Our Team

Jimmy is a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation; he is of Plains Cree and French settler heritage. Born and raised in Tiohtià:ke/ Montreal, Jimmy graduated from Concordia’s Theatre Performance Program. He is a seasoned stage and film actor. He has worked professionally for over 10 years, for companies like The Stratford Festival, The Centaur, Geordie Productions, Porte Parole and La Licorne. Jimmy’s most notable tv role was playing Watio for five seasons in APTN’s hit series Mohawk Girls. Jimmy is also a writer, director, mentor, and coach. He was the Indigenous Artist in Residence for the 2016 Students On Ice Expedition to the Arctic. Jimmy successfully completed the Indigenous Artist In Residence at The National Theatre School of Canada in 2019. He is the Incoming Artistic Director of Geordie Theatre.

Jessica is a theatre director, creator, and educator based in Tio’tia:ke/Montréal. She is a graduate of John Abbott College’s Acting Program, Concordia University’s Theatre & Development Program, and the University of Alberta’s MFA in Directing. Favourite directing credits include Eurydice (McGill University), Other Worlds (Geordie Theatre), What Rough Beast (Theatre Ouest End/Tantalus), Squawk (Geordie Theatre), the French and English versions of TUMIT (Akpik Theatre), and Sedna: Goddess of the Sea (Tableau D’Hôte Theatre). Jessica regularly teaches public classes at the National Theatre School of Canada, directs teens in their school play at St. George’s High School, and sits on the Membership Committee at PACT. Jessica is a firm believer that everyone can benefit from a little theatre in their life which is why she loves working with people of all ages, all backgrounds, and all experience levels. 

Bevin Dooley (she/they) is a playwright and dramaturg who is thrilled to be back making art in her hometown of Tiohtià:ke/Montreal. Their plays include Nyctophobia/Here There Be Night (Workshop West Playwrights ’Theatre); IN CAMERA (parts&labour/CGAS/ Found Festival); and Slack Tide (Blarney Productions/part&labour/Edmonton Fringe Festival) for which they received a Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Award nomination. Readings of her work have been presented by Infinithéatre, SkirtsAfire, Script Salon, and the Tiger Dublin Fringe Festival. Bevin has worked as a dramaturg and mentor with the University of Alberta New Works Festival, NextFest Festival of Emerging Artists, and Alberta Playwrights ’Network. If they’re not at the Geordie office, Bevin can be found café-hopping, watching the latest horror film at Cinéma du Parc, or hiking up Mont-Royal. Learn more about Bevin and her work at www.bevindooley.com

Murdoch Schon (they/them) is a queer, nonbinary director, dramaturg and digital innovator. Born and raised in Treaty One Territory (Winnipeg), they have been involved in the Tiohtià:ke (Montreal) English theatre scene for over a decade. As a multidisciplinary theatre maker, they use puppetry, movement and technology to build unique and immersive worlds.

Hanesa Banks is a writer living in Tiohtià:ke (Montréal). She holds a BA in English Literature and Creative Writing from Concordia University. Hanesa has been a performing spoken word artist since 2016. Her most notable shows include an International Women’s Day show for Sofar Sounds (2018), and a United Way Gala (2018). In April of this year she completed a Horror Writer’s Residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts. She’s excited to be joining Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal for their 2025-26 Young Creators Unit. Her speculative horror stories explore a future-now in which people experience oppression as old patterns of colonization, white supremacy, and dominance digitize or become more layered while re-enforced by technology.

Amena is a Montreal based actress who is excited to be joining Geordie as coordinator of the Geordie Theatre School.

She is a graduate of the acting program at Concordia and became passionate about performing as a student at F.A.C.E high school. Amena is looking forward to bringing the GTS magic to kids and teens!

Annika grew up in Germany, but has called Montréal her full-time home since 2022. She studied General and Comparative Literature in Berlin and Paris, and has worked as a marketer in the music industry, for her own business, and as a consultant. A fan of great storytelling and the transformative power of fiction, books, plays, and movies are her constant companions. She’s extremely excited to be joining the Geordie team as co-lead of the Marketing and Communications department to help make Geordie’s important mission shine across Québec, Canada, and beyond.

Kim is the Founder & CEO of Phil. Her experience working with local, national and international charities combines over 25 years in marketing and fundraising, with a lifelong passion for volunteering in the community.

Kim consulted with Geordie for over 5 years before joining the Board and has been a Geordie fan for twenty years, taking her kids to see shows when they were little.

Theatre is in her blood (literally) coming from a long line of thespians, dating back generations. Her grandparents had a local theatre school for children nearly a century ago!

Award-winning social entrepreneur (Top 50 Women Leaders of Montreal, Top 50 under 50 Concordia University Alumni), host of the Philanthropy in Action podcast, international speaker and author of many articles on leadership and the social sector, she is always looking to learn more and share more.

Ndaku has been working in the financial sector for about 9 years now after graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Saint Mary’s university in Halifax Nova Scotia in 2013. 

Before this he was born and raised in Zimbabwe and was a musical theatre kid to the core. Ndaku was in several productions over the years at Reps Theatre in Harare Zimbabwe ranging from Godspell, The Kind and I and Mama Mia to name a few. He pursued theatre full time in the year before moving to Canada to undertake a business degree but in university he was still heavily involved with multiple productions with the university’s drama society. 

Ndaku is excited to get a foot back into the world of theatre and help with its accessibility to the next generation as it played an integral part of him being able to find his voice and even in finance, he finds himself relying on those public speaking skills quite frequently. 

Alarey Alsip is a Canadian actor, director, and teacher. She is an alumni of the acclaimed Second City in Chicago, as well as Concordia University, in Montreal, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre with Distinction.  

Fresh out of school, she was cast in a two-play tour by Geordie Productions, featuring productions of Joan MacLeod’s The Shape of A Girl and an adaption of C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. The tour ran for 9 months and had performances across Quebec, New Brunswick and Toronto. She continues to act in theatre, film, and television. She splits her time between the Eastern Townships and Montreal, where she is represented by Glenn Talent. 

For more than 20 years, Carol-Ann Hoyte has worked in the Canadian children’s book industry. Her various roles held in the field have included that of bookseller, book reviewer, library circulation clerk, and school librarian. Since 2022, she has worked as the events and program manager for the Canadian Children’s Book Centre. Carol-Ann is a published children’s poet whose work has appeared in U.S. anthologies and School Magazine Australia.

She is also an avid papercrafter, who in the fall of 2024, transformed her passion for crafting into a small business hosting craft parties.

In an effort to keep connected to the theatre world beyond Geordie, Carol-Ann has volunteered for the METAs (Montreal English Theatre Awards).

In 2023, she was nominated for the METAs Unsung Hero of Theatre Award for her contributions to the city’s English theatre community.