Meet The Team
Kodi is a performing artist with over 20 years experience in live performance. They are originally from Australia and have been working for MCT since 2023. Kodi loves to help young people express themself, grow their confidence and find their own unique performance style. Kodi grew up doing musical theatre and has since directed, organised and produced countless multidisciplinary arts events, tours and music festivals. Kodi writes for their 9 piece band 'Kodivine'.
Hannah Surette is a queer emerging artist in the dance community of Tiohtià:ke/Mooniyang/Montreal. Throughout her training she has worked with artists such as Brittney Canda, Kyra Jean Green, Alisia Pobega, Holly Grecko and Virginie Brunelle. Alongside Clara Chemtov, she is co-artistic director of the contemporary dance collective Projet Ambidanse who presented their first full-length work, Everything But the Kitchen Sink, winner of the Juror’s choice award at ON THE EDGE Fringe, in 2023. Her practice is rooted in collaboration and somatic approaches to movement. As well as working as a performer and choreographer, Hannah explores dance through teaching and has taught kids aged 2-16 to bring diverse practices and styles, including ballet, jazz and contemporary, to her community. Currently, Hannah is finishing her bachelor’s degree in dance at UQAM where she learns from Caroline Laurin-Beaucage, Ivannie Aubin-Malo, Brianna Lombardo, Kelly Keenan, Helen Simard and many others.
Joseph-Salvatore Vitale is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC. He is the creator of the queer and bilingual theatre troupe Queer Magique, whose second show Queer Broadway won Best Cabaret Performance in the 2023 BroadwayWorld Montreal Awards. He has performed in several Full Circle Productions Cabarets and many have seen him playing Ralph Wiley in Contact Theatre's Reefer Madness. He was also Nick Bottom in Côte Saint-Luc Dramatic Society's Something Rotten. When he’s not performing in musical theatre, he is at home cooking delicious vegan food for his fiancé Simon, continuing to work sur son français, and spoiling his cats Ostara and Osiris.
Li Ming is à Montréal based fiber artist who’s been working in the industry since 2016. She has a BFA from Concordia University. Li’s main interests are costume design, sewing, crochet and carpet making.
Sahana Dunkley, born and raised in Montreal, is a student of Environmental Science whose passion for musical theatre has never left her. She began her musical journey at the young age of 7 at Montreal Children’s theatre by performing in a multitude of shows during the school’s summer and year-long programs. As an alumni of MCT, Sahana went on to play leading roles in various musicals throughout high school and continued with vocal training for several years. Additionally, she has enjoyed her years of work as a counsellor and dance teacher/choreographer for kids of all ages. She also continues to compete internationally as a championship-level Irish dancer. Sahana has a deep appreciation for music, dance, community, performance and imagination of the animated world of children’s theatre.
Daniel is a theatre creator, animator, teacher, learner and aspiring everything. Daniel is the great grandchild of a cinema owner and an apple farmer. The grandchild of nurses and quilt makers. The child of teachers and talkers. The sibling of brilliant hearted adults. And the parent of a joy ball. Daniel’s family left Ireland and France many years ago to find the great southern land, Gadigal Land, Wiradujuri land. Daniel grew up on the land of the Gadigal People of the Eora Nation (Sydney, Australia), surrounded by sun stroked skin, salt water and big Christmas feasts. Daniel completed a Bachelor's Degree in Theatre making at the Australian Institute of Music, but inherited big boisterous storytelling from his community. Daniel moved to unceded Kanien’kehá:ka land, Tio’tia:ke (Montréal) for love. Since arriving here, Daniel has worked with young people to make theatre, teach theatre, perform theatre and more. Daniel has worked in this capacity with the Segal Centre, Geordie Theatre, the ELAN Artists Inspire Project, the LEARN I Belong Project, The Montreal Children's Theatre, The Vancouver International Children's Festival and others. In 2019, Daniel co-founded a theatre collective, Young Hearts Theatre, which looks to tell stories for the young and young at heart. We follow a story to where it needs to go. Outside. Into a cave. Using puppets. Singing loud.
Jenny Rizzo is honored to be the Artistic Director of the Musical Theatre Department for The Montreal Children's Theatre, a school which holds a very special place in her heart! Originally from New York, Jenny is a multifaceted performer and theatre educator. Holding a B.F.A. in Music Theater from The Hartt School (University of Hartford), Jenny also studied Classical Voice and Musical Theatre Development at the Manhattan School of Music, and has been performing since she could stand! When not teaching she works as a vocalist, dancer, actor, harpist, and director in Montreal and along the U.S. East Coast. Jenny is a director and music director for the Segal Center Academy, musical theatre instructor at Danse123!, acting and musical theatre workshop instructor for Geordie Theatre School, and has their own private music studio based in NDG.
The Montréal Children’s theatre has so much to offer the children in both the afterschool program and the summer camp program. For the last three summers Antoinette offers children a space to explore their creativity by making and building art and props for their plays. This could be anything from a giant phone, a magical tree to a brick house. The story is the main guide and she helps the children bring some of the key items to life for the final performances at camp. Antoinette feels it is a joy to work with all the talented children that come to MCT and to work with all the other teachers.
Jake Cohen is a Montreal born and based performer and teacher. Since graduating from the theatre program at Dawson College in 2020, he has taught theatre with companies such as Montreal Children's Theatre, Segal Academy, and Geordie Theatre School, as well as numerous elementary and high schools across Montreal. He is deeply passionate about theatre education as a way of encouraging self-expression among young people, and allowing them to discover their capacity for teamwork, empathy and play! When not teaching, you can find Jake studying at the National Theatre School of Canada, working as a performer on stages across the city, or drinking hot chocolate and performing Shakespeare for no one in particular.