Cole Lewis is a Director/Playwright whom loves Theatre that empowers, transforms and transports.  She originally trained as a Playwright at the National Theatre School of Canada (2000-2002) and has since pursued a career in Directing, Playwriting and Collaborative Creation.  She obtained her BA w/Honours in Dramatic Literature (2005) from Brock University, where she also completed a MA in Popular Culture (2008).  Cole is a founding member of St. Catharines’ award winning Theatre Company, Suitcase In Point and often directs their new work.  Her productions with SIP have appeared at Toronto Fringe Festival, SummerWorks Festival and Harbourfront’s Hatch Festival.  In the 2006-2007 season she worked as Assistant Director to Mark Lawes at Calgary’s Theatre Junction.  April of 2008 saw her assisting Director Daryl Cloran on And All For Love at the National Arts Centre.  She then left Ottawa for Edmonton to write and direct an adaptation of 1984 using Theatre of the Oppressed techniques.  In the fall of 2008, she directed her two one-act plays with SIP at the Sullivan Mahoney Courthouse Theatre.  Most recently, Cole led the writing and directed the show element of SIP’s Annual Fundraiser (March, 2009).  She plans to take some time off from directing so that she can enjoy her wee little girl (due mid-July) and so that she can focus more on writing.  Cole is grateful to In The Soil for this opportunity to share some of her new work.