About

My name is Darren Adams and I am an educator specializing in the fields of Theatre, Drama, and Film. I took an interest in theatre beginning in high school, participating in the incredible productions at Mount Baker Secondary School (MBSS) such as Anything Goes, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Footloose. MBSS also afforded me the opportunity to explore the world of filmmaking, where I was head of the student driven MBTV, a television show that aired weekly on the local Shaw station, as well as creating several short films that were recognized at provincial student film awards. My introduction to the arts in high school taught me the value of arts education in building community and instilled in me a passion not only for the arts, but a desire to share that passion with others.

So, my journey as a theatre artist
and educator began right out of high school. For three seasons, I worked in the Education Department at Fort Steele Heritage Town, where I ran programs for student groups in leatherworking, tin smithing, as well as leading historical tours of the town and surrounding area. Come summertime, I would hop over to the Theatre Department, performing in scenes throughout the town, improvising with guests, and performing in two mainstage shows a day. My time at “The Fort” served as a formative experience that combined both education and the arts, my two passions. Acknowledging my passion for performing, I decided if I wanted to teach theatre and film, I’d better take a shot at actually doing the thing.

I enrolled in the Acting for Stage and Screen program at Capilano University where I began to hone my craft in earnest. I played leading roles in shows such as The Secret Garden and The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Exit 22 Theatre, as well as gained experience working in student short films. After graduating in 2016, I went on to appear in episodes of television shows such as Supernatural, The Arrangement, When We Rise, and Surface. In theatre, I was seen in productions of RENT and The Importance of Being Earnest.

I returned to Capilano in 2023 to complete my Bachelor of Arts majoring in Interdisciplinary Studies, with the intention of moving on to the University of British Columbia’s Bachelor of Education program. During this most recent stint at Capilano, I have spent time volunteering in high
school theatre classrooms,
learning and observing from
veteran educators. In the fall
of 2024, I served as Assistant
Director of Templeton
Secondary School’s production
of Cobweb Dreams.

I had the privilege of growing up in the West Kootenays in Cranbrook, British Columbia, located in the traditional territories of the Ktunaxa Nations. Like any rural town, or any urban city, or really anywhere for that matter, it has its pros and cons. It is a place defined by a strip of highway lined with fast food restaurants, car dealerships and big box stores. Most who live in Cranbrook do not work there. They commute to the coal mine in Sparwood, or the pulp mill in Skookumchuck, or they fly out to the oil patches of Alberta to work two weeks straight and then fly back for their week off. In their down time, people take advantage of the natural beauty of the surrounding landscape of the area. Camping at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, fishing, hunting, hiking, boating and dirt biking in the summer. Skiing, pond hockey, ice fishing, snowmobiling in the winter. While growing up in this place has provided me a tremendous connection to the land that I still treasure to this day. I found that this town, in which work and play are distinctly separated from the town itself, was missing something for me that, as a young person entering high school, I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Until I found it in a drama class.

That missing thing was community. During my time at Mount Baker Senior Secondary, the drama program was run by Rod Osiowy, who insisted he be called RodO. Like all great educators have on their students, he, along with the Music program educator Evan Bueckert, had a tremendous impact on me. Together, in this transient town of little art and culture, these two men built something incredible. A community of dedicated, hardworking, and passionate youth that stove for excellence. They staged massive shows, up to four a year, that included not only the students at the high school, but all age levels, as well as a diligent team of adult volunteers. These shows, such as Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, and The Wizard of Oz, included a live band of professional musicians, wireless microphones, rotating stages, flying rigs, and would perform in front of a sell out audience of 600 people.

In addition to the theatre productions, the film program offered students the ability to work with professional grade equipment and editing programs while making short films to be submitted to competitions across the country, as well as the opportunity to produce a student led television show that aired on the local Shaw Cable station in town. The Music program offered programing not just for classic concert band, but also jazz band, choir and vocal jazz groups, as well as music composition classes where student learned how to use industry software to write and record their own original music that would be released as a class album at the end of term. There would be two concerts a year, the vocal jazz and jazz band groups would perform at events and festivals in town and other close communities, and every two years the choir would perform at an international festival like in Vienna, Austria or New York City.

It was immersing myself in these programs that provided for me what I felt I was missing. A sense of community and purpose. Working towards something with a group of like-minded people in a space that challenged me and allowed me to feel safe to explore who I was and who I might become, to take risks, to fail, and to try again. I fell in love with performing, the freedom and creativity and exploration it offered. I also came to love sharing this passion, and the lessons and skills to be gained from working in the arts, with others. After graduating high school, I decided that I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my mentors and become an educator that can provide this sense of community for future generations, as they had done for me. But first, if I were to eventually teach theatre and film, I decided it would be best to actually do the thing.

I worked several seasons at Fort Steele Heritage Town, running education programs in the spring for student groups and then hopping over to the theatre department in the summer, where we performed street scenes, improvised with guests and performed two mainstage shows a day. I worked a season at the Carriage House Theatre in Cardston, Alberta where we ran a summer of shows that included Les Misérables, All Shook Up, and Annie. After that summer in Cardston I began the Acting for Stage and Screen program at Capilano University. There I continued to hone my craft, gaining experience on set working on student films and appearing in main stage productions such as The Secret Garden and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. In 2016 I graduated with honors as Valedictorian.

After graduation, I spent the next seven years learning the hard lessons of a difficult industry. I had some success during that time, booking roles in television shows such as Supernatural, The Arrangement, When We Rise, and Surface. I also appeared in several theatre productions like The Importance of Being Earnest, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Rent. I am in constant need of reminding myself that working even this ostensibly little amount is no small accomplishment in this industry. It's no secret that it’s difficult to make it working in entertainment, a fact that I was keenly aware of before deciding to pursue a career in the arts. I learned over those seven years that it is one thing to be aware of this fact, and quite another to know it, deeply and intimately. I grew, I found my person, and my priorities changed. I realized that I could probably have the career in theatre and film that I wanted, eventually, but that would mean sacrificing things that I was not willing to sacrifice, having a family.

So, I went back to Capilano in 2023 to complete a Bachelor of Arts with a Major in Interdisciplinary Studies with the intention of moving on the University of British Columbia’s Bachelor of Education Degree program. During this return to Capilano, I did my best to fill out my course load with classes that would best serve me in working with my prospective students. Representation and Reconciliation were priorities for me, so I took several courses that centered Indigenous knowledges and experiences. In addition to my studies I began volunteering in high school theatre classrooms, learning and observing from veteran educators. In the fall of 2024, I served as Assistant Director of Templeton Secondary School’s production of Cobweb Dreams. This experience was invaluable and provided a satisfying full-circle experience, facilitating a group of hardworking and dedicated students who reminded me of why I fell in love with the performing arts all those years ago.

It also helped me to form a working philosophy of my approach to performing arts education. My purpose as an educator is not to teach my students how to analyze a script, or to edit a short film, or to design a set. These skills are useful byproducts of greater lessons that arts education provides. My purpose as an educator is to facilitate an environment in which youth feel safe and emboldened to face challenges, to overcome insecurities, to recognize failure as an opportunity for growth, and to strive for excellence. My purpose as an educator is to foster a community where youth who feel as if something is missing can come and find it for themselves. I believe that my passion and experience to this point, with the additional training of my upcoming Bachelor of Education, makes me uniquely and especially qualified to succeed in this.