OUR TEAM
Mike Migliara
Founder, Artistic Director
Instructor: Ottawa, Calgary
During his Casting Director career, Mike Migliara has worked with award-winning Directors and Producers for over 20 years including George Clooney, Denis Villeneuve, and Jim Donovan.
Born and raised in Montréal, QC, Mike began his career soon after receiving his Baccalaureate in Fine Arts from Concordia University.
Widely respected by many Canadian actors, talent agents and directors, Mike’s teaching techniques are unique as they draw upon his academic background in theatre and film while also incorporating his inside knowledge of the film industry and casting process. His in-depth knowledge of the casting process gives actors a comprehensive understanding of the skills needed to get the cast.
A member of the Casting Directors Society of Canada (CDSC), Mike has worked for many large production companies in Hollywood and Canada including Warner Bros, Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon, and Ubisoft. He has cast many Leads, Supporting and Principal roles in numerous feature films, TV series, video games, commercials and music videos.
Mike has privately coached Actors such as Michael Mando in Better Call Saul (TV series 2015-2022), Tim Rozon, playing Doc Holliday in Wynonna Earp (TV series 2016-2021), and Cindy Sampson from Private Eyes (TV series 2016-2021).
Karen Cliche
Instructor: Ottawa
Karen found her niche in powerful, intelligent and feminine characters with a memorable exuberance. She hopes to guide her students into understanding human behaviour, and aims to help guide them towards making stronger choices when creating a character.
Growing up as an army brat, Karen’s family was frequently posted to various countries worldwide, allowing her the opportunity to observe the human experience from a broad perspective. Her talents of observation and passion for the performing arts paired with a psychology degree, allow Karen to fine-tune her knowledge in human behaviour, furthering her abilities as a performer to flesh out the characters she creates.
During her more than 20-year acting career, Karen has played leading roles in 8 television series and 40 movies - landing one of her first acting roles in a Francis Ford Coppola film. Karen has also appeared in several comedies, one of which has been nominated for a Gemini Award in Comedy. As a well rounded actor, she also works a great deal in the commercial market, lending her voice to radio and TV.
Shawn Baichoo
Murph Hickey
Shawn Baichoo
Instructor: Ottawa
Specialty: Stage Combat, Motion Capture, Voice and Screen
Shawn has been a professional working actor for over 20 years and aspires to teach his students the power of physicality and movement when on-camera and how much more emphasis it can give your performance.
Holding a black belt in Shotokan Karate, Shawn studied with ‘Fight Directors Canada’ in 1999 after completing his theatre studies. He is a versatile performer, in whom producers trust to achieve the most highly rated projects. He has been cast in prominent speaking roles including Lead and Supporting roles and is acclaimed for his diversity and character work.
Shawn’s performance skills include theatre, camera, voice, stunts, movement capture and combat choreography. He’s worked on video game development such as Watchdogs 2, the Assassin’s Creed series, and many more. Shawn currently works as a Performing Arts and Stage Combat instructor, Combat Director, Stunt Designer and Consultant.
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Murph Hickey
Instructor: Ottawa
Driven by empathy, Murph seeks to guide her students towards creating compassionate artworks that touch people's hearts, regardless of the genre whether it be comedy, gritty drama or stylised genre work.
Passionate about theatre, cinema and literature, Murph has been a performing artist for over 16 years. Murph holds an Undergraduate Degree in acting with high distinction from the University of Ottawa, and a Master's Degree in Acting with high distinction from East15 Acting School, in London, UK (in conjunction with the University of Essex).
Murph’s lifelong nerdy dreams came true when she played Touchstone from “As You Like It” at the infamous Shakespeare’s Globe in 2019. Since her return to Canada, Murph has been working in film and television.
Instructor
Mike Migliara
Founder, Artistic Director
Karen Cliche
Karen Cliche
Instructor: Ottawa
In her professional acting career, of over 20 years, Karen Cliche has had leading roles in 8 television series and 40 films, including guest appearances. One of her first acting roles was in a Francis Ford Coppola film shooting in Australia and Hong Kong. She found her niche in playing strong, intelligent, female characters with memorable exuberance. Karen has also starred in several comedies, one of which has earned her a nomination for a Gemini Award in comedy performance for The Business (TV Series 2006-2007) .
In conjunction with her training in screen acting, Karen was an army brat. Her talent stems from observing many different cultures and countries around the world; watching many different personalities, experiences and situations. Academically, Karen studied psychology, which gives her strong precision in human behaviour, permitting her to make memorable choices in fleshing out her characters. Karen took some years off when she had her daughter, and now lives in Ottawa, ON.
Time and time again, she continues to thrive in the entertainment industry – booking substantiated roles: from being a member of the supporting cast, to large principals! In just the last 3 years, she has booked 5 lead roles & supporting cast. As well as working extensively in the commercial market – lending her voice to radio and TV!
Michelle Leblanc
Instructor: Ottawa
According to Michelle “knowledge is power”, which has fueled her pursuit of education and training. Michelle is a very well-rounded instructor who offers the benefit of variety and exploration.
Michelle LeBlanc has been an actor for over 20 years and has a well-rounded experience as a performer having worked on stage, on camera, and doing voice overs. Her post-secondary multidisciplinary education is a testament to her curiosity and love of learning. Inspired by her drive for knowledge in combination with a passion for the arts, Michelle attended the Acting Conservatory Program at the Ottawa Theatre School where she studied method acting techniques for several years. Through her keen desire to learn and absorb new techniques, Michelle learned voice techniques with John Stocker and various coaches. She’s received on-camera training with Michael Gordin Shore and has attended workshops hosted by notable Canadian Casting Directors including Ron Leach, Stephanie Gorin, Brian Levy and Gail Harvey.
As of today, Michelle has appeared in over 30 staged productions. She’s worked on films, television and as voice artist in over a dozen radio shows. She is the inaugural recipient of the Prix Rideau Emerging Artist Award.
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Michelle leblanc
Patrick bugby
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Patrick Bugby
Instructor: Ottawa
Patrick Bugby is a professional actor in the Ottawa and Perth theatre communities. He training is extensive in the theatre and in academia: Ottawa’s School of Speech and Drama, Algonquin’s Performance Arts Program, The Third Wall Academy.
Corry Burke
Instructor: Ottawa
With an unquenchable passion for performing, Corry brings an eclectic style to his teaching method and techniques, conveying the actors responsibility and emphasises creative collaboration.
Corry began his career with studies at the New Ottawa Repertory Theatre under the artistic direction of Paul Dervis. His skills as a performer evolved exponentially as he discovered the acting theory of selfless egoism. He felt compelled to pursue his education further by following the teachings of David Rottenberg , from the Actor’s Lab. There, Correy continued to flourish and acquired some of the most modern and practical techniques used by performing artists today.
As his expertise grew, Corry went on to appear in numerous stage productions off-Broadway, as well as films and television series appearances. Today, Corry has amalgamated over 25 years of experience as an actor and has been a part of the ACTRA union for 20 of those years.
Rodrigues A. Williams
Instructor
corry burke
Rodrigues A. Williams
Instructor: Ottawa & Calgary
Rod is a multi-talented writer and actor who’s worked alongside soap opera stars and television series regulars. Rod strives to teach his pupils how to have a powerful cinematic presence on screen.
Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Rod began his pursuit of the performing arts in 1993. Four years later, he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia in order to begin working in the film and television industry.
Once in Vancouver, Rod became a union actor through ACTRA. His career flourished as he began working with acclaimed co-stars such as Luke Perry, Malcolm Jamal-Warner, and Victoria Rowell. In 2011, Rod returned to Ottawa, Ontario to be closer to his family. Here, he has found great success performing regularly in Hallmark Christmas films and True Crime Docu-Dramas.
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daniel Garcia
Daniel Garcia
Instructor: Vancouver
Daniel has worked as a performer on an international level. Having worked in the US market, to the UK and Chinese Theater scene, his instructive abilities are grounded in pragmatic and inspiring skills needed to thrive in the industry.
Daniel began his career in the United States, graduating with a B.A. in Theater from UNT. Upon graduating, he worked on mainland China for 6 years as a series lead voice performer for an animated series and other major international production conglomerates. While in China, Daniel got hired by Disney World Family and became a resident Actor. He has also performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company in London, UK.
Daniel returned to North America, settling down temporarily in New York City, where he worked as a SAG-AFTRA member co-starting in many prominent American programs and continued his studies of the craft at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre. Daniel is now in Ottawa working as an ACTRA actor. When he’s not teaching with the SAA, he works on television and film productions shot in Ottawa or Toronto.
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Felipe Moura
Felipe Moura
Instructor: Ottawa
Felipe strives to help his students connect with their innermost selves, in order to unlock their full potential of expression and true soulful-freedom. In Felipe’s words ‘to be able to - little by little, uncover the raw human elements, live the experiences, and derive truth when breathing life into a character is a privilege’.
Felipe Moura is a multi-faceted Actor, Director, and Teacher with over 25 years of experience. Originally from Brazil, he began his career in the entertainment industry at the age of 15 as a Union actor. Nevertheless, he has always been interested in the creative endeavour of teaching and directing. By accompanying a student through the discovery of the human experience, Felipe found the reflective nature of the art of an actor to be a therapeutic process of self-discovery, and incredibly humbling.
Felipe served as a certified educator at the Stanislavsky Institute, a division within the Latin American Film Institute located in São Paulo, Brazil. There, he taught actors varied methodologies, including: Stanislavski's System, Meisner Technique, Adler Technique, Chekhov Technique, stage combat, and sensuality for film and television.
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Interested in joining our team?
Send your resume, reel, and other portfolio materials to mike@yourcasting.ca or contact us at info@yourcasting.ca.