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.

Daniel is a theatre creator, animator, teacher, learner and aspiring everything.

Daniel is the great grandchild of a cinema owner and an apple farmer. The grandchild of nurses and quilt makers. The child of teachers and talkers. The sibling of brilliant hearted adults. And the parent of a joy ball.

Daniel’s family left Ireland and France many years ago to find the great southern land, Gadigal Land, Wiradujuri land. Daniel grew up on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation (Sydney, Australia), surrounded by sun stroked skin, salt water and big Christmas feasts. Daniel completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre making at the Australian Institute of Music, but inherited big boisterous storytelling from his community.

Daniel moved to unceded Kanien’kehá:ka land, Tio’tia:ke (Montréal) for love. Since arriving here, Daniel has worked with young people to make theatre, teach theatre, perform theatre and more. Daniel has worked in this capacity with the Segal Centre, Geordie Theatre, the ELAN Artists Inspire Project, the LEARN I Belong Project, The Montreal Children’s Theatre, The Vancouver International Children’s Festival and others.

In 2019, Daniel co-founded a theatre collective, Young Hearts Theatre, which looks to tell stories for the young and young at heart. We follow a story to where it needs to go. Outside. Into a cave. Using puppets. Singing loud.

Daniel brings the full weight of past story telling with him and loves SO MUCH to hear about others too – so if you have anything to share, let him know!

Elsa Bolam is the founding Artistic Director of Geordie Theatre. Elsa was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, where she began her career working in different capacities at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford and London. After directing freelance with many English theatre companies, she became a television director at the BBC in London. She then came to Canada, where she taught at the National Theatre School, helped found the Centaur Theatre, and continued to direct at theatres such as Theatre Calgary, Theatre Plus in Toronto, Sudbury Theatre Centre, Magnus Theatre, the Globe Theatre in Regina, and others.

In 1980 Elsa founded Geordie Theatre and was artistic director of the company until 2006. In October 2002, Avon Canada recognized Elsa Bolam as a “Woman of Inspiration” in the field of Arts and Culture, and in 2003 she was also awarded a Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. The Montreal English Critics’ Circle honoured Elsa in 2005 with a distinction award in ‘recognition of her work nurturing young stage talent and taking theatre to far-flung audiences’.

Elsa was named to the Order of Canada at the end of 2008.

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. 

Keith is a father, husband, writer, performer, teacher, producer, journalist, and, when called upon, lawyer based in Montreal. As a writer and performer, Keith and his work have appeared on stages in Montreal, Boston and New York City; and on PBS television and CBC radio. His first solo show, The List, was nominated for two Frankie Awards at the 2024 Montreal Fringe Festival and will tour festivals in New York, Winnipeg and Edmonton in 2025. He is currently writing his first multi-act play entitled Funeral Season. In his other professional lives, Keith has spent more than 30 years doing strategic communications and government relations for clients ranging from Canada’s largest biotechnology company to the RCMP. He is also a founder or co-founder of several non-profits and has had stints as a courtroom litigator and a lecturer in commercial law at his alma mater, McGill University.