Joel Bernbaum is an actor, director, playwright, journalist and the founding artistic director of Sum Theatre. Born and raised in Saskatoon, Joel is the only child of a Buddhist Mother and Jewish Father. He is a graduate of the Canadian College of Performing Arts and Carleton University, where he did his Master’s Thesis on Verbatim Theatre’s Relationship to Journalism. With Sum Theatre Joel created Saskatchewan’s first free professional live Theatre in the Park. To date, over 45,000 people have participated in Sum Theatre’s work. Joel’s produced plays include Operation Big Rock, My Rabbi (with Kayvon Khoshkam), Home Is a Beautiful Word and Reasonable Doubt (with Yvette Nolan and Lancelot Knight). Next season Victoria’s Belfry Theatre will produce his latest verbatim play: Being Here: The Refugee Project. Joel is currently a PhD student at the University of Saskatchewan, investigating the potential of theatre to strengthen cities. He lives in Saskatoon with his 4-year old son, Judah.
