Staff and Membership
Who We Are
Stephen Snow
Ph.D., RDT-BCT, Director
Stephen Snow, Ph.D., RDT-BCT, is a drama therapist, a performance theorist and a theatre practitioner. With over 35 years in the field of drama therapy, he has practiced in psychiatric rehabilitation, geriatrics, with at-risk youth and in the domain of developmental disabilities. Dr. Snow is Emeritus Professor of Drama Therapy at Concordia University where he co-founded the Centre for the Arts in Human Development (1996) and the Graduate Drama Therapy Program (1997). He studied performance theory at New York University where he experienced the work of many noted anthropologists and was mentored by performance theorist/theatre director Richard Schechner. As a theatre practitioner, he has acted in over 100 theatre productions, directed another 30 and written playscripts for a dozen more. He created and performed two self-revelatory theatre pieces, Seething Brains, based on image of madness in Shakespeare and his own life, and Nightride in the City, about his experience of driving a cab at night in NYC. He has published 3 books, two of them co-edited works on assessment in the creative arts therapies, along with 22 chapters in books. He has presented his therapeutic theatre research in major cities all across North America as well as in Jamaica (West Indies), England, France, Italy, Egypt, Israel, Sri Lanka and China. Dr. Snow has received research awards from the Concordia University, the North American Drama Therapy Association, the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and AMI-Quebec Action on Mental Illness. His most recent work is in developing an integrative approach called ethnodramatherapy (EDT). His documentary on this work can be found on psychotherapy.net.
Li Weixiao
Ph.D., EDT Supervisor, Trainer
Dr. Li Weixiao holds a Ph.D. in psychology and education from the University of Munich (2011). She is a BTD dance movement therapist (2014) as well as a Certified DvT Practitioner and Supervisor (2021), and a Certified KMP Analyst (2022). The Founder of Beijing Apollo Education (2010 – present), she is also President of CATE Summit (2017-present). Dr. Li is the author or co-author of 4 books. With 15 years in the field of dance therapy and drama therapy, she has practiced in psychiatric hospitals, special education schools, with normal neurotics, and in the corporate sector. She has directed several EDT projects at Apollo, both online and in person, and supervises certificate candidates through the Ethnodramatherapy Training Institute (ETI).
Rosy Kuftedjian
MA, Logistical Coordinator
Rosy Kuftedjian is a drama therapist, artist, and social activist. In Lebanon, she worked with Catharsis, a non-profit organization that introduces drama therapy to incarcerated people and was involved in prison reform and advocacy. She also co-directed and produced The Narrow Streets of Bourj Hammoud, a 90-minute experimental ethnographic film about a working-class suburb of Beirut. She currently practices as a drama therapist at the Jewish Hospital's Centre for Child Development and Mental Health-- working primarily with children, youth, and families. She is also the research coordinator for the Welcome Haven project -- a participatory action research that investigates a multi-site intervention program promoting wellbeing and mental health among asylum-seeking families in Montreal -- bringing forth from Beirut her interest in supporting the experience of those with refugee and migrant worker status.
Eric Mongerson
MFA, Design & Technical Consultant
Eric Mongerson MFA (Humboldt) designed sets and lights for drama therapy and ethnodrama productions at the Centre for Human Development including Nobody’s Perfect!, Through the Eyes of Caregivers, The Amazing Adventure of Relationships, The Frog and the Princess, Inside the System and Our World. He taught Design for the Theatre at Concordia University for many years where he served as Design Coordinator, Technical Director, Theatre Manager, Production Coordinator, and Chair of the Department. He designed scenery and lights for many productions across North America. His students have designed for, Broadway, London’s West End, Cirque du Soleil, and Stratford.
Maud Gendron-Langevin
MA, Institute Member
Maud Gendron-Langevin is a professor and program director at the École supérieure de théâtre of the Université du Québec à Montréal. Having studied drama education (UQAM) and drama therapy (Concordia), her research lies at the intersection of arts and health. She explores theater as a process for fostering engagement and giving a voice to marginalized groups and individuals in schools, communities, and social services. Self-determination, social participation, and arts-based research methodologies are her common threads. She is a co-founder of GRET-UQAM, and a member of the CREMIS, the ISS-UQAM, and the Pôle de recherche partenariale en santé mentale at UQAM.
Jiang Xuxuan
MA, Institute Member
Jiang Xuxuan, MA (she/her) holds a BA in Theatre Directing from The Central Academy of Drama (China) and an MA in Applied Theatre (Social Criminal Justice System pathway) from the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, University of London (UK). She is presently a Lecturer at Hunan Mass Media Vocational and Technical College (China) and has over 10 years of theatre industry experience. She recently attained her second-level certificate from the Ethnodrama Therapy Training Institute (ETI). In 2019, she conducted a EDT workshop program for left-behind children in China and, in 2023, implemented a 6-week EDT project with street boys in Kenya, Africa. The plight of socially marginalized groups and gender issues are the main directions of Jiang Xuxuan's field of exploration.
Jessica Bleuer
Ph.D. (c), RDT, Institute Member
Jessica Bleuer, Ph.D. (she/her) is an Assistant Professor at Concordia University's MA in Drama Therapy program. She has directed theatre-based research and ethnodrama projects on the topics of the barriers of employment for newcomers to Canada, discrimination faced by LGBT2SIQ families accessing assisted reproductive technologies and groups in conflict in Northern Ireland and Palestine/Israel. Jessica also facilitates theatre of the oppressed workshops and uses it in her research to address microaggressions in multiple workplaces. Jessica facilitates in Spanish, English and French.
Simon Driver
MA, RDT, Institute Member
Simon is a white settler, and an able-bodied male. He is a full-time faculty member at Kwantlen Polytechnic University (British Columbia) where he serves as chair of the Employment and Community Studies program. His teaching focuses on community engagement, social entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary partnerships. As a therapeutic theatre practitioner Simon applies the collective creative process to support the development of meaningful performance. Simon was first introduced to EDT as an MA student through a collaboration with Dr. Stephen Snow and the Centre for the Arts in Human Development (CAHD), where he co-facilitated Our Story: A Musical Ethnodrama. A work he facilitated with neuro-diverse youth in 2018, Peinturé dans l’coin, was shortlisted for Best French Language Comedy at the Montreal Fringe.
