Shalyn is a graduate of the Trinity Western University acting program with a BA in Theatre, and she has also trained with Vancouver's Arts Club Actors Intensive. Having spent her earlier years in Southern California and NYC before moving to Canada to live in Vancouver and now Toronto, she has carved a giant Zorro-style "Z" across North America. Shalyn's experience as a performer has ranged from Musical Theatre to Shakespeare and her interest lie in classical texts and new adaptations thereof.When not performing, she can be found with making friends with the nearest cat, sewing, knitting, or obsessively baking and force feeding others with it.
10 things about me...
I love to bake all the time. I will usually do an allergy check with you shortly after meeting to figure out what I can safely make for you as I will be showing up with baked goods in hand soon.
I thankfully overcame a lifelong severe allergy to cats so that I now happy live with one. I will chalk that up to sheer determination.
I was born in Southern California, relocated to NYC, moved to the Vancouver area for about a decade, and now live in Toronto. One big zig-zag across the continent.
I graduated high school at fourteen years old and then stayed out of school for six years before returning to university.
I will judge someone for misusing common Yiddish words.
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
I hate the smell of roses. This might mean I'm not human.
I have sewn or knitted approximately 60% of my wardrobe.
I am obsessed with Halloween. I start planning for the next one on Nov. 1st.
Being born on the 13th, I am staunchly anti-superstitious.
My absolute favorite Disney movie growing up was... Fantasia.
Since the lockdown began, putting a hold on gathering actors and crew together in one space, the pursuit of telling stories hasn’t ended. To date, here are the recordings of script readings I’ve been in:
I am honored, for a second year in a row, to be nominated by the critics of MyEntertainmentWorld.ca, this time for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Musical. In a lovely discussion I got to have with them for their Nominee Interview Series leading up to awards night, we got to look at some of my experience working as the first female to ever be cast in the role of Franz Liebkind in Mel Brook’: The Producers the Musical. You can read all of the article here!
It was a pleasure to sit down recently with Chelsea Dinsmore of myentertainmentworld.ca to discuss my nominated performance as Suzie in Omnium Gatherum, as well as a myriad of other topics. If you’d like to see our conversation, you can read the interview here.
So honored to start off this new year with a nomination for Outstanding Actress in Small Theatre by myentertainmentworld.ca for my performance as Suzie in Ominum Gatherum with Theatre By Committee back in September. That show meant a great deal to me personally and was a pleasure to be a part of that ensemble. Suzie was a whirlwind of a lady to play and it is a pleasure to look back in memories of that show.
Coming in September, I will be hosting a surreal dinner party as Suzie in Omnium Gatherum.
Omnium Gatherum
September 13-23 2017 | St. Luke’s Church 353 Sherbourne Street Toronto
Believing that lively, contentious debate is the heart and soul of a dinner party, a domestic artist and perfect hostess has invited an assortment of opinionated personalities to share a surreal meal. The guests at this exquisite feast of food and argument confront the global implications of September 11th and beyond in an urgent, impassioned and hilarious work that was a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize in Drama.
Written by Theresa Rebeck & Alexandra Gersten-Vassilaros
