Our Creative Team
Creative Team and Teaching Artists
Who We Are
We keep our student-to-teacher ratio small so that the students get the personal attention and non-competitive environment they need to do their best. All of our incredible teaching artists are also professional actors, dancers, musicians and or artists, creating a fun environment with a serious edge.
Michal Weinfeld
Artistic Director
Founder of ACTE
Founder of ACTE
Michal’s first memory of being a part of the theatre experience was at the age of 5 when her mother took her to a production of Snow White. The dwarfs came singing down the aisle, filling the whole theatre with song. At that moment she knew that she too wanted to perform. Throughout her childhood, Michal performed in school plays and joined community drama classes. She continued to study drama at the arts high school in Ottawa and then moved to Montreal to obtain her BFA in Drama in Education from Concordia University. She moved to Toronto to pursue her acting career but enjoyed teaching so much that she decided to get her B.Ed. from the University of Toronto.
In 2003, Michal established ACTE.
She is always amazed with her students’ enthusiasm, confidence to share their unique strengths and their commitment to each other as they work together to put on a show. She has taught thousands of students from schools all across Toronto and Ontario.
Michal produces and co-directs all of the shows and has had the privilege of working and collaborating with talented instructors who are working professionally in their field and who are also top-rate teachers.
Michal lives in Toronto with her husband and two young children.
Joanna Kellam
Musical Director
Costume & Set Designer
Costume & Set Designer
Joanna is an artist, musician, arts educator based in Toronto. She has been teaching at ACTE since 2017. This year Joanna will be co-musically directing Hercules, Mary Poppins, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and original works. Joanna also designs and builds our sets and props and sews costumes.
Joanna’s love for music and art began growing up in a musical family in Kingston and continued when she moved to Toronto to study musical theatre at Randolph College.
Joanna has musically directed, choregraphed and/or designed costumes and sets for many of the ACTE shows including: Once Upon a Fairytale, Little Mermaid, Shrek, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, James and the Giant Peach, Lion King, Journey to the Sun, Wicked, Beauty and the Beast, Aristocat, Annie, Frozen, Snow White Re-imagined, Jack and the Beanstalk – a Retelling, Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz, Anne of Green Gables and Matilda.
Joanna also teaches music with Rainbow Songs Foundation, is the Director of Programming with Scribble Me Silly – Art For Kids and hosts classical music concerts for kids and their grown-ups with Mooredale Concerts’ Music and Truffles and the Toronto Summer Music Festival.
When she is not teaching, she is often found crafting.
Brynn Bonne
Co-Director
Musical Director
Choreographer
Musical Director
Choreographer
Brynn is super excited to share her passion for musical theatre with our ACTE students. For the last two summers at ACTE camp she co-musically directed Sound of Music, Harry Potter, Matilda, The Little Mermaid and Shrek. This school year Brynn is choregraphing and co-directing Hercules, Mary Poppins and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Brynn is a musical theatre performer with a lot of passion for the arts, especially arts education for kids. She recently graduated from the University of Toronto/Sheridan College theatre and drama studies program with a minor in English and Education. During her time at UofT, she performed in various pieces, both student directed and with guest directors from the Toronto theatre scene, (favourite credits include Everybody, Tartuffe, The Rocky Horror Show, and Falsettos), but she also expanded her skills to costume design, directing, writing, and acting as the vice president of the UofT Drama Coalition.
Brynn grew up in Toronto and started performing as a kid. She loves sharing her passion for theatre, music and dance with her ACTE students.
Katherine Wilson
Co-Director
Katherine is an arts educator hailing from Vernon, B.C. She teaches voice, voice-overs, art and dance across the GTA and Canada. Aside from teaching she pursues her vocal career and can be seen performing all over Toronto. She is currently working on her debut solo pop and folk infused rock album. For ACTE Katherine has choreographed two musicals – Annie and You’re A Good man Charlie Brown. She is looking forward to working with our budding artists and co-directing them in Mary Poppins and Hercules.
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