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Vancouver, BC Canada
Welcome to Story Institute
Learn to become an in Vancouver
Story Institute is a Vancouver acting school with a unique focus on combining the core foundations of acting with the key business habits required for consistent success. Our Vancouver acting classes focus on the foundational skills needed to work in the Vancouver film industry. Our graduates learn the craft at the level required to perform on top series like Riverdale, The Flash, Batwoman, and the other world-class television series shot here. We also dedicate a portion of this program to the exciting world of voicing cartoons and video games, like the Far Cry series, or Lego Star Wars, or My Little Pony, to name a few. Graduates of our diploma program from this Vancouver acting school receive lifetime mentorship and guidance for free and they also receive fundamental tools like a professional demo reel and voiceover demo to help them find representation with one of the top Talent Agents in Vancouver. We think differently, and that is probably why our students see such different results.
We dream big and we live bigger!
Our Acting Programs
You'll have access to:
Free coaching for professional film and television auditions
Coaching can be expensive. In some cases it can be as much s $75 or more. Actors often have to ask themselves “Is this one of the big ones I should take more seriously?”
What if coaching was included at no additional charge? What if every single audition could be treated like “the big one?”
We see every audition as that chance, at this Vancouver acting school.
Free SELF-TAPES for professional film and television auditions
Even prior to the pandemic, the world have been evolving to more technological solutions in all industries. Film and television isn’t any different. This specific skill can make or break an audition. If it’s not lit right, framed properly, or of the sound is off… it can negatively affect an otherwise beautiful performance. Don’t give them any reason to say no. Always deliver your “A” game. Every single time. We are a leading Vancouver acting school.
Guidance and mentorship on career
agents, headshots,...
This industry isn’t always trying to find out the right answers, it is sometimes trying to find the right questions first. We are here and happy to meet or take a call if you have any questions or need help with agents, headshots, resumes, or any of the other crucial elements of your career.
train with industry leading professional actors
At out Vancouver acting school, our instructors don’t show you what should work in theory or what they’ve been told should make you better. They give you the same skills and knowledge they use in their everyday careers to book the roles they have been performing for years.
Scholarships available
What is your Reason for being?
Art has two primary functions in society; it can entertain or it can educate, and in some wonderful cases it can do both. As actors, we serve stories that are effectively a reflection of society. It allows the audience to reflect on how our generation or moment in time sees itself in relation to the past, present, and future.
At Story Institute, a Vancouver Acting School, we appreciate the idea that great power comes with great responsibility. And in a world where it has become too easy to hit like or share, we feel we can be a greater catalyst for the change we wish to see in this world.
This is why we’ve created the Purpose Scholarship. Actors who train in our diploma program are given an opportunity to save $1,000 on their tuition if they commit to 4 hours of volunteer work to a charity or worthy cause for each of the six months of their training. This is 24 hours in total.
What's the
Investors ready to build $300 million film studio on Malahat Nation land, says film company
The film company behind plans for a $300-million film studio with six sound stages and a commercial complex on Malahat First Nation land says investors are ready to sign off on the project.
Beverley Dondale, CEO of Victoria-based Alpha Select Production Services, said the First Nation is awaiting federal funds for a feasibility study that will determine construction timelines and risk analysis for the project near Mill Bay.
Dondale said major investors from Canada and the U.S. are committed to financing the massive construction project on an 80-acre parcel that would also include a business and industrial park, a 120-room hotel, a shopping village and a technical academy for film apprenticeships and skills training.
Dondale did not identify the investors, but said announcements, including a timeline for the project, will be made early in the new year, after the feasibility study is complete.
“This is not a pipe dream … this has been in the works for many years,” Dondale said in an interview Wednesday.
“I have all the players to make it possible, especially the studio portion — [people] who are experts and have done it before. Once we have the feasibility study, the investors I’ve had hiding in the woodwork will come out.”
The project would be a one-stop shop for major film companies, said Dondale, with one of the key features being massive water tanks in one of the buildings that would attract movies with nautical themes.
Proponents say the studio project could provide up to 1,500 jobs and provide a bustling commercial centre, something the Malahat Nation covets.
The film industry on Vancouver Island is having one of its best years on record, with $49.2 million in direct spending, despite the pandemic — more than double the $22 million in spending the previous year.
But the Victoria Film Commission has argued that lack of major studio space and sound stages — 18,000-square-foot buildings with 40-foot ceilings where any scene can be created — has limited the industry’s growth here.
Film commissioner Kathleen Gilbert said with major sound stages and studios, the Island could go from films with budgets of $1 million to $10 million to those in the $20-million to $200-million range.
A water-tank studio would be a first for Canada, and put Malahat on the A-list, she said, adding the partnership with Malahat First Nation would also be a big plus. “In Hollywood right now, it’s all about being green and being inclusive,” she said.
Josh Handysides, chief administrative officer of the Malahat Nation, said Malahat Film Studios would produce revenue from the studios, hotel and industrial park as well as tax revenue from the project, while providing training and jobs.
“When looking at investment opportunities, we look to find opportunities which support a vibrant economy for the Malahat Nation,” Handysides said. “We believe this project is of the size that is required to actually have a studio on Vancouver Island succeed. It will be big enough to attract companies to locate permanent facilities and businesses here with us.”
Handysides said the Malahat Nation is eager to diversify its economy, which includes developments at the Bamberton industrial site, the Malahat Skywalk tourist attraction now under construction, and other retail and housing developments on its lands.
The Malahat also partnered with an energy company for a floating liquefied natural gas plant at Bamberton, but scrapped the plan in late 2017.
Dondale said the partners hadn’t planned on going public with the film-studio plan, but tipped their hand this week because the process included getting support from the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
Staff at the regional district recommended support for the project, saying it has the potential to be a major economic driver by attracting investment, employment and training opportunities.
Dondale said land was key to finally securing a major film studio for the island, and the Malahat Nation have been willing partners.
She said a significant part of the proposal is technical training that will supply the studio with skilled workers such as gaffers, riggers and lighting personnel.
“When the Vancouver film industry blew up, they had the hiccup of not having people in those entry-level positions in place,” said Dondale. “We’re on an Island, so we need to have people trained up so we can have incredible crews to match a world-class facility.”
Dondale personally financed a cultural survey of the Malahat First Nation property two years ago to make sure construction would not disturb any potential remains or artifacts.
Her company, Alpha Select, has been active in the film industry for years, producing films, securing sound stages and filming sites and providing wardrobe, props and accommodation for crews.
“I guess I’m known for finding stuff and making things happen,” she said.
B.C. actor brings Indigenous identity to Hallmark Christmas movie
We may not have Christmas parties or visits to Santa at the mall, but there is still one holiday tradition going strong this year: the Hallmark Christmas movie, and this year’s run will feature the first Indigenous woman in the main cast.
Five Star Christmas features Barbara Patrick, originally of Burns Lake, B.C., in one of the supporting leads as the member of a family who has to pose as staff at her father-in-law’s fledgling bed and breakfast.
The character is also a fashion blogger, and though her Indigenous identity never comes up in the script itself, Patrick says she was asked to dress in a way that reflects her heritage as a member of the Stellat’en First Nation.
The result is subtle touches, including on screen appearances from Patrick’s personal wardrobe, such as beaded mukluks and earrings made in her home community of Burns Lake.
“It’s really cool,” she said. “I really think that Indigenous people need to be represented on-screen and allowed to play these characters instead of being depicted in a negative or stereotypical light.”
The Hallmark Channel has come under fire in past years for a lack of diversity in its annual holiday films, which are big business for the B.C. film industry. But Patrick believes the approach taken by the director at incorporating her identity into the character’s look is a sign of change.
“Hopefully, I will be the first of many Indigenous people to be playing on Hallmark,” she said.
Big break in ‘big city’ of Prince George
Patrick’s journey to the small screen started back in 1998 when as a teenager she was shopping in the “big city” at Pine Centre Mall in Prince George.
She was approached by a modelling agent about being in a local runway show and within months she had won a contest in Vancouver and was on a flight to a shoot in Japan.
“It was a whirlwind,” Patrick said. “I hadn’t even been into a Starbucks before.”
After going out for a few roles in commercials, Patrick decided she wanted to transition into acting and eventually made her way back to British Columbia and Vancouver where she now lives.
In 2021, she will be seen in Kiri and the Dead Girl directed by Prince George, B.C.’s Grace Dove who starred in The Revenant and Monkey Beach.
But for now, Patrick is excited to become part of people’s holiday tradition of sitting down and watching an uplifting Christmas tale — so long as she can find a TV.
“My parents [in Burns Lake] have actually subscribed to the channel to watch me,” she said. “I might have to Facetime in with them.”
Late Actor Kirby Morrow’s Family Raises Money for Scholarship in His Honour
The family of late actor Kirby Morrow, known for his voice roles on “Dragon Ball Z,” Lego’s “Ninjago” and many more series, is raising money to start a scholarship in his honour.
Morrow died in late November at 47 years old, and his brother Casey Morrow and the Calgary Foundation in Alberta, Canada, started a GoFundMe to help launch the Kirby Morrow Memorial Scholarship Fund.
“Kirby loved helping people, especially new performers learn and get started in the industry, so our family decided to create a memorial scholarship in his name,” Casey told Variety.
Created on Friday, the fundraiser has a goal of $50,000 to help people pursuing an education in the performing arts.
“Our goal is to create a lasting legacy in his name, and maybe some day it will help another Kirby from some small town realize their dreams,” the GoFundMe post reads.
Morrow’s credits include the English dub of “Barbie in the Nutcracker,” “Inuyasha,” “Death Note,” “X-Men: Evolution,” “Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation” and live-action series like “Stargate: Atlantic,” “The Good Doctor,” “Legion,” “Supernatural” and “The L Word.”
“He may have been your Prince Eric. The leader of your Spinjitsu heroes Cole. Your Michelangelo. The Miroku you grew up with. You yelled with him as Goku. Felt the power of the Death Note with his Teru Mikami. Flew with him as Towa Barton. Raced with him as Redline. Or lifted the glasses as Cyclops,” the GoFundMe reads, referencing his plethora of voice roles. “Maybe you knew him as your Captain Dave on ‘Stargate Atlantis.’ Or were delighted in seeing him in so many other TV shows, and even a couple of movies. Kirby gave life to so many characters that have a special place in so many people’s hearts.”
Donations can be made at the GoFundMe link here.
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