Councillors

Scott Bellis is an actor, director and acting instructor. He became an Equity member in 1987 and was first elected as a national Councillor for the BC/Yukon region in 2012. He was appointed Council President in 2017.

He studied Theatre Arts at Studio 58 (Langara College) in Vancouver and has worked across Canada in over 150 productions. He resides in Vancouver’s beautiful West End.

Although mainly a stage performer, his work in recorded and digital media includes the usual bits available in Vancouver, such as episodes of various sci-fi series, some Hallmark movies, and quirky indie projects.

“This Association stands for many things, but above all it stands for respect: for our skill, our dedication, and our collective contribution as artists to the social fabric of our communities. It is an honour to help Equity pursue that respect on behalf of our members.”

Originally from Treaty 4, now living and creating on Treaty 6 territory, Kenn is an award-winning director, performer, playwright, educator, and Clown. He received his BFA in Acting at the University of Regina and his MFA in Directing from The University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Beyond CAEA, Kenn is also a member of AACE, CDGC, and most recently PGC. He is a sessional lecturer at the University of Saskatchewan Drama Department, the Executive Director of Saskatoon Summer Players. He is a D&D enthusiast, a proud father, and thrilled to be a Saskatchewan Artist. Cheers.

I’ve been a proud member for 20+ years, working across the country under the spectrum of agreements & policies. I’ve participated in collective bargaining, pushed for data gathering to support advocacy, and generally jumped in where opportunities exist – or can be made – to promote equity and reform in the sector.

In working to advance our rights and protections, I’ve been inspired by the commitment of tireless colleagues – both on Council, committees, and in collaborations with sister organizations (like FIA’s Racial Equality and Ethnic Diversity Working Group and the PACT-Equity Joint Article 10 Committee).

And it’s been my honour to represent the Quebec region for several Council terms – helping members to understand their rights, access resources, and resolve (or avoid) problems. If you have a question or concern or an idea … get in touch!

Steven is a proud mixed-Filipino artist based in Amiskwaciwâskahikan. He has worked as a stage manager with companies such as Concrete Theatre, Theatre Northwest, Chemainus Theatre Festival, Citadel Theatre, Theatre Calgary, Workplace School Programs, Tiny Bear Jaws, Factory Theatre, Edmonton Opera, Wild Side Productions, and Teatro Live!. Steven was also a part of the Citadel’s RBC Emerging Artist program in Artistic Leadership/planning, the Belfry Theatre’s Emerging Arts Leadership Training Program, and also serves as the Equity Councilor for Northern Alberta/Northwest Territories. Thanks to Casey for all the love and support.

Paul Rowe is an actor, writer, and director based in St. John’s, NL. He has been an Equity member since 2015 when he joined the acting company at the Stratford Festival. He has also directed for the Shakespeare by the Sea Festival in St. John’s. Additionally, Paul has authored two novels and a dozen of his stage plays have been produced. He is a proud member of CAEA, ACTRA, and TWUC.

Born in Vancouver, Anita has enjoyed a 35 year career as an actor on stage and screen. She has performed for many theatres in Canada and lived in several communities in B.C., but is happy to once again reside on Coast Salish lands as of 2017.

She is grateful for the opportunity to serve as a Councillor for the B.C./Yukon region and give back in any way she can. Anita is very interested in engaging and educating members and she is grateful for all she is learning from our widespread and diverse association.

Parent to two young adults and a big fan of solo travel, she loves volunteering and being involved in the vibrant west coast theatre community. Please reach out anytime!

Raugi Yu is an Actor, Director and instructor of live performance, as a Councillor for Equity he is currently in his third term and is proud to be a member in good standing since the year 2000. Raugi is often in a mentoring or supportive role in many IBPOC artists lives and is so honoured that his life is connected to his community in this way. Through the tools and lenses of Love and Curiosity, Raugi hopes to be the change when change is needed.

Sharon DiGenova is a Production Stage Manager and award- winning Lighting Designer, who began her career in a Broadway touring house – working in all aspects of technical theatre, on numerous Tony Award winning productions. Throughout her career, she has toured with scores of National and International artists to over 350 cities (several times over) in more than 35 countries on 6 continents. Sharon has worked with bands (managing the CNE bandshell), Theatre, Opera, Dance, Circus and Freak shows. She previously produced dance, ran her own venue (Damn Straight), even ran club nights in a literal underground bar, and produced cabarets. She has been a member of CAEA since 1985 and served 4 terms as National Councillor for Dance.

Geoff McBride has been a member of Equity since 1990 and has served on Council as a representative of both the Atlantic Region and Eastern Ontario. Geoff is mainly an actor, and director, but is overall theatre maker who has done a bit of everything now and then.

Born and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan, Juno and Dora award winning mezzo soprano Andrea Ludwig has appeared with the Canadian Opera Company, Tapestry New Opera, Edmonton Opera, Philadelphia Opera, San Francisco Opera , and the Festival D’Aix en Provence. 

Andrea’s commitment to concert performance remains a strong 

focus. She has appeared with Symphony Nova Scotia, Symphony New Brunswick, Orchestre Symphonique de Drummondville, Shanghai New Music Festival, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Against the Grain, Soundstreams, Off Centre Music Salon and The TSO Chamber Soloists. Recordings include the ECMA-nominated Schubert Orchestrations with Symphony Nova Scotia, Responsio, by Peter Anthony Togni, Galicians II with The Ukrainian Art Song Project, the ATMA label recording of Ana Sokolovic’s Sirens, UK Chandos recording of Thais: Grand Opera in Concert, with the TSO and Missing: opera about missing and murdered Indigenous women, by Brian Current and Marie Clements, under the label Bright Shiny Things.

Eastern Opera Region Councillor Arieh Sacke is a Toronto-born tenor now based in Montreal. He has performed opera, oratorio, and concert work with companies across Canada and the United States, including Calgary Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and Opera Saratoga. Arieh is a cofounder and former member of two Toronto-based ensembles: the Fonitika Vocal Ensemble and The Java & Three. 

As a newer Equity member, Arieh wants to build pride, belonging, and community within our association by helping members stay connected and heard. He also hopes to expand the use of plain language in our materials.

You can reach him at ariehs@caea.com – He would love to chat with you!

Kevin is an actor/playwright/director/producer living in Winnipeg, on Treaty One territory. He’s been performing professionally since 1995 and became a proud member of CAEA in 2000, appearing on stages in Vancouver, Edmonton, Ottawa, Toronto, and throughout Manitoba.

Kevin has won two awards for playwrighting, and recently “completed” a full-length comedy about Bram Stoker. He is an Artistic Associate with Echo Theatre, and is married to its Artistic Producer Charlene Van Buekenhout, with whom he is raising their daughter Phoebe. Kevin is passionately devoted to life in the theatre, to the principles of Collaboration and Ensemble, and to reminding whoever will listen that the only two elements without which theatre cannot exist are the performer and the audience.

Eric Abel is an Ontario-based actor, singer, and dancer whose career has spanned many of Canada’s leading musical theatre companies in Toronto, Charlottetown, Montreal and Stratford. A proud ensemble member of the Stratford Festival company, he has performed for the past 10 seasons in productions including Something Rotten!, Annie, La Cage aux Folles, Monty Python’s Spamalot, Chicago, Billy Elliot the Musical, The Rocky Horror Show, The Music Man, Guys and Dolls, Romeo and Juliet, and A Chorus Line.

Prior to his time on Equity’s national Council, Eric has always been a staunch advocate for live arts workers. He has served as Equity liaison on countless productions, was a four-time elected member of the Stratford Festival Artist Committee and proudly served as a negotiating team member for the most recent Stratford Addendum to the CTA. Eric is a proud alumnus of McMaster University, earning an Honours B.A. in Multimedia and Communications, where he was also co-founder and President of the varsity MAC Dance Team.

Eric is passionate about maintaining working conditions for artists across all of our designations, affecting positive change within our industry, and encouraging members to know their professional rights and responsibilities. When he isn’t working you can find Eric drinking Diet Coke, eating potato chips, or reading the CTA.

Tim Machin is an actor and musician based in Toronto. He is one of 7 Equity Councillors in Ontario. He joined Equity (UK) when he signed up for his first Christmas pantomime at the Epsom Playhouse in 1991. While living in the UK, he had the opportunity to work in weekly rep at Frinton on Sea and to tour Europe. He also toured the UK with the Reduced Shakespeare Company, he went pretty much everywhere and performed in some amazing theatres. In Canada he has worked (literally) from coast to coast, from Blue Bridge Repertory and Chemainus Festival Theatre on Vancouver Island to Two Planks and A Passion in Nova Scotia. On Council, Tim co-chairs the Physical Health and Safety Task Force, so if you’ve got any worries or concerns on that front, shoot him an email.

Kristen is a Toronto-based multihyphenate performing and creative artist with a BFA in Dance with Specialized Honours from York University. As a proud Equity and ACTRA member, she has a reputation for advocating for fair wages and treatment in freelance gig work and a passion for safe and healthy workplaces. Being an Equity councillor is an important part of her professional journey to better our industries.

Her creative credits include: Direction/Choreography for A Chorus Line, Choreography for Thunderor: The Musical, Kinky Boots, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hooked, Villains: An 80s Musical Cabaret, Cabaret, Direction for There Is No Maybe, Consent Talks, Intimacy Direction for EX-Change of Words, Kinky Boots. Film/TV includes: Murdoch Mysteries, Shoresy, Cross, Vicious, Mayor of Kingstown, Dark Side of the Ring, Deadly Deception and Pan American Games Opening Ceremony with Cirque du Soleil.

You can reach Kristen at kristenp@caea.com, or on Instagram @k.pepps if you enjoy memes about cats and Diet Coke.

Alexia Vassos (she/her) is an actor and writer currently based in the Greater Toronto Area. An alumna from the Theatre and Drama Studies joint program between the University of Toronto and Sheridan College, she holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and an Advanced Diploma in Acting. Since graduating, she’s appeared both on stage and screen in a variety of theatre productions, commercial campaigns and TV/film ventures. In her recent endeavours, Alexia has been able to combine her love of the arts with her passion for disability advocacy, moderating events, participating on panels and facilitating workshops that focus on accessibility within the industry and reflect her experiences as a Disabled artist.

Tahirih Vejdani is an actor, singer, and educator with more than 17 years of experience working in professional theatre across Canada. She has performed with companies including the Stratford Festival, Citadel Theatre, Catalyst Theatre, Grand Theatre, Theatre Aquarius, Capitol Theatre, Vertigo Theatre, Factory Theatre, Young People’s Theatre, Tarragon Theatre, Driftwood Theatre, and Globe Theatre. As an Equity Councillor, Tahirih is committed to thoughtful, transparent representation and to improving members’ working conditions. She has a particular interest in artist advocacy, education, workplace communication, and healthier organizational cultures. Tahirih is also a co-founder of Ground Floor Team, an artist-led organization dedicated to creating healthier, more human-centred ways of working and collaborating in theatre. Alongside her performance career, she teaches voice and musical theatre and is completing a master’s degree in vocal pedagogy.

Katelyn Morishita is a singer, actor and director that has worked across Canada. She was the Artistic Associate at Vertigo Theatre, before moving on to be the current Artistic Associate at Handsome Alice Theatre. Prior to her career in the arts she pursued her BA and ran her own small business.

She has served on multiple theatre boards and has acted and directed with Theatre Calgary, The Yukon Arts Centre/YTYP, Chemainus Theatre, Citadel Theatre, Alberta Theatre Projects, Calgary Philharmonic, Downstage Theatre, Verb Theatre, Handsome Alice Theatre, Tableau D’Hote, Rosebud Theatre, Carter Ryan Productions, Green Fools and others.

Katelyn ran for Council because she believes in Equity and she believes that with effort, strategy and passion great things can be implemented and we as a unit can continue to grow, promote and maintain healthy rooms and make change happen.

Myra is a career stage manager for both opera and drama. Opera companies include Toronto Operetta Theatre, Tapestry Opera, Opera Hamilton, Pacific Opera Victoria, Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Opera Lyra and The Banff Centre. Theatre companies worked with include the Foster Festival, Grand Theatre, Citadel Theatre, Watermark Theatre and both the Stratford and Shaw Festivals.

Myra holds an MFA in Stage Directing from York University and a MA in Theatre History from the University of Toronto and has taught both Stage Management and Theatre History at the post-secondary level.

A veteran stage manager of theatre, dance, and opera, I am a graduate of Studio 58. I was also a Western Business Rep for Equity, working in the Western Office from 1996 to 2006. I have seen and done a lot, including theatre, dance, opera, developmental work, much TYA touring back and forth across the continent, a few years at the Vancouver Symphony, and worked with William Head on Stage, the theatre company of William Head Penitentiary on Vancouver Island. I bring a breadth and depth of knowledge, experience, and history to my work on Council.

If any of this resonates with you or piques your interest, please get in touch with me, I’d love to chat.

Henry Chen is a first-term councillor for the Western Opera region. He resides in Vancouver on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. Henry joined Equity as a performer in 2013 and sings primarily with Vancouver Opera. His career has taken him on many different stages across Canada performing in operas and concerts.

When not performing, Henry spends a lot of his free time birdwatching in marshlands and forests or looking for unusual antiques in strange markets. Some people have remarked that he lives his life as an 80-year-old pensioner.

Henry is delighted to be sharing his term on council with so many wonderful colleagues.