Railtown Actors Studio

10/03/2026

The next round of our 2026 classes are open for registration!

Start dates:
(full class details on website)

Oct 16 - Voice & breath for the Actor
Oct 20 - Audition Process (on camera)
Oct 28 - Wed Foundations Scene Study
Nov 2 - Scene Study with John Murphy
Nov 7 - Sat Shakespeare Scene Study
Nov 8 - Sundays Acting in Film
Nov 10 - Scene Study w/ Kathy Duborg
Nov 15 - Sunday Scene Study w/ Brian
Nov 16 - Monday Scene Study w/ Brian
Nov 19 - Thursday Acting in Film
Nov 24 - Audition Process (on camera)

Play Reading series details on website

Grab your spot in class or be placed on a waitlist if full.
New students please check our website for interview process & details.

**Stay tuned for our January 2027 classes posting on our website soon.

08/13/2026

Today we welcome Daniel Bacon back to our teaching staff. And a NEW CLASS!

AUDITION TECHNIQUE: BEYOND THE BREAKDOWN:
Learn to make clear, compelling choices beyond the character breakdown and stage directions while finding greater freedom and enjoyment in the audition process. Develop a repeatable approach that allows you to work with confidence, make personal choices and deliver grounded, authentic work.
The class will explore the essential elements of a strong audition, including text analysis, blocking, eyelines and the fundamentals of on-camera technique.
Students will work with sides from contemporary television series and movies, many of which have filmed here in Vancouver.

ABOUT DANIEL BACON
Over the past 30 years, Daniel has built an impressive résumé of more than 160 film and television credits and over 20 theatre credits. Selected screen credits include leading roles in Toxic Skies, Secrets of a Marine’s Wife and Steven Spielberg’s The BFG, as well as recent guest-starring roles in The Irrational, Motherland and The Good Doctor. He has also appeared in more than 35 Hallmark movies.
Selected theatre credits include Shapoor in the Western Canadian premiere of Counter Offence at the Firehall Arts Centre, Jeremy in Coronation Voyage at the Belfry Theatre and Mickey in Hurlyburly with the Lyric Theatre Project.
Daniel has worked extensively as an audition reader for more than 12 years with casting directors including Clark & Page, Mayers & Brandstatter and Michelle Allen. His professionalism and strong reading skills have earned him an excellent reputation within the industry.
For more than 20 years, Daniel has taught audition technique to hundreds of actors and continues to value the collaborative process. He is thrilled to return to Railtown, where he studied and also taught more than 14 years ago.

“I’ve known Daniel in many capacities, as my student, as a teacher at Railtown, an actor we were lucky enough to hire on a tv movie I produced and finally as a peer and friend. His integrity and honesty both in life and for the work is what has always drawn me to him, and I couldn’t be happier to have him back in the Railtown family.” - John Cassini

08/12/2026

Our Summer with Shakespeare six-week class came to a glorious finish last night.

We are thrilled to announce that we are making Shakespeare Scene Study a part of our regular curriculum.

Our next round, Saturday with Shakespeare, begins in September and currently has a waitlist available. We also have openings for our November session.

You can find all upcoming fall class information on our website.

AND STAY TUNED for another New Class announcement soon!

07/25/2026

Go Devyn!

Vancouver stunt performer Devyn Dalton doubled Matt Damon in one of the key sequences in Christopher Nolan's blockbuster The Odyssey, earning praise for her performance — and for having ‘the greatest arms’ Damon has ever seen.

07/16/2026

Today we celebrate Railtown Actors Studio’s 14 year anniversary!

Kismet that we marked the occasion by hosting a reading of “The Truth and Darers”, a compelling new play by Shanti Harris, which will premiere at this year’s Fringe Festival.

Much love and appreciation for all those who have come through our doors over the years, our dedicated teachers,and the community we’ve all built. ❤️🎭

07/07/2026

We’ve added a Voice Intensive this summer! The feedback has been incredible in how it’s freeing up actors instruments!
2 day intensive. August 6 & 7
10am to 2pm
All of our classes details on our website. Link in bio.

05/28/2026

New! Summer with Shakespeare!
Tuesday evenings, 6pm to 10pm
July 7th to August 21st

We are thrilled to announce our first Shakespeare Scene Study class this summer on Tuesday evenings and welcome the highly accomplished John Murphy to our teaching staff.

The goal of this class is to learn how to make Shakespeare understandable to a contemporary audience, honouring the verse while still sounding natural. To demystify Shakespeare and learn to soar with it rather than be intimidated by it.

John will lead exploration in several disciplines: the musicality of the language and integrating that with the characters intention; how do characters use rhetoric to achieve their objectives; how is character intrinsically connected to the words they use and how they use them. Within script analysis, how does Shakespeare’s language combine action, character objectives, relationships, setting, theme and exposition all at the same time. Various dictionary tools will be utilized to uncover the meaning of archaic words and phrases, translating Shakespearean language into modern language. Students will understand exactly what characters are saying, making the material more relatable.

By the final class session, everyone will act in a fully realized scene and a monologue.

John Murphy has been acting in Shakespeare’s plays for 40 years. He has played Benedict, Petruchio, Hotspur, Bolingbroke, Jaques, Macduff, Kent, and countless others. He adapted and directed Much Ado About Nothing and Measure for Measure for Bard on the Beach, and Ben Jonson’s Volpone for United players.

Most recently, John directed Kenneth Lonergan’s “This is Our Youth” through the Railtown Lab, cast with Railtown Students.

John has acted in over a hundred plays and directed thirty. John is also active in film and TV. He has co-starred with Bradley Whitford in Valley of the Boom and was a recurring guest star with Matthew Broderick in Painkiller.

John is currently creating a one-man Hamlet show that he will tour across Canada in 2028.

All of our classes info on our website. Link in bio

04/01/2026

Closer
by Patrick Marber

with
Calvin Carbonell & Ali Yassine


.

See link in bio for all remaining 2026 class details and registration.

03/31/2026

Lovers and Other Strangers
By Renee Taylor and Joseph Bologna

with
Brenda Abley & David Facey


.

See link in bio for all class details and registration.

03/27/2026

All 2026 classes are open for registration.

•Scene Study
•Acting in Film.
•Weekly Voice Class & One Day Voice workshop
•One Day Improv for the Actor workshop.
•Monthly Play Reading series.

*More Extreme State of Being workshops coming soon.

Full details on our website. Link in bio.