Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia
Wylie, Sangeeta
Newfoundland-born, Vancouver-based actor, writer, and dentist with several credits in film, television and theatre. Sangeeta Wylie has worked in film with Oscar-nominated Deepa Mehta (Beeba Boys), who called her "exceptionally talented, genuine and fearless.”
She starred as Pamela in the Firehall Arts Centre Canadian west coast premiere of Mary Vingoe's Refuge (2017).
Her first full-length play, the critically acclaimed we the same, had its world premiere at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre (The Cultch). In November 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic closed theatres across Canada and the world, The Cultch premiered a digital production of we the same, live streaming to a record-breaking thirteen countries. Inspired by true events, we the same opens in 1979 Viet Nam, where six children and a mother become separated from their father and husband as they flee Saigon by boat, surviving pirate attacks, typhoons, shipwreck onto a deserted island and starvation. Thirty-five years pass and the mother at last shares heartfelt secrets and an unbelievable story with her daughter. Wylie hand-picked the fully Asian cast and musician - six of whom were Vietnamese. The play was nominated for six Jessie Richardson Awards, receiving two. Published by Talonbooks (2024), we the same is on the curriculum at University of Victoria.
In 2023 Sangeeta Wylie was shortlisted for the Playwrights Guild of Canada John Palmer Award, which recognizes future theatre change-makers who challenge conventional thinking, push boundaries, and foster intergenerational collaboration and friendships within the theatre community. Besides giving voice to a marginalized community with a harrowing experience, her bold ideas brought together local, national, and global communities, providing opportunities for artists of multiple disciplines to grow beyond their respective craft. Sangeeta’s efforts toward broader inclusion also included initiating multiple community and national partnerships that supported their respective missions while expanding audience outreach, and devising panels to create audience tools and resources. In recognizing a lack of Asian women directors for her production, Sangeeta contractually stipulated the creation of an Assistant Director Mentorship for an Asian Female in order to diversify the landscape of future directors in Vancouver.
Last updated 2024-08-26
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