Meet the Faculty

Teri Loretto, Coordinator

Teri holds a Bachelor’s of Arts and a Master’s Degree from the University of Ottawa. She is an award-winning actress, writer and director with a background in stage and production management. She has written for magazines, newspapers, online formats, theatre and film. She works regularly for CBC Ottawa in both radio and television as producer, writer and host. She has appeared in feature films, worked as a professional musician and toured as a children’s entertainer. Her voice can be heard in cartoons, commercials and in various documentaries. Theatre directing credits include Phil Porter’s Blink, Zastrozzi and Theatre of the Film Noir by George F. Walker, for which she also did the set design. Onstage roles include the title role in the one-woman show Shirley Valentine, Masha in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and she has written or adapted and directed over a dozen radio shows for live performance (War of the Worlds, Voices From the Front). She has been the artist in residence for the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity and serves as Vice President on the ACTRA Ottawa board. She also teaches in Television Broadcasting and Scriptwriting programs at the college. She is a member of EQUITY, the Canadian Media Guild and The Playwrights Guild of Canada.

Michele Hall, Professor

An English professor and coordinator in the School of Media and Design at Algonquin College, Michele Hall is also a writer with a PhD in English literature from McGill University. Her study of the artistic career of Canadian artist P.K. Irwin, The Art of P.K. Irwin: observer, other, Gemini (2016), was shortlisted for the Forward Indie Book Awards in the Women’s Studies category. She has also written for numerous Canadian organizations and publications, including The League of Canadian Poets, English Studies in Canada, Canadian Poetry, and Matrix, and served as a contributing editor for The Maple Tree Literary Supplement and The Bull Calf.

Danielle Allard, Professor

Danielle is a community builder and social media manager who specializes in public relations in the music industry. Her teaching time at Algonquin College is shared among three programs: Public Relations, Music Industry Arts and Performing Arts.

As a musician and entrepreneur, she has released three studio albums, toured Canada and Europe and performs regularly for an international audience online as a Twitch Partner. Her public relations experience extends to government, not-for-profit, and television industries.

Danielle holds a Master’s degree in Communication from Carleton University and two additional graduate certificates in Teaching Adult Learners and Online Learning Design and Development from Algonquin College. She is recipient of Students Association Excellence in Teaching Award and the Minister’s Award of Excellence.

Kevin Burton, Professor

Kevin has been at the helm of The Digi60 Filmmakers’ Festival since 2009, providing his communications and technical background to its growth and success. He has indeed done it all, growing the festival from a handful of participants to dozens, adding a documentary portion, and expanding partnerships and sponsorship opportunities with prominent Ottawa vendors, media, and production companies. He has worked as a shooter, editor and director with several television and media outlets in the Ottawa area, and has worked in media and communications with Carleton University. He is also a videographer for the Ottawa Senators, Ottawa RedBlacks, Ottawa Fury and the Ottawa 67s.

Chris Ralph, Acting and Voice Instructor

Chris teaches acting and voice in the Performing Arts program. He is also the co-founder and Artistic Director of the Acting Company – a performing arts studio located in downtown Ottawa. Chris is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and received his MFA in Acting from York University where he also taught in the undergraduate acting program. Chris received training in Stanislavski-based curriculum, Michael Chekhov’s Acting Technique, Viewpoints, Meisner Technique, Character Mask, and Linklater-based Voice training from David Smukler.

Chris recently won the 2019 Prix-Rideau Award for Best Actor in The Virgin Trial (GCTC). Other favourite credits include Up to Low (NAC); Half-Life (Theatre Northwest); A Christmas Carol (NAC); Vanya, Sonia, Masha and Spike (Plosive Productions); The Amorous Servant (Odyssey); Voices from the Front (Plosive Productions); Glengarry Glen Ross (Avalon – Capital Critics Award for Best Production); The Game of Love and Chance (Odyssey); and Billy Bishop Goes to War (Plosive Productions – Capital Critics Best Actor nomination).

In addition to his theatre work, Chris is a sought-after speaking coach and has worked with a wide array of business clients, including government, tech, legal, non-profit agencies and NGOs. He is also a frequent presentation and voice coach on Parliament Hill with federal politicians of all stripes and their staff.

Lana Paine

Lana Paine got her start in Performing Arts at Canterbury High School’s speciality Drama program where she got to tap dance, act, and sing her way across the stage and right on over to a different world of performing- with her voice! Lana is a Graduate of Algonquin College’s Radio Broadcasting Program and has worked in various radio departments ever since. She now teaches in the Radio Broadcasting Program as well as the Performing Arts Program which gives her a unique angle on the voicework industry. When she isn’t teaching the learners of tomorrow, Lana is broadcasting on her weekend radio show and doing freelance voicework including recordings for commercials and podcasts. Performing with your voice takes many directions and Lana’s enthusiasm, positivity and encouraging style helps Algonquin College’s Performing Arts students shine.

Jamie Rallison

Jamie is an Ottawa based comedian and family entertainer, with a background in theatre arts (from Algonquin College) as well as fifteen plus years of performing stand up and improv. He has performed his comedy from Toronto to Ottawa, and as far away as Sweden. Jamie is currently an instructor at Algonquin College in the performing arts program. He is also the owner/operator of Rallison Laughs Entertainment, a family entertainment company that uses interactive comedy, magic, ballooning and puppetry as part of it’s show structures. He is the proud father of two high energy young boys. In his spare time, he and his family enjoy getting their “geek on” by creating cosplay costumes and attending Comic Cons whenever possible. He is looking forward to more teaching and entertaining opportunities in the upcoming future.