About SATCo & Our Team
Our Mandate
The Student Alternative Theatre Company (SATCo) is a student-driven theatre company that works to reinforce the teachings of the University of Victoria Theatre Department, as well as assist in the development of new work, and provide quality opportunities to emerging artists while upholding a strong artistic vision.
The main principle of SATCo is to provide opportunities for students to use the skills they learn throughout their degrees. Many students rely on SATCo to gain experience in areas such as directing, stage management, design & acting. Since SATCo is a learning environment, it’s a great way to get practical experience in a safe, supportive, and professional environment.
Our Season
Every fall and spring semester, we put out a call for students to submit short plays, 30-50 minutes in length. We choose three of these plays to produce in each season. Then, teams of students are put together for each play: directors, designers, stage managers, & technical teams. Auditions are then held by the directors to cast their productions. It’s a very quick process; each show has 1-4 weeks to rehearse, depending on their slot in the season, followed by three performances. The shows are performed in the Barbara MacIntyre Theatre at the Phoenix, a little black-box studio theatre that offers flexibility for student designers.
Events
Throughout the school year, SATCo also hosts some events, such as SATCo’s 24-hour play festival and the SATCo vs TCU Improv Battle.
In 2023, we debuted a 24-hour play festival where teams create a whole show from start to finish in 24 hours. This is a low-stakes event designed to get people involved and pumped for the season ahead.
Between 2023-2024, the board chose to collaborate with the Theatre Course Union (TCU) to create an improv competition for the entertainment of both the board and students.
Since 2024, we have also begun facilitating playwriting workshops where playwrights can submit their plays and have them read and receive feedback. These workshops are a great way for writers to improve their work and ready their script to submit to SATCo!
Our Staff and Board
The SATCo Staff Board
SATCo is run by a staff and board comprised entirely of students, which changes every year. There are usually 9-12 board members; the number varies as some positions can be held by two people, or someone may take on an assistant.
Staff and board members get to experience the administrative side of theatre and learn how a theatre company is run. This hands-on experience isn’t offered anywhere else to the same extent, and it can be a great stepping stone to further opportunities.
A new and important distinction is that between staff and board, where staff take on roles involved with producing shows and running the company. Year reps sit in on meetings and help with season selection, but do not administrate within SATCo or work on shows as a head of department. Both staff and board may participate in shows, and they all frequently appear in our show credits, although there are many policies in place to avoid giving out unfair opportunities from within. One exception is hiring staff positions within SATCo, which are always offered internally first. This priority does not apply to the show’s creative teams and casting.
General Managers: Holly Layman
The general managers are responsible for the overall function and artistic vision of the company. This includes supporting board members and creative teams and making final decisions on issues that arise during the season. They love to brainstorm ideas in collaboration with the rest of the board on how to improve the company and keep it new and exciting for the creative teams!
Holly Layman (she/her) is in her fourth and final year at UVIC and her fourth and final year on the SATCo board. She is grateful for everything this company has taught her and can’t wait to reply to your emails. She is a stage manager who has dabbled in set, lighting, and costume design and loves all things collaboration and customer service.
Assistant General Manager: Freya Dixon-Reusz
Freya Dixon-Reusz (she/her) is a third-year Applied Theatre student. She is back on the board as assistant general manager after being assistant front of house manager for the 2024/25 season. Freya is excited to learn the details of managing a theatre company especially when it’s with the SATCo team!
Financial Manager: Tarn Blakely
The Financial Manager handles the financial side of SATCo, managing donations and creating a budget for the season. Our Financial Manager ensures all the shows have the resources they need to create the best work they can!
Tarn is a third-year performance student with a passion for movement and stage management. Tarns’ past SATCo endeavors include The Lord Sees All and The Goode TV Hour. She is so excited to keep the SATCo ship funded and fabulous!
Co-Marketers: Savannah O’Heany and Sadie Kupery
The marketers are primarily responsible for the overall aesthetic of the marketing materials for each season. They run our social media accounts to keep everyone updated on shows and events, create posters, and take pictures at each dress rehearsal.
Savannah O’Heany (she/her) is a third-year performance student. She is so excited to collaborate with Sadie as they strive to promote SATCo for all its worth. This will be her second year on the board as a marketer, and she is thrilled to continue sustaining SATCo’s colourful image and message, as well as to work with these incredible people on the board this year!
Sadie Kupery (she/her) is a second-year performance student who is thrilled to join Sav in marketing the Satco season! This is her first year on the Satco board, but she has marketed for the Phoenix Theatre for both years of her undergrad. She is excited to lift student work and believes deeply in learning through Theatre. She looks forward to creating alongside her wonderful team.
Technical Director: Taya Fehr
The technical director is responsible for all technical work done here at SATCo. They create schedules, attend production meetings and installs, and clear sound, lighting, and set pieces with higher-ups in the department.
Taya Fehr (She/Her) is a third-year performance student with a love for technical production. This is her second year on the board, having spent last year as an ATD to the wonderful Sasha, and now moving into the Technical Director role. She is very excited to cultivate a safe, fun learning environment for our upcoming season with her army of ATDs and ensuring to leave the MAC in one piece.
Assistant Technical Directors: Ferris Smart, Emily Harshenin, Kiara Reain
Ferris Smart (they/them), is a second-year design student at the Phoenix with a passion for scenic design, lighting, CAD, and photography. This is their first year as a staff member and their second year doing tech for SATCo. Their previous SATCo credits include Stepping Out of the Frame, Wedding Cheese Weekend, and Obitus. Ferris is excited to help SATCo produce more amazing student work in the 2025/2026 season!
Emily Harshenin (she/her) is a second-year production and management student at the Phoenix with a love for stage management and technical theatre. She is very excited to be a SATCo staff member this year after working on so many of the shows from last year’s season as a crew member. Emily is thrilled to be a member of Taya’s ATD army and hopes that you enjoy the 2025/2026 SATCo season!
Kiara Reain (she/her) is a second-year theatre minor student with a love for all aspects of dramatic arts. As a first-year student, she was greatly inspired by SATCo and took on many different roles to involve herself in their work. This is her first year as a board member, and she can’t wait to help the 2025/2026 artistic visions come to life.
Technical Director Support/Mentor: Sasha Li
Sasha is a Fourth-year self-directed student focusing on Tech and Design. They bring the tea, the T’s, and the Drinkable tea. What’s their role? Supporting Taya, and most importantly: ordering the pizza. Sasha is a self-appointed pizza boy.
Liaison: Azura Idu
The liaison serves as a link between the creative teams and the board. They convey information between the two parties, act as a support for the show teams, and ensure that rehearsals are conducted in a safe and productive way.
Azura Idu (she/her) is a fourth-year performance focus student with interests in both acting and stage management. She is very excited to enter her second year with Satco after working as the financial manager last year.
Front of House Manager: Kaitlyn Bergeron
Our front-of-house manager is responsible for the audiences that attend each show. They deliver an informative speech before each show, ensure that the audience experience is comfortable and safe, and handle emergencies that take place during a performance.
Kaitlyn Bergeron (she/her) is a third-year performance student at the Phoenix. She is currently taking 305 in audience services and recently front-of-house managed Intrepid studio at the 2025 Victoria Fringe festival. With a passion for performance and community, Kaitlyn is so excited to join the SATCO board as your Front of House manager!
Assistant Front of House Manager: Mikan Munson
Mikan Munson (She/Her) is a second-year student, hoping to pursue the acting focus. She will be a part of Our Town and A Sudden Burst of Violent Rain in this year’s Phoenix Theatre season. She is incredibly excited to be a part of the SATCo team!
Year Representatives
The year representatives are a connection between the board and each year’s cohort of students. Each year rep is responsible for communicating information about SATCo to their year, answering questions, and bringing student concerns to SATCo’s attention.
First Year: Bella Jean Robinson
Bella Jean Robinson (she/her) is a first-year student with interests in acting and directing. She looks forward to working on future acting projects within the Phoenix. Bella is overjoyed to be this year’s first-year representative for SATco. She is happy and eager to answer any questions you may have about SATco, so please reach out!
Second Year Rep: Marcus Delaney
Marcus Delaney is a second-year student at the Phoenix focusing on sound within the context of production and management in the theatre. He is excited to continue working with SATCo to encourage collaboration and foster community between diverse artists at the Phoenix Theatre.
Third Year Rep: Alexis Dunn
Alexis (she/her) is a third-year production and management student and is super excited to be on the SATCo board! This year, she looks forward to working on The Jester’s Waltz (SATCo) and The Bear (MFA), and being the DSM on In My Day. She is almost always found in the PO to talk about anything SATCo-related!
Fourth Year Rep (and beyond): Emma Beadman
Emma (she/they) is a fourth-year student focusing on production and management. Some of her past SATCo credits include Black Eyed Bullseye, My Own Sol, and The Lord Sees All. She hopes to do well in her last year on the SATCo board!
Writing Rep: Dani Snyders-Blok
The writing rep is a new position since 2025, created to build a stronger connection between SATCo and the writing departments. The writing rep is also responsible for facilitating SATCo’s writing workshops that work to edit scripts and provide a safe environment to experiment.
Dani (she/her) is a fifth-year theatre and writing double major focusing on stage management, playwrighting, and ASL theatre. She runs the SATCo play workshopping series and hopes you will join their weekly sessions in come second semester!