Jasmine White

Jasmine White

(she/her)
BFA Acting

Jasmine is a fourth year BFA Acting student from Calgary, AB. Her UBC credits include The Wolves (2023, Leora Morris), The Parliament of the Birds (2022, Camyar Chaichian), Coriolanus (2022, Tanya Mathivanan), directing the musical Mamma Mia! and co-writing/acting in the film Barstool.

What was one of the highlights of your UBC experience?

Learning how to play soccer for the production of The Wolves was an amazing experience. I have never been on a sports team before, so this felt like I was a part of one. I think it’s neat when we can integrate our character’s lives into our own.

What kind of creative work do you see yourself doing in the next few years?

I can see myself producing, preforming and directing art that moves me. Creating a production that brings joy to myself and others around me. I want to build art that is impactful and yet isn’t hard for every individual to relate to.

What is your dream role?

I think every role is a dream, as each character we get to embody brings a different kind of life.

Who is your favourite playwright?

My favourite playwrights are Daniel MacIvor, Hannah Moscovitch and Jackie Sibblies Drury. I couldn’t pick my favourite out of the three.

What are some of your special skills?

I’ve been singing since I was young in choirs and musical theatre. I also have this special ability to eat a whole bunch of sugar and not get sick from it.

Who would you most like to have dinner with?

My future self. Possibly on my death bed, which sounds dark, but I feel like we could joke around and talk about life.

Check out Jasmine’s work here:

Caylee Watrin

(she/her)
BFA Acting

Caylee is an actor and filmmaker from Abbotsford, BC. She is curious about blindspots in society and how storytelling can help illuminate them. Caylee is interested in acting, producing, and directing work that challenge form, engages with community, and prioritizes the quality of the process just as much as the product. She hopes her work can stir healthy discomfort and cultivate greater empathy and understanding between people.

What was one of the highlights of your UBC experience?

Being in a community with artists every day. Afternoons spent enveloped in the question “What is a voice?” as beams of light pour into the room.

What kind of creative work do you see yourself doing in the next few years?

I see myself growing with the city and learning from the incredibly diverse film and theatre artists already active in Canada. I want to produce and support works that centre marginalized voices and artists with neurological atypicality. As so little can be controlled in an acting career, I want to follow the intention to never stop growing as an actor, and to create opportunities for myself and other artists in my community.

What is your dream role?

I don’t have a dream role. Roles that impact me come up unexpectedly.

Who is your favourite playwright?

Sarah Ruhl

What are some of your special skills?

I can play the keyboard and sing. I can write and take pictures.

Who would you most like to have dinner with?

Sarah Bareilles

Check out Caylee’s work here:

Peihwen J. Tai

(she/her)
BFA Acting

Peihwen J. Tai is a Taiwanese-Canadian actor. A UBC alumni with a Japanese double-major, she’s acted in Taiwan and in Vancouver with SFU, UBC, Vancouver Fringe, and other independent artists. She was part of the residency at What Lab and performed/co-wrote/co-directed in a piece on Asian identities.

What was one of the highlights of your UBC experience?

Finding my own voice. If I hadn’t joined the acting program here at UBC, I would never have been able to find the courage in myself to create my own work and to put myself out their while (semi) confidently proclaiming to the world: I’m an actor.

What kind of creative work do you see yourself doing in the next few years?

I’ve started writing again after a six-year hiatus and will continue writing while working as an actor in theatre and film. I love projects with unique premises so that’s where I’m headed. An Asian-Willem-Dafoe indie darling of sorts, that’d be cool.

What is your dream role?

Anything as long as I can be in a scene with Steven Yeun or Tony Leung. That, or being in a slasher B-movie. (I actually have an idea for one that is set on the prairies. It’s sub-textually about the Asian model minority myth.)

Who is your favourite playwright?

I don’t have one but I watched The Humans by Stephen Karam with my partner recently and it completely destroyed me. It is such a minute depiction of life that hit home for me, especially how it made me think about my own up-bringing.

What are some of your special skills?

I’m terrifyingly good at making bird sounds now. Oh, and I cry. It’s very easy for me to cry—whether in a scene or not.

Who would you most like to have dinner with?

David Bowie. But that isn’t possible anymore (R.I.P. David). So, David Bowie’s hologram.

Check out Peihwen’s work here!

Nicole Smith

(she/her)
BFA Acting

Nicole is excited to explore performance creation in Vancouver and her home city of Toronto. Other training: VAS; AADA (NYC). For UBC: The Wolves (#11), The Parliament of the Birds (Duck), Coriolanus (Cominius), Naked Cinema: Barstool (Lindsay), Commedia: What’s Wrong With Frank? (Il Dottore).

What was one of the highlights of your UBC experience?

The Wolves was one of the most inspiring artistic experiences I have ever had. I learned an entirely new skill (soccer), helped build such a strong team with the cast and crew, and had immense amounts of fun doing it all.

What kind of creative work do you see yourself doing in the next few years?

I am interested in representing strong, feminist voices and narratives on both the stage and screen. I see myself continuing to learn and develop leadership skills within the industry, including a focus on directing and writing.

What is your dream role?

I’d love to play something fantastical—like a witch, vampire, superhero (or villain)… I think it would be creatively fulfilling to help build a world of more nuanced possibilities than our own.

Who is your favourite playwright?

I’m not sure I have a favourite, but lately I have been enjoying the works of Canadian artists Erin Shields and Karen Hines. I’ve also always been a huge Shakespeare nerd.

What are some of your special skills?

I like sailing, swimming, playing volleyball, and baking for other people because I’m good at it but I don’t like sugar.

Who would you most like to have dinner with?

Sarah Polley. She’s such an incredible multidisciplinary creator, spanning documentary, film, novel… I’m also interested in how her directing is challenging production standards & structures that have historically made the industry less accessible for women.

Check out Nicole’s work here:

Lauren Ordeman

she/her
BFA Acting

Lauren was born and raised in Vancouver, BC. A graduate of the UBC BFA Acting program she is grateful to have so many incredible credits. These include Coriolanus as Titus Lartius (UBC ’22), The Parliament of the Birds as Falcon (UBC ’22), The Wolves as #13 (UBC ’23), and Bar Stool as Frances (UBC ’23).

What was one of the highlights of your UBC experience?

The Wolves was a really special experience for me. It was the first time I had ever played a character that I felt was true to who I am as a person and it was amazing to have that ease and trust in my work.

What kind of creative work do you see yourself doing in the next few years?

I want to do more film acting. There is a certain energy with a film that I resonate with and want to explore more as my career continues forward.

What is your dream role?

My dream role is a young female character that speaks the truth and has strength. I have struggled to find young female characters who I find authentic and I know they are out there so when I come across that character, I want to honour the female story.

Who is your favourite playwright?

My favourite playwright is Daniel MacIvor. His words create such tragic, funny and compelling stories.

What are some of your special skills?

My special skills are all genres of dance, art, cooking (especially pasta dishes) and having good taste in music (at least I think so:)).

Who would you most like to have dinner with?

My Grandpa who passed away before I was born. My mom speaks about him with such emotion and I would do anything to meet him and hear the stories of his days as an English teacher/rugby player/newspaper columnist and actor.

Check out Lauren’s work here:

Kristi McQuade

she/her
BFA Actor

Kristi is a Calgary-born actor who found her love for acting at 12 years old. For UBC: The Parliament of the Birds (Hoopoe), The Birds (Eagle), Coriolanus (Various Roles). Select credits: Dirty Laundry: The Next Generation Improv (Lunchbox Theatre), Into the Woods (StoryBook Theatre), Family Law (CW).

What was one of the highlights of your UBC experience?

My highlight was simply being surrounded by my classmates and collaborating. I found so much of what I learned throughout the last 4 years was through watching my peers, their processes and learning from them so I am entirely grateful for their art.

What kind of creative work do you see yourself doing in the next few years?

I have gotten the opportunity to dip my toes into motion capture work so I would love to continue exploring that. I will also be getting my diploma in fashion design and styling for film/TV here in Vancouver! Thrilled to explore work on camera and off!

What is your dream role?

My dream role would be a character in The White Lotus or American Horror Story. I love series where every season is completely different with complex and unique characters.

Who is your favourite playwright?

At this very moment, Alice Birch. I cannot stop reading her plays right now as her writing style is so captivating, open-ended, and creative.

What are some of your special skills?

My special skill is being able to do a great rendition of the White Lotus theme song with my voice…sounds exactly the same.

Who would you most like to have dinner with?

My Grandma! She absolutely loved seeing shows I was involved in growing up, even if they were terribly bad. It would be cool to show her what I have achieved since.

Check out Kristi’s work here:

Social/link to other work:

Adriana McKinnon

she/her
BFA Acting

Adriana is a UBC BFA student double-majoring in Acting and Film Studies. Adriana has been a published author since 2015. With UBC, Adriana performed in Coriolanus (Virgilia), The Parliament of the Birds (Sparrow), The Wolves (#46), The Festivities(Merchutkina), and Barstool (Brielle).

What was one of the highlights of your UBC experience?

Performing as Virgilia in Shakespeare’s Coriolanus was an absolutely magical experience. Getting to play one of Shakespeare’s strong female characters was not only the highlight of my UBC experience, but also the highlight of my life.

What kind of creative work do you see yourself doing in the next few years?

I see myself stepping into the worlds of a variety of characters. Living in the world of a character is one of my favourite things about acting, and it’s something I look forward to with each role I play.

What is your dream role?

My dream role is to play Elphaba in the musical Wicked. As the Wicked Witch of the West, she is an often-misunderstood character, and I would enjoy telling the story of Oz from her perspective. Plus, I would love to get to sing Defying Gravity!

Your favourite playwright?

I can’t name just one favourite! Every playwright tells their stories in their own unique way, and I think that is incredibly special.

Your special skills?

I have several years of professional singing training. I also have fourteen years of dance training in the styles of ballet (including pointe work), musical theatre, variety stage, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, and hip hop.

Who would you most like to have dinner with?

My mother when she was my age

Check out Adriana’s work here:

Sera Jorgensen

she/her
BFA Acting

Sera is excited by real-life stories. After her degree, she hopes to explore ethical theatre practices that reduce the exploitation of the body, mind, and soul of the artist by promoting self-determination and actualization. Sera is driven by a desire to leave the industry better than it was found.

What was one of the highlights of your UBC experience?

Working on our Naked Cinema project—creating a feature film by devising and improvising with our cohort.

What kind of creative work do you see yourself doing in the next few years?

Mostly devised and experimental works.

What is your dream role?

Director

Who is your favourite playwright?

Christine Quintana

What are some of your special skills?

Spanish, improv, yoga, stage combat

Who would you most like to have dinner with?

Gord Downie

Check out Sera’s work here:

Air Dayman

(she/they)
BFA Acting

Air Dayman hails from Estevan, SK. She has been in the short film Barstool (Lorelai) and the theatre productions The Wolves (#7), The Parliament of the Birds (Pigeon), Coriolanus (Ensemble), What’s Wrong With Frank? (Veronique), 937 (Elise), Footloose (Ariel) and School of Rock (Summer).

What was one of the highlights of your UBC experience?

A highlight of my UBC experience was getting to do Naked Cinema with the memorable and charismatic Tom Scholte. I fell in love with Dogma 95 films and found a passion for the unknown and discoverable moments in film.

What kind of creative work do you see yourself doing in the next few years?

I see myself working on female centred projects and those that tell stories of girlhood and womanhood. I think there’s a want and need for shows showing women living full and complete lives and having conflicts outside of romantic relationships.

What is your dream role?

My dream role is Jane Doe/ Penny from Ride the Cyclone. Being from Saskatchewan I was immediately drawn to the play, and her haunting ballad give me chills every time I listen to it.

Who is your favourite playwright?

My favourite playwright is Beth Henley, who wrote Crimes of the Heart. The play is so chaotic yet beautiful and I see pieces of every woman I’ve ever met in each of the sisters.

What are some of your special skills?

I have boxing and close quarter combat training, as well as basic stage combat actor training in unarmed and sword. I also have a very flexible spine (think Samara from The Ring) which comes in handy for stories needing contortion!

Who would you most like to have dinner with?

I would most like to have dinner with the street artist Banksy. Their commentative work is simple and easy to view but holds so many emotions and years of thought and frustration with the general public; I would love to pick their brain.

Christian Billet

(he/him)
BFA Acting

Christian Billet is a fourth-year BFA actor from Vancouver. He always had a love for performance art in high school but has more recently become fond of motion capture performance, clowning, and physical comedy. Christian hopes to eventually put on a show of his own and share his love of comedy.

What was one of the highlights of your UBC experience?

One of my highlights would have to be my cohort’s Commedia dell’Arte show last year. It was such a delight to collaborate with Susan Bertoia and my class to develop a show that was so wacky. Playing Arlecchino was so fun and I hope to play them again.

What kind of creative work do you see yourself doing in the next few years?

I’ve been focusing my time this year on discovering my own skill set and what I love to make. I’d love to keep exploring motion capture performance, which combines both my loves of technology and acting. I’m also working on developing my own show!

What is your dream role?

It’s always been a dream of mine to be in a Marvel movie. I would say Spiderman, but Tom Holland kind of beat me to it. I grew up watching Marvel movies and would love the challenge of performing in an environment that requires a strong imagination.

What are some of your special skills?

I have previous experience as a drummer and a hip-hop/break-dancer, though haven’t been back to drumming with a band for a while. I spend the little free time I do have creating 3D art and designs, which I use my 3D printer to bring to reality.

Who would you most like to have dinner with?

I would love to have dinner with Kendrick Lamar, as I love rap music and think Kendrick has influenced the genre in such a creative and beautiful way. If Kendrick is busy, then I’d love to meet comedian Bobby Lee.