Biografia
Magda Ochoa is an eclectic actress, director and acting instructor based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Magda has worked as an actress in theatre, film, and television. She also has experience in dubbing, radio production and broadcasting, as well as puppet creation and manipulation.
Originally from a small town, she moved to Mexico City to pursue her acting career. From 1985 to 1988, she obtained her first acting diploma (IAE Mexico). In 1989, she enrolled at the National School of Languages, Linguistics and Translation (CELE, UNAM), where she learned Portuguese. At the same time, she was an instructor in corporal expression (Talleres de la UNAM) and an auditor at the UNAM Faculty of Literature in courses given by two renowned Mexican professors: Hector Mendoza and Luisa Josefina Hernandez. As a young actress she participated in a few short films and some independent theatre projects. In 1991, she obtained certification in broadcasting from RTC Mexico.
After moving to Canada, she received a scholarship and specialized in theatre at Université Laval (1996-2000) where she also learned French. Many of the teachers, mentors, and directors she has worked with have contributed to her artistic style. Her main sources of inspiration are as eclectic as herself: Stanislavski, Grotowski, Peter Brook, Antonin Artaud, Augusto Boal, Eugenio Barba, and Robert Lepage.
She is the owner and artistic director of Farandula Theatre and the artistic director of Le Petit Théâtre de l'Alliance Française de Vancouver. Her most recent productions as stage director are Scorched, by Wajdi Mouawad (Jericho Arts Centre, October 2023), La Stratégie du Chat Noir o La estrategia del gato negro, by Tania Pérez Cid (BC Culture Days, 2023), Do You Know How to Swim? (BC Culture Days, 2023) and Le bourgeois gentilhomme (The NEST, 2023).
Her experience as a drama instructor ranges from amateur to university and professional levels. Magda possesses exceptional pedagogical skills and is convinced that it's not necessary to have talent, but to develop skills through diligent training.
Magda is an active performer and a UBCP-ACTRA full member. She is fluent in Spanish, French, English and Portuguese.
