True Voices: Pride Storytelling & Tea

July 31, 2025, 7pm
Gateway Theatre Second Floor Lobby
Free to Attend with Registration

Presented by Gateway Theatre
Recommended for Ages 16+

Join us at Gateway Theatre for a celebration of Richmond Pride Week! You are invited to our free storytelling event, where you’ll hear powerful and inspiring stories from local queer voices. Afterwards, enjoy a warm cup of tea and engage in an intimate Q&A with our storytellers. We are proud to provide a safe space for the queer community and allies, so whether you are curious, anxious, or looking to connect with the community, we welcome you to join us.

REGISTRATION for TRUE VOICES

We request your registration ahead of time for this event so we can accommodate the number of people attending. Limited spots are available so register early!

Looking for more ways to get involved in Richmond Pride Week? Visit richmond.ca to learn more about 2025 Pride Week events!

Storytellers

Prairie Wolfe

Storyteller
Story: My Fiddle Story

Bio

Prairie Wolfe

Storyteller
Story: My Fiddle Story

Prairie (she/her and all pronouns) is a Cantonese and Hui ethnic minority settler from British Hong Kong. Trained as a clinical social worker, she writes out of therapeutic necessity, exploring psychological conflict, layered identities, and the racialized and queer experience. Her emerging storytelling is interwoven with her Celtic fiddling performances, jumbling expectations and conveying the contradictions of diasporic life.

Website: prairiewolfe.com
Instagram: @prairiewolfefiddle

Noelle

Storyteller
Story: First Person Perspective

Bio

Noelle

Storyteller
Story: First Person Perspective

Noelle (she/her) is an aspiring trans artist and writer, with a background in musical theatre. She’s recently graduated high school, and is taking a gap year to explore her passions before deciding what comes next. Noelle has previously told her story alongside Zee Zee Theatre’s Rainbow Youth Storytelling Project, and is thrilled to be telling her story once again.

Effie Pow

Storyteller
Story: Lola Bootlicks: The Drag Me

Bio

Effie Pow

Storyteller
Story: Lola Bootlicks: The Drag Me

Effie Pow (she/they) is a writer/editor and cultural connector who lives and works on the unceded traditional territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations. Interested in storytelling and arts-based community engagement, Effie was a storyteller in Zee Zee Theatre’s Queer Asian Stories Collection, and has co-created events inspired by themes of identity, home, and migration, including Perilous Words (2025 LiterAsian Festival), Hakka Bridges, and Transforming Trauma through Words and Music.

Instagram: @perilouswords

Zed Payne

Storyteller
Story: J’s Dress

Bio

Zed Payne

Storyteller
Story: J’s Dress

Zed (he/she/they) is a queer writer, quilter, painter, potter, hairdresser, and enthusiastic storyteller.

Zed is a regular performer and 3 time year end finalist at The Vancouver Story Slam.

They have also shared stories at Once Upon A Time: Queer Stories and Fairytales, The Tellers’ Table, Story Time: Coming-OUT, The Short Story Show Podcast, and The Swan Song Festival.

They are excited to share a bit of Pride with you!

Instagram: @zedpayne23

JAYLON HAN

Storyteller
Story: I Want To Be a Boy

Bio

JAYLON HAN

Storyteller
Story: I Want To Be a Boy

Jaylon (ze/zir) is an immigrant and multidisciplinary artist who lives, works and creates on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaɬ Nations. Ze works to amplify the voices of the underrepresented through Theatre and Storytelling. Jaylon co-created/performed at two One of A Kind at VICF and directed Present Moments, a personal storytelling play in Chinese languages. Since 2018, Jaylon has been sharing zir stories at The Flame events, including The Flame Pride Edition, The Rainbow Flame: Surrey Pride Storytelling and more. Jaylon is proud of co-curating Zee Zee Theatre’s Asian Queer Stories Collection (2023) and supporting The Rainbow Youth Storytelling Project (2024).

Storytelling Consultant

DEBORAH WILLIAMS

Bio

DEBORAH WILLIAMS

Deb Williams is a multi-talented artist with over 35 years of experience in acting, playwriting, and producing. She co-created and starred in the Mom’s The Word plays. Deb is also the co-founder and Artistic Producer of The Flame, Vancouver’s top storytelling event. She has written several plays, including Broccoli and Butterflies and Drift Wood, and has been an Associate Artist at the Belfry Theatre for ten years. Deb is also an experienced personal storytelling teacher, coach, facilitator, and consultant, having taught nearly 1000 tellers of all ages, genders, sexual orientations, cultural identities, and mental and physical abilities.

Website – www.theflame.live/about-deb-1

SPONSORS

Anna’s Cake House

Catering Sponsor

Interested in Future Storytelling Events at Gateway?

Check out our Upcoming Events!

The Flame: Storytelling Showcase The Flame: Storytelling Workshop