DONNA MARIE BARATTA is a director, choreographer, producer, dramaturg, educator and performer who makes Toronto and Thunder Bay her home. She is founder and artistic and managing director of superior theatre festival (STF), a multi-disciplinary arts festival in Thunder Bay, Ontario. She is also the artistic producer and co-founder of present danger productions and a core artist of [elephants] collective. Donna Marie's career has taken her right across Canada, the United States and to Europe ( Paris, Belgium, and Luxembourg) working in dance, drama, musical theatre, industrial, opera, and film. She is a graduate of the MFA directing program at the university of Alberta and a passionate arts educator. Donna Marie has taught for 20 years, with the majority of her time at Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts (TCDSB). During her time teaching she has created or presented over 140 productions with students. She has also taught at the University of Alberta, Randolph Academy and many other dance studios across Canada. She is a proud inaugural member, of and on the Steering Committee, of the Directors Lab North and a member of Directors Lab West and the Lincoln Center Directors Lab (in New York City). She has trained with SITI Company and Anee Bogart learning Viewpoints and Suzuki Methods and with many other artists during her career such as: Kim Collier, Richard Rose, Ross Manson, Peggy Baker, to name a few.