March 8, 2024 – To mark International Women’s Day on March 8th, the Montreal branch of the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and radio Artists (ACTRA) is proud to recognize the contributions of Stephanie Breton, naming her the 2024 ACTRA Montreal Woman of the Year.
Stephanie has, for many years, served as an ACTRA Councillor for the Montreal Branch as well as for National Council. She was co-chair of the Honours Committee and played a huge role in organizing the 2022 ACTRA Awards in Montreal. She sat on both the Casting Standards and the Women’s committee where she created and spearheaded the Childcare Committee which aimed to support our members with children throughout the ups and downs of parenting as a performer. The Women’s Committee endeavours to continue the work she initiated here. She was also a bargaining committee member at the table for the 2022-2024 IPA agreement.
Beyond her tireless volunteer work as a former ACTRA Councillor, she has been one of the most sought out Intimacy Coordinators in Canada in the last several years and worked with both ACTRA and UDA to have Intimacy Coordinators be recognized under the Status of the Artist Act in Quebec.
Although Stephanie has worked extensively in voice and TV/Film, her first and foremost concern has been performers’ safety and wellbeing on sets and stage for all actors – in all unions (ACTRA, Equity, UDA). She took it upon herself to do the necessary training in mental health wellness and equipped herself to best serve and protect actors across the board, even before anyone was really taking mental health seriously. She has always rooted for our union, and has contributed in making Montreal performers shine.
Last year she chose to make a big life change and move abroad with her young family and we are pleased that they are thriving, but we also feel her absence. Chair of the Women’s committee Kathleen Stavert, caught up with Stephanie over the phone: “The thing I love most is creating a community and I love the one at Actra Montreal. Receiving this from the Woman’s Committee is truly an honour and inspires me to keep creating.”
You inspire us Stephanie, and we couldn’t imagine a more deserving recipient of this year’s award. We wish you the best on your adventures!
The mandate of the ACTRA Montreal Women’s Committee includes exploring the concerns of and supporting women within ACTRA and in the audiovisual industry as a whole. Stephanie joins past recipients of ACTRA Montreal’s Woman of the Year: Warona Setshwaelo, Claudia Ferri, Julie Tamiko-Manning, Brittany LeBorgne, Eramelinda Boquer, Erika Rosenbaum, Lucinda Davis, Joanna Noyes, Jeannie Walker, Jacqueline McClintock, Danette Mackay, Felicia Shulman, and Dawn Ford.