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Valeria Ascolese

Associate Instructor

Leslie Dos Remedios

Lead Instructor

Originally from Toronto, Leslie is a graduate of York University (2008) and Studio 58 (2012). She’s fresh off of maternity leave and is so happy to be spending time at Carousel Theatre’s Drama School again! Her recent theatre credits include “Jane” in Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley (Arts Club Theatre Company); “Bap” in Baking Time (Presentation House Theatre); “Sam” in Thanks for Giving (Arts Club Theatre Company). At Carousel Theatre for Young People, Leslie has appeared in The Jungle Book, Wondrous Tales of Old Japan and Shakespearean Rhapsody.

Santana Berryman

Associate Instructor

Santana Berryman is a Vancouver-based actor and emerging director from Whitehorse, Yukon. A graduate of Cap U’s Acting for Stage and Screen program, Santana also holds a TEFL – Performance and Play certification from Educo Italia. Selected theatre credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Peter and the Starcatcher (Cap U Theatre), The Book of Esther and The Shape of Things (The Guild Hall), and a Canada-wide premiere tour of Map of The Land, Map of the Stars (Gwaandak Theatre). Her background is in directing Theatre for Young Audiences, with credits including Where the Wild Things Are and Alice in Puppetland (Heart of Riverdale). More recently, she directed Society of Transformative Zoology (IGNITE! Youth-Driven Arts Festival) and co-directed The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (Vancouver Fringe).

Laura Jaszcz

Lead Instructor

Laura is a Vancouver based actress and instructor with 20 years of experience in arts education. She most recently worked as an actress in Flare Path with Slamming Door Collective. She has performed with CTYP in their productions of  Munscha Mia, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood and Munsch Alley. Other theatre work includes, Gateway Theatre (Brigadoon), Chemainus Theatre Festival (The Wizard of Oz and James and the Giant Peach), and Mad Duck (The Tempest and Titus Andronicus). In film and television, she has worked on Ties That Bind, Flowers in the Attic, Witches of East End, The Haunting Hour, Alcatraz, Supernatural, Reaper, Secrets of Comfort House, the Chris Isaak Show, and various commercials. Most recently, Laura has appeared in The Story of Us for Hallmark and The Flash for CW. She plays the ukulele in her spare time and is often in the company of Max the Sheltie, her best puppy friend.

Victor Mariano

Lead Instructor

Victor is a Vancouver-based actor whose recent professional credits include The Objecthood of Chairs (SFU), House of Kosa (TigerMilk Collective), Banana Boys (Firehall Theatre), Quasimodo Or The Bell Ringer of Paree (Boca del Lupo), Silverwing (Carousel Theatre for Young People), The Soldier’s Tale (Turning Point Ensemble), and Skin (Henry Daniel). Besides teaching at CTYP, Vic is also an acting instructor at Simon Fraser University where he received his BFA in Theatre. Vic was last seen in CTYP’s 2018 production of The Velveteen Rabbit.

Todd Thomson

Lead Instructor

Since 2001 Todd has performed in ten seasons with Bard on the Beach; during this time, Todd has been a Young Shakespearean teaching artist and has had the opportunity of providing guidance to over 200 young performers about the craft of acting through the exploration of Shakespeare’s plays.  Todd has led workshops in Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Julius Caesar, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, Hamletand As You Like It.

As a teaching artist, Todd endeavours to create a fun, safe and respectful environment for participants thrive, learn and grow.