Hannah Mariko Bell

Co-Artistic Producer - Theatre SKAM

Hannah is a proud fourth generation Japanese Canadian raised on Treaty 7 Territory within Blackfoot Confederacy lands (Calgary, Alberta). She is a neurodivergent artist and a member of the LGBTQIA2S+ community who identifies as pansexual. These identities, as well as her Japanese Canadian heritage, inform her artistic practice and place equity and accessibility at the centre. Through her work, Hannah seeks to engage audiences with positive representations of Japanese culture, as well as challenge them through a variety of theatrical practices.

Hannah is a director, creator, and puppeteer, as well as a graduate of UVic’s Theatre program (2019); she directed her first devised play, Kansha, as part of Intrepid Theatre’s YOU Show (2018) with support from the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society and the National Association of Japanese Canadians Young Leader Fund. In 2019, Hannah joined Theatre SKAM as a Production Intern, and has since worked across multiple departments in production and dramaturgy. As one of SKAM’s Co-Artistic Producers, Hannah is committed to helping improve representation for underrepresented communities in Victoria.


Being Asian-Canadian to me means being proud to be a part of a resilient and strong community full of creative people who have rich cultural backgrounds and a lot of important stories to tell. When I met other Asian-Canadian theatre practitioners, I felt like I was embraced immediately as a part of a new family who accept me and encourage me to share my talents with the greater Victoria community. These folks challenge me and push me to make engaging and exciting work that my Japanese-Canadian identity influences, whether or not it is the main focus of the piece.