The Team

Pedro Chamale (he/him) was born and raised on Treaty 8 territory, unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of the Treaty 8 Nations. Including Sikanni, Slavey, Beaver (Dunne-za), Cree and Saulteau, colonially known as Chetwynd, BC. He now creates on the unceded and traditional lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. He completed the acting program at Douglas College and then received his BFA in Theatre Performance from SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts. He then went on to form rice & beans theatre with Derek Chan for which he is currently the artistic director of. On top of his work with rice & beans he is a freelance Director, Playwright and performer. He was the Artistic Resident at Neworld Theatre in 2014, guest curator of the 2018 rEvolver Festival and one of the playwrights in the 2019 Playwright’s Lab at the Banff Centre. Pedro was part of the second cohort of Banff's Arts and Culture Leadership, is a co-founder of the Canadian Latinx Theatre Artist Coalition, sits on the Latinx Theatre Commons steering committee and was part of Director's Lab North in 2020. He was also awarded the young alumni excellence award in 2021, along with Derek Chan, for their work with rice & beans theatre from Simon Fraser University's FCAT department. In 2023 Pedro was a nominee for the BC multicultural and anti-racist “Breaking Boundaries” award for which he is grateful to be recognized for the work he has done both personally and at rice & beans.
Favourite Food: Pizza, always pizza.

Anjela (she/her) is a first generation Canadian originating from the Philippines and holds a BFA in Theatre Performance from Simon Fraser University. She has worked internationally as a performer and collaborator in Hong Kong and across the UK. Anjela works freelance as an actor, director, clown, teacher and collaborator with various artists of different disciplines. She is currently living on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Favourite Food: Hot Pot

Heather Barr (she/her) is a queer theatre professional currently working on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, colonially known as Vancouver. She has extensive experience doing producing and stage management work for independent theatre, most notably Morag, You're A Long Time Deid by Claire Love Wilson and Peter Lorenz (SM/PM), Break Horizons: A Concert Documentary by Kim Senklip Harvey (Associate Producer/SM), Double Happiness: Detour This Way by Nancy Tam & Robyn Jacob (Production SM), Mx by Lili Robinson (SM) and Farm to Fable by Amiel Gladstone (SM). Since joining rice & beans, she has taken the lead on developing policies and practices that provide safer workplaces for artists. She believes deeply in rice & beans’ commitment to producing work that is relevant and artistically responsible.
Heather was the 2020 recipient of the Jessie Richardson Sam Payne Award for Most Promising Newcomer, and is a graduate of Studio 58.
Favourite Food: Spaghetti on a camping trip

Karla Comanda (they/she) is a Vancouver-based poet, playwright, editor, translator, educator, and arts administrator. Born and raised in Manila, their poems have appeared in Contemporary Verse 2, filling station, decomp, Poetry is Dead, Room Magazine, and others. Karla has taught writing workshops for the UBC Philippine Studies Series, Vancouver Public Library, Migrante BC, La Salle University – Ozamiz, Western Mindanao State University, Co.ERASGA, and other community organizations and institutions. In 2019, she hosted the Sinag-Araw Writing Workshop, a poetry workshop series created for Filipino youth in the diaspora.
Favourite Food: Beef tartare (subject to change)