Our Team
Gerry Trentham
Inter-arts creator, writer, performer, teacher and producer Gerry Trentham's (he/they) life-long dedication to the art of performance has directed the company he founded pounds per square inch performance through three decades of production, created and presented over 50 original works for stage and screen, garnered international performance acclaim and film awards, numerous Toronto Dora awards/nominations and invited international directing, producing, choreographic, teaching and mentoring opportunities on four continents including within major performance training institutions across Turtle Island. Their MFA in theatre and graduate diploma in Voice from York University lead to a core faculty and producer role at one of Canada’s most acclaimed and enduring performance training intensives Canada’s National Voice Intensive (now the Moving Voice Institute), to more than a decade with Denise Fujiwara in creating Butoh/Voice and with Diane Roberts in the development of her Arrivals Legacy Voice practice. He has honed his approach and practice in his own creation and while originating roles in the works of some of Canada’s most renowned choreographers. Seven-year tenure with Serge Bennathan’s Dancemakers, years with Claudia Moore’s MoonHorse Dance Theatre, more than a decade with Fujiwara Dance Inventions including as cast/voice director in Denise Fujiwara's hit EUNOIA, and most recently in works by the late Tedd Robinson, and in Zab Maboungou’s Hâltérité has sustained and connected a performance career still fluid into a fifth decade.
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Marissa Caruso
Marisa Caruso (she/her) is an interdisciplinary theater maker based in the Catskill Mountains of New York State. Her original works and collaborations span a range of styles from classic works to comedy to abstract performance as a performer, producer, manager, director, teacher and writer. Marisa has worked with lbs/sq" performance since 2023 with the project Open Body as a performer and international producer, continuing on to support the company as a whole. Marisa also works with Torn Space Theater and The Party Theater, along with original initiatives Kaats Cradle and the Hill People's Comedy Fest. She has developed educational and artistic programming for the mountaintop community, building connection through live performance opportunities for artists and audiences alike.
Original works include: We All of Us and How to Make a Doll.
Martina Payette
stay tuned for bio
Shivani Joshi
Shivani Joshi (she/her) has been trained as a Bharatnatyam dancer for over 20 years. She completed her Arangetram with Avni Vyas at Shivanjali Dance Academy and graduated with a MA in performance studies from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2021. Her dissertation focused on communities of women creating cultural spaces, colonialism in India, and how it affected Bharatnatyam as a whole. She works as an arts educator and guest speaker, offering workshops about Indian heritage, women’s spaces, dance, and diversity. Shivani created Shiva/Shakti – Eternal Lovers, a film for Guelph Dance SDS, and performed Tangled Threads at the AGH. Currently, she works as an artist/writer/producer, combining media and narrative to explore stories to tell modern stories, and playing with metaphor in physical form. She was a contributing writer in the Nova Dance book, We Will Remember This, published by Dance Collection Danse. Shivani’s producing background spans through years of highlighting multicultural and folk festivals in the South Asian Dance diaspora. As the General Manager of Dusk Dances, Shivani continues to serve communities of global majority in her work.
Building Community
Gerry has taught thousands over 5 decades. He began at the age of 12 teaching swim lessons. He taught in both undergrad and graduate theatre programs by the time he was 28. He has shared his pathway to voice and body performance and creation to those in many fields -dancers, theatre and film actors, poets and writers, audio narrators, teachers, business leaders and those interested in honing and expanding their artful potential.
Steven Rimke
Speech and Voice Coach
Mayumi Lashbrook
Dancer/Choreogrpaher
"Voice work can be very revealing and touch on unexpected points of contention; Gerry ensures that those challenges are met with thoughtfulness and care. As a novice to voice work, I have discovered a new depth of resonance and an overall vocal confidence with Gerry's personal guidance."
Javier Vazquez Jr.
Actor , Musician, Producer & Audio Narrator
Hey Gerry. I’m on set for a TV show and was just reflecting on how I still use the vocal and physical warm ups you taught me more than 20 years ago. You had an indelible impact on my craft. You helped me find my voice and my confidence. Miss you sir!
Clint Byrne