Leadership
Trista Bassett
General Manager
Trista Bassett (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist, songwriter, and arts administrator whose work bridges creative practice and community-building across rural British Columbia. She is the General Manager of Summerland’s Ryga Arts Festival and Executive Director of Arts on the Fly Festival.
As a musician and creator, her work has been supported by the BC Arts Council and the Canada Council for the Arts for songwriting, as well as through the Canadian Heritage Commemorative Fund for her original stage production Covid the Musical: We’re All in This Together. Her creative practice also includes playwriting and visual art, with projects presented in festival settings and community initiatives, including winning the 2024 Osoyoos poster contest.
Alongside her artistic work, Trista is an experienced arts leader who has secured and managed funding to support artists, audiences, and programming in rural communities. She is passionate about creating vibrant, accessible arts experiences and building sustainable opportunities for artists outside of urban centres.
John Jack Paterson
Creative Producer
Jack Paterson (he, him) is an award-winning director, devisor, dramaturg, translator, theatre maker & Creative producer whose work and practice have taken him across Canada, Asia, Europe, South America, United Kingdom & USA. Projects have ranged from contemporary devised creation, multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural, and multi-lingual experiences to new works, translations & texts, to contemporary approaches to classical theatre.
Shows under his direction have garnered over thirty theatre award nominations with many wins including “Outstanding Production”. He is a recipient of “The Ray Michal Outstanding Body of Work Award”, “The Cole Foundation Award for Emerging Translators”, and “The John Moffat & Larry Lillo Award for Outstanding West Coast Artist”.
He trained at leading international theatrical institutions including Circle in the Square (NYC, USA), GITIS The University of Performing Arts (Moscow, RU), SENI Indonesian Institute of the Arts (Bali, ID) and received his MFA in World Theatre Direction from the renown East 15 Acting School & University of Essex (London, UK).
