VADA Instructors

Eric Regimbald began his artistic journey in the small Southern Ontario Town of Guelph when, at the ripe old age of 13, he toured in theatre shows across the province. He followed that up with a 10 year stint in Toronto starring in countless stage shows such as: Uncle Vanya, Cyrano de Bergerac, Frankenstein, Noises Off, and Adam Rapp’s Blackbird, which he also produced. He went on to write and direct his own show Just the Ticket, which debuted in the 2010 Toronto Fringe Fest and tried his hand at directing once again with George F Walker’s Suburban Motel (2016 Vancouver Fringe Fest).

Eric has garnered success as a TV & Film actor and voice over artist with recent TV acting credits on series that include: Supergirl, Project Blue Book, NarcoLeap, iZombie, Millions, Motherland and Lost Ollie; and voice acting credits on countless TV & Web commercials, radio dramas, film and theatre over the past 22 years.

Eric’s interest in creating his own work spanned into film with his comedy short web series Van Damme Motors (now in its 2nd season.) Having travelled across Canada performing as a host, clown and a lumberjack, he now hopes to do it worldwide with his upcoming short horror film Patty Cake, set to debut in the 2022 festival circuit.

Eric has also found the time to pursue another of his passions, teaching drama to young people in both Ontario and BC. He is honoured and happy to lend his experience and knowledge of the craft to VADA with the hopes to guide and inspire actors with their own craft and empower them to sustain the love and drive for it all.

Jake joins the faculty of VADA Studios thrilled to be calling Vancouver his home. Jake was born and raised in Niagara Falls and is a graduate of Sheridan College’s Music Theatre Performance program. Jake’s visionary approach to musical stories for the screen has led to numerous successes: ‘Kristine & Kirstine’ with the Second City Conservatory, ‘BEFORE THEY WERE THEM: a musical short film’ (Winner of Festigious International Film Festival Los Angeles & New York Movie Awards), which aired nationwide via the CBC, currently streams internationally via the CBC GEM, and features the music & lyrics of Kevin Wong, alongside whose work Jake is the creator of the upcoming musical-short-anthology-miniseries ’The Next BIG Thing!’

Jake’s direction for the stage has showcased at the University of British Columbia, the Highlands Summer Festival and Sheridan College, where he also returns as an alumnus guest lecturer. He has also worked alongside celebrated industry actors/coaches Dean Armstrong and Salvatore Antonio in his time with Armstrong Acting Studios in Toronto.

As an actor, notable credits include Star Trek Beyond (Paramount), Designated Survivor (Netflix), Eat, Drink & Be Married (ReelOne), REIGN (the CW), Love In Store (Hallmark), Murdoch Mysteries (Shafestbury), The Sunshine Boys (Highlands Summer Festival), Spring Awakening (Sheridan College) and CMTP/Original Workshop Casts of the Tony-Nominated, smash-hit Broadway musical Come From Away.

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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