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Meet Our Instructors

Persephone School of Theatre prides itself on having high-quality instructors who are educated theatre professionals with a strong background in performance from within our community. All instructors are required to provide a Criminal Record Check with Vulnerable Sector and many have both first aid and mental health first aid certifications.

Shannon Fitzsimmons Shannon Fitzsimmons
Anastasia Winterhalt Anastasia Winterhalt
Kayla Cryderman Kayla Cryderman
Louise Seidel Louise Seidel
Al Hubbs Al Hubbs
Jacqueline Block Jacqueline Block
Erin Brophy Erin Brophy
Torien Cafferata Torien Cafferata
Dillon Person Dillon Person
Rachelle Block Rachelle Block
Meagan Kernaghan Meagan Kernaghan
Sammy Ramsay Sammy Ramsay
Marley Duckett Marley Duckett
Carla Mysko Carla Mysko

Shannon Fitzsimmons

Shannon Fitzsimmons

Shannon is well known for enthusiasm and talent with our Broadway Bound students. Her skills in choreography and dance instruction, and dedication to making our youth look good on stage makes her a shining star.

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Anastasia Winterhalt

Anastasia Winterhalt

Short-listed for the 2014 Lieutenant Governor’s Arts Awards in Leadership by the Saskatchewan Arts Board, Anastasia is passionate about making opera exciting for Saskatoon residents and is focused on creating and producing works that attract new audiences and build support for opera in the city.

Anastasia is founder and artistic director of Little Opera On the Prairie (LOOP). Its mission is to increase the demand for opera through innovative and interesting performances, with a focus on community-building and education. The company was launched in 2012, with the support of an ArtsSmarts grant from the Saskatchewan Arts Board. Working in partnership with Susan Reschny, Anastasia encouraged and supported school students as they wrote, performed and produced a 30-minute opera. The project helped to both break down classroom social barriers and inspire interest in opera and the arts among students.

Anastasia holds a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Saskatchewan and an Artist Diploma in Opera from the Glenn Gould Professional School. She has performed with Saskatoon Opera, Edmonton’s Opera NUOVA and Toronto Operetta Theatre and LOOP.

Producer, director, performer, teacher wife and mother, Anastasia is also an avid volunteer in her community.

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Kayla Cryderman

Kayla Cryderman

Kayla Cryderman is new to Persephone Theatre, and is excited to be part of the flourishing and vibrant arts community in Saskatoon. Kayla is certified in Event Management and has spent most of her career in the not for profit sector. She is currently working to complete a double degree with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Bachelor of Education.

Kayla loves the stage and has experience as a classical dancer and in theatre. In her spare time, you can find Kayla outside camping and hiking, or in the colder months on her her snowboard.

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Louise Seidel

Louise Seidel

Louise has been passionate about theatre for as long as she can remember. She had her directing début with her rendition of The Little Match Girl when she was in grade 4. This passion has lead her to study with inspiring people; such as, Richard O’Brian,  John Paul Fischbach, Larry Reese, Kenneth Brown, Paul-Andre Sagel, Heather Inglis and Tom Bentley-Fisher. Louise has enjoyed directing in a variety of settings from teaching high school in a small town in central Alberta to the longest operating independent theatre in Victoria, BC Theatre Inconnu, and finally her own theatre company, Chrysalis Theatre. In many ways, Louise feels like she’s come home in working with Persephone Theatre School; somewhere she can enjoy challenging work with young people devoted to theatre.

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Al Hubbs

Al Hubbs

Al Hubbs has spent five decades of his life in the entertainment industry, more if you count grade and high school dramatic classes. In that time he has had many successful careers: actor in film, stage and television, night club stand-up comedian, teacher, published author, poet and a world-travelling nature photographer. He is an active member of the Saskatoon Writer’s Collective and donates his time to the federal program – LINC (Language Instructions to New Canadians). To find out more about him visit his web page at alhubbs.com.

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Jacqueline Block

Jacqueline Block

Jacqueline Block is delighted to teach at Persephone Theatre School. She has been teaching here since 2015. Jackie has experience teaching acting, dance, devised creation, musical theatre and movement improv. She enjoys teaching all ages.

Jacqueline is a Saskatoon based actor, singer and dancer. She graduated from the University of Saskatchewan with a BFA: Acting and from the Globe Theatre Conservatory. She is the recipient of the 2015 SATA for Outstanding Emerging Artist. Recent performance credits include: Mamma Mia, The Little Mermaid, Much Ado About Nothing (Globe Theatre); Hamlet, Merry Wives of Windsor, J. Caesar, Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan); Pride and Prejudice, Mary Poppins, The 25th . . . Spelling Bee, Mary’s Wedding, Edward the Crazy Man, Beyond the Cuckoo’s Nest (Persephone Theatre); Mary Poppins (Western Canada Theatre); Displaced (Ground Cover Theatre/Live Five/Singapore Fringe); The Frenzy of Queen Maeve (Bzzt! Trap Door Theatre/Live Five). Choreography credits include: Cabaret (Greystone Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan). In her spare time Jackie is studying to complete her Bachelor of Education at U of S and co-producing with FerrePlay Theatre.

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Erin Brophy

Erin Brophy

Erin Brophy is a Saskatoon-based actor, playwright, poet, and educator; born and raised in the City of Bridges. Erin’s involvement in theatre and theatre training has spanned nearly two decades. An alumnus of SaskExpress, she has a background in musical theatre and dance, and continues her movement training through a newfound passion for stage combat and actor safety. Erin is a certified Basic Actor Combatant through Fight Directors’ Canada and will convocate from the University of Saskatchewan in June 2019 with an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting. She welcomes the opportunity to share her passion with the next generation of artists.

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Torien Cafferata

Torien Cafferata

Torien Cafferata is a Saskatoon-based actor, playwright, and producer and holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Saskatchewan. He is honoured to be back on the Persephone stage and cannot wait to fulfill his lifelong career goal of becoming a pirate. Previous acting credits: A Soldier’s War (Strikes Twice Productions), Dogbarked (Dancing Sky Theatre), The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble (Persephone Theatre Mainstage), Hypneurosis, Project O (It’s Not a Box Theatre), Tightrope (Tightrope Collective), Letters from the Apocalypse (Greystone One-Acts), Run For Your Wife (Magdelene Theatre), Our Country’s Good, Eurydice, Into the Woods (Greystone Theatre).

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Dillon Person

Dillon Person

Dillon is a Drama and English teacher for Saskatoon Public Schools, with a Bachelor of Education with Distinction from the University of Saskatchewan. He has found a niche in directing and being involved with high school musicals. The passion for this has originated from his experience as a teacher at Persephone School of Theatre since 2014, paired with his extensive background in music. Not only does Dillon love to sing and act, but he is often found dabbling in set construction, prop making, costuming, make up, and sound designing.

Dillon fills his spare time with performing in choirs and choruses, teaching piano and guitar lessons, travelling the world, drawing and designing, practicing zombie make up, and of course supporting and watching the local theatre productions around the city.

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Rachelle Block

Rachelle Block

Rachelle is a recent graduate from the University of Saskatchewan’s BFA Acting program (2017) and is currently completing a degree in Education. This summer, she toured Canada with the musical, The Dream Catchers (Charlottetown Festival). Other recent theatre credits include: Sally Bowles in Cabaret (Greystone Theatre), The Illusion (Greystone Theatre), With Glowing Hearts (OBIZ Theatre Company), Les-Belles Seours (Greystone Theatre), and Pride & Prejudice (Persephone Theatre).

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Meagan Kernaghan

Meagan Kernaghan

Meagan Kernaghan is a student at the University of Saskatchewan pursuing a B.Ed. and a B.F.A. As a former Persephone Theatre School student, she is thrilled to be able to share her love of theatre with her students. Some of her credits include The Romeo Project (Young Company), Here (young Company) and a season with the University of Saskatchewan Improv team. She also enjoys dance and music, playing the tuba for the University concert band.

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Sammy Ramsay

Sammy Ramsay

Sammy is thrilled to be an instructor at Persephone School of Theatre. She is working towards her BFA in Acting at the University of Saskatchewan and wishes to continue teaching theatre throughout her career. Recent theatre credits include Almost, Maine, The Golden Age, and The Beaux’ Stratagem (Greystone Theatre). Sammy is also a graduate of Persephone Theatre School herself, and spent three fantastic seasons with Persephone’s own Young Company. Sammy is very thankful for the opportunity to do what she loves.

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Marley Duckett

Marley Duckett

Marley Duckett is a Saskatchewan born performer, originally from Regina. Before moving to Saskatoon to begin her Masters in Environmental Anthropology at the University of Saskatchewan, she studied theatre, music and dance at Globe Theatre, Regina Summer Stage, Martin’s School of Dance, Saskatchewan Express, and has studied vocal performance privately. She has studied music and theatre internationally; work with the University Drama Department and the University of Saskatchewan Greystone Singers has taken her throughout Eastern Europe, England, and China. Her current work lies primarily in improvisational theatre. Following her four year participation in the Canadian Improv Games, Marley also works with The No-No’s Improv Comedy Troupe, The Ladybits Comedy Collective, The Saskatoon Soaps, and is an improv instructor at Persephone School of Theatre.

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Carla Mysko

Carla Mysko

Carla is the Education, Outreach & Youth Director for Persephone Theatre and has been a teacher for Persephone School of Theatre since 2012. She is a theatre specialist with a background in acting and directing for middle and high school aged students, and is an interdisciplinary artist; actor, singer, writer, photographer and visual art creator. Carla possesses diplomas in both journalism and graphic design, and holds a B.A. in Drama/English from Concordia University of Edmonton where she was the recipient of the Concordia Drama Award and Jason Lang scholarships, and a B.Ed. with Distinction in Secondary Education in Drama/English from University of Saskatchewan where she was the recipient of the Arts Education Award.

As an outspoken advocate and promoter of Arts Education, Carla believes that through the arts we express who we are as a culture, and that all curriculum areas can be supported through arts integration. She believes that watching students find a place within the community, experience the results of their own creativity, and supporting their growth is a special reward that benefits everyone.

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persephoneschooloftheatre

Persephone School of Theatre
We are thrilled to announce Persephone Theatre’s We are thrilled to announce Persephone Theatre’s Stand By Our Stage matching campaign in partnership with the Robert Steane Fund for the Arts at Saskatoon Community Foundation.For every dollar donated, Persephone Theatre receives $2. Your gift will ensure that Persephone will return, stronger than ever, once we all emerge from this pandemic.Many of you have made Persephone Theatre part of your family’s holiday traditions. We'll miss seeing you this holiday season, however we are so grateful for any investment you’re able to make toward Persephone Theatre’s future.Please know that every dollar matters, will be matched, and makes an impact.Donate at persephonetheatre.org/donate
#blackoutday2020 #blackoutday2020
Attention young performers!For more information Attention young performers!For more information contact:
Danielle (Pretsfelder) Demchick, CSA
Nickelodeon Talent & Casting
1-212-846-6315
1-561-723-4801 *Persephone Theatre is not responsible or affiliated with the casting agency. Any questions or indications of interest should be directed to the the contact person indicated.
#casting #auditions #youngperformers #acting @nickelodeon
#summercamp #summerfun #theatre #arts #camp #drama #summercamp #summerfun #theatre #arts #camp #dramakids #education #students #families #children #youth #teens #classesforadults #summer #theatreyxe #yxetheatre #artsyxe #yxearts @persephonetheatre @creativekidssask
Watch and listen now to Struwwelpeter (Shock-heade Watch and listen now to Struwwelpeter (Shock-headed Peter) https://youtu.be/HnPfWDdnp2U
Performed by Persephone School of Theatre, Academy: Generations II class
Directed by Louise Seidel
Editing and composition of film by Carla Mysko
*Performance and story style: theatre of the grotesqueStories made available through Project Guttenberg
Music and Sounds are royalty-free through Creative CommonsThese readings were done as a way to cap off the work of performers in the September 2019 - April 2020 class, and were done in lieu of final performance due to COVID-19 performance cancellations. We hope you have enjoyed these tales from a bygone era.#education #theatre #performance #stage #students #theatreeducation #dramaclass #dramakids #yxearts #artsyxe #theatreyxe #readings #play #stories #projectgutenberg #covid19 @creativekidssask
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persephone-theatre
Remai Arts Centre
100 Spadina Cr. East
Saskatoon, SK
S7K 0L3
Persephone Theatre is thankful for the generous support of the City of Saskatoon, The Saskatchewan Arts Board, Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation, Canadian Heritage Cultural Spaces Fund, and the Canada Council for the Arts.