Attending the Canadian College of Performing Arts was such a special time of my life. It was there that I first had the courage to say: I want to be an actor! I want to be in musicals! I felt like I had found my people and I had my first taste of what it’s like to be part of such a rich, generous and vibrant theatre community. The training I received at CCPA was a great foundation for my career. When I graduated, I left Victoria not only with a newfound knowledge of technique and craft, but having learned a greater lesson: there are opportunities for growth everywhere and the task of learning is an ongoing process that lasts a lifetime.
After graduating from CCPA in 2004, Alana hopped on a plane heading east, and has been based out of Toronto ever since. Her career has been varied and interesting, working at many of Canada’s most exciting theatres. This past year alone had Alana doing her best librarian in The Music Man in Barrie, belting out Abba in Mamma Mia twice (in Kamloops and later Hamilton), girl-grouping in Bittergirl at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre and then swishing around Avonlea in Anne of Green Gables in Charlottetown.
Career highlights include multiple seasons at the Shaw and Stratford Festivals starring in Ragtime, Trouble in Tahiti, Carousel and The Sound of Music, among others, as well as five seasons at the Charlottetown Festival. Other favorites are Parade, Caroline or Change, Once on This Island (Musical Stage Company); Sunday in the Park With George (TIFT); The Wizard of Oz (YPT); Hairspray (Arts Club); Hair (Canadian Stage); and The Mountaintop (Obsidian/Shaw) for which she received a Dora nomination for best performance in a play, and many more.
Alana is also a proud graduate of Simon Fraser University.