The Collective

P.E.A.s in a Pod (Performers, Educators, Artists Collective) is a multidisciplinary collective committed to creating immersive, intelligent, and socially resonant work for young audiences and their communities. Rooted in both education and the arts, our practice blends live performance with visual storytelling, mechanical theatre, puppetry, projection, and other multimodal techniques. We believe young people are capable of engaging with complex ideas, and we create work that supports emotional literacy, critical thinking, and curious engagement.

Our process is research-driven and collaborative. We begin with provocations — moments or artefacts of tension or wonder — that serve as catalysts for inquiry and design. Our work is guided by pedagogical frameworks, theatrical traditions, and collective exploration. We value shared leadership and practice a sociocratic model that supports transparency, dialogue, and mutual accountability.

Our first major project, an adaptation of The Enemy by Davide Cali and Serge Bloch, emerged from a classroom experience in Calgary where students’ understandings of war sharply and visibily diverged: some shaped by media and gamification, others by lived trauma. That moment revealed an urgent need for stories that hold multiple truths and create space for young people to reflect on difficult topics with care and depth.

While newly formalized as a collective, our founding members—Alexandra May (Production Lead), Amy Sawka (Artistic Lead), and Meredith Johnson (Technical Lead)—have collaborated for years across theatre, education, and community-engagement projects. We formed officially in 2023 to build a sustainable, cross-disciplinary practice centered on young audiences.

Our goal is to produce innovative, impactful work that reflects the world young people are inheriting — work that invites them to think, feel, and imagine different worlds that become possible through their engagement with this one.

V.I.Peas (2024-2025 Executive Committee)