John Muggleton / Artistic Director

John, the Artistic Director at OAS, has enjoyed a career spanning more than three decades as an award winning actor, director, producer, and playwright. His credentials include memberships in ACTRA, the Canadian Actors' Equity Association, and the Playwrights Guild of Canada. With a background as a teacher at the Ottawa School of Speech & Drama, the Ottawa Acting Company, Act Ottawa, as well as through private workshops in schools and theatres, John is deeply committed to nurturing a passion for acting in his students. 

Tim Progosh is an award-winning actor, director, and producer with a professional career spanning four decades. with over 70 film and Television credits as well as having appeared in over 100 commercials, Tim has written and produced hundreds of hours of broadcast television shows and toured as a stand-up comic and sketch comedy director and performer. An honours graduate in drama from the University of Western Ontario, Tim also studied with The Second City and the National Film Board. His production company, Higher Ground Productions, has won six Canadian Country Music awards for best television production and he has been nominated for six Gemini awards. 

Mary is the former Executive Director of GNAG (Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group) and has worked at the Glebe Community Centre for over 30 years. As well as having been a  summer camp instructor for all those years, she also founded GNAG Theatre in 2002 and since then has produced and choreographed several musicals including Oliver, The Sound of Music, Fiddler On The Roof, A Christmas Carol, Chitty Chitty Bang! Bang!, and Anne of Green Gables, to name a few. 

Murph Hickey is an actress who has been performing and making art since 2006. She has an Undergraduate Degree in Acting with Distinction from the University of Ottawa. She has a Master's Degree in Acting with High Distinction from East15 Acting School.

Murph is driven by empathy and seeks to create art that touches peoples' hearts, be it through comedy, gritty drama and/or stylized genre work.

Murph is dedicated to supporting those struggling with mental health issues. After losing someone close to her, she knows first hand just how important it is to be mindful of mental health. Her aim is to be a kind and uplifting person in the workplace, and a relatable and inspiring person on the screen.

Murph also pushes to improve accessibility for the Deaf and disabled community both as creators and consumers. She is hard-of-hearing herself, having been born with only one ear. While she is culturally Hearing (English first language) she is on a journey of self discovery to connect better with her Deaf side.

Rick  Wharton is a Second City Toronto alumnus performing with both the touring company and under study for main-stage productions. For five years The Imagination Station viewers  enjoyed Rick's character “The Conspiracy Guy” which was nominated in 2002 for Best Male Performance for the Canadian Comedy Awards. Rick was nominated again in 2006 for best male improvisor at the Canadian Comedy Awards. Rick was also the winner of TMN'S Standup “The Next Jerry Seinfeld” Award. Wharton's concept touring show, The Canadian Comic Witness Protection Program showcases not only Rick but other Canadian comedians who perform both improv and standup. National television commercials have included Nicorette, UPS, Sprint, Wheel of Fortune, McDonald's, Coca Cola, Ford, Wal-mart, Visine, Leons, Cheerios . 

Laurel is a theatre producer, director, playwright, teacher and performer with an MA in Drama from the University of Toronto’s Graduate Centre for the Study of Drama, an MBA in Arts and Media Administration from York University (Dean’s List), a degree in music and opera performance from Wilfrid Laurier University, and theatre training at the Banff School of Fine Arts and the Drama Studio in London, England.  Laurel has adjudicated for the ACT-CO Festival, the London One-Act Play Festival, the Mississauga Arts Awards, the EODL One-Act Play Festival, QUONTA Festival and the Meadowvale Music Theatre Awards.  She has taught at Brock University, and facilitated many theatre training workshops. In 2008, Laurel was selected to be part of the Shaw Festival Directors’ Project. Laurel is the Artistic Producer of Burning Passions Theatre and the former Artistic Director of the Classic Theatre Festival.

Allison attended The American Academy Of Dramatic Arts (Los Angeles, California), where she spent two years studying theatre. Following graduation she was asked to join the Academy Company, and in collaboration with nine other actors, enjoyed a challenging and rewarding third year performing theatre. She finished her formal education at Pasadena City College, majoring in creative writing. This combination of schooling provided her with an Associate Degree in Theatre Arts, and has enabled her to strike a fine balance of working both in front of, and behind a camera.

Sophia is passionate and enthusiastic and has devoted much of her life to her love of Theatre Arts. After spending many years growing up in different community and school plays, she moved on to get a diploma of Theatre Arts at Fanshawe College, in London, Ontario. There she was given extensive training in dance, singing and different theatrical forms, such as Shakespearean literature and musicals. In 2008 she was awarded in a Trinity College Program for a play done with the Ottawa School of Speech and Drama. Her most recent performances during her time at Fanshawe Collages we her roles in Macbeth and You Can’t Take it with You. Sophia is a firm believer that each person has there own unique and wonderful story to tell. It has always been a dream of hers to work with people, both young and older, to find there voice. It is important for her to create a safe space for all where people can play to there strengths and be the most authentic and free version of themselves. 

Shaun is an Actor, Director and Educator with 30+ years of experience in professional and community theatre. He is the co-founder of the highly successful Orpheus Summer Theatre Camps and has taught acting and musical theatre at The Ottawa Children's Theatre, The Acting Company, The Ottawa Little Theatre and The Ottawa School of Speech and Drama. As an actor he has appeared in numerous productions for various companies including his award-winning role as Max in The Producers, Alan Turing in Breaking The Code and Ned Weeks in The Normal Heart. He also directed productions of Mamma Mia, Grease and Pricilla Queen of the Desert. He is an educator with the Western Quebec School Board.

Venetia has a long list of credits and awards to her name, including most recently the Leonard Beaulne Memorial Trophy for Best Actress in a Major Role for Dead Accounts (2018) at the Eastern Ontario Drama League Awards. Since appearing as Marlafaye in TheSavannah Sipping Society (2019) and Rosemary in Outside Mullingar (2022), and dozens moe. Venetia has directed several shows, including most recently a production of Burn, which was taken to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023, and a co-direction of Murder on the Orient Express at the Ottawa Little Theatre in early 2024. As well, she is a board member at the Ottawa Little Theatre and is currently appearing as Grace in the award winning play An Act of Grace, which is also heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the largest theatre festival in the world.

Angela is a singer, actor, and voice teacher based in Richmond and Ottawa. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and Diploma in Opera from Wilfrid Laurier University. Her continued pursuit of education has brought her to Opera Nuova, St Andrews by the Sea, the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival in Italy, Queen of Puddings Music Theatre, and the Bel Canto Can Belto Workshop at Penn State University. She also holds Certifications in yoga and kids yoga, and most recently a Level 1 certification in Special Music Education from the Lotus Centre in Ottawa.

Upon graduating in 2008 from Bishop’s University with a degree in theatre, Joey moved to Vancouver, joining the High Horse Theatre Company, an indie company known for producing new Canadian works. Since moving to Ottawa, Joey has worked steadily in the Ottawa theatre scene. Recent acting credits include the role of Eve in Burn  at the Academy Theatre for the EODL Theatre Festival where she was awarded Best Actor. Other acting credits include Benita in Love and Human Remains (The Gladstone), Laurel in Torch Song Trilogy (TotoToo) Sylvie in Move Over Mrs. Markham (Ottawa Little Theatre) and Mary Bailey in It’s a Wonderful Life (Ottawa Little Theatre). Joey is also an English teacher and stand up comedian.