Tanya Ryga is honoured to be joining the amazing faculty at Playhouse North School of Theatre. She has been active in the theatre industry for over 30 years as a professional actor, director, teacher and writer performing on stages from Vancouver to New York City. In addition to theatre, Tanya's career includes acting in film, television, radio and behind the scenes - as a casting director for short feature films.

She is a founding member of Theatre Network (Edmonton); Scripts at Work (a playwright development series in Central Alberta) and is artistic director of Butt Ugly (An Award-winning anti-tobacco theatre program). Tanya also teaches Advanced Acting (Shakespeare / Meisner Techniques) Voice and Voice Over in the Theatre Studies department at Red Deer College. Directing credits include The Bundle, The Country Wife, Amadeus, Paper Wheat, The Winter's Tale Project, Guernica (RDC); The Shape of a Girl and Marion Bridge (Ignition Theatre), Some Assembly Required (Prime Stock Theatre) and Pippin (Keyano Theatre). She is a member of Canadian Actors Equity Association (CAEA) and the Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA).

Larissa K. Mäkilä, native to Finland, studied the required three year, full-time education at The Alexander Technique College of Sussex, United Kingdom with John Nicholls and Carolynn Nicholls. After successfully completing her studies she acquired the STAT member certificate in 2002. STAT - The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique, which ensures high standards for the Alexander Technique training schools and practices. STAT also organizes the continued professional development for its members. Larissa is also a member of Canstat (Canadian Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique) and Finstat (Finnish Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique), both affiliated with STAT.

Larissa teaches private Alexander Technique lessons from North East location and she is a permanent instructor at the Rocky Mountain College. She is also a frequent contract instructor at the University of Calgary and Rosebud School of the Arts. Her students come from all walks of life; stay-at-home moms, musicians, other performance artists, athletes, business people, seniors, heavy manual workers, receptionists, scholars, ParkinsonÕs patients and people debilitated with breathing, neck and back problems. LarissaÕs expertise has taken her from Montana to Thunder Bay to teach Alexander workshops. She was also an assistant teacher at Kempton Drama School in United Kingdom upon graduation. Larissa attended The Alexander Technique College of Sussex after graduating as a volunteering teacher to further improve her teaching. There she observed the senior Alexander teachers as well as strengthened her hands on skills by teaching the trainees herself.

Larissa is dedicated to bringing out and furthering natural freedom of movement with elastic strength within herself and her pupils so that moving will come better with age- much like a good wine. Her intention is to help people come more into their own unique and authentic way of moving instead of setting deeper into harmful, habitual ways of moving. Alexander Technique is an ideal tool for this since its purpose is to remove any interferences and harmful muscular habits. The removal of these hindrances is necessary so that a person's original and natural movements can emerge regardless of whatever a person is doing at any given moment.

Larissa takes part on a yearly basis in Alexander Technique professional development courses to further improve her teaching and to aid her own personal growth. Her teaching is also influenced greatly by continual practice in Authentic Movement and Meditation which also aims at eliminating unnecessary interferences and bringing out the authentic and true nature within everyone.