COREY PAYETTE | Urban Ink Artistic Director

Corey Payette is an interdisciplinary storyteller, writer, composer, director in theatre and film. He is a member of the Mattagami First Nations, with French Canadian and Irish ancestry, and lives on the unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and səl’ilwətaɁɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) peoples. Known for his deeply moving, large-scale original musical creations, Payette’s work challenges the public’s notion of what musicals can be, inserting Indigenous perspectives and narratives into mainstream spaces, igniting conversations that inspire social change. Payette’s work explores themes of colonization, Indigenous language revitalization, cultural healing, reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, and the complexity of historic and contemporary Indigenous experiences across music, theatre, and film. Payette’s deeply collaborative, multi-disciplinary, and community engaged creation process has been integral in shining a light on stories that have gone unheard for generations. In 2021, Payette received the inaugural BC Reconciliation Award from The Honourable Janet Austin, Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, created to honour those who have demonstrated exceptional leadership, integrity, respect, and commitment to furthering Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in the province of British Columbia. He is the Artistic Director of Urban Ink, past Artist-in-Residence with National Arts Centre [NAC] English Theatre, and is the founder of Raven Theatre. His musicals Children of God, Les Filles du Roi, Sedna, and Starwalker have won multiple awards and have toured extensively across Canada. He was awarded the John Hirsch Prize from the Canada Council, Jessie Awards for Composition and Direction, and Ovation Awards for Best New Musical and Outstanding Direction. www.coreypayette.com