About the Program
This Apprenticeship Program was developed to address this need and gap in our performing arts ecosystem. A paid, professional opportunity for some of Canadian society’s most marginalized communities and artists—those hailing from the Immigrant, Newcomer, and Refugee communities—giving them a direct, hands-on bridge to develop both their job and career skill sets, as well as providing them with invaluable experience. This helps them in immeasurable ways—hireability, job security, and food security—as well as providing them with tools and a pathway to help themselves.
As any first or second-generation immigrant will tell you, immigrating is hard. Moving to a place where you have no friends, family, or in-built networks through school or professional experience is an extremely challenging endeavour in any professional industry. In the performing arts, it’s an even greater challenge; who you know and what you've done in Canada matters to an inordinate extent.
Our immigrant communities are not as generationally wealthy as other communities. We all rely greatly on the generosity of those in our community and those who want to be leaders in supporting our communities.tworking and professional experience in a Canadian context.
Mina Zaghari
Mina Zaghari (she/her) is an Iranian-Canadian multidisciplinary artist based in Toronto, working across acting, writing, devising, puppetry, contemporary movement, and music. Her practice blends physical storytelling, performance, and sound in collaborative and interdisciplinary forms.
With a background in civil engineering, Mina approaches performance-making with a unique structural sensibility. She has collaborated with companies including Modern Times, Tarragon Theatre, Cahoots Theatre, Paprika Theatre, and Tirgan Theatre.
Priscila Paes
Priscila is a performing arts professional with 15+ years of experience across theatre, advertising, radio, and live events in Brazil. Holds an Acting for Film and TV Diploma from Humber College and a BA in Performing Arts from State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Brazil. Canadian arts experience includes Drama Instructor with the City of Mississauga, Assistant Director for a former professor at Humber College, and Front of House roles at major festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and Toronto Fringe Festival.
Acting credits include the short film S.A.D., directed by Vanessa Sandre, selected for the Sudbury Film Festival (2025) and Canadian Film Festival (2026). Additional credits include the TYA workshop The Last Mammoth with GON Theatre (directed by Nicole Wilson) and the Golden Snail Opera (directed by Andrea Spaziani) at Nuit Blanche Toronto (2023).
Tamara Almeida
Tamara Almeida is a bilingual performer, writer, and producer based in Toronto. She has built a career across television, film, and voice, with credits including the Emmy Award-winning series Jane (Apple TV+), Ghostwriter (Apple TV+), Let's Go Luna! (PBS Kids), and the Total Drama Island reboot, as well as leading roles in several television films. Alongside her screen work, she has also worked behind the scenes in various technical roles, and is now eagerly focusing on theatre creation.
She previously performed at the Toronto Fringe Festival in The Girl in the Photograph (2018), and at the Caminos Festival (2019) with Sol, Luna & Stella. She is currently writing and developing her new play Imagined Love, which will premiere at the Toronto Fringe Festival this July.
Tamara is passionate about contributing new work to Canadian theatre that creates space for first-generation artists who have struggled to find their voice within the industry. Themes of mental health, particularly how it is shaped by Western ideals, are central to her work, along with how it intersects with technology, cultural identity, and human connection.
