ABOUT

Who We Are
Staff & Teaching Artists
Board of Directors

Staff &
Teaching Artists

NICOLE
STRAWBRIDGE

Founding Artistic Director

Director/Choreographer:
Musical Theatre Stages
Company + Young Company
Young Performers Camp (YPC)
Summer Intensives

Nicole (she/her) started training in classical voice at the young age of 7. After completing her voice exams with the Royal Conservatory of Music, Nicole contemplated auditioning for Opera Performance programs or Musical Theatre. Ultimately, her passion led her down the musical theatre path and she ended up studying at the Randolph College for the Performing Arts.

Favourite stage credits include: Heidi in [title of show], Catherine in Pippin, Narrator in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Miss Honey in Matilda, Johanna in Sweeney Todd, Julia in The Wedding Singer, the title role in Mary Poppins, Serena in Legally Blonde, Laurey Williams in OKLAHOMA!, Cosette in Les Miserables, Sarah Brown in Guys & Dolls, Natalie Haller/Ed in All Shook Up, Maria in West Side Story, Sister Mary Leo in Nunsense II, Audrey in Little Shop Of Horrors, Jo March in Little Women and Serena Katz in FAME! The Musical.

It's a dream come true for Nicole to be able to share her knowledge and passion with young artists, preparing them for the crazy world we call theatre!

COLIN FROTTEN

Executive Director

Musical Director:
Company + Young Company
Young Performers Camp (YPC)
Summer Intensives

Private Voice + Coaching

Originally from Nova Scotia, Colin (he/him) is a pianist, tenor, music director, vocal coach and educator. He performs regularly throughout Ontario and in the Atlantic provinces and has an active piano/voice studio. Colin also works as the Programs and Communications Manager with Choral Canada.

Favourite operatic roles include Camille in The Merry Widow and the title role in Händel's Acis and Galatea (Maritime Concert Opera), Don Basilio/Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro (Opera York), and Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni (Opera by Request). Recent musical theatre credits include Anthony in Sweeney Todd (First Act Productions), and George in The Wedding Singer (Curtain Call Players). MD highlights: Dogfight (First Act Productions, 2019), and with FAYC: Theory of Relativity (2020), Edges (2021), and The Mad Ones (2024).

Colin looks forward to working with FAYC students and helping to propel the organization into a new generation!

BENJAMIN CONROY

Technical Director

Director/Choreographer:
Musical Theatre Stages
Company + Young Company
Young Performers Camp (YPC)
Summer Intensives

Benjamin (he/him) is a First Act Youth Company alumni and is excited to now be a part of the staff as Technical Director. Benjamin first collaborated with FAYC completing a high school co-op program. He attended the specialized arts program at O’Neill C.V.I. while also taking voice lessons and participating in many productions at First Act. Prior to that Benjamin took 2 years of intensive dance training at Hoofers Performing Arts in Oshawa, ON.

In 2019, Benjamin moved to Victoria, BC to continue his post secondary studies at the Canadian College of Performing Arts where he spent his days studying acting, dancing and singing. While absolutely loving studying away from home, he was always eager and excited to come back during school breaks to share his knowledge and passion with the young artists at FAYC. Now that he is officially a graduate of the program, he is excited to continue his work with these incredible young artists as both theatre technician and director/choreographer.

SABRINA BORDONARO

Teaching Artist

Director + Choreographer:
Musical Theatre Stages

Scenic Painter

Sabrina (they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist who thrives off all things creative and theatrical! Once a student with First Act Youth Company, they continued to pursue a career in the performing arts, having gone to Randolph College for the Performing Arts and graduated in 2019. Some performing credits include Little Shop of Horrors (Audrey, FAYC), More Light (ensemble, RCPA), City of Angels (ensemble, RCPA), Sugar Rush (wandering performer, Epilepsy Toronto), Holiday Fair in the Square (wandering performer, Epilepsy Toronto), and North Pole Light Up Express (Peppermint, York-Durham Heritage Railway).

Wanting a new challenge and to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes of live events, Sabrina went on to study theatre production at Humber Polytechnic, specializing in scenic paint, and recently graduated in the spring of 2026. You may have seen some of their paint work here at First Act! Paint credits include Nebula Dawn Escape Room (scenic painter, Humber), TomorrowLove (head scenic painter, Humber), Disney’s Descendants (head scenic painter, FAYC), Ride the Cyclone (head scenic painter, FAYC), and Jagged Little Pill (featured scenic paint work, FAYC).

Throughout it all, Sabrina also continued with their other passion as a teacher/instructor. They got their start as an educator here at First Act back when they were only 17 years old in 2016 to 2018. They were also an assistant dance instructor with First Position Dance Academy, a theatre camp counselor with Annex Children's Theatre in Education, a private vocal instructor with Beethoven at Home, and most recently a music teacher with Making Music Together.

Sabrina is so incredibly thrilled to be back instructing where it all started at their second home of First Act Youth Company!

LILY SILVERWOOD

2026-2027 Apprentice

Classroom Assistant:
Musical Theatre Stages

Assistant Stage Manager
2026-2027 Young Company

Lily is thrilled to be a part of FAYC’s team this year! She has been performing since she was 12, and has always had a passion for theatre. She joined FAYC in 2024, and has appeared on stage for many cabarets, recitals, and musicals, including Hadestown (Persephone), Ride The Cyclone (Mischa), and Jagged Little Pill (Ensemble). Other theatre credits include Beetlejuice (Delia), and Legally Blonde (Serena). Lily is currently in Grade 12 at Port Perry High School, where she performs in the school’s rock band (Rebel Rebel) as their lead singer.

She is incredibly grateful for the guidance that the FAYC team has provided over the last few years, and is excited to continue her journey in this new and exciting experience.

We regularly invite guest teaching artists who are currently working in the industry to offer workshops in various disciplines.

Some of our past artists include:

Guest Teaching Artists

Interested in teaching a workshop?

We would love to hear from you!

Send us your ideas and let us know what you’re thinking. Get in touch with Artistic Director Nicole Strawbridge at nicole@firstactyouth .ca or give us a call at (905) 431-7164.

Staff & Teaching Artists

NICOLE STRAWBRIDGE