Performer Lisa Hamalainen as Young Woman in There is No Word for Wilderness.

Lisa Hamalainen (Performer – Young Woman)

Lisa Hamalainen is a theatre maker, actor, writer, storyteller and translator from Manitoulin Island. An advocate for free arts in parks and outdoor participatory projects, she creates projects that are female-driven and land-based, and aims to tell stories that inspire empathy, healing, and connection to land and water. Her current project There Is No Word For Wilderness grew out of her residency at 4elements Living Arts and was first presented in the 2016 and 2017 Elemental Festivals, followed by a 2018 production with Evergreen Brick Works/TRCA. She is thrilled to be working with Animacy Theatre and to be a part of the 2019 TAC’s Animating Toronto Parks program.

Lisa now lives in Montreal with her husband James and their two cats Masha and Miila. She is a storyteller for young audiences at The Learning Tree. Alongside these artistic practices, she translates/adapts Russian literature. Lisa lived intermittently in Moscow for several years where she studied Russian language and was a performer with a physical theatre touring troupe (Doroga Pamyati). Training: BFA Acting University of Windsor, Moscow Art Theatre School summer program, Alexander Kalyagin’s International Theatre School (Russia), Peter Wylde’s The Wylde Project (Toronto).