Featured studio Alumni
The Singer's Theatre programs have helped produce successful singers across all genres of vocal performance, from opera to Broadway. The Studio teaches and mentors a methodology rooted in scientific and artistic excellence, to give students a solid foundation to prepare for their careers at the top of their field.
Bryanna Cuthill
Bryanna Cuthill
For HTA (Okotoks): West Side Story (Maria) For The Singer's Theatre (Kitchener/Waterloo): A Little Princess (Sara Crewe), In the Heights (Daniela) For Storybook Theatre (Calgary): Les Miserables (Eponine), MisCast (Robert from Company), Rent (Stephanie), Captain Louie (Violet), Peter Pan (Lost Boy Slightly) For Beyond Broadway (Edinburgh, Scotland): Fame (Violin Soloist / Dance Swing) Other: The Little Mermaid (Ursula), Evita (Evita), Hairspray (Motormouth Mabel), Pirates of Penzance (Ruth), The Pajama Game (Ensemble).
scott j. campbell
Broadway: Beautiful: A Carole King Story (Gerry Goffin), Jersey Boys (swing); National Tours: American Idiot (Tunny); Disney Cruises: Tarzan; Singer’s Theatre: Titanic (Barrett), Les Miserables (Marius)
Scott J. Campbell
Jamie Murray
Charlottetown Festival: Anne of Green Gables (US Anne), Mamma Mia (US Sophie), Jesus Christ Superstar
Stratford Festival: Something Rotten, La Cage Aux Folles, Oliver, The Music Man
Singer’s Theatre: A Tale of Two Cities
Jay McGill
North American Tour with Andrew Lloyd Webber's adaptation of The Wizard of Oz, playing Tin Man. Tony in West Side Story and Sky in Mamma Mia with RMRT, as well as Lt. Cable in South Pacific with ABT and Tommy in The Who's Tommy with RCMP. He is also proud to have worked at FlatRock Playhouse (the state theatre of North Carolina) playing Mr. Green in Clue the Musical.
T.V.: Wingin' It and The Latest Buzz, both on Family Channel, as well as Being Erica on CBC. He has also lent his voice to the animated series Paws and Tales, as well as Super Why (currently on PBS Kids and Netflix.)
Sarah DaSilva
Stratford Festival: The Sound of Music (Marta, US Greta), The Music Man (Amaryllis), Billy Elliot (swing).
Singer’s Theatre: Les Miserables, Junior Intensive
Film: Level 16, Ransom
Olivia de Jager
Meet Olivia de Jager, an alumni of The Singer’s Theatre, and performer/creative currently pursuing her dreams in New York City. We wanted to share her journey of moving to New York City as a Canadian in pursuit of the performing arts to shed some light on a seemingly daunting dream.
"Hi! My name is Olivia de Jager. I am originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, but I had the privilege of calling Kitchener-Waterloo home while working with The Singer’s Theatre the summer before college. I chose to attend the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) to begin my training because I knew New York was in my future, despite the complexities of moving there as a Canadian. I chose to do this during my Post secondary education because a student visa allowed me four years to make connections and prepare before applying for my O-1 Visa."
Olivia faced challenges, particularly with the onset of COVID-19 during her freshman year at AMDA, which shifted the theatre industry significantly. Despite setbacks, she completed her program and transitioned back to in-person auditions, and secured her first US-based contract, a Summer Stock in Illinois.
Summer stock is not as common in Canada, but she recalls it as the most fun and difficult three and a half months. She learned six different shows, constantly overlapping rehearsals of one and performances of another.
“It was a great start to my career, and if I’m honest a little misleading. I was so grateful to do such amazing shows and perform dream roles after just one audition but that isn’t the norm. Contracts end and back to the city I went."
It was time to really start auditioning. It’s tough but she had a fire under her knowing that in a year’s time she was going to be putting together a case for her O-1 Visa, also known as the “Extraordinary Talent” Visa. She would have to prove that she is an asset to the theatre community, so exposure and experience were vital.
She remembers her first callback in the city post-summer stock as a success, thinking ‘this is the next thing for sure’. Cut to two months later, she heard absolutely nothing but forever keeping up the ‘onto the next one’ mantra.
“I could talk forever on the importance of not taking each audition to heart but that is for another time.”
Two and a half months of auditioning to no avail. Constantly telling herself “one in every hundred” but was worried what she would have to show for it when it came time to apply for her visa. Come the end of November, suddenly she gets the email: “Are you still interested and available?” That first audition back in September that she had given up on is now a contract offer for a five month National Tour of a new Nickelodeon Musical.
This was certainly a career highlight, being an understudy/swing (and having the privilege to go on for all five of her tracks, sometimes with little to no notice), being vocal captain, and being entrusted to make several TV appearances to promote the show. It was a whirlwind, but as said before, contracts end. Back to the city, back to auditioning, and the looming O-1 Visa application.
“I use the word looming very purposefully. I had been in dozens of conversations about this part of my future since I started college, but the time had come. Juggling this, more auditions, more rejections, and some really big projects that didn’t quite pan out has not been easy, but it is not impossible. That is really the point of all this. Every rejection has been worth it and all successes have entirely overshadowed them. And if taken day by day, the Visa process is easier to swallow”
She is also grateful for the people who tackled this before her who had wisdom to share and now wants to be able to do that for others.
Olivia's journey exemplifies determination and resilience in pursuing her dreams in the competitive world of performing arts in New York City.
If you are a Canadian actor with dreams of working in the US, they don’t just have to be dreams. Feel free to reach out, Olivia would love to offer any insight or support she can, or just connect and have candid conversations.
@_oliviadejager // oliviadejager.com
Sebastian Javier
International pop singer and recording artist.