Sarah Magni – Artistic Director
Sarah has spent the majority of her life on the stage and has an extensive background in all types of performing arts. Sarah studied classical music with top vocal coaches and competed and flourished in vocal competitions from a young age. She performed for the Conservative Party of Canada and with the Toronto Philharmonic Orchestra. She later shifted gears and went on to study Musical Theatre in New York City at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy and The New School University (BFA Musical Theatre). Additionally, She studied and performed improv at the acclaimed Upright Citizen’s Brigade in NYC.
In New York City she performed in an Off-Off Broadway sketch comedy show and a tour with the Theatre Rehabilitation for Youth. She was a main puppeteer and performer in a number of NYC’s Shadow Box Theatre’s productions.
Sarah’s exploration of the arts led her to pen her one woman show, Stamped: A Story About Daniel, who Happens to have Autism that premiered at the Toronto Fringe Festival July 2012 and received rave reviews. From there, Sarah’s solo show was later performed for 500 4th year nursing students at Ryerson University and for the Autism Ontario National Conference. Sarah’s show most recently had a run at the legendary Kraine Theatre in New York City for Autism Awareness Month. Following the show’s success, Sarah had the great honour of being invited to speak on a panel at City College New York for their highly regarded Theatre Education program about theatre and disability.
She was a resident performer, singer and puppeteer with the world renowned Famous PEOPLE Players.
On top of being an actor herself Sarah has taught and been the director of many children’s theatre year round and Summer programs at the Vaughan City Playhouse, throughout the City of Vaughan and the City of Toronto. After noticing a huge gap in theatre training she realized that what was missing was a place for students to learn how to grow as artists, truly harness their skills and put them to use outside of the program. This led her to found Thatz Showbiz, bringing Broadway-class training to Vaughan. She has a firm belief in theatre as a tool to heal, educate and empower. Please feel free to visit:
- www.sarahmagni.com
for more information.
Hayden Finkelshtain – Assistant Director
Hayden is a graduate of Ryerson University’s Performance Acting program. Past theatre credits include: Sweeney Todd: In Concert (First Act Productions); Flooded (North America); The Importance of Being Earnest(Ravenous Theatre); Blue Remembered Hills (Good Old Neon Theatre); Titus Andronicus (Seven Siblings Theatre Company); Counting Sheep: A Guerrilla Folk Opera (Summerworks/Hot Feat Productions); and Genesis and Other Stories (Aim For the Tangent Theatre/Toronto Fringe). Aside from theatre, Hayden can be heard Nikola Tesla and Z3 in Super Science Friends (an animation by Tinman Creative Studios), he recurs on Duotang Chesterfield’s Mystery Theatre Podcast, and he can be seen as ‘Stomach’ in the web series Belushi’s Toilet. Hayden has worked on various short film projects and has been featured (both vocally and physically) in commercials for Oh Henry! Canada, Nickelodeon, Pop Secret, and Cineplex Entertainment. Hayden is currently working on a children’s animation with Skyship Entertainment that is set for release at the end of 2018.
Michelle Fox – Choreographer and Program Coordinator

Athena Babayan – Soprano
Athena will charm her way into the hearts of many as she performs the role of Rosina in the Summer Opera Lyric Theatre’s production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.This past December, she received The Sustaining Members Scholarship from the ARIAS Foundation, and coached with Sandra Horst in preparation for the ARIAS concert in Walter Hall. She most recently performed the role of Blondchen in Opera By Request’s production of Mozart’s Die Entführung auf dem Serail in February of 2012 as well as The Queen of the Night in The Glenn Gould School’s production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, in December 2011.Athena participated in The Vianden International Music Festival, which took place in Luxembourg. There she coached with Semyon Rozin, Simon Pettite and Nicolas Muni among other distinguished performers and teachers. She won the Concerto Competition at York University in the third year of her degree, where she performed Rossini’s “Una voce poco fa” from The Barber of Seville, under the baton of internationally renowned violinist and former concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Jacques Israelievitch.
For the past four years Athena has been singing with the acclaimed Ottawa Bach Choir, as a choir member and soloist. In December of 2008 she went to Mexico City, and in June 2009 she went on a European tour including J.S. Bach’s own Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany, Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, England, and most notably Notre Dame in Paris, France, among other distinguished venues. In May of 2011, she went to New York City to perform at various venues, including Carnegie Hall.
Athena is currently in her second year of the Artists Diploma Program at The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory where she received the Ruby Mercer Por Scholarship in 2011. She graduated from Cardinal Carter Academy for the Arts Secondary School with Honors. She has completed both Grade Ten level in voice and the Grade Eight level in piano at The Royal Conservatory of Music with First Class Honors. She has graduated from York University Faculty with a BFA in Music Performance. She received an Entrance Scholarship and The York University Talent Award.
Kat Langdon – Music Specialist

Michael Daneluzzi – Technical Director

Laura Pugliese – Wardrobe Supervisor
