The Stratford Festival Welcomes Participants of the 2025/2026 Birmingham Conservatory
The Conservatory is a paid two-year intensive which serves as an incubator for artists to flourish and grow alongside and within the professional environment.
By: Stephi Wild Feb. 20, 2025
The Stratford Festival is welcoming seven new participants to the Birmingham Conservatory for the 2025/2026 season. The Conservatory is a paid two-year intensive which serves as an incubator for artists to flourish and grow alongside and within the professional environment of the Festival’s repertory company.
The Birmingham Conservatory is focused on the development of craft required to tackle text and language-based plays through material rich in character, storytelling, song, dance, fights and challenging themes. Shakespeare is at the centre of the exploration, but not to the exclusion of other culturally rich material. There is also a focus to support the development of the artist’s own voice and work: members of the program will have access to the Festival’s numerous resources in the areas of mentorship, as well as archives, the new play development department and rehearsal space.
For the 2025/2026 Conservatory, we are excited to welcome Ashley Dingwell, Katarina Fiallos, Silvae Mercedes, Anthony Palermo, Joe Perry, Nadine Villasin and Dakota Jamal Wellman. The Stratford Festival looks forward to having these actors join us for a career-building opportunity. Find out more about the 2025/2026 Birmingham Conservatory participants below!
Ashley Dingwell
2025: Cecile Volanges in Dangerous Liasons, appears in As You Like It and understudy in Sense and Sensibility. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Hedda in Hedda Gabler, May in Bedlam, Des-Neiges in Les Belles Soeurs, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex (Theatre at Grenfell); Silvia in Two Gentlemen of Verona (New Brood); Titania in Midsummer Night’s Dream (Dartmouth Players); Melissa in Out of It, Marie-Louise in No Man’s Land (Rising Tide Theatre). Film/TV: Son of a Critch (CBC); This Hour Has 22 Minutes (CBC); Sugar Highs (OUTTV); SurrealEstate (SYFY); Hudson & Rex (CityTV); Sullivan’s Crossing (CTV); Astrid and Lilly Save the World (SYFY); Diggstown (CBC); Alaska Triangle (Discovery). Training: Memorial University of Newfoundland, Grenfell Campus, 2023 (BFA); Power of Connection Intensive with Perchance Theatre. Online: @ashleyjdingwell. Et cetera: To Mom, Dad, Grammy, Karen – I love you, so I keep going.
Katarina Fiallos (she/her)
2025: Mopsa in The Winter's Tale and understudy in Ransacking Troy. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Mia in Gringas (First Born Theatre), Dorine in La Bête (Talk is Free Theatre), Lisa in Wakey Wakey (County Players), Chloe in Hookman (TMU), Bianca in Untamed (TMU). Directing: Morning After (a front company/Toronto Fringe Festival), ECHO (associate director — a front company), The Zoo Story (co-director — a front company). Writing: Morning After. Training: Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Performance. Online: katarinafiallos.com, @katarinafiallos. Et cetera: Thank you to my family, friends, and the team at NCA for everything!
Silvae Mercedes (she/they)
2025: Audrey in As You Like It, appears in Dangerous Liaisons and understudy in Forgiveness. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Quartet (Other Hearts/VideoCabaret); Mad Ones (Tangled Art + Disability); Johnny Belinda (Smile Theatre); Lil’ Red, Jack and the Beanstalk, Treasure Island, Three Musketeers (Stirling Festival Theatre). Film/TV: Murdoch Mysteries, Good Witch, Call Me Fitz. Training: B.A. Honours English, Creative Writing and Interdisciplinary Sexuality Studies (Concordia University); Musical Theatre (American Musical and Dramatic Academy NYC); Theatre (Interlochen Arts Academy). Online: otherhearts.ca. Et cetera: Vae is a Mad performance artist, Dora-nominated designer and poet (Toronto International Festival of Authors New Embassy; The /t3mz/ Review Issue 22). Eternal gratitude to my community and especially to Cake, who constantly remind me that “the thing perhaps is / to eat flowers and not to be afraid.”
Anthony Palermo
2025: Witch in Macbeth and appears in The Winter's Tale. Second season. Stratford: The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, Cymbeline. Elsewhere: Alcestis, Tartuffe, The Witch of Edmonton (Theatre Erindale); She, Men, and the Giant Snake (Soulpepper Theatre/Buddies in Bad Times); Retrograde (Toronto Fringe); Julius Caesar, Bare: A Pop Opera, Ghost Quartet, Essay (University of Toronto). Film/TV: Workin’ Moms Seasons 6 and 7 (CBC/Netflix); Macy Murdoch (CBC/Shaftesbury); Pie Boy (Ace Entertainment Inc). Writer/Composer: The Gray: A Wilde Musical (Hart House Theatre); One Song Glory (Musical Stage Company); Mythic Women (University of Toronto). Training: Theatre and Drama Studies - University of Toronto/Sheridan College. Online: anthony-palermo.com, @anthxnypalermo. Et cetera: Grateful for the mentors who have taught me so much, and my family and friends for their endless support.
Joe Perry
2025: Deighton, Adams in Forgiveness, appears in As You Like It and Dangerous Liaisons. Stratford debut. Elsewhere (Selected): A Christmas Carol (Theatre Calgary 2015, 2016, 2023, 2024); The Woman In Black, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Extractionist (Vertigo Theatre); Premium Content, Air (Major Matt Mason); Chariots Of Fire (Rosebud Theatre/Grand); Gordon (Theatre Network); This Is War (Punctuate); The Circle (Alberta Theatre Projects); SIA (Downstage Theatre). Film/TV (Selected): The Expanse (Amazon Prime); Black Summer (Netflix); Range Roads, O Brazen Age, The Valley Below (North Country Cinema); Blood Mountain (Nocturnal Productions). Training: BFA acting — University of Alberta, Mount Royal College. Awards: Several Outstanding Performer nominations, including Betty Mitchell Theatre Awards, Calgary Critics Award, Sterling Theatre Awards, and Rosie Film and TV Awards. Online: joewperry.com, @Joewperry. Et cetera: Love to Allison and to his family in Alberta.
Nadine Villasin (she/her)
2025: Madame de Volanges in Dangerous Liaisons, appears in As You Like It and understudy in Forgiveness. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Polonia in Hamlet (The Shakespeare Co, Hit & Myth), She in Lesson in Forgetting (Pleiades), Phoenix/Empress Dowager in The Forbidden Phoenix (Citadel, YPT), Mimi in Singkil (Fu-Gen), Karen in Gladstone Variations (Convergence). Nadine also co-wrote and performed as Jennifer in Miss Orient(ed) and Lorna/Geline in PEOPLE POWER (Carlos Bulosan Theatre/Teesri Duniya). Training: Birmingham Conservatory 25/26. Awards: Dora Nomination – The Forbidden Phoenix. Et cetera: Nadine is forever grateful to her first artistic home, Carlos Bulosan Theatre, and would like to give a shout out to all arts organizations for continuing to do the challenging work of keeping theatre, arts and culture alive. She dedicates this season to her loving mom Fely, her babycakes Maxine, and to the holder of her heart, Troy.
Dakota Jamal Wellman
2025: Murderer in Macbeth and appears in The Winter’s Tale. Stratford debut. Elsewhere: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Segal Centre/RMTC), Fall On Your Knees (Canadian Stage/Neptune Theatre/NAC/Grand Theatre), Simone: Half and Half (Black Theatre Workshop), Pool: No Water (Persephone Productions), Much Ado About Nothing (Repercussion Theatre), An American Hymnal (Terra Bruce Productions). Film/TV: Terror Train, The Christmas Checklist, Witchboard, About Sex, 23 décembre, Matthias et Maxime. Training: Bishop’s University, Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre. Awards: META for Outstanding Supporting Actor (Simone: Half and Half). Online: @airbnbeyonce. Et cetera: Thank you to the cast, crew, and audiences! Thank you to my agent, Marc, and thank you to my family, friends, and to Kevin for your love and support. Let’s go!
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