Nathaniel Kinghan Bio
My name’s Nathaniel Kinghan, and I’ve been living with type 1 diabetes since I was 11 years old. After graduating from Sheridan College and the University of Toronto’s joint Theatre and Drama Studies program in 2016, I began a career working as an actor and arts administrator.
I am so proud and excited to be piloting Free to Be, a program that will build a creative and communal space for youth living with T1D – a space I wish I’d had when I was younger! There’s a lot of power and confidence to be found in embracing the chaos that’s inseparable from T1D management. Creative expression can do wonders for self-esteem, self-awareness, and self-advocacy – each of which contribute to a healthy relationship to T1D. I’m particularly excited to share aspects of Commedia Dell’Arte with program participants – a classical theatre technique which employs customized masks and stock characters to create stories, scenes, and creative discoveries (learn more HERE). Commedia was traditionally used by poor artists to satirically joke about the rich and powerful, and I can’t think of any part of my life more in need of humbling than my diabetes.
I cannot wait to creatively explore the chaos of life with T1D as the program designer and co-facilitator for Free to Be!
