From Strangers to Friends: A Musical About Finding Your Place at Waterloo

Zaneerah Zaheer (he/him) as Jesse

Zaneerah Zaheer (he/him) is a fourth year Honours Music and English RMPC (Rhetoric, Media, and Professional Communication) Major. He’s done theatre in middle and high school, as well as various choirs and music ensembles on campus. He’s an active part of the UW A Cappella Club on campus, having directed, arranged for, and been a member of many of the groups within it. This is his first post-secondary musical and he hopes that everyone can relate to and resonate with key moments in the show as he does.

Jasmine Ward (she/her) as Grace

Hey ya’ll! Jasmine Ward (she/her) is a recent alumni from Waterloo with a bachelor’s in Communications. She has participated in several productions at Waterloo, was previously the Event Coordinator for the Theatre Students Union for the past two years, and is beyond excited to be a part of TBH this year! She hopes TBH will kick off a great start to your UWaterloo journey!

Sarala Edirisinghe (she/her) as Akasha

Sarala Edirisinghe (she/her) is a 4th year Electrical Engineering student. She’s been involved in many performances and musicals since the age of 9, including with UW Student Theatre, with favourite roles as Natalie Goodman (Next to Normal), Heather Chandler (Heathers), Sharpay (High School Musical), Moana (Moana) and Jack Kelly (Newsies). Her one piece of advice to first years is to not hesitate to get involved, and allocate time for the things you love.

Ada Liu (any) as Heather

Ada Liu (any) is a recent graduate of the Master’s in Accounting program with an undergrad in Accounting and Financial Management. She’s been a member of Animusic Ensembles for four years and is the founder of the school’s Pokémon Club! Though her musical theatre journey has been on pause during university, her release from the shackles of studying has given her extra time to dive headfirst into the arts, with performances in TBH and Rent with the KW Little Theatre.

Chauvin Zhou (he/him) as Curtis

Chauvin Zhou (he/him) is an alumni of the Arts Department at UW, where he studied English and French. He spent much of his university career engaged with many student clubs, including Warriors Esports, UW A Cappella Club, and starting his own barbershop quartet. This is his first acting role since elementary school, so he’s super excited to hit the stage for TBH 2026!

Kylie McCracken (she/they) as Sam

Welcome warriors! Kylie (she/they) is a recent graduate of the Environment, Resources and Sustainability program, and is very excited to share this year’s rendition of TBH with you! This is her second year as a cast member and can’t wait to reprise her role as Sam! During her time at Waterloo, Kylie was very involved with the UW A Capella club, including the Water Boys! She encourages you to enjoy all you can in your first year, it’ll go faster than you think!

Water water water loo loo loo!!

Renee Walker (she/they) as Dani

Renee Walker (she/they) is a 4th year Theatre and Performance student. She’s been involved in many musicals and performances over the past 10 years, and has also had the chance to work behind the scenes in some productions within her program. Renee is excited to be back on stage for TBH, and can’t wait for everyone to see this amazing show!

Agraj Joshi (he/him) as Nick

Agraj Joshi (he/him) is a 4th year Accounting and Financial Management student at UW. He has been heavily involved with the UW Student Theatre Club over the last two years playing roles like Dan in Next to Normal and Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors. He is also overly proud of having played Baljeet in the Phineas and Ferb virtual parody musical M.W.C.A. Outside of theatre, he is very passionate about terrarium building. He hopes you’ll laugh, sing, cry, dance, and enjoy TBH this year!

Paula Bornacelli (she/her) – Stage Manager & Assistant Director

Paula Bornacelli (she/her) enters her 5th year working for To Be Honest, and is very excited to first time stage manage the show while continuing to assistant direct. Paula is an alumni of the University’s Theatre and Performance program and is establishing her career within stage management. Recent credits include, Mme Caeneus’s Canteen (ANIMA) The Nether (University of Waterloo) and Sometimes it Snows in April (Tottering Biped Theatre). Having seen many iterations of To Be Honest’s ever evolving script, she hopes this show will continue to teach first years about UWaterloo and encourage them to seize the joy their university experience can bring.

Olivia Rossel (she/her) – Assistant Director, Assistant Stage Manager, & Dance Captain

Olivia is going into her fourth year at UW as a Theatre and Performance major as an aspiring director and choreographer. She is so excited to be joining the TBH team after watching the last three iterations of the show by leading tag alongs with the Theatre Students Union (TSU)! Recent directing/choreography credits include Little Shop of Horrors, Heathers (UW Student Theatre), Stretch My Heart (The Registry), and The Nether (AD, University of Waterloo). She hopes TBH will inspire first years to get involved with what they love on campus and stay true to who they are in university:)

Lauren Simmons (she/her) – Choreographer

Lauren is excited to be joining the TBH team this year. She is a dancer and choreographer from the Waterloo region, with a strong passion for teaching and inspiring others through dance. She has trained in a variety of styles and has performed with KWMP, KW Glee, and as a competitive dancer. Currently, Lauren works as a choreographer with Pop Nation Canada, and she teaches at the Drayton Entertainment Youth Academy. As an alumna of the University of Waterloo, she encourages incoming first years to take advantage of all that UW has to offer. Enjoy the show!

Eric da Costa

Eric is very excited to be part of the TBH team this year, for the very first time. He is a singer, actor, and educator who has spent many years pursuing theatre professionally, as well as teaching and coaching vocal music and acting. He studied musical theatre at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City and Los Angeles, and is currently furthering his education studying Community Music at Wilfrid Laurier University. He has performed with theatre companies across Canada, as well as toured internationally in 2b theatre’s Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, and most recently played the role of Ethan in Drayton Entertainment’s production of The Full Monty this summer. When not performing, Eric can be found teaching at Pop Nation Canada, the Drayton Entertainment Youth Academy, and coaching students through his private studio. Eric is also the director for K-W Musical Productions’ upcoming production of RENT, playing at the Conrad Centre for the Performing Arts in Kitchener this December.