Stephanie Jones splits her time between the Niagara Region of Canada, Toronto and New York. She is an actor, playwright, Artistic Director and theatre educator.   She is the founding Artistic Director of The Essential Collective Theatre (Artistic Director Emerita, ECT): a Niagara based theatre company committed to the creation and production of new Canadian work.  In Toronto, Stephanie studied improvisation (Alan Guttman) and Scene study (Baumander, Reiss, and Uta Hagen) before her introduction to the Meisner Technique through Jacqueline McClintock. Stephanie established the Niagara Region’s only Meisner training program for emerging actors. In 2010, she was presented with the YWCA’s Women of Distinction award and received the 2014 St. Catharines Established Artist Award. She is an acting instructor at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater, and follows Sanford Meisner's original outline.  She also teaches Acting with Meisner Technique at the Canadian Film Centre (August 2017 to present) in the Acting Conservatory.  She has toured across Canada with her workshops and is available upon request. 

Classes with Ms. Jones

Join Ms. Jones in one of her sessions!  Ms. Jones teaches truncated introductory workshops, as well as six-week intensive programs in both Canada and the United States.  Dedicated actors who are committed to working on their craft in an in-depth way, are invited to apply.  Both concentrated focus and behavioural freedom will be the basis of practice. For a list of scheduled classes, click on the Upcoming Sessions page.  All actors please expect an initial screening process. 

Mindset

"I believe that every actor contains the creative tools they need to be a good actor.  It is about dedicated practice.  The right coach will help you practice, allowing what is inherently within you to be explored through behaviour.  I have been privileged to be an actor, and be able to share my own practice and experiences through this work.  I have been mentored by teachers with decades of training to give me a keen outside eye, and the rules of a wonderful series of exercises that are simply that - practice exercises.   I help your practice and your impulses shine through the art of acting. Whether you are brand new to acting, or a veteran, every actor needs a safe space to practice both freedom and focus. I am grateful to help provide that space.”