Teachers

Meet our team of teachers!

Christy Hill

Director and Teacher, ATCL, BSc

Christy started taking speech arts and drama lessons from Souzann McMillan when she was 8 years old and fell in love with memorizing poems and scenes and being the centre of attention while performing. She loved taking part in the yearly Greater Victoria Arts Festival and was honoured to qualify and perform at the Provincial Festival numerous times. During her tenth year of lessons, she started teaching and quickly saw how much she loved sharing her knowledge of Speech Arts with her students.

Currently in her twenty-first year of teaching, Christy teaches at our Saanich studio, online and at Glenlyon Norfolk School. She has her A.T.C.L. Performers Teaching Diploma in Speech and Drama from Trinity College Londen as well as a B. Sc. in Biology from the University of Victoria.

Many of Christy’s students have been chosen to perform at the Speech Honours Concert for the Greater Victoria Festival as well as representing Victoria (and winning!) at the Provincial Festival. Christy enjoys working with all of her students and loves seeing their growth throughout the year as well as the accomplishment and pride on their faces when they master a new poem or scene.

Email me: christyspeecharts@gmail.com

Souzann McMillan

Founder and Adviser

Souzann brings to our Speech and Dramatic Arts program many years of experience and training. She started her Speech Arts education at the tender age of 6 years old with renowned teacher Dr. Leona Paterson. Souzann holds diplomas in Speech Arts Performance and Teaching from Mount Royal College, Conservatory, Royal Conservatory of Toronto, and Trinity College, London, England. (AMRC, LMRC, ARCT, ATCL)

She also studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts, The Harlequin Theatre School, and Creative Drama at UBC. Souzann taught at Mount Royal College Conservatory for 18 years, where she was assistant to the head of Speech Arts for the last three years. She had the privilege of being instrumental in setting up a Public Speaking program for the Calgary City Police recruits training, as well as teaching the Calgary Police force, courses in Public Speaking as part of their community Policing program in 1972-73. Souzann was the Acting and Public Speaking teacher at St. Margaret’s School for 15 years. She has adjudicated Speech Festivals, examined and given workshops in Speech Arts and Drama throughout the three western provinces for many years.

It is her love for her work in Speech that has inspired her to continue to promote our program for young people in Speech and Dramatic Arts. She feels privileged to be able to work with such talented and enthusiastic young students.

See an article on Souzann and our Speech Arts Victoria program in the Seaside Magazine (pages 56-57): https://issuu.com/seasidetimes/docs/seaside0221forweb.

Brigitte Gilmour

Teacher, ATCL, BSc

Brigitte Gilmour began taking lessons from Speech Arts Victoria in grade 3 as a very shy child. Speech Arts has changed her life very positively since then. She began to grow her confidence and build her skills, eventually going on to represent the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival in the Junior category at the Provincial Festival.

Brigitte became a student teacher at the Conservatory at Mount Royal University in grade 12. Soon after, she began teaching under Souzann with Speech Arts Victoria while achieving a B.Sc. in Psychology at the University of Victoria. Brigitte is in her eighth year of teaching Speech Arts at St. Margaret’s School and has achieved her A.T.C.L. Performers Teaching Diploma in Speech and Drama. Her students have grown and flourished and have become capable and confident young adults. They have especially excelled at the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival over the years.

After many years of teaching Speech Arts, Brigitte is now working toward becoming a schoolteacher in Victoria. She gives full credit to her time teaching Speech Arts as her inspiration to become an elementary teacher. Her students inspire her every day.

Email me: b.gilmour@shaw.ca.

Jessie Paterson

Teacher, ARCT, BA

Growing up, Jessie always imagined she would one day teach Speech Arts and Drama like her grandmother and her father before her. She skirted this fate for a while, moving to Victoria from Calgary in 2015 to pursue a double major in Environmental Studies and Art History at the University of Victoria. During this time, her studies highlighted the importance of story and the power of telling a compelling and hope-filled story to bring about positive change. It wasn’t long until her passion and interest in the family trade was reignited!

Jessie earned her ARCT in Speech Arts and Drama from the Royal Conservatory Toronto in 2023. Since then, she has been teaching group Speech and Drama classes for children and youth at Oaklands Community Association in Victoria, kickstarting and facilitating the programs Discover Your Voice and Drama Club. As a teacher, she is dedicated to helping students build confidence in their voices, foster self expression, learn through play and exploration, and develop strong techniques for oral presentation. Jessie has experienced firsthand how the communication and storytelling skills taughtin Speech Arts translate to a deeper understanding of oneself and of others. This understanding makes for great performances and is an invaluable life skill.

In 2025, through a collaboration with Canadian Speech Teachers and the International Schools Association, Jessie examined Oral English Exams in Argentina and Uruguay. She has since started her foray into Speech and Drama Festival adjudication at several regional performing arts festivals in Canada in 2026. Helping students develop their performance skills with constructive feedback and genuine encouragement brings her great joy and Jessie is excited to join the fantastic team of teachers at Speech Arts Victoria.

Ortansa Somosan

Student Teacher

Ortansa has always loved listening to and reading stories. She began Speech Arts when she was seven years old, with Souzann McMillan as her instructor. At the beginning, she analysed and interpreted poems under Souzann’s guidance. Eventually, she progressed to prose, Shakespeare scenes, and solo scenes; prose always being her favourite due to its storytelling nature. Ortansa performed at the Greater Victoria Performing Arts Festival for many years and was selected to represent Victoria in the provincial festival numerous times.

Currently, Ortansa is studying at the University of Victoria, where she is working towards completing a Bachelor’s of Science in both Psychology and Biology. Ortansa is very passionate about teaching and has worked in the past as an English as a Second Language teacher. Additionally, she works with Canucks Autism Network teaching swimming lessons to children with autism. Alongside teaching, Ortansa loves to fill her free time by reading, exploring Victoria, and spending time with family.

Email me: orsomosan@gmail.com