Darren Yorke

I come from a family of early childhood educators in Longford. The plan was to become a primary school teacher, until Backstage Theatre Youth Group led me astray—to a national youth theatre production of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Abbey Theatre—an experience changed the course of my life, at 16.

Soon after, I pursued a BA in Drama & Theatre Studies at Trinity College Dublin, earning a lifetime membership from DU Players upon graduating, in recognition of my four years of hyperactivity in the student drama society.

I then moved to Canada with my now-husband, Dave, and discovered Vancouver TheatreSports™ at The Improv Centre, where I trained, performed, and served as Education & Outreach Coordinator from 2014 to 2016.

Getting rid of the fear has shaped me into a happy learner and habitual chancer. I'm not exactly fearless, but I experience less fear as I go—taking risks, trusting that, at the very least, I'll learn something, in the spirit of "it's all to play for!"

As someone who struggled with prescriptive learning, I found freedom in play, and I bring this approach to learning. Motivated by curiosity, novelty, challenge, urgency, and passion, I can only pursue ideas that spark and sustain my interest. I've never had much control over this, but it takes in everything, everywhere, all at once—a compulsive problem-solver who Yielding to it now, I live to learn. 

Urges to do everything, everywhere, all at once can make life a bit of a multiverse. Career paths inched off in different directions, and one pursuit felt at the expense of another. But those paths have since converged, with serendipity. Along the way, I found myself as a ‘Playmaker’ on the open road.