Lisa Li

Lisa Li (she/her) is an experienced Canadian theatre producer and non-profit theatre executive. She was a Producer for Soulpepper Theatre Company from 2016-2020. She has worked for the Shaw Festival and is on the faculty of Sheridan College. Her freelance and consulting credits include Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Manitoba Arts Council, and various Toronto indie companies. She was the Chair of the Board of ARC from 2019 – 2023. Since 2020, Lisa Li has been the Chair of Labour Relations on the Board of the Professional Association of Canadian Theatres. Presently, Lisa Li is the Managing Director of Prairie Theatre Exchange, a position she will hold until June 2024, at which time she will begin her time as Executive Director of Tarragon Theatre, returning to her home city of Toronto.

On Self-Care: When I entered into a leadership position, I knew I would need to establish clear relationship boundaries with the people I would be working and interacting with. This includes artists, other theatre leaders, staff within the company, friends who work in theatre, mentors/mentees, etc. Setting this boundary and sticking to it has been the best decision I’ve ever made, and it’s helped me tremendously in terms of my mental health, and ensuring little to no power imbalance, and no abuse of relationships. I aim to make friends outside of the industry and that gave me a perspective outside of theatre which is so important to have in this business. The second self-care recommendation I have as a theatre arts worker: Get a life! Get a life outside of theatre, it’ll fuel your work when you have work, and it’ll save you when theatre isn’t going the way you want it to.