Wes Pearce
Contact Info
Wes D Pearce has spent most of his life being inspired by the landscapes and skyscapes of Treaty 4 territory and as a settler has been fortunate to be able to work, create, play and live on these contested lands. He holds a BA and a BFA (Distinction) from the University of Regina and an MFA (Theatre Design) from the University of Calgary. As a member of the Theatre Department he has taught a wide variety of courses in theatre design/scenography, Canadian drama, and Queer theatre and has taught various courses in pop culture (including Hollywood and Fashion) for the Faculty of Media, Art, and Performance.
His scholarly research is as varied as his teaching and covers published peer-reviewed articles, conference presentations, public talks and a co-edited collection of essays looking at queer identities. Works of note include chapters in Theatre Practice, Etudes, West-Words: Celebrating Western Canadian Theatre and Playwrighting, Sharon Pollock: First Woman of Canadian Theatre, Daniel MacIvor: New Essays on Canadian Theatre and the co-edited collection Out Spoken: Perspectives on Queer Identities. Conference papers have been presented at World Stage Design, Canadian Association for Theatre Research, Association for Theatre Higher Educations, International Federation for Theatre Research, Mid America Theatre Conference, South East Theatre Symposium, Shakespeare Society of America, Watershed Festival – Reimagining Music Theatre, Association for Canadian Studies in the United States and Song, Stage, and Screen.
He is also a professional theatre designer and his creative research has primarily taken the form of costume and set design for productions across Western Canada and the University of Regina Theatre Department. The Birds and the Bees, Us, Million Dollar Quartet, Ring of Fire, Elizabeth Rex and Amadeus are some of the over twenty productions he has designed for the Globe Theatre (Regina). A Christmas Story, The 39 Steps, Leading Ladies, The Birds and the Bees, and It’s a Wonderful Life are some of the dozen credits at Persephone Theatre (Saskatoon). Grease, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rocky Horror Show, Guys and Dolls and Oklahoma! are a few of the design credits from Stage West (Calgary) as well as work at ATP (Calgary), PTE (Winnipeg) and Western Canada Theatre (Kamloops). His work has been recognized with multiple nominations for Outstanding Costume Design for both the Saskatoon and Area Theatre Awards and the Betty Mitchell Awards (Calgary).
He has served as Department Head (Theatre), Associate Dean Interdisciplinary Programs and Special Projects (MAP), and Associate Dean Undergraduate (MAP). He has sat on the executive of a number of learned associations and currently is Vice Chair of the Globe Theatre’s Board of Directors. In 2017 he was honoured with the Theatre Department’s Distinguished Alumni Award.