Twilla MacLeod has over 20 years of experience performing in various disciplines. She is an award-winning actress and an active participant in the Edmonton arts scene as an actor, playwright and musician.
Twilla's recent theatre credits include Blarney Productions' 2015 run of Mote by Jose Teodoro, as well as Craig Wright's Orange Flower Water, for which she was awarded a Sterling. Other productions include Dave Clarke'sSongs for Caligari at the 2010 Edmonton Fringe Festival, and Trunk Theatre's production of Sailor's Song.
In 2005 Twilla also wrote and produced a one person show about the 12th century mystic Hildegard von Bingen called The Cloister, which she toured to Toronto's Summerworks Festival and also performed at the Canoe Festival in Edmonton. Twilla's writing has also been featured on CBC radio in Edmonton, at Sarasvati Productions' Femfest in Winnipeg and at Northern Light Theatre's Urban Tales.
Twilla was first exposed to taiko while living and working in Japan as an English teacher. Upon witnessing her first taiko performance, given by kindergarten students, she was moved in a very profound way. As there are over 10,000 groups in Japan, she was lucky enough to encounter many more performances. She began playing in 2005 and has been a dedicated practioner ever since. Twilla loves to drum and thus far in her career, has never performed anything else that feels as visceral as taiko.
Twilla has a Bachelor of Music in Voice from the University of Lethbridge, where she was also awarded the Gold Medal for the School of Fine Arts in her graduating year. She is also a graduate of the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting program from the University of Alberta. She was a member of Edmonton's Ordo Collective an ensemble with a touring production of Hildegard von Bingen's Ordo Virtutum. She also appears as a vocalist, particulary at Christmas, with the Amati Musicians.