Board Member Bios
These bios were written for the 2020 Board elections to help members get to know the candidates.
Alexander Delaney has been passionately involved with theatre for 8 years ever since stumbling on set in a high school Christmas musical. Since then he has been vigorously finding outlets for his creative passions from on stage, to backstage, to writing! His love for the language arts, visual arts and music all set him up with a diverse bank of knowledge to pull from to enhance any project he works on. Not only is he knowledgeable and confident with his leading abilities he’s also hip with the youth; being only 20 years young and testing the artistic waters himself.
Alex has played several roles in Shuswap Theatre performances, some of his favourites being Romeo in Romeo and Juliet (2017), and Max in Lend Me a Tenor (2019). He has also worked backstage in the sound booth during Stereotype High (2016) and The Wizard of Oz (2019). He was disappointed that COVID postponed the 2020 season where he was to play Peter in The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble, which was to be performed at the OZone Festival.
His vision is to see Shuswap Theatre grow and to encourage people from all backgrounds to experience live theatre in new ways.
Howard deLong is a returning Shuswap Theatre member having acted in two plays in the 1980s. Itching to roam, he landed in Prince George where he performed with Prince George Playhouse Theatre and Theatre Northwest in the 1990s.
Howard’s volunteering began with a move to Saskatchewan in 1999. He began by assisting with Prince Albert Community Players (PACP) dinner theatres, usually washing dishes and clearing tables. After a few years, Howard served as president of the club for about four years. Other involvements included acting, directing, producing and participating on the organizing committee for the club’s hosting of two theatre festivals. One of his fondest memories was the directing and producing AlterNatives, for which he was able to bring aboriginal and non-aboriginal actors together in a highly polarized town. The event included First Nation musicians and displays.
In 2009, Howard moved to Regina and immediately joined the board of Regina Community Players, serving as the One Act Producer from 2010 to 2015. Duties included selection of plays and directors, promotions, time scheduling for rehearsals, and arrangements for posters, programs, props, sets, costumes, and makeup. Howard also served as a major organizer for the hosting of TheatreFest in 2011. Howard also acted and directed in main stage theatre productions as well as one acts. At times he could be found in the sound booth or volunteering for bar duties.
From 2014 until his move to Salmon Arm in 2020, Howard served on the board of Theatre Regina, the not-for-profit owner and operator of the Regina Performing Arts Centre – home to approximately 13,000 annual performers in dance, theatre, musicals and other community events. His duties focused on fund-raising, in which he was able to secure grants and corporate donations. He organized and produced a fund-raising event that served to spearhead the Regina Performing Arts Centre’s campaign to raise additional funds through increased volunteer donations.
Now that he is retired, Howard looks forward to having more energy to devote to theatre and welcomes the opportunity to serve on the board of Shuswap Theatre.
Mary Fabian returned to her home province of BC in May, 2020, and settled in Salmon Arm, after having spent the last 20 years in Saskatchewan. During that time Mary developed her fondness for the various aspects of community theatre.
While in Prince Albert, Mary began acting with Prince Albert Community Players (PACP) and eventually became a Board member for several years. PACP was known for its dinner theatres, for which Mary contributed in whatever capacity was needed—cooking, cleaning, buying supplies, selling tickets, etc. Mary also served on the organizing committee when PACP hosted the provincial competitive drama festival.
While residing in Prince Albert, she was also a member-at-large for Theatre Saskatchewan Inc. (TSI), the umbrella organization representing community theatre groups throughout the province. Some of Mary’s duties during these years were updating the agency’s policy manual, mentoring community groups when they hosted the annual provincial competitive drama festival, and reviewing bursary and grant applications.
After moving to Regina in 2009, Mary served on the Regina Little Theatre (RLT) Board for four years. Some of her responsibilities included chairing the play selection committee and organizing workshops. Mary was also active in theatrical productions, acting, directing and producing. Most recently, Mary volunteered at the green room for each of the club’s five annual shows.
A recent retiree, Mary is excited about the possible opportunity of serving on the Shuswap Theatre Board.
Kim MacMillan, a forty-two year member of Shuswap Theatre, has served on the Board for the past twelve years as a director, vice president and president. Besides a passion for excellent theatre his professional background in the Applied Behavioural Sciences gives him an understanding of effective leadership and knowledge that makes for a healthy and dynamic organization. Kim also acts (Romeo & Juliet, A Red Plaid Shirt), directs (Mary Poppins, Trying) and does Sound design. He believes that “good enough” is never good enough and that we should strive for constant improvement both artistically and in our human and technical capacities. He also believes we should never stop trying to make Shuswap Theatre a welcoming, friendly place where people will love to volunteer and to attend.
Heather Stefanek first became interested in theatre when she was a teenager. She attended a boarding school in England where there was a heavy focus on drama productions, specifically the plays by Shakespeare. After many years enjoying plays from the audience, she was lured behind the curtains at Shuswap Theatre, assisting Cilla with props on Odd Jobs, and as co-producer for Trying, under the guidance of Susan MacMillan. Most recently, she was administrative producer for The Wizard of Oz. She is now ready to explore another aspect of theatre by serving as a board member.
Julia Body has been a long-time member of Shuswap Theatre. She has been involved in many aspects of Shuswap Theatre both at the Board level and at an artistic level. She has been on the Artistic Committee for the last number of years and has worked on many productions including backstage and onstage positions. Much of her involvement lately has been as a director. She is very passionate about Shuswap Theatre and the Arts in our community. She is a retired teacher and has a great interest in continuing to involve young people in Shuswap Theatre’s organization. She would like to continue contributing to the success of our theatre as a Board member.
Sherry Bowlby has been involved with Shuswap Theatre since sitting in the gym at the old J.L. Jackson Jr High School to watch Fiddler on the Roof way back when, and a few plays at Tappen prior to the grand move into our present location. Since then she has been involved as an audience member for most shows, painter, costume maker, stage manager, lighting and sound operator, actor and Board Member. She currently serves as Treasurer. She continues to be delighted at the magic our community can create in our modest venue with our very modest budget, and would be delighted to help make that possible for another term.
Craig Massey first became involved with live theatre in Campbell River in 2013, performing with River City Players. In 2016 he and his wife Shelly, moved home to Salmon Arm and joined Shuswap Theatre. Craig describes the past four years as a great opportunity to become involved in the community and to work with a team of devoted thespians. Craig has often worked on set construction, Stage Management and Producing. For this past season Craig has been the theatre President and has made sure that everything in the scene shop was where it belonged.
Peter Molnar started with Shuswap Theatre in 2010 and has been involved in lots of plays in a number of capacities including acting, set construction, lighting and sound operation. He has been on the Board for 2 terms, currently holding the post responsible for the building. He was responsible for organizing contractors and all the details needed to install a new roof and a new heating/cooling system. He continues to be passionate about live theatre thriving in Salmon Arm. He looks forward to continue contributing as a Board member.
Nedine Scott has been a member of Shuswap Theatre for 9 years. She is a previous board member and currently serves as our Vice President and Ozone Representative. She can be found mostly behind stage, primarily acting as Stage Manager for productions which include Little Shop of Horrors, Pack of Lies, Mary Poppins, Romeo and Juliet, Lend Me A Tenor and The Wizard of Oz. Nedine was part of the team that brought to life our first Relaxed Performance, which meant that her brother was able to enjoy his first live theatre performance. She is the lead coordinator for Laughing Gas Improv and has been involved with the Theatre on the Edge festival. She hopes to once again bring her experience from other non-profit boards, continue to provide a venue for diverse demographics to be heard, be a representative of Shuswap Theatre to our local communities, and build upon the hard work already in motion by the board.