Acting Department welcomes New Instructors
The William Davis Centre for Actors' Study at VanArts is pleased to officially welcome (left to right) Dylan Neal, Brent Stait and Rob LaBelle as instructors to our acting students.
Dylan Neal is one of Canada's busiest working actors, with regular roles on 8 American series (Dawson's Creek, Smallville, Wild Roses, etc) and well over 60 recurring, guest star and leading roles in MOW's. His 20 years of experience in film & television bring a wealth of knowledge to his teaching. With the majority of his career spent in Los Angeles, Dylan has had the good fortune to study with some of the profession's biggest names, including Ivana Chubbuck and Lewis Smith.
Brent Stait has been acting in film, television and theater in Canada for the past 30 years. From X-Files to Mystery, Alaska, from serial killers to priests, Brent has performed a large number of character parts on film and stage. A graduate of Ryerson Theater School and Banff School of Fine Arts Master Class, Brent spent the first four years of his career doing theater at Stratford and surrounding areas before venturing into his numerous film & TV credits. He has been the recipient of a Tyrone Gutheri award, a Leo award, and has been nominated for a Genie.
Rob LaBelle has long served on our Advisory Board and is now also coming in to teach acting and scene study courses. A graduate of Brown University and NYU’s Graduate Program in Acting, Rob LaBelle has worked as an actor, director and producer in theatre, film and television for over 20 years. He worked on such early features from ground breaking director Todd Haynes as Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story and Poison. Rob has also worked with directors Barry Sonnenfeld, Harold Becker, Roland Joffe, Wes Craven, Bruce MacDonald, Roger Spottiswoode, Stan Douglas and Zack Snyder. He was nominated for a Gemini award for his work as Eddie Nambulous in First Wave, and a Leo Award for his starring role in The Burial Society. Rob has been the Executive in Charge of Television for Infinity Features (Saved, Capote) for several years, and is currently an Executive Producer on their TV series Mental (with Fox TV Studios). He has taught acting at Colorado College and UCLA’s Overseas Program (in Florence, Italy). Rob has also served on the Executive Boards of SAG, ACTRA and UBCP.
