Photo by Martin Dee / UBC Brand & Marketing
UBC Theatre and Film is proud to recognize our Class of Spring 2025 graduates. They have grown into remarkable artists, practitioners and scholars, and into even more inspiring members of our greater Theatre and Film community. We are thrilled to celebrate their achievements today, and we cannot wait to see what they do next!
Message from Dr. Kirsty Johnston, Head of the Department of Theatre and Film
To the multi-talented, creative, and inspiring class of 2025 Department of Theatre Film graduates:
Congratulations on your achievement!
Graduation is a significant threshold of change in your lives. At this moment of transition, it is important to celebrate the many challenges overcome, ideas learned and generated, skills gained, talents refined, and friendships made. None of this has been easy, but then nothing worthwhile ever is.
Many of you will have commenced your studies during the unprecedented learning conditions of the global pandemic. You demonstrated resilience and creativity in keeping the spark of artistic inquiry, scholarship and performance alive during this challenging time. You also learned new ways of working, communicating and analyzing in a rapidly changing world. That capacity to shift and be flexible when facing challenges will be a tremendous asset in the years to come; so too will be the knowledge that you have acquired alongside your well-honed capacity to acquire and share knowledge. You have become ever better at learning how to learn. You have not done so alone, but through partnership with your colleagues, in discussion with professors and instructors, and, critically, through the power of theatre, film and performance. Our scholarly and artistic disciplines are collaborative, and in your future lives, we hope that you will lead many new and innovative collaborations in the Arts and beyond. Your perspectives, wisdom and talents have never been more needed.
As you step into this next chapter, please remember that our relationship doesn’t end here. You are joining a talented and highly successful group of people—UBC Theatre and Film alumni whose regular connection and involvement with the department is vital for our collective success. We are proud of our graduates and hope to showcase your achievements now and in the future. So please stay in touch, lend us a hand, and set forth to remake the Arts and the broader world for the better. We can’t wait to see what you will accomplish next!
Sending our warmest congratulations to you and those who love and support you,
Dr. Kirsty Johnston
Undergraduate
Daisha Menzies (She/Her)
Daisha is an actor, producer, and writer. She is graduating with a major in Theatre Studies and a minor in German Studies. During her degree, she participated in numerous projects and festivals in Vancouver such as Run N Gun and Crazy 8's, among others. Currently, she is working as the team leader, lead producer, and actor in her own Run N Gun film this year, which is shot over 48 hours from May 16th to 18th, which is right before her convocation! This will be her third year in a row doing this competition, but her first doing more than just acting. Next, she plans to write, produce, and act, with the hope of shooting some projects out in Los Angeles later this year!
Simon Auclair (He/Him)
Simon is a Vancouver-based actor born and raised in B.C. Recent theatre and film credits include: Mauler in Saint Joan of The Stockyards (UBC), Ryan in My Mother, The Zombie (Crazy 8s), Joey in Crip Club (pilot presentation, Bread and Better Films), Luke in The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (CTORA), Buddy in We Will Rock You (TUTS), Kirk in Goldfish (Naked Cinema X), and Lucas in Neuroplasticity (UBC Neurosciences Open Educational Resource). He loves his partner and family dearly and hopes to make them proud as he keeps practicing and learning this work.
Paula Goldie (She/Her)
Paula Goldie is a Chilean-Canadian actor, singer, dancer, and choreographer currently based out of Toronto and Vancouver. Recent theatre credits at UBC include: Away Uniform (Larisse Campbell), The Arsonists (Stephen Heatley), The Very Book Indeed (Moya O'Connell), and Tomorrowlove (Ming Hudson). Paula is also incredibly grateful to be the recipient of the Thea Koerner Memorial Scholarship. Her love for performance includes musical theatre, with appearances in: Puttin On the Glitz (Kempenfelt Community Players), “Jack” in Into the Woods (UBC MTT), and “Kristine” in A Chorus Line (UBC MTT). Screen credits include: I Woke Up A Vampire (Netflix), Circuit Breakers (Apple TV+) and The Coroner (CBC)
Madeleine Polak (She/Her)
Madeleine Polak is a queer theatre maker with a love for colour-coded spreadsheets, primarily working in costume design, stage management, and direction. Her work with UBC Theatre includes stage management for Concord Floral and costume design for The Festivities, Saint Joan of The Stockyards, and The Very Book Indeed. She is grateful for her time as a UBC Costume Shop Work Learn Assistant and as an intern at the Arts Club. She is the recipient of the Bill Millerd Award, the Angelica Camata Memorial Scholarship in Theatre and the Margaret Lawrence Scholarship in Arts. Recent creative endeavours include direction for UBC MTT’s Prom: The Musical and costume design for United Players’ An Ideal Husband.
Kai Wong (He/Him)
Kai is a queer interdisciplinary artist hailing from Hong Kong. He is delighted to be FINALLY graduating with a specialty in projection & lighting design. His passion for design spurs from the burning desire to create something that makes people feel. With a penchant for artistic detail in everything, he hopes to connect performer to artwork to audience with pieces that can be interactive and immersive for everyone. Outside of UBC, Kai is avidly involved in esports as an in-game cameraman and producer. In his free time he's drawing, dancing, or enjoying the company of his husband and their cat Minerva. As always, he'd like to thank Robert Gardiner for believing in him.
Vincie Lin (She/Her)
Vincie is graduating from UBC’s Theatre Production program. She has contributed to multiple mainstage productions and outside of theatre, she served as a Residence Advisor and Notion Campus Leader. Passionate about live production and event planning, she has organized over 50 events — from tech workshops and launch parties to industry networking nights. Her experience spans the Taipei Film Festival, Taipei Fringe Festival, and Vancouver Fashion Week. Recently, she received an entertainment internship offer from Disneyland, which she looks forward to starting soon. After graduation, she hopes to become an event planner, bringing people together through impactful and well-executed events!
Sam Cheng (She/Her)
Sam is a recent graduate from UBC Theatre Design and Production, specializing in Scenic Design, Lighting Design, and Technical Direction, and a minor in Creative Writing. Originally from Hong Kong, she is drawn to storytelling through the subtle, often overlooked details that shape the world around us. Sam is thrilled to be stepping into the next chapter of her creative journey behind the scenes, and is deeply grateful to the UBC faculty and staff for their support throughout her studies. Recent credits include: The Very Book Indeed (UBC Theatre) as Set Designer, The Last of the Pelican Daughters (UBC Theatre) as Lighting Designer, and The Watsons (VitalSpark Theatre) as Technical Director.
Yena Lee (She/Her)
Yena Lee is graduating with a major in Theatre Production & Design from UBC. She gained hands-on experience as a UAA for the scenic painting class and served as the Head Scenic Painter for multiple productions with United Players and Rain City Theatre, including The Last Wife, The Trip to Bountiful, Parade, Freedom of the City, and When We Were Singing. She also contributed to several UBC plays, further enriching her practical experience. With a strong passion for visual storytelling and collaborative creation, Yena looks forward to continuing her creative journey in theatre and beyond.
Elly Ich (She/Her)
Elly is a recent graduate of the UBC Theatre Production and Design program, with a focus on costume design. She is especially proud of her recent role as the costume designer for The Last of the Pelican Daughters. She is deeply grateful to the professors and staff who supported her learning along the way. Some notable awards she received include the Gaze Award, the Angelica Camata Memorial Scholarship, and the Faculty of Arts International Student Award. Hopefully, one day you will see her designing for a major theatre production or famous brand!
Stella Merkel (She/Her)
Stella Merkel is a creative producer from Toronto, Ontario. Throughout her time at UBC, she contributed as a key creative to projects such as Chrome (2024), Motherhood (2024), Amor Eterno (2025), and Drinking Liquorice at Night (2025). With a keen eye for insightful storytelling and a profound love for impassioned filmmaking, she has collaborated on a portfolio of emotionally resonant and visually striking projects. Stella’s next chapter takes her to Los Angeles, California, where she will pursue an MFA in Producing at UCLA, further honing her craft and expanding her knowledge within the vast world of film and television.
Joshua Brad-Lee Garrido (They/He)
Joshua Brad-Lee Garrido is a Filipino-Canadian filmmaker / interdisciplinary artist from Treaty 7, Mohkinstsis (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), currently residing in Vancouver, British Columbia. They have graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production from the University of British Columbia. Their first short film, Chrome, premiered as an honorable mention at the 2025 NYU Sports Film Festival. They are currently in post-production for their second short film, Amor Eterno. They extend all their love towards their friends and family, especially their partner and muse, Kathleen.
Francis Rogers (They/Them)
Francis is a mixed Albertan and Mexican filmmaker born and raised on Treaty 7 Territory in Calgary, Alberta. Having just completed their BFA in Film Production with a minor in Sociology, they gravitate towards directing, producing, screenwriting, editing, and camera operating music videos, experimental narratives, and non-fiction projects. They are also a radio show host, music copywriter, and work as a Podcast Program Assistant at CiTR 101.9FM.
Manan Choudhry (He/Him)
Manan Choudhry is a Vancouver-based producer and proud graduate of UBC’s Film Production program. Since joining Film UBC in 2020, he has contributed to a range of student and independent projects in roles including producing, sound, lighting, and on-set coordination. He is especially passionate about the collaborative nature of producing and enjoys guiding a project from concept to completion. Known for his strong organizational skills and calm presence on set, Manan aims to continue building stories that resonate while supporting creative teams with clarity and care.
Graduate
Liao Yi (He/Him)
A Mongolian-Chinese cinematographer and producer, Liao crafts visual narratives documenting disappearing cultural landscapes. His practice navigates two interconnected realms: the vanishing rituals of nomadic communities and the decaying relics of industrial China. His 2019 short film Xi Wu Zhu’er, an ethnographic portrait of grassland traditions, earned official selections at the Beijing International Film Festival and World Nomad Film Festival. Currently completing his graduate studies, his final project meditates on the lives of post-industrial working-class communities. Through 16mm film and digital archives, he traces the material remnants of factory towns, seeking to preserve embodied
While our congratulatory message extends to all of our 2025 graduates, this post only includes the profiles of students who have opted-in to be featured.
