Dr. Shigematsu has more than 30 years of professional experience, and his theatre works, such as Empire of the Son, have toured not only all over Canada but also around the world. Shigematsu shared with The Cascade how he has been able to bring his love for performance and theatre and share it with students of the University of the Fraser Valley as an assistant professor for Theatre.
“I’m always surprised whenever I meet someone who’s told me they’ve studied my theater work in far flung places such as Ireland, or even Mexico.”
To Shigematsu, the thing he enjoys the most about being a professor at UFV is helping students discover and nurture their talents and skills. Shigematsu clearly recalled a defining moment in his life, when he was in art school and had his work critiqued. He was told by his professor that his work was okay, but what they really liked were the stories Shigematsu told about the artwork itself.
Shigematsu was initially confused by this, but he was given VHS cassettes to show him artists such as Laurie Anderson and Spalding Gray, who told stories as a form of art and performance. This reshaped his view on what his talent and skillset as an artist looked like.
“I didn’t know what I was doing, but I trusted them.”
He recalled how he would get into arguments with his father and would tell his classmates about it on the following Monday at school, and to his surprise, they would laugh — but instead of rejecting that comedic aspect, he went with it. He believes that if his professor hadn’t told him to lean into storytelling, he wouldn’t have discovered the artform that he has now been performing for over 30 years. Shigematsu also stated that he wants to be able to do the same for his students.
“It sounds like a cliché, but it’s such a privilege because that made all the difference for me as a young person. Knowing that I might be able to give a little bit of that [back] is very important to me.”
Shigematsu is involved in many exciting projects outside of UFV as well. One he is fond of is the Learn Early About Playwriting (LEAP) program within the Arts Club Theatre Company for ages 16 to 25. There he mentors young people that want to get into playwriting. For him, the most fun and meaningful part of his work is seeing their plays take off from the page and be performed by some of Vancouver’s best actors.
Shigematsu is also involved in Neworld Theatre’s Learning Ensemble Across Difference program (LEAD), which employs artists who are neurodiverse or have different learning capacities and styles. Shigematsu was moved by how dedicated the actors were, especially those with Down syndrome, and how that has created some of the best acting experiences he’s ever had.
“When they commit to a performance, they do it with a lot of feeling and a startling amount of authenticity. When I heard about this program, I auditioned to become a part of it.”
Shigematsu directed the debut of the play Moth Boy at UFV in 2025, which was written by Peihwen J. Tai, one of his former students from the LEAP program. He considers this project to be the most exciting one he was involved in last year. Shigematsu mentioned what a privilege it was to direct the global debut of a Canadian play, which is extremely rare in a university context.
“[Being] able to do the world premiere of a new Canadian play and [having] the playwright come into the studio and rehearse with the students was pretty amazing.”
Regarding future projects, Shigematsu anticipates helping to develop June Fukumura’s piece “Grant Writing 101,” which he has been assisting with for two years, with hopes that it may appear in a Canadian theatre festival in the future.
Shigematsu also highlighted how he is currently transitioning from developing personal projects to helping other people with theirs instead — a mindset that he finds much more satisfying.
“Going from a lead artist of my own projects to helping other people win in their own careers is a very different mindset. It’s one that I find very satisfying and more meaningful.”
