About

At Expressions, students explore the world of film by learning that acting is a true art form.

Every day in our classes, words on a page are suddenly transformed into vibrant, layered and captivating characters. This is done by injecting creativity into everything we do! We also delve into improvisation skills, confidence building exercises, and emotional work. As you can see, acting at Expressions extends far beyond just “performance” and “getting parts”. These are life skills that will empower our students throughout their careers, education and relationships. What’s wonderful though, is that the learned skills are masked by the incredible amounts of fun we have! We spend our time re-creating scenes from TV shows and movies, participating in improv games, creating our own characters, and producing, writing and acting in our final film project, which by the way, gets shown in a real theatre!


The Instructors

Reena Shah

Reena Shah has been involved in the film industry for several years. After some preliminary training in high school Drama and Theatre at The University of Winnipeg, Reena decided to take professional acting classes at a local studio. It was here where she was given the opportunity to run the children’s division and her love for teaching emerged. After a couple years of managing the children’s division at Onalee Ames Film Studio, Reena decided to open her own studio for budding young artists. In September 2011, Expressions Film Studio officially opened its doors, offering professional acting classes for youth.

Reena is a fully certified ACTRA member (Alliance of Canadian Cinema Television and Radio Artists) and has trained with many notable acting coaches including, Ben Davis from the prestigious Ivana Chubbuck Studio in Los Angeles, Winnipeg director Sean Garrity, and Vancouver based acting coach Shea Hampton. She has appeared in several projects such as Don Cherry: Wrath of Grapes, Todd and the Book of Pure Evil, Euphoria, Beethoven's Christmas Adventure, Manitoba's Nurses Union Commercial, and most recently a web-based video for Manitoba Labour and Immigration. Reena is also involved in theatre and has appeared in a Sarasvàti Production play called Immigration Stories.  As a qualified acting instructor, who is also a self-proclaimed child at heart, Reena has the passion and the knowledge to train aspiring actors.


Samantha Walters

Samantha is a graduate of the Bachelor of Arts Honours Acting program at the University of Winnipeg and of Canada's National Voice Intensive, a five-week intensive actor training program in Vancouver, B.C. Samantha has appeared in several local stage and film productions over the past six years. Recent stage credits include Perfect Love (FemFest 2013),Outstanding Debts at The Highway Motel (Winnipeg Fringe), I Am Supergirl (IWW Cabaret of Monologues), and Immigration Stories (FemFest 2012). Film credits include This is Why We Fight (Prarie Kid Productions), The Trouble With Children(Electric Reel Productions), and Guy Maddin's silent film Seances. She is currently playing the role of Kate in a Winnipeg film series called The Book Club (Bent Kneck Films) and the role of Irina in Chekhov's Three Sisters as part of MTC's Master Playwrights Festival.

Samantha is passionate about continuing to learn and grow as an artist and is absolutely thrilled to be working with the team at Expressions! She believes that her teaching experience and passion for working with young children makes her a great asset to the team. Samantha is currently the Associate Producer for Sarasvàti Productions, a local not-for-profit theatre company dedicated to using art as a means to create social change.


Classroom étiquette 

At Expressions, we aim to foster a positive and inspiring atmosphere, where students feel safe and comfortable. Class etiquette is built on the expectation that all students support one another and respect one another. While students are performing, it is expected that their classmates are watching quietly. Similarly, if an instructor, guest speaker, or a student is talking, respectful listening will be expected by all students. Cell phones, snacks, ipods, and other distracting devices are not permitted during class time.