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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
