VADA Instructors

Hans Potter is a professional actor, improviser and aspiring comic, who is able to combine his classical training with a sharp wit and sense of humour. He is an alumnus of the University of Alberta Drama program and spent many hours honing his craft on stage, before making the move to Vancouver to start work in the film and tv industry. Since then he has appeared in TV shows such as CW’s Legends of Tomorrow and films such as Bigfoot Country, Nutshells, and Camp Death 3D: The Final Summer.

Hans initially started out teaching Voice classes in our Diploma program. He possesses a wide variety of dialects in his repertoire and enjoys sharing his knowledge on how to acquire Standard American (as well as UK dialects) with his students.

Since his arrival, Hans has become involved in teaching additional classes, such as technical skills of working with camera, audition classes and is now overseeing our Youth Acting programs as well.

Hans is proud to bring decades worth of training and knowledge to the doors of VADA and looks forward to sharing his knowledge in developing the actors of tomorrow.

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Isaac Keoughan started his acting career in the theatre scene of Halifax, Nova Scotia in 2010. Within a year, he made the leap across the country to Vancouver to pursue his passion for TV and Film. After completing the Dramatic Arts Diploma Program at Vancouver Academy of Dramatic Arts in March 2012, Isaac quickly found himself busy doing numerous film projects and performing onstage once again.

Isaac was a cast member of a traveling theatre troupe, Justice Theatre, for seven consecutive seasons, performing throughout the lower mainland, as far north as Yellowknife, NWT, and as far east as Saskatoon, SK. Consistent onstage performances allowed Isaac to practically apply various methods, techniques, and theories of acting and performing, as well as refining and honing his own creative process.

Onscreen, Isaac has appeared in television shows such as Rogue, Man in the High Castle, and When Calls the Heart. Isaac has been honoured with receiving a UBCP/ACTRA award nomination as Best Emerging Performer for his performance in DC’s Legends of Tomorrow as notorious gangster, Al Capone.

Eternally devoted to advancing his skills, Isaac has assisted in casting, sound recording, producing, and directing across numerous projects. His most recent foray into a new medium has led Isaac to complete six months of dedicated formal education to develop his vocal range and learn the technical skills required for voiceover and dubbing in animation and video games.

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Joel Semande is a Canadian-born actor originally from a suburb in LaSalle, Ontario. The youngest of two children, he began acting in a middle school, where he took an improvisation class. As a shy child, Joel found improvisation provided an avenue to express himself and refine his craft.

Joel is passionate about education and successfully completed a Psychology Degree at
University of Windsor and later moved to Vancouver to pursue a career in acting and is also involved in peer counselling and fitness coaching.

Joel quickly found his feet in the industry after landing a role as international pop superstar, Joey Lockhart on Disney’s 16 Wishes. This led to opportunities on shows such as Supernatural, Continuum, R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce and You Me Her. He also landed guest star roles on CW’s Arrow, The Flash and minor roles on Lucifer and Prison Break.

Joel teaches as a substitute instructor in our Diploma program, part-time evening courses as well as our Summer Break Acting Camps. Utilizing his degree in psychology, Joel brings a unique approach to teaching acting his students enjoy.

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Lee Shorten is a professional film, television and theatre actor, writer, director and producer.

Lee grew up and was raised in Tamworth, Australia, by his adoptive parents Merv and Judy. He graduated from Law School (University of Newcastle) in 2009 and worked as lawyer for several years before he decided to pursue a career as an actor.

While Lee is best known for playing Sergeant Yoshida on Amazon’s ‘The Man in the High Castle’ and Walt Yoshida on AMC’s ‘The Terror: Infamy’, he has also guest starred on ‘Van Helsing’ as Master Tsui, a role specifically written for him by the Van Helsing team and recurred as on ‘Supernatural’ as a fan favourite Demon.

In 2018, Lee made his directorial debut with the award winning Ultra Short ‘J’adoube’. This was soon followed up by ‘Parabola’, a 2019 production which Lee wrote and directed.

Lee has been nominated for a Jessie Award, for his portrayal of Jung in Pacific Theatre’s production of ‘Kim’s Convenience’.

Lee is committed to telling inclusive stories and continues to be a strong advocate for representation.

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Madison Smith (aka Mado) is a Canadian born actor raised in Northern BC. He completed our Dramatic Arts Program Diploma in 2011 and has been racking up the credits ever since.

Madison got his start in a 2012 TV movie titled A Mother’s Nightmare and this was soon followed up with several smaller roles in a number of hit TV series shot in Vancouver including; Motive, Cult, Psych, Supernatural, DC Legends of Tomorrow.

His big break came when he landed the recurring role of Roy Sampson in Hallmark’s When Calls the Heart. This lead to his involvement in a number of Hallmark productions as well as recurring roles in Aftermath, Valley of the Boom and Salvation. More recently Madison has landed roles on Netflix’s Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and The Order.

Madison will be revisiting his lead role as Aiden Webb in Season 2 of NarcoLeap, a role for which he received a 2018 Leo Award Nomination for “Best Performance by a Male in a Web Series”.

Madison received two 2020 Leo Award Nominations and won for “Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Television Movie” for Hallmark’s Write Before Christmas. He also shares a Canadian Cinematography Award for “Best Horror Film” for The Color Rose.

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Marie V. Sharp grew up in Nanaimo, BC and moved to Vancouver in 2009 to pursue her acting career. She completed the Acting for Stage and Screen Program at Capilano University in 2012 and has been working as a professional actor ever since.

Marie has been very involved with acting, producing, writing and casting a number of films. She has recently voiced multiple roles in a few upcoming children series, and has numerous films on the festival circuit.

Marie received a 2016 Leo Award Nomination for “Best Performance by a Female in a Short Drama” for her role as Kelly in Kids Who Jump Off Bridges. She also shared a “Best of the Fest” Award at the 2019 Full Bloom Film Festival and “Best International Dramatic Feature” at the Fort Worth Indie Film Showcase for the feature film What We Don’t Say. In 2020 she received a “Best Performance” nomination in the Lift Off Film Festival for her performance in the webseries Sugar.

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