Meet Your Workshop Leaders

Gabriella Sundar Singh

Gabriella is an artist and educator. She trained from a young age in Bharathanatyam, classical piano, and singing. She holds a B.A.H. in Theatre Studies from the University of Guelph; completed her post-graduate studies at Centennial College in Children’s Media; is a graduate of the Acting Program at the National Theatre School of Canada (Montreal); and is currently pursuing her Master’s with the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies at the University of Toronto. She has spent five seasons as an actor at the Shaw Festival and works regularly in TV and film. Her work with young people has been in the capacity of educator, mentor, and coach through the City of Toronto’s Recreation programs, TiFF Kids, Shakespeare in Action, and the Shaw Festival’s Education and Outreach programming. Gabriella wishes to bridge the gap between text and embodiment in the drama classroom, by using the element of Play and understanding the impact that young people can have on the world when they feel engaged in the work.

Gabriella’s workshop focus: Choices We Make

When things don’t go according to plan, do you ever imagine the possible ways it could have played out? Imagining these possibilities is part of the creative process for actors and artists, and helps us understand why things play out the way they do. As a young person, Hamlet is presented with sensitive and impactful information that changes his life forever. What do we do with new information, when we know its impact could be great and even dangerous?

Cameron Grant

Cameron is a Brampton-based actor, playwright, theatre creator, artist educator, and the Artistic Director of Shakespeare in Action. As an actor, Cameron has performed in theatres across the country including the Grand Theatre (London), Persephone Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Soulpepper, Stratford Festival, four seasons at the Shaw Festival, Talk Is Free Theatre, Theatre Animal, Theatre Erindale, Secret Shakespeare Series, Canadian Rep Theatre, and Clay and Paper Theatre. He has assistant directed productions at Bard on The Beach, Factory Theatre and Theatre Erindale. His first play, Meet Chloe, a play that explores the challenges Black students face in the education system and the lack of Black curriculum content in the study of Canadian History, received its premiere at Carousel Players. Cameron also works as an artist educator and has developed and facilitated workshops for The City of Brampton Performing Arts, Theatre Direct, The Shaw Festival, The Rose Theatre, Suitcase In Point Theatre, in high schools across Ontario and at

Toronto Metropolitan University. He was the co-facilitator for the first cohort of the Heartbeats in Performing Arts program at the City of Brampton Performing Arts in 2021 and supported the program as a mentor in 2022. Cameron completed an internship in Artistic Leadership with the City of Brampton Performing Arts during the 2021/2022 season funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.

Cameron’s workshop focus: Hello Hamlet

Imagine you are a character in the play. While you may not know exactly what is going on with Hamlet, you too have a feeling something suspicious is going on at court. You suspect the late King’s mysterious death may have been a murder. You question the haste of King Claudius and Queen Gertrude’s marriage. You, like everyone else at court, wonder why Hamlet hasn’t yet been named the new King. As you are walking through the halls of the castle you see Hamlet and overhear him say… “To be or not to be…” How might you intervene to encourage or redirect Hamlet at this moment? Knowing the tragic outcome of the play, what would you say to Hamlet to change the course of his pursuit for revenge? Remember, what you say to Hamlet now could potentially save the lives of many!

Alexia Vassos

Alexia is an actor, writer and consultant currently based in Toronto. 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 (Amazon, PetSmart, McDonald’s) and TV/film ventures (Under the Christmas Tree, Pink Is In). In her recent endeavours, Alexia has been able to combine her love of the arts with her passion for disability advocacy, moderating events and facilitating workshops that feature disabled artists and focus on accessibility within the industry. Presently, Alexia is in the process of creating a solo show centered around growing up disabled in a family that overshares and a world that under-serves.

Alexia’s workshop focus: Living Language

Good morrow, students! I know at times theatre and specifically Shakespeare can seem so far removed from what is familiar to us in the here and now. We ditched Elizabethan English ages ago and our slang is constantly evolving, so it’s easy to question why we are still reading texts from a period of time that appears to be so different from how we exist today. The thing is, Shakespeare’s characters experience the same conflicts and emotions that we navigate today. Love, loss, euphoric happiness, and devastating tragedy, each of these states of being have been felt by myself, my family, my friends and I’m sure by you too at some point in your life. And so, students, I have a creative challenge for you to tackle!