VANESSA LYNN RANCOURT
Vanessa Lynn Rancourt is an entrepreneur, director and actress who has made a notable impact in the Montreal entertainment industry. In 2016, she founded House of Actors and has transformed it into a thriving hub where emerging talent can hone their craft and forge valuable connections with influential figures in the industry.
Vanessa has had the opportunity to perform in Los Angeles, captivating audiences consisting of agents, directors, producers, and esteemed casting directors such as APRIL WEBSTER, CAA, WME, UTA, MARK CANTON, KENNY ORTEGA, among many others.
In 2021, she made her directorial debut with the short film Her Face, Her Body, earning recognition as a finalist in the Best First Time Director category at the Vancouver Independent Film Festival. Her talent and vision were further acknowledged with nominations for Best Directing and Best Canadian Film at the Yes, Let’s Make A Movie Film Festival for her short film The Bullet Within Us.
Her commitment to nurturing emerging talent and fostering meaningful connections underscores her unwavering passion for elevating the artistic community.
SCOTTY GANNON
Scotty has over thirty years of experience as an actor, director, producer, and theatre artist and almost twenty years as an acting coach and teacher in the Atlanta market. He has an MFA from The University of Georgia and a BFA in Drama. As an actor, he has credits in regional and touring theatre, film, television, commercials, and industrials. As a director, he focuses on devised projects and is passionate about producing short films examining under-served experiences.
Actors Scotty that Scotty has coached have booked roles for major motion pictures, national and regional commercials, HBO, CBS, NBC, Tyler Perry, Discovery Channel, ID Network, Netflix, and countless independent films and theatre productions. He was a 2018 Teaching Artist at Atlanta’s Tony Award-Winning Alliance Theatre and is a member of The National Alliance of Acting Teachers and iACT, the International Acting Coach Union.
ALEX BIRO
Alex Biro is a multidisciplinary artist whose world revolves around film and music.
He is an actor, director and composer who is deeply inspired by method characterization, Alex is obsessed with pushing the boundaries in his work making him an ideal role model as a teacher.
Inspired by actors such as Daniel Day Lewis, Johnny Depp and Paul Dano, Biro brings a unique philosophical approach to not only acting but to life in general.
As personable as he is peculiar, Alex’s approach to any situation makes him a good addition to the family. This lovable shapeshifter doesn’t let only school hours dictate being there to our student members.
SONIA CLARKE
Sonia is a Choreographer/Dance teacher. Vibrant, creative and knowledgeable, Sonia is very enthusiastic about being the “in house” dance reference.
From Montreal, Sonia is a graduate of “Les Grands Ballets Canadiens” where she teaches today. She has studied dance in France, London, New York and L.A. She has performed and choreographed for many different publics and events over the years which makes her a prized addition to the already successful team.
She will be overseeing all movement and dance training for the artists coming through The House of Actors training program. Her vision is that a strong actor is someone who knows themselves on all facets including their strengths and weaknesses.
BRAM LEVINSON
Bram is a guide, pure and simple. With an in-born connection to deeper meaning and spirituality, Bram began his career teaching yoga and writing, and quickly found himself immersed in studies ranging from mindfulness to meditation, Hinduism to psychology. He is known for teaching yoga and meditation, but those are just the guises under which people come to his offerings. What happens in those offerings is something else. Yes, yoga, meditation, and mindfulness occur, but something else happens to inform those practices. That something else is what matters: spirituality, meaning, connection, purpose, expansion…massive energetic shifts and exchanges, all from simply being together in the spirit of community, inquiry and curiosity. Bram is happy to accompany the acting students during their journey at House of Actors.
ANANA RYDVALD
Originally from Denmark, Anana first came to Montreal to study at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens at the age of 12. She later trained as an actress and mask artist in both Europe and Canada and eventually worked as an actress with the renowned Scandinavian Theatre group Cantabile 2, creating site-specific performances around the world. Some highlights in film have included working with directors Ari Aster, Darren Aranofksy and Mathieu Kassovitz. With her own company, Level 4 Theatre, she has written and performed three solo shows. She has won two Montreal English Theatre Awards (METAs) for Outstanding Lead Performance for her lead in Love, Child and The Sighlence of Sky, and one META for Outstanding Independent Production for her play The Sighlence of Sky. She has taught acting, mime and mask work at numerous schools such as Cirque du Soleil, Sheela Bal Bhavan in India and the School of Stage Arts in Denmark. She loves working as an actress in film and television, doing voice and mo-cap work, and coaching actors for film and theatre. www.ananarydvald.com
JAMES MCGEE
James McGee is a Montreal-based actor and performer. As an instructor, James has been leading improv classes and workshops for a variety of performance schools, organizations and community groups since 2013.
As a performer, James has appeared in a number of shows at the Just For Laughs Festival. He is also a seasoned solo performer, with his one-person shows “Look At This Guy” (2015 Montreal Fringe Festival) and “Le Merveilleux and Marvelous World de Bonhomme Caramel” (2016 SOLOS Festival) being listed in the Montreal Gazette as top theatre productions of 2015 and 2016, respectively.
In 2018, his show “SCUM FM” was the recipient of two Frankie Awards, as part of the 2018 Montreal Fringe Festival.
Since 2021, James has been a proud part of House of Actors, working alongside the talented staff, while introducing the concepts and benefits of improv to the skilled and enthusiastic students who step through the doors!
NANCY HELMS
Nancy Helms, member of ACTRA, Equity and UDA is a dialect and voice coach, theatre director, stage and screen actor, voice-over artist and opera and music theatre performer who taught at Banff Arts Centre, in the Department of Theatre at Concordia University, and ART in Boston (American Repertory Theatre). She coached film and television performers: Hiro Sanada (Helix I, II), Gerard Butler (300), Penelope Cruz (Noel), Kit Harington (The Death and Life of JFD), and a number of Cirque du Soleil performers as well as journalists and reporters at CTV.