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About Elizabeth
Born in the small town of Ingersoll, Ontario, I spent my formative years dancing, running wild in the field behind my house, and making weekly trips to the library where I would come home, arms laden with books. Considering myself a bit of a geek – though a life long friend, Marion, says it ain’t so, I hid in the world of story, exercising the muscles of my imagination in the worlds of the Brothers Grimm, the Bronte sisters, Emily Dickinson, and J.R. Tolkien, to name a few. My love of ‘all things story’ grew as I grew, and manifested itself in a career in the theatre.
The life path took a sharp right as I stepped into the role of my life - that of mother to Faith Erin. As a single mom needing to make a living, I discovered a new passion - working in school and community settings throughout the Greater Toronto Area as an artist facilitator. Stretching my wings further, I toured Canada and the U.K. as a workshop facilitator teaching soft skills. As director of my own business, Moxy Presentations, I helped nervous speakers learn how to step into the spotlight. Though committed to daily journaling, I did not begin to actively focus on writing as a career choice until 2009. |
Author
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Elizabeth is the author of the award-winning novella, JAZZ. Recently shortlisted for Quill and Quire’s ReLit award, JAZZ won the 2013 Ken Klonsky novella prize and is now available through Quattro Books.
Her short stories, personal essays and poems have been published in The Furious Gazelle, Circa – A Journal of Historical Fiction, Forge Journal & Quick Brown Fox, to name a few. Her monologue, My Choice, was produced as part of Sarsvati Theatre’s Wild Women Festival of Monologues, and her musical play The Raven of Éirean Mhór, which she co-wrote and produced with her husband and collaborator, B. Glenn-Copeland, premiered at The Vogue Theatre in 2015 with funding support from the Government of New Brunswick. An excerpt from her novel, Traeh Gnul – Miranda’s Journey from the Great Forest. won the 2014 Writer’s Federation of New Brunswick Young Adult Fiction Award (1st prize). She is currently working on a film treatment based on the narrative of her novella, JAZZ. |
Theatre Artist
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Elizabeth has worked with Second City doing improv comedy, the Honolulu Symphony, as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, and at Factory Theatre where she appeared in the role of Amanda in Private Lives. She has produced and directed at the Glenn Gould Studio, Carrefour Beausoleil, and at Metro Hall / Toronto. As a storyteller, she has taken the stage at the Toronto International Storytelling Festival, the Canadian National Exhibition, and most recently with the Township Tellers in North Hatley, Quebec.
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Artist Facilitator
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Elizabeth facilitates innovative workshops designed to support people to live more creative lives. Her workshop, Reclaim your Voice has helped thousands claim their personal power through poetry, song and story. Nervous presenters have found the courage to step into the spotlight through Elizabeth’s theatre-based coaching programs. Most recently she has toured New Brunswick with the Writers in the Schools Program, helping young people find their writers voice. In 2014/15, she served as Writer-in-Residence at James M. Hill High School. As artistic director of KPH Theatre Productions, she and her husband, composer B. Glenn Copeland create original theatre using a community-based, collaborative approach.
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