Meet The Team
Billie Nell
Director
Billie Nell (they/them) is an award-winning theatre creator, actor, arts organizer, and spoken word artist endlessly passionate about sharing the joy of arts and spoken word with their community. Billie has performed on national and international stages including: Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (2022), Scottish Poetry Slam Championships (2021), Scotland’s International Poetry Festival StAnza Slam (2020, winner), Canadian Festival of Spoken Word (2015, 2016, 2018). Billie made their professional acting debut in the world premiere of Forever Young: A Ghetto Story at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in 2022. Their one-person play, The Remembering (2023), was awarded the Ottawa Fringe Awards of Excellence for Outstanding New Work & Solo Performance and the Prix Rideau Awards for Outstanding Performance & New Creation. Billie is currently pursuing a bachelors in linguistics, and in their spare time you can probably find them jigsaw-puzzling.
![IMG-5696[1].PNG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/9f3c82_98c2c49e8e6d4002a70b8304d3dbc110~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_600,h_418,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/IMG-5696%5B1%5D_PNG.png)
Sol Schafer
Co-Director
I have been helping organize Urban Legends for the past few years and had the privilege of representing UL on our CFSW team in 2019. I started writing and performing poetry in high school and fell in love with slam poetry while competing at Victorious Voices Youth Poetry Festival, which I went on to become the Social Media Coordinator for in 2020 and the Artistic Director for in 2021.
Brennan Maunsel
Brennan Maunsel is a local writer, poet, and spoken word artist. He was a feature performer in the Ephemeroptera series, the inaugural recipient of the Jan Andrews Literary Award, and has been shortlisted for the People's Choice Award in CV2'S Two-Day Poem Contest. As a teenager, he self-published his first chapbook, and performed and hosted at multiple Youth Speak Ottawa poetry showcases. He's a fan of surreal art, autumn afternoons, and cats.
Co-Social Media Manager
Zineb Nour
Graphic Designer
Zineb Nour is a multidisciplinary artist.
She was on the Urban Legends team that represented Ottawa at the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word in 2017. You can find her poetry anthology "How to Outwit a Pack of Wolves" on Amazon. She is an actor, most recently in a Montreal Fringe show called "Strangers". She is a visual artist, designer, playlist maker, stage manager, director, and much more.
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To follow Zineb's art journey, visit @bootlegpoetry on Instagram.
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Akhil Maru
Member at Large
Akhil is a PhD candidate in particle physics at Carleton University. He is working with the DEAP-3600 experiment, searching for the dark matter in the Universe. He is an ordinary guy who has never won any awards to brag about and is content with the reality. In his free time, he likes to read novels, write poems, play classical guitar, watch Netflix/anime, and discuss philosophy. His love for poetry and the poetic community has made him join ULPC. Mike, a friend, says he is a cool guy. Thank you, Mike!
Member at Large
Xavior Kayvon
As a Black, Nova Scotian-born, multidisciplinary artist, I express my artistic passion through various mediums, including acrylic/mixed media on canvas, music, and poetry/writing, both in exhibitions and live performances. I currently both live and work in Ottawa. As the recipient of the Equity and Inclusion in the Arts grant in 2023, I discovered a passion for uncovering Black history in Ottawa. I firmly believe in the power of open conversations, even if difficult, to instigate change. Through my art, I aim to be the voice that initiates these conversations. I hold the conviction that if not us, then who? My creative journey is an exploration of identity, history, and the transformative potential of art in fostering understanding and change. Live the life you love. See the colour!
Arson McTaggart
Co-Social Media Manager
Arson McTaggart is a poet and novel writer who has been writing since they was younger than ten, and has since been published twice in newspapers, created their own chapbook and performed in multiple coffeehouses, slams and open mics. They are pursuing a career in many different kinds of arts.