Conservatory Company

Ages 18-29

Nupi Gokhale

Director

Since Theatre Ancaster’s inception in 1997, Nupi has performed, choreographed, stage managed, directed, produced and served as its Director of Youth Programming for ten years, Vice-President for five and currently serves as the company’s President since 2013. Favorite directing credits include Beauty and the Beast, Shrek and Mamma Mia!. She holds degrees from Queen’s University and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (U of T). Nupi’s love of theatre and education have allowed her to build both careers simultaneously. After two decades teaching in the Grand Erie D.S.B, Nupi is now an administrator, first collaborating as an artistic director of a private arts high school in Burlington, and now as a Vice-Principal in the Hamilton-Wentworth DSB.

Her commitment to Theatre Ancaster is credited to amazingly talented community volunteers. As co-creator of our Jitterbugs Program when her children were toddlers, she is elated at the opportunity to bookend that with the latest TA program, this time working alongside her kids, for the kid in all of us! The Conservatory Company is the perfect next step for students and young adults who love theatre but are having trouble finding a way to fit it into their studies or work schedules. The program also provides leadership opportunities to emerging artists who plan to become more involved in production roles. All the more exciting that we begin this journey, performing in our new theatre home.

Microphone Performance Workshop with Darcy Stewart

Darcy is a professional actor and musical theatre performer based out of Toronto. She has worked in the field professionally for 12 years, both on stage and on screen.

Select theatre credits include: Six (Mirvish productions), Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda the Musical (1st National Tour/Mirvish), Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story (Drayton Entertainment), Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (Stage West Theatre), Bend it like Beckham the Musical (Starvox), Cha Cha in Grease (Drayton and Irregular Entertainment), Jukebox Hero (Ed Mirvish Theatre), The Heart of Robin Hood (Mirvish). Select film/tv credits include: Slo Pitch (Shaftesbury), Private Eyes (Global), Sensitive Skin (TMN). 

Dance Workshop with Sarah Dowhun-Tompa

Sarah Dowhun-Tompa is a professional dance artist and educator from the GTA. She has received her ballet teaching certification as an Associate of the Cecchetti Society of Canada (ACSC-CICB) and is certified in Conditioning with Imagery and the Progressing Ballet Technique Syllabus. Continuing her studies and working extensively within the programs of several studios around Ontario has provided Sarah with insight into the fundamentals required by young dancers to dance safely at their various stages of development. Having received her Honours Degree in Dance from York University, Sarah was introduced to various ballet and modern styles and methodologies that have been instrumental in developing her critical eye for technique. 

Sarah has worked in the performance industry in numerous films (Maps to the Stars, LAN), television programs (Reign, Warehouse 13/Jeff Dimitriou, Covert Affairs, Murder U) and music/conceptual videos (Hedley, Shawn Desman/Luther Brown, STIGMA/Jeff Dimitriou, I Gotcha/Jeff Dimitriou & Leon Blackwood, The Violinist) as both a featured performer, extra and most recently assistant choreographer. Sarah continues to appear in live stage productions (Hamilton Urban Theatre/Robert Desrosier, Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble/Vitek Wincenza/The Kiev Ballet, Bringing Tap Back/Everett Smith, Inner City Dance Company/Irina Aoucheva, Hamilton FrostBites Festival/To The Pointe Dance Project/Alyssa Nedich, Dance Ontario Dance Weekend/Jesse Dell). Recently Sarah was chosen to be a part of the #IAmStillAnArtist Project, presented by Industry HamOnt, to represent the artists that remain an integral part of the city’s arts and culture post-pandemic. 

Choreographically, Sarah’s work can be seen on stage for various studios and schools, both recreational and competitive, as full-time faculty and guest competitive choreographer across the Greater Hamilton/Toronto areas. Sarah also works behind the scenes as Assistant Choreographer and Adjudicator on sets and at competitions across Canada. With experience in both the concert and commercial dance worlds, Sarah works to help all dancers she works with, both in the studio and on stage, reach their full potential both technically and artistically. She is known for her holistic approach to dance education and the importance of fostering the growth of not only the dance, but the dancer.

Dance Workshop with Shawn Bracke

Actor’s Safety and Self-Worth with Laura Welch

Laura is very interested in actor’s emotional safety and self-worth. After two decades of various trainings, she became concerned and passionate about improving the working conditions for performers. She began The Safer Space project which was originally designed to collect data about the feeling around harm and safety in the industry in order to make recommendations on improvements. Laura is certified in Trauma Informed Movement and Presence work. She is inspired by the works of Sarah Polley, Colin Bruce Anthes, and Karen Ancheta, as well as anyone who believes our most precarious performers who bring the gifts of theatre and film to the world should be better protected.

Actor’s Safety and Self-Worth is a two-hour presentation and discussion that attempts to empower Actors with a foundational knowledge of what trauma-informed artist-centred care can look like by also examining practices that are rampant in the entertainment industry that destroy confidence and make artist practice emotionally unsustainable. Laura invites artists to reflect and game plan around appropriate boundaries they make for themselves in their careers and introduces the concept of intimacy coordination. This presentation is meant to build a foundation of safety and self-worth that will help Actors thrive creatively and personally throughout their careers.

Dialect Workshop with Rebekka Gondosch

Rebekka M. Gondosch is a theatre maker, writer, and arts educator based in Hamilton. They are a graduate of Trinity College Dublin’s M.Phil. in Theatre and Performance program and visit Ireland as often as possible! Some of their favourite work to engage in is devised theatre, Irish theatre, site-specific theatre, and queer performance. Select original theatre performances include Fertility (Light Echo Theatre); Why the River Sings (Passing Through Theatre, devised for Theatre Direct’s Forward March Festival), a series of stories for somewhere in-between (Passing Through Theatre, devised for Suitcase in Point’s In the Soil Festival), and Imposter Queer (devised for Queer on Stage’s Pride Showcase and In the Soil Festival’s Rhizomes). Rebekka is the coordinator and leader of the Spark Teen Performance Intensive through the Hamilton Festival Theatre Company and has had the honour of teaching amazing high school students for seven years. They have directed numerous productions for young adults, most recently Frankenstein. Rebekka has performed in three Theatre Ancaster productions and assistant directed the Conservatory Company’s inaugural production of RENT. They are excited to dive into dialects with this year’s cast of Cabaret! You can learn more about Rebekka and their artistic practice at https://www.rebekkagondosch.com/ and follow them on social media @theatre_is_wilde. 

Description of Dialect Workshop:

This workshop will introduce actors to the foundations of dialect work. We will begin by examining the various ways actors can approach learning different dialects and accents, with a focus on dramaturgy and vocal techniques. Three distinct accents will be taught to participants including British (RP, Cockney, London), American (Pennsylvania), and German (general). Basic German words and phrases found in the script will also be focused on for specific pronunciation. Participants will have ample opportunity to practice these accents for accuracy in the workshop as well as be given resources to support both their work in rehearsals and personal acting practices. Joyfulness and a willingness to play are encouraged!

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