Meet The Cast – West
Our team of diverse and talented artists and actors spans every part of Canada. Check out their biographies below.
Maria Gallo
Vancouver, BC
(English, French & Italian)
Maria Gallo is a professional speaker and public speaking consultant, with her own business Maria Gallo Presentations (www.mariagallopresentations.com). Her company provides professional speaking services to businesses and business professionals, and her areas of expertise are in Public Speaking, Communications and Time Management. Maria is also an award winning actress who studied in New York and Vancouver. She has numerous film credits including The Martian ChildThe Stranger Game with Mimi Rodgers. Her TV credits include Cold Squad and Battlestar Galactica, and her theatre credits include a range of roles from Doris in Same Time, Next Year to Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Maria also directed and coached several professional actors to achieve success in the film industry.
Cam Culham
Victoria, BC
(English & French)
Cam has a Masters in Drama in Education from the University of Victoria. Favourite roles include Demetrius in Midsummer Night's Dream (Matrix Theatre), Pluto in Orpheus in the Underworld (University of Victoria), Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar (Victoria Operatic Society) and Mr. Eckhart in Eyes on the Mountain (a Victoria Conservatory of Music debut). He has also played a variety of Shakespearean roles (Merry Wives of Windsor, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear and The Taming of the Shrew). Cam performs for special needs children and is a regular music facilitator at Victor School as well as a popular sing-along leader at the Greater Victoria Downs Syndrome Society. He directs teen-aged performers in summer workshops, performs on a regular basis and uses drama methods in his ESL teaching.
Janice Santos Valdez
Vancouver, BC
(English)
An emerging artist based in Vancouver, Janice is an actor, singer, applied theatre practitioner and drama therapist. A graduate of the University of Victoria's Theatre Department and New York University's Drama Therapy Program, Janice is also a creative researcher and writer who consults with helping professionals and artists on how theatre and experiential learning can enhance one's work as leaders and members of a team. Janice has experience facilitating educational drama workshops for marginalized youth and adults and their service providers in New York City and Victoria, B.C. She has worked with various theatre companies in Victoria and recently makes her feature film debut in The Aswang: A Journey Into Myth.
Emily Talia
Calgary, AB
(English & Spanish)
Emily is a Calgary based actress who has worked in theatre, television and radio. Some productions you may have seen her in include Macula (Maple Salsa Theatre), Refuge (Dark Forrest Theatre), Afterlife (Lunchbox Theatre), Fire (Theatre Calgary), Chimneys (Vertigo Mystery Theatre-World Premiere), Agnes of God (Shadow Productions), Slavs! (Sage Theatre-Canadian Premiere), The Merry Widow (Edmonton Opera), Charley's Aunt and Gypsy (Mayfield Dinner Theatre), The Sound of Music, Joseph & His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Stage West – Calgary), 1949 (Theatre North West), The Bach Conspiracy and The General (Quest Theatre), and The Boys Own Jedi Handbook (Ground Zero Theatre). Emily extends her deep thanks to her husband – Sebastian, and daughter – Annie – for all their love and support.
Omari Newton
Vancouver, BC
(French & English)
Montreal-born actor Omari Newton is a professional actor whose work can be seen on television, film and stage. He is fluently bilingual in both French and English and has performed in both languages. His stage work in Québec has earned him a number of favorable reviews and awards. Some career highlights include a best supporting actor nomination for his work in the Centaur Theatre's production of Joe Penhal's Blue Orange (soirée des masques). The play also went on to win best English production. Now a resident of Vancouver, Omari recently appeared in Joe Calarco's critically acclaimed Shakespeare's R & J and on an episode of the Spike TV series Blade.
Michelle Pearson
Calgary, AB
(English)
Growing up, Michelle often got labeled "jack of all trades, master of none". But out of such chaos comes clarity. Knowing a little about a lot helps Michelle understand more about people's choices and passions. Michelle won several scholarships while pursuing her BFA in drama and music and then her Diploma in Broadcast Arts at SAIT. She has written, directed and produced music videos, tried her hand as a sports broadcaster, taught an acting course and run her own Talent Agency. She has worked as a singer, actor, model, waitress, make-up artist and done voice over for the blind, worked for the Calgary Police, coordinated festivals and been a standardized patient at the Foothills Hospital since she was 11. Currently, along with her simulation work, Michelle is an area manager for a couple of new home builders, a public speaking instructor and head of marketing for a financial advisor. Truly, a jack of all trades.
Briana Rayner
Victoria & Vancouver, BC
(English)
Briana found her calling in acting in grade two when she was cast as the Old Woman who lived in a Shoe; she hopes to reprise the role at a later date. She has been improvising for seven years and the past four have found her working in theatre and film managing, performing and producing. In addition to her role with playsthatwork, Briana is an educator with Learning Through the Arts where she teaches core curriculum subjects through drama and improvisation. Briana holds a degree in English Literature from the University of Victoria and recently completed a Theatre Workshop program at Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York.
John Emmet Tracy
Victoria, BC
(English)
Originally from Chicago, John received his training at Rose Bruford College/University of Manchester (BA in Theatre), the National Shakespeare Conservatory and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In thirty years as an actor, John has worked extensively in theatre, film, television and commercials. TV/film credits include the sitcom Always a Bridesmaid (series lead), Supernatural, The Dead Zone, Impact, Terminal City and Safe Harbor. He has performed in over seventy stage productions, including playing Hamlet in Hamlet (Japan tour), Biff in Death Of A Salesman, Mercutio in Romeo & Juliet, Laurie in Little Women at the Belfry Theatre in Victoria and as a Lactobacillus Acidophilus bacteria in his second grade tooth decay pageant. With playsthatwork, he has performed roles for Scotiabank, The Directors College, BC Nurses’ Union and Hay Group.
Cheryl Hutton
Calgary, AB
(English)
Cheryl is an actor and instructor based in Calgary. She trained at Mount Royal College (Calgary), the Atlantic Theater Company (New York), and with Philippe Gaulier (Paris). Some favourite acting credits include: Powerlunch (Lunchbox Theatre); La Mexicaine de Perforation (Trepan Theatre); Under the Big Top, Penelope VS The Aliens! The Big League (Quest Theatre); Refuge (Dark Forest Theatre Company); Hamlet (Shakespeare in the Park); A Christmas Carol, and Counsellor-at-Law (Theatre Calgary). Off the stage, she works with children through Artist in Residency school programs with Quest Theatre, as a Standardized Patient with the Medical Skills Centre at the University of Calgary, and has played characters for Scotiabank since joining playsthatwork in 2005. Cheryl is an ensemble member of Dirty Laundry - Calgary's only totally live, totally improvised soap opera, and is co-founder of Trepan Theatre, a company that draws inspiration from physical theatre, circus arts, and traditional playwriting, and creates theatre for national and international touring.
Janet Gigliotti
Toronto, ON & Vancouver, BC
(English)
Janet made her career plans when she was six. Her first decision was to be a teacher; at seven, she ammended this goal to 'actor'. After completing her undergratuate degree in Speech Sciences, Janet realized her first dream and became a high school teacher specializing in Special Education. Many fulfilling years passed and, after completing her MA in Administration and Leadership, Janet left education for the full time pursuit of her second dream, acting. Janet has performed across the country on shows such as Mamma Mia!, My Way, South Pacific, and The Rainmaker. When not performing, Janet works as the office manager for her husband Sean's multi-media production company, Sensory Overload Productions.
Nicole Zylstra
Calgary, AB
(English)
Nicole is an actress and published playwright who does photography and poster design in her spare time. She has written plays for the likes of Vertigo Theatre (Innocent Blood) and Lunchbox Theatre (the Betty Mitchell Award nominated Monkey Business) and has performed in her own solo shows as well as across the boards for many professional theatres in Alberta. She has been a Standardized Patient for medical students at the Foothills hospital for over ten years, and if you want some REALLY interesting stories, ask her about the month she spent on an army base in Wainwright, AB, as a role player for training exercises conducted for the Canadian Military.
Ryan Elm
Vancouver, BC
(English & French)
Ryan's natural ability for role-playing was sparked at the age of four when he decided on a slow day in the ER of Sick Children's Hospital a minor ankle sprain would be the ostensible moment to put the fine doctors/specialists and nurses through their paces. No he did not have a rare congenital disease and to everyone's relief he was just pulling their leg. He now does Medical Simulations for Vancouver General Hospital and previously for Foothills Hospital in Calgary. With (playsthatwork), he has performed characters with HSBC and Scotiabank. He has a diploma in Film and Video Production and now studies acting with world-renowned acting coach Warren Robertson. He can be currently seen on television playing principal roles on Stargate SG-l, Ensure and Shaw Cable commercials.
Stephen Euloth
Vancouver, BC
(English)
Steve is a born, bred and proud Nova Scotian living in Vancouver. When he was young, Steve was always fascinated with "how they got that great story in a movie without those people knowing they were filming?" Steve has acted in the Halifax Fringe Theatre Festival, Halifax film festivals and in independent films in Nova Scotia and BC. Steve has also worked behind the scenes in film and theatre in BC and Nova Scotia. Steve is currently pursuing his life-long dream of being a Residential Real Estate Professional with HomeLife Benchmark Realty, writing screenplays, keeping his eyes and ears open for acting gigs and loving his family. Steve has always strived to blend his passion for acting with his drive for top-notch customer service and consulting. (playsthatwork), inc gives him that opportunity to go "Beyond The Call".
Claire Thomas
Winnipeg, MB
(English & French)
Claire came to acting later in life after a few detours as a French teacher and motherhood. For the past 11 years, she has worked for the University of Manitoba Schools of Medicine and Medical Rehabilitation, using role play and providing feedback in training and exam settings. She has appeared in a number of Winnipeg television commercials and has done voice work for many more radio and television ad campaigns. In the local theatre and independent film scene, she has been everything from a monkey to a porcelain doll to all versions of a mother (cookie baking, grieving, murderous). She has been massacred by an axe twice, eaten by zombies and often ended up covered in blood. Claire is also a regular guest on Richard Cloutier Reports on CJOB radio as part of his entertainment panel.
Diane Roberts
Winnipeg, MB
(English & French)
Diane Roberts is artistic director of urban ink productions www.urbanink.ca. She has been a practicing theatre artist for over 25 years. Her studies and practical work as director, dramaturge, actor, playwright and community animator have taken her throughout Canada, the U.S., the UK, Europe and the Caribbean. In Canada, Diane has directed for such companies as Theatre Direct, The Company of Sirens, Black Theatre Workshop, b current, Cahoots Theatre Projects, Obsidian Theatre, Native Earth Performing Arts, Women in View Festival, The Sudbury Theatre Centre and The Stratford Festival. As Artistic Co-Director of Nightwood Theatre from 1994 to 1996, she spearheaded the Groundswell Festival of New Works by Women.
Over the past few years, Diane's artistic passion has been to articulate, explore and practice African (and diasporic) forms of theatre in a New World context.