Alicia Barban
Alicia Barban is a theatre artist, Toronto Beacher and Blue Jays fan originally from Ottawa. As the daughter of ex-diplomats, Alicia has lived, worked and travelled all around the world. After being exposed to arts & culture on a global scale, she is especially passionate about Canadian Theatre and the voices of Canadian artists. In 2020, she was the Apprentice Producer with The Musical Stage Company, learning about musical theatre development from all angles. Since then, she has collaborated as a performer on many new Canadian pieces, including the premiere production of Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman & Hawksley Workman’s ‘Almost a Full Moon’ at The Citadel Theatre, a film adaptation of ‘Dead Reckoning’ by Lezlie Wade & Scott Christian, workshops of ‘God Catcher’ by Cassie Muise & Tyler McKinnon and most recently, ‘Bee Beeautiful’ by Brett Dahl & Quasim Khan with Bad Hats Theatre. Alicia is also a proud arts educator, and has been teaching singing, creative development, music and theatre for over a decade, to students of all ages. Other credits include Bessie in ‘The Drowning Girls’ (Guild Festival Theatre), Dyanne in ‘Million Dollar Quartet’ (Mayfield Theatre); Rizzo in Grease (WinterGarden Theatre); ‘A Gentleman’s Guide’ (Stage West Calgary); The NewsRevue Sketch Show (London, UK); Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ (Sentosa Theatre, Signapore); Hope in ‘Urinetown’ (Assembly Theatre, Edinburgh).
Where are you in your artistic journey at the moment? What are you excited about now that you are accepted into the Academy? What do you hope to learn during your time at Soulpepper?
I’m a recovering perfectionist. As an artist in this business, it can be hard - moving away from trying to ‘get it right.’ But perfection is boring, isn’t it? In the last few years, I’ve been fortunate to work with some of Canada’s finest risk takers, on theatre in development. It’s allowed me to revolutionize my artistic practice, through curiosity and collaboration, celebrating process.
Now…? I’m inspired to look within myself and hone my own voice. I’m so grateful to Soulpepper for this opportunity, to continue to play with other incredible artists and to be granted this creative sanctuary. I’m hoping that this experience helps me re-awaken my imaginative inner child - the one who climbed the tallest trees and knew magic was real. I’m looking to be brave enough to share the songs I’ve only ever played for my bedroom. I want to explore the unknown, and embrace imperfection.