ABOUT
Jacqueline is a singer, dancer, actor, director, writer, choreographer, adjudicator and educator currently residing in Toronto, Canada. She holds a Bachelor in Music Theatre Performance (BMT) from Sheridan College. In 2019, Jacqueline shared the stage with Josh Groban in Niagara Falls (Bridges Tour) as well as Sarah Brightman and Narcis during their concert in Toronto (Hymn Tour) and was lucky enough to join Josh onstage again in 2022 at Budweiser Stage (Harmony Tour). Throughout the pandemic, Jackie honed her writing skills and co-wrote “On the Other Side of the Line” with her dear friend, Hailey Lewis. Most recently she is auditioning in Toronto and enjoys seeing live theatre! She is also on the Generations Performing Arts Faculty and adjudicates dance and music competitions all across Canada including Bedazzled, Shooting Stars and Millennium Dance Productions
Originally from Hamilton, Ontario, she began dancing ballet at the age of 3. She later branched out and studied jazz, modern, lyrical, pointe, tap and hip hop, but… ballet and pointe hold a special place in her heart! She trained in Havana with the National Ballet of Cuba and toured with Ballet Jorgen Canada for two seasons of The Nutcracker. She was very grateful to receive the "Ken and Ann Watts Scholarship" in her graduating year. She also studied at the Theatre Aquarius Summer Performing Arts Program for many years and played leading roles in RENT, Aspects of Love and The Who's Tommy.
At Sheridan, Jacqueline fell in love with workshopping new musicals. As part of the Canadian Music Theatre Project, she participated in a workshop of the musical Atlantis written by Matthew Lee Robinson. Most recently she originated the role of “Olivia” in Ensemble the Musical by Paul Koffman. When not working on a new show, Jacqueline has a soft spot for Golden Age musical scores and Sondheim showstoppers as she finds herself in more comedic relief roles. Some favourite performed theatre credits include: “Audrey” in Little Shop of Horrors, “Celeste #2/ Elaine in Sunday in the Park with George and “Margot” in Legally Blonde.
Jackie has performed across Ontario and out east in Charlottetown, PEI. She appeared in the world premier of Jim Betts' musical "Granny Penny's Grand Adventure” and in 2019 co-created “Jingle Belles” for Smile Theatre. She teaches various dance styles all throughout the GTA with Quick Ball Change. She also leads summer camps, cabarets and junior productions as a director and choreographer. Jackie is honoured to lead workshops with RMHC and Camp Miakonda.
She has filmed several commercials, tv episodes and short films. Some of Jackie’s favourite credits to date are the short film, For Clara and working with The Perlorian Brothers on two commercials (Candy Crush and Monster). Her most recent on screen credit is Season 11, Episode 9 of “See No Evil”. She has enjoyed training more extensively in voiceover and looks forward to work in this field!
When not onstage or in front of the camera, Jackie enjoys reading Jane Austen, drinking copious amounts of tea and knitting. She will also never say no to a latte. She loves swimming and playing with her adopted cat, Duchess (yes, she is named after the Disney movie The Aristocats) and Katara (yup, Kat for short inspired by Avatar: the Last Airbender). Jackie and her fiancé, Justin, also adopted a jindo mix rescue dog from South Korea. His name is Count Dooku or Duke for short.
Jacqueline is so excited to embark on this lifelong journey of creativity and storytelling!
"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'!" ~Audrey Hepburn
Quotes about Jacqueline:
"Jacqueline Janas works hard to make Sister Mary Leo a Karen Kain contender. She has a sweet personality, a pleasant singing voice and she can kick higher than heaven." ~ Gary Smith for The Hamilton Spectator, Nunsense II: The Second Coming
Full article: http://www.thespec.com/whatson-story/2205847-seen-it-all-before-you-ll-still-leave-happy/
"Jacqueline Janas is superb as Giulietta Trapini, finding the darker heart of a woman experimenting with life as surely as she experiments with her art." ~ Gary Smith for The Hamilton Spectator, Aspects of Love
Full article: http://www.thespec.com/whatson-story/2154971-young-cast-tackles-tough-score/
"Jacqueline Janas works hard to make Sister Mary Leo a Karen Kain contender. She has a sweet personality, a pleasant singing voice and she can kick higher than heaven." ~ Gary Smith for The Hamilton Spectator, Nunsense II: The Second Coming
Full article: http://www.thespec.com/whatson-story/2205847-seen-it-all-before-you-ll-still-leave-happy/
"Jacqueline Janas is superb as Giulietta Trapini, finding the darker heart of a woman experimenting with life as surely as she experiments with her art." ~ Gary Smith for The Hamilton Spectator, Aspects of Love
Full article: http://www.thespec.com/whatson-story/2154971-young-cast-tackles-tough-score/