John is a theatre artist and graduate student based in Montreal. John is currently working on his Master of Arts (Sociology) in the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Concordia University, under the supervision of Dr. Marc Lafrance. The working title of his thesis is “Type Cast(e)ing: gendered fatness/embodied identities of male film and television actors”, and his graduate studies at Concordia have been partly funded by a Canada Graduate Scholarships- Master’s award from SSHRC (2015-16).

John’s research draws primarily from the fields of critical obesity studies, performance studies and symbolic interactionism in order to investigate the lived experiences of actors as they negotiate their personal and professional identities vis-à-vis multiple discursive worlds. This work is informed by John’s experiences as a professional actor and previous academic research projects he has conducted regarding the embodied identities and health practices of men in the performing arts. His research also incorporates media and creative arts in his methodology, employing documentary film and sound art as research tools.

John holds a Bachelor of Kinesiology (with distinction) from the University of Manitoba, as well as a Theatre Arts diploma from George Brown Theatre School in Toronto. He has worked as an actor in theatres across the country, most recently in Shakespeare in the Ruins’ production of Antony and Cleopatra (2015). He has received awards for his academic research at the University of Manitoba, and acting scholarships from the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Soulpepper Theatre, and Shakespeare in the Ruins.