Gabriela Queiros got a behind-the-scenes look at the world of professional theatre this summer as she embarks on her own career in the industry.

The Dramatic Arts (DART) graduand, who will receive her degree during Brock’s upcoming Fall Convocation, completed DART’s 2026 Shaw Festival Internship with a focus on acting.

Dramatic Arts graduand Gabriela Queiros, this year’s Shaw Festvial Intern, is now working as a theatre educator and actor with Carousel Players, a professional theatre company for young audiences based in St. Catharines.

Queiros, who specialized in performance at Brock’s Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts (MIWSFPA), said learning from Shaw’s celebrated repertory theatre Ensemble was a dream come true.

“It was exciting to learn about the difference aspects of the company and experience the wide variety of genres covered in the 2026 season. From Sleuth to Funny Girl and The Wind in the Willows, the talent and versatility of Shaw actors inspired me, and I hope to deepen those elements in my own acting work,” she said.

In addition to backstage tours of the festival and seeing nearly every play of the Festival’s 2026 season, Queiros shadowed Associate Artistic Director Kimberely Rampersad who directed the 2026 musical theatre production Perfect Pairings.

During the rehearsal process, Queiros was invited to make observations as the cast rehearsed songs from iconic composers and songwriters. The experience allowed her to see how a professional production is built from beginning stages to final performance.

“It was inspiring to see how the actors explored their creativity under the guidance the director with joy and laughter while maintaining their incredible work ethic and professional focus,” she said.

Queiros attended a weekly Ensemble class led by Rampersad, engaging with company members and working on scenes from various plays.

“Interacting with actors at the top of their game once a week and diving into scene work was invigorating, especially analyzing text and speaking and performing the lines in the way Bernard Shaw himself intended them to be spoken,” she said.

Queiros also participated in technical runs of this year’s Bernard Shaw play Heartbreak House directed by Tim Carroll, Shaw’s Artistic Director. She was struck by the physicality of the play and the actors’ focus on mastering the technical elements involved in the production.

“Witnessing actors embody their characters so fully and completely during tech week while also communicating with the director and crew was an experience I will carry forward and try to emulate in my own acting career,” she said.

The DART program has partnered with the Shaw Festival since 2011 to provide internships for graduating students that focus on diverse aspects of production including performance, design, technical production, directing, arts management and education.

The opportunity creates a stepping that allows students to bridge what they have learned at Brock with processes and practices used in the professional theatre industry.

Since completing the internship, Queiros has been working as a theatre educator and actor with Carousel Players, a professional theatre company for young audiences based in St. Catharines.

“Every day I draw on the skills and techniques I developed both in DART and at the Shaw. I am grateful for these opportunities to grow as a theatre artist and to make industry connections,” she said.