Rising Stars: Humber Today Profiles Theatre Performance Grads

What a sight: four Theatre Performance grads on the cover of the Winter 2016 edition of Humber Today!

Giacomo Gianotti, Oyin Oladejo, Matt Murray and Sina Gilani, all grads from 2012, were profiled in the paper and we couldn't be prouder to call them our own.

Click here to view the PDF of the Winter 2016 edition of Humber Today, or read on for a copy of the article.

The graduating class of 2012’s Theatre Performance program are a talented bunch.

Giacomo Gianniotti was in the latest season of Grey’s Anatomy. Matt Murray is a regular on the ABC Family show Kevin from Work. And Oyin Oladejo and Sina Gilani are regulars on the Toronto theatre scene. Gilani is best known for his recent dramatic (and controversial) turn in the Buddies in Bad Times play The 20th of November. The one-man show features Gilani as school shooter Bastian Bosse. It’s based mainly on the 18-year-old’s blog entries, right until Nov. 20, 2006, when he shot 30 classmates and teachers in Germany.

“Acting is a craft,” says Gilani, who originally came to Canada from Iran to study physics. “It takes the rehearsal process to try and find your way into the character and the play. The collective of the artists working on the play helped get inside Bastian's world and his twisted psychology. It is called a one-person show, but it is not a one-person production.” The actor and playwright is currently working on touring his Summerworks-featured play In Case of Nothing, as well as two films and workshopping his new play Field of Reeds. He credits the Theatre Performance program with making him a
better actor. “I learned how to act at Humber. There are a great many artists and professionals in the program who care about the students and theatre in the city. It was an honour to work with them, and I'm sure the program can teach a great deal to anyone who wants to pursue theatre professionally.”

Oladejo, who won the Edna Khubyar Acting Award while at Humber and a Dora award after she graduated, similarly praised the program. “Humber prepares you for the world at large, because you’re not just an actor – you’re a creator as well,” she told Humber Today in a past interview. “When you’re done working on a show or with a company, you don’t have to worry about what your next job is going to be, because you have the knowledge and skills to create something yourself.” HT

YOU MIGHT KNOW THEM FROM:

GIACOMO GIANNIOTTI
Grey’s Anatomy, Murdoch Mysteries, Reign, and recently named one of Playback Magazine’s 5 to Watch.

SINA GILANI
The 20th of November, In Case of Nothing

MATT MURRAY
Rookie Blue, Kevin at Work

OYIN OLADEJO
‘Da Kink in my Hair (Harbourfront Centre), Idiot’s Delight, Tartuffe, The Crucible, Spoon River (Soulpepper Theatre)