A Wake of Vultures

A Wake of Vultures A Wake of Vultures is an interdisciplinary performance collective based in Vancouver, BC. We eat together, we dance together, we work together.

A vehicle for the works its members: Nancy Tam, Daniel O'Shea, and Conor Wylie. Formed in 2013, A Wake of Vultures (WOV) is a project-based interdisciplinary performance collective. WOV is a research, development, and producing vehicle for the works of its three members: Nancy Tam (music, sound design, theatre), Daniel O’Shea (film, theatre), and Conor Wylie (theatre). We began collaborating and b

onding as friends over our shared fascination in social rituals, science fiction, anime, and questions of reality and perception. We follow our idiosyncratic curiosities, blending low-brow inspirations with highfalutin ideas, creating bizarre convergences that propose hybrid visions of the future. Our work is marked by formal detachment, ritual, playful misdirection, unstable perspectives, and a blend of retro and new technologies, taking diverse forms like audio walks, performative installations, and plays. Switching between individual and collective project leadership, we connect with local, national, and international communities through collaboration and touring. Individually, we are freelance artists thriving inside Vancouver’s independent performance scene through fruitful and ongoing collaborations with Fight with a Stick, Hong Kong Exile, Theatre Replacement, Music on Main, Plastic Orchid Factory, MACHiNENOiSY, Radix Theatre, Justine Chambers, Rob Kitsos, Playwrights Theatre Centre, Toy Piano Composers, and many others. Each collaboration provides us with new methodologies, skills, and vocabularies to bring back to A Wake of Vultures. A Wake of Vultures have been presented in Canada, the US, and Europe, at SFU Woodward’s, The Shadbolt Centre, Stanford, California, and Leipzig. WOV is an ongoing, evolving collaboration bonded by an intense friendship.

WE REACHED OUR GOAL! Thanks to Nancy’s family abroad making some big contributions, we have SURPASSED OUR GOAL. In Nancy...
07/27/2026

WE REACHED OUR GOAL! Thanks to Nancy’s family abroad making some big contributions, we have SURPASSED OUR GOAL. In Nancy’s words: “We’re there. We’re beyond there.” Whether you donated $50, $500, or more, we know everyone dug deeply and generously to offer Nan a helping hand through the tough times ahead.

After a week of healing from the bone grafting, Nancy understands her dentist’s recommendation for gum grafting, so the extra money on top of the $40K goal will go toward that, and Nan is so relieved that the financial part of it is totally taken care of. “It’s a huuuuuuuuge mental load off.”

We can’t believe we hit our fundraising goal so quickly. THANK YOU. This lets Nan focus on rehabilitation and stepping into this next phase of life. It will continue to be challenging, but we know she can handle it. With Nan’s financial needs met, we’re capping the fundraiser, but there’s still lots of ways you can support Nancy. Keep her in your thoughts, and when she’s ready, we know she’d love your company!

Keep an eye out for a longer update from Nancy in the coming days. Thank you all!

Dear friends and fam of Nancy Tam,We’ve surpassed $34,000 (86%) raised to support Nancy’s recovery! THANK YOU, THANK YOU...
07/25/2026

Dear friends and fam of Nancy Tam,

We’ve surpassed $34,000 (86%) raised to support Nancy’s recovery! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. We’re blown away by how quickly and generously everyone has leapt to help our beloved Nan. And recovering SHE IS! Here’s an update from Nancy herself:

“This week I started my first round of dental surgeries! I just had bone grafting on the top done a couple of days ago, on Saturday, I’ll go in for my second appointment of my root canal, and then by the end of next week I’ll be going in for bone grafting on the bottom. It’s another push here with recovery but I am mostly feeling excited and hopeful. The doctor said that the procedure went very well and my recovery so far is as expected. Immediate recovery following surgeries I’m learning is just a few days of naps and light snacks. I’ll be able to use my electric toothbrush again in mid September! WOOOHOOO!!!

Scar care is going okay. Because of where the stitches are inside my mouth, the swelling is hindering my lip movements so smiling is ouch but that’s a small price to pay for the happiness I feel from all the joy, support and kindness I’ve been receiving.

I’m really really thankful that the weather has mostly been pretty cool because my concussion symptoms were much more severely felt with the heat. I’m further along with concussion recovery now so I’m feeling more confident that I’ll be okay for the rest of the summer’s heat.”

There are still some possible additional costs coming Nan’s way, including gum grafting 3-4 months down the line which wasn’t previously quoted. And she will need dental follow-ups and a night guard for the rest of her life. But if we can reach the $40,000 goal in the coming weeks, Nan will be well set up to weather the storm.
And we’re happy to report that Nancy is already giving back to her community. Together with Robyn Jacob, Kevin Romain, Emily M Cheung, and Nikko Whitworth, Nancy co-created and led the Five Blessings Summer Camp at the Chinese Canadian Museum, a camp for 8-12 year olds packed with Chinatown adventures, hands-on art, and storytelling brought to life through music and performance! (Pictured here!)

Dear community,We friends of Nancy Tam are reaching out to you in her time of need.Just two weeks before her 40th birthd...
07/08/2026

Dear community,
We friends of Nancy Tam are reaching out to you in her time of need.

Just two weeks before her 40th birthday, on May 28, 2026, on a morning bicycle ride, our dear friend and community member Nancy Tam suffered a major bike accident—her front tire lodged in a crack on the road in Stanley Park, sending Nancy straight over her handlebars and face-first into the pavement, resulting in a concussion, severe facial laceration, and significant dental damage.

We’re trying to raise $40,000 to support Nancy through this challenging time. Can you help our beloved friend and community member?

https://gofund.me/8e21eb9e3

Nancy’s artistic contributions, coupled with her extraordinary generosity in supporting and mentoring others, and her unwavering loyalty as a friend through life’s hardest moments, make her a true pillar of the community. She mentors young artists, nurtures shared community spaces, is a sweet auntie to Azizi, Riley, and Arlo, a loving spouse to a fellow freelancer/sound technician, offers a free podcast to the Chinese-Canadian community (in Cantonese and English) with her collective Five Blessings Collective, and does so much more.

Nancy has shown again and again that she puts her community first, so now we’re asking her community to lend a helping hand for Nancy. She is looking ahead at a long road of concussion recovery, physiotherapy, medication, counselling, and a mountain of dental bills.

Please donate generously to Nancy so she can get back on her feet, and pass this fundraiser on to anyone who might have the means and desire to support a vital artist and huge-hearted community member. We all need Nancy. With love and thanks,

Nancy’s friends and chosen family

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1885 Venables Street
Vancouver, BC
V5L2H6

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