PACTcon 2026 Welcome Guide

Welcome from Pivot Theatre

Whitehorse offers a unique landscape, and also a space and scale that encourages us to reflect on how professional theatre connects with place and the people who live there. And to imagine and re-imagine those relations with an expansive attention and particular care.

Welcome from PACT President Kathryn Westoll

Welcome, and thank you for being part of this year’s gathering in Whitehorse, our first conference in the Yukon!

Each conference arrives with its own character, shaped not only by the program but by the moment we share. This year, we meet in a period when many of us are navigating shifts — in our work, in our communities, and in the broader landscape of our sector.

Rather than trying to hold everything steady, this is a chance to pay attention to what’s moving. Change often begins quietly: in a conversation that lingers, in a question that unsettles, in an idea that doesn’t quite fit the old frame. These are the moments that open space for new thinking and new connections. Throughout the conference, I hope you’ll give yourself permission to explore what’s emerging — to follow unexpected threads, to listen deeply, and to let new possibilities take shape. Your presence and perspective make this gathering a place where meaningful work can begin.

I’m glad you’re with us.

Welcome from PACT Executive Director Brad Lepp

The importance of showing up.

One of my first jobs in theatre was putting together an outdoor summer tour at parks and public spaces across the province. As I reached out to community hosts and other arts organizations, it was so important to go and meet them on their home turf. Starting a conversation on the right foot is important, and for me, that involved making the effort to go to them, and to meet them in their own context, in their own community. A relationship is always different once you've seen where someone lives - more grounded, relational. For weeks I would hop in my ’76 AMC Gremlin (IYKYK) and drive for hours to visit a new venue or meet with a fellow artist. Sometimes the visit went nowhere, sometimes it was the first step towards a partnership, but always the act of showing up was the inciting incident to possibilities.
 
For too many years we’ve asked our colleagues in Canada’s North to come to us, and we are all richer for their perseverance. I am grateful to Pivot Theatre for working with us to rectify this.
 
And you showed up! These days, the act of coming together feels radical and we know for some the journey wasn’t necessarily an easy one. Whether you are a local, or an 'out-of-towner', your decision to prioritize this time is a gift to your peers - thank you! Showing up was step one - now is the fun part. As we mark the season of shifting grounds, your showing up is the inciting incident of new possibilities and new partnerships emerging, and we look forward to discovering what comes next.

Swapcard the official PACTcon app is the perfect place to create your schedule, get notifications and connect with your colleagues! 

Registration 

Download the Swapcard app to your mobile device, from the App Store or Google Play.
You should have received an email from Swapcard with a magic link which will take you directly to the PACTcon 2026 event. If you did not receive the email, you login and access the event by using this link: Swapcard

Creating your Schedule 

• All PACTcon 2026 programming can be found in the Agenda tab
• Click on the dedicated icon located on the Session’s page to bookmark the event
• Your bookmarked events can be found using the My Event button.

Connecting with your Colleagues

• The Social Feed is where you will find announcements, photos, meet ups, restaurant recommendations and more.
• Discussion is a place to connect with specific groups or topics, for instance New(ish) to PACTcon and New Leaders. 

Need assistance with the app? Contact the PACT Membership & Communications team at info@pact.ca.

• Pack your essentials for the day. We suggest bringing a reusable water bottle, a thermos or travel mug, and any extra snacks you’d like to have on hand.
  
  
• Introduce yourself. Folks will be excited to meet you – that’s why they’re at the gathering. Each year, ‘connecting with colleagues’ is cited as the biggest reason that folks come to PACTcon.
  
  
• Ask folks about their day, or the sessions or shows they’ve attended. Conferences come with built-in conversation starters if you don’t know where to begin. Folks will have seen different shows in the evening or gone to different breakout sessions during the day, and hearing about their experiences will enrich your own. As well, telling a colleague about a presentation or roundtable you attended can help boost your own recollection of key takeaways.
  
  
• Share the conversational space. Whether in a session or at a social event, if you feel like you’ve been speaking a lot, challenge yourself to see if you can throw the conversation open to others by asking a question or offering a prompt.
  
  
• Speak from your own experience. The challenges and questions we’ll be discussing at PACTcon typically don’t have one-size-fits-all solutions or answers. Sharing with the group what worked (or didn’t work) at your company is valuable to the conversation, but at the same time, keep in mind that what worked for you may not translate to other theatres with different priorities, mandates, community context, or level of staff capacity.  
  
  
• No one knows everything, but together we know a lot. One of the joys of a gathering like PACTcon is the opportunity to learn from your colleagues. We all have something to learn from everyone else in the room, no matter our job titles or levels of experience in the sector. Be curious about what you can learn from the perspectives of others and remember that when everyone feels empowered to share in a conversation, the group often comes to more insightful answers or innovative ways forward.
  
  
• Take time to experience Whitehorse! There are several supplementary events being offered by partners and PACT members, with the goal of helping you experience and connect with the Whitehorse theatre community while you’re in town.
  
  
• Don’t feel obligated to attend everything. PACTcon is a large and busy gathering. There is no expectation that any one attendee will attend every session or event. You are your own best expert on your own capacity and interests, and we encourage you to curate your own experience according to your needs and desires. If you miss an event and want to hear about it, find a fellow attendee who was there and ask them about their experience.
  
  
• We will not be distributing hard copies of AGM materials or labour documents, so bring a fully-charged device such as a laptop or tablet if you want to follow along or print your own copies in advance. View AGM Materials.
  Please note that a PACT Member login is required to access reports. 
  
  Need help logging into your account? Contact PACT’s Membership & Communications team at info@pact.ca.

PACT’s conference is an opportunity for arts workers of different practices, backgrounds, experiences, abilities, regions, and expertise to come together around our shared dedication to advancing Canada’s theatre sector. We appreciate the spirit of collaboration, dialogue, and kindness that delegates routinely exhibit during our events.  

To support constructive, open, and respectful spaces, the following meeting guidelines will be in place throughout the conference:

• We acknowledge and celebrate the diverse creative and artistic practices represented by all conference delegates.
• We will come ready to be present, which may involve reviewing materials in advance; reflecting on these guidelines; and taking steps to ensure we are in a place to actively participate in discussion and sharing.
• We will aim to address the issue, rather than the individual, and recognize the distinction.
• We will assume Positive Intent and acknowledge that not everyone comes in with the same set of experiences and knowledge.
• We will allow space for participants to speak in draft, and if needed, seek clarification.
• We will use “I” statements and speak from our own experiences rather than generalizing, making assumptions, or speaking for other people or distinct groups of people.
• Everyone will have a chance to speak (or choose to pass) before someone speaks again on a given topic.
• We may exercise autonomy to get up, move, and take breaks as individuals when we need to.
• We strive to use terminology that respects everyone. We will listen if someone has alternative language to suggest and offer alternatives to ableist, sexist, homophobic, racist, classist or othering language in a spirit of collaboration.
• We will respect the confidentiality of the discussions in sessions and conference events. Participants are free to use the information shared without attributing it to an individual speaker without permission.
• We will respect each person’s need to take care of themselves and participate in whatever capacity they are able.
• We will be proactive in reaching out with requests, questions, and feedback that may arise about the conference scheduled program.
• We will wait until a person is finished speaking uninterrupted before offering our response. 

By attending PACTcon, we agree to do our best to align with these guidelines in the spirit of reciprocity and kindness. If you have questions or would like to suggest others, please contact: BradL@PACT.ca

Here you will find our glossary of terms and acronyms commonly used at PACT in our Annual General Meetings.

Accessibility of Conference Venues

Join Gwaandak Theatre on Friday, April 24 - Sunday April 26 for the final weekend of the Seventh Annual Awaken Festival! In-person events will be at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre.

• National Performance Showcases on Friday April 24 at 7:00pm PMT,
  and Saturday April 25 at 2:00pm & 7:00pm PMT
• Awaken Theatre Gathering Sunday April 26 from 10:00am - 4:00pm PMT

A limited number of discounted ticket/registration packages for the Showcases and Awaken Theatre Gathering will be made available to PACTcon attendees! For more information, please follow Gwaandak Theatre on Facebook and Instagram or check out their website at gwaandaktheatre.ca.

A small but mighty local community theatre production of The Little Shop of Horrors will be playing at The Guild Hall.

Pay-What-You-Can tickets are available Wednesday, night. All shows start at 7:00pm PT.

A fixture of the community for over 45 years, The Guild Hall is a great place to be in community. Bar service available.