancouver based entrepreneur and is a founding member of The Fox Queen and Upintheair Theatre Society, that lives, creates and works on the unceded ancestral territory of the Coast Salish People: xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Dave is a director, actor, curator, performance scout, playwright, puppeteer, devisor, the co-producer of the rEvolver Theatre Festival and an artistic leader of The Fox Queen. He is a permanent staff member at The William Davis Centre at VanArts instructing in direction, acting, play creation, and physical theatre; utilizing Suzuki Method, Fowler, Corporeal Mime, and Viewpoints in all his work. Graduating with a BFA from the University of Victoria, his early creations and performance projects challenged theatrical boundaries by independently producing for non-traditional theatre venues, site installations and event pop-ups on Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland. After returning to Vancouver, he founded Upintheair with Daniel Martin in 1999. Their partnership has spawned multiple original works and innovative productions, receiving Jessie Richardson nominations and winning four. He has curated over 100 performances by emerging and early career artists from British Columbia and across Canada through his role as scout and curator of the rEvolver Festival, and provided mentorship opportunities and training in EDI, marketing and communications, grant writing, value based arts delivery and theatre tech. His career has seeded a generation of emerging artist creations through his commitment to non-hierarchical collaboration, community building, anti-racist and inclusive theatre making, and giving back from his place of privilege. His newest collaboration with Tamara McCarthy, The Fox Queen, provides professional opportunities for established, mid-career, and emerging diverse BC artists, and was launched in 2020 during the heart of the pandemic.