Beverly and Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland

Beverly and Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland are multi-disciplinary artists who have been actively collaborating since they met as friends in 1992. They married in 2009 and shortly afterwards, moved east to the Acadian Coast. There they opened a theatre school dedicated to community building: a core vision for both.

Glenn (as he likes to be called) is a beloved Canadian black, trans elder whose work for most of his life lived in the shadows. Only in the last decade has his work been given the attention it deserves. His discography includes the iconic album, Keyboard Fantasies – inspired by a profound relationship with nature, an obsession with science fiction and some of the earliest drum-machines and synthesizers, It wasn’t until 2016, when Keyboard Fantasies was discovered by a revered Japanese record-store owner, that the magnitude of Glenn’s musical gifts to us all was ‘discovered’. Glenn was given an honourary doctorate by the University of Toronto for not only his musical legacy, but for his ‘resolute advocacy on behalf of black, Indigenous and queer culture’. His 2023 release, The Ones Ahead is another high point in a career that has defied categorisation.

Elizabeth is a theater artist, writer, producer and arts educator whose work over the past forty-plus years evolved at the intersection of arts and activism. Her early years saw her touring with Second City, storytelling at the Canadian National Exhibition and dancing and singing as the ‘Witch’ in Hansel and Gretl with the Honolulu Symphony, to name a few. Her book, ‘Jazz: Nature’s Improvisation’ was shortlisted for the 2015 ReLit Award, and her book of narrative eco-poetry, “Daring to Hope at the Cliff’s Edge” evolved out of her year-long residency at the Joggins Fossil Institute: a UNESCO world heritage site on the might Bay of Fundy. Elizabeth co-produced and performed in Glenn’s recent tour.

Glenn and Elizabeth’s love for working with children and youth have been a constant throughout their lives. As an artist facilitator with Learning through the Arts, ArtsSmarts and artsnb, Elizabeth developed and facilitated programs to support children and youth with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and more recently, those suffering from climate anxiety. Glenn appeared as regular guest ‘Beverly’ on the beloved Canadian children’s TV show Mr. Dress-up for nearly 30 years, wrote for Sesame Street and Shining Times Station, and toured his original shows around Ontario. Together with Elizabeth, they have completed more than a dozen artist residencies in schools and community settings in New Brunswick and Ontario.

This power couple first met in 1992 through shared artistic community, and the flame of their collaborations began to shine shortly after, continuing to this day. For the last five years, Elizabeth has been her husband’s primary caretaker. After being displaced during the pandemic, which saw them move six times across three provinces in five years, Elizabeth and Glenn now live in Hamilton, Ontario where they are busy working on a book, a short film, a play and more. Keep an eye out for Glenn’s new music later in 2025.

Both Glenn and Elizabeth believe in the power of art to change lives. Their work speaks of that belief.