Our Teachers
At GTS, our classes are taught by some of Geordie’s favorite Montreal theatre professionals because we believe that kids deserve to learn from the best! Here are some of the talented people who are teaching for GTS this year.
Charity Adzie
Charity Adzie (she/her) is an actor and creator born and raised in Montreal. After graduating from the Professional Theatre Program at Dawson College in 2020, she participated in Black Theatre Workshop’s Artist Mentorship Program. Favourite credits include Holmes/Maeve Sullivan in Blue Stockings (Dome) and Voices From The Pandemic (Tableau D’Hote/Segal). She recently facilitated a Geordie/Desta Mental Health Workshop for 10 black youths alongside Dr. Lisa Ndejuru and Cindy Balan. Charity is passionate about participating in art that is accessible, challenging, joyful, and vulnerable. She is very excited to bring her love for the theatre and improvisation to her students.
Trevor Barrette
Trevor Barrette is a Montreal based actor, director, playwright/composer and teacher. Upon graduating from JAC’s Professional Theatre program, he founded the award winning Kaleidoscope Theatre Montreal, for which he directed their 11 productions, including 4 original musicals. As an actor, he has performed on stage with the National Arts Centre, Centaur Theatre, Geordie Theatre, Repercussion Theatre, MainLine Theatre and Persephone Productions and in readings and workshops at the National Theatre School, Infinitheatre and Playwrights Workshop Montreal. He is a proud member of the Montreal English Theatre Awards Committee, the Montreal Clown Festival’s Board of Directors and the Quebec Drama Federation’s Board of Directors. Trevor currently teaches at the Segal Centre, Geordie Theatre School and Montreal Children’s Theatre. You can see him on stage this spring in Scapegoat Carnivale’s Yev.
Masha Bashmakova
Masha Bashmakova (she/her) is performer, creator, and arts educator, navigating the ways in which creative expression serves as a deep and necessary language. A graduate of Concordia’s Performance Creation program, Imago Theatre’s ARTISTA mentorship, and Mainline Theatre’s Propeller, her current practice spans visual and performing arts, with a specific focus in performance, theatre directing, and arts education. Born in Russia, raised in the United Arab Emirates, and currently based in Tio’tia:ke (Montreal), Masha is curious about the ways in which language, place and worldview impact the ways in which we tell stories. Having worked in many different kinds of learning spaces over the years, with students of all ages, Masha knows that in the theatre classroom anything – truly anything – is possible. Weaving acting exercises with approaches adopted from her training in movement, music, puppetry, and devised work, she believes in learning through play, curiosity, radical honesty, awkwardness, world-building, and imagination.
Samantha Bitonti
Samantha Bitonti (she/her) is a Tiohtià:ke/Montréal-based actor and creator. Since earning her BFA in Theatre Performance from Concordia University, she has actively pursued various areas of performance including: clown, voice, film, and stage combat (AAC with FDC). She is thrilled to be an Artistic Associate at Repercussion Theatre for the fall of 2020. Samantha is a proud alumna of Imago Theatre’s ARTISTA program; as well as current teacher at Geordie Theatre School, cultivating creativity for young people. Select credits include: Measure for Measure* (Repercussion), Reaching for Starlight* (Geordie), The Trophy Hunt (Rabbit in a Hat), Enough Already (Alien Gaze); Maggie & Bianca Fashion Friends (voice); The Lower Plateau (Dépanneur Films). *Nominated for Outstanding Emerging Artist, Performance – METAs 2019. Samantha is a critical thinker, a lover of art, an advocate for community, and a keen observer of the power of storytelling.
Jake Cohen
Jake Cohen (he/him) is a Montreal-born and based performer, and graduate of the theatre program at Dawson College. His favourite roles there included John Cabot in Concord Floral, Hamlet in The Bad Hamlet, and the Mock Turtle & Executioner in Alice in Wonderland. He received the Bertrand A. Henry Memorial Award upon his graduation. Outside of school, his performance credits include Spring Awakening (AUTS), The Space Between (Phantom Limb/Fringe), and various roles in the Segal Centre/Tableau D’Hote Theatre’s Voices From The Pandemic series. Jake was a cohort member of Mainline Theatre’s Propeller Program this spring for emerging theatre creators.
You can also find Jake teaching theatre at various schools across the city, including Montreal Children’s Theatre, Geordie Theatre School, and Segal Academy. He is deeply passionate about theatre education as a way of encouraging self-expression among young people, and allowing them to discover their capacity for teamwork, empathy and play!
Debora Friedmann
Debbie is a director-choreographer and proud co-founder of Contact Theatre. She is also an alumnus of Black Theatre Workshop’s Artist Mentorship Program and the Jewish Arts Mentorship Program with the Segal Centre for Performing Arts. Debbie chose to pursue work in theatre and education after completing a master’s in education and society. She also works at the Segal Centre for performing arts as a part of the communications team and as one of the Academy Instructors. Her most recent projects include Director-Choreographer for “Bonnie and Clyde” (Contact), “Chicago” (AUTS), and “The Addams Family” (WISTA). Debbie was also honored to work with Amy Blackmore as Assistant Director and Choreographer for “The Rocky Horror Show” (Mainline Theatre). She is thrilled to be working with Geordie Theatre School and sharing her passion for theatre with the next generation of creators!
Daniel Hickie
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 me know!
Patrick Park
Patrick Park is a Montréal based artist and graduate of Concordia University’s Theatre Performance program. Featured performer credits include: Mythic, Prom Queen, Fancy Nancy: The Musical (Segal Centre), Hairspray (CSLDS/Centaur), Punk Rock (BCT/Centaur), and Attempts in Flight (Dai Bao/MTLFringe). He is also a member of the dance group, East2West, performing on stages across Canada and the US as well as on YouTube for an audience of over one million subscribers. Outside of performing, Patrick has worked as a teacher/choreographer with notable drama education programs such as Geordie Theatre School, Segal Academy, and Montréal Children’s Theatre.
Murdoch Schon
Murdoch Schon is a nonbinary director, puppeteer and educator. Born and raised in Treaty One Territory (Winnipeg), they have been involved in the Tiohtià:ke (Montreal) English theatre scene for almost a decade. They believe that theatre is a necessary space to practice community, risk-taking and imagination. Murdoch’s work has been seen recently at FOLDA, Theatre Direct, and Centaur Theatre. They have been teaching theatre at summer camps, and schools for the past five years. Murdoch is a graduate of the National Theatre School directing program and has a BFA, Specialization in Theatre and Development, from Concordia University.
Jen Viens
Jen Viens is a director, actor, teacher and producer originally hailing from BC. While there, she studied theatre at UBC, and trained with Matthew Harrison at the Actor’s Foundry in Vancouver. Jen relocated to Montreal five years ago and has been an active member in the arts community since. She has been teaching theatre to children of all ages for over twelve years and is thrilled to be part of the Geordie team!
Directing credits include: SEVEN – a Documentary Play, Unicorn Included (web series), Party Princess (web series), Subtraction (Uncanny Theatre Co.)
Performance credits include: What Happened After Nora Left Her Husband (Imago Theatre) Helix, Stunt Double on Twilight, Gwendolyn in The Importance of Being Earnest, The Passage (Winner of Best Solo Production at the Montreal Fringe), and ‘Jen’ in the acclaimed web series Battle Jar; Resolving Arguments Since the Dawn of Time.
Dakota Jamal Wellman
Dakota Jamal Wellman is a performer and creator currently based in Montreal. Originally from Port Hope, ON, Dakota completed his post-secondary studies in theatre at Bishop’s University in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Upon graduation, Dakota relocated to Montreal to participate in the Artist Mentorship Program at Black Theatre Workshop, and has been fortunate to call Montreal home ever since. Dakota is happy to be working with GTS for a third year and to be surrounded by all the great people that make Geordie a family. Winner of the 2017 META for Outstanding Emerging Artist – Performance, notable credits include: Eva In Rio (Playground Productions), Reaching For Starlight (Geordie Theatre), Blackout (Tableau D’Hote Theatre), Don’t Read The Comments (Sermo Scomber Theatre), The Revolutions (SpiderWebShow), Much Ado About Nothing (Repercussion Theatre). Film/TV: Futureman, Matthias & Maxime, The Walk-In Closet, The Bold Type, The Death And Life of John F. Donovan.