An Actor’s Perspective: Jane Luk is an actor, comedian, and improviser. You may have seen Jane perform on the stage or on tv, film, and gaming:
Handmaid’s Tale, Murdoch Mysteries, Kim’s Convenience, Anne With an E, Netflix’s Spinning Out, The Clark Sisters, Saw lll, Blood and Water, Abby Hatcher Fuzzly Catcher, Space Ranger Roger, Toot and Puddle, Deus Ex Human Revolution and X-Men.
Jane speaks about voicing the role of “Ellen” in our “Anti-Racism for Workplaces” eLearning course: Key Ellen quotes:
- “I’m 4th generation in this country, but people still ask me where I’m from. Like, where I’m really from.”
- “Then, there’s always those people who think they have to speak sloooowly and e-nun-ci-ate every word like this.”
- The CEO mixes up Ellen’s name with another Asian employee’s: “The Ellen- Chen mix-up? Ugh, happens all the time.”
Why Do We Use Animation ?
Animation brings our content to life. Animation is visually engaging, and is fosters learning retention.
Did you know that animation is a powerful educational tool that promotes empathy? This happens when a character’s story resonates with the audience. This “emotional” connection can happen more readily with animated characters than live human actors.
We tend to dismiss eLearning with live actors when the person doesn’t look like us or the office setting isn’t just like ours. (Not hard to do with the typical outdated 1990s-style eLearning that’s still on the market!)
Why Do We Use Professional Voice Actors?
Digital voices and “lay peoples'” voiceovers on PowerPoints don’t cut it. We knew we had to match our top-notch video animation with quality voicing by professionals.
We went with an All-star cast. All the actors are members of the ACTRA union. We see and hear them in plays, movies, commercials, radio programs, and in live stand-up comedy.
During production, our actors knew when to make changes to ensure the script was more realistic for the character, or authentic to them as a person in the world.
Then we took multiple takes with a director to make sure the actor’s tone matched the message we wanted conveyed.
We Won an Award! (Pretty Much an eLearning Oscar!)
Ryley Learning is recognized for quality and credibility. We have some hardware to prove it:
Silver Medal, Brandon Hall Group 2022 Excellence Awards, Best Learning Program for Unconscious Bias Awareness! Our customer LCBO put us forward as a partnership. Very stiff competition across North America so we are very pleased and proud.
More About Jane Luk
Jane’s stage credits include years of Improv shows at Bad Dog Theatre, Second City, The Social Capital as well as stages across Canada. She also appeared in Hands Down! by Warren P. Sonoda (Toronto Fringe), Tragedie of Lear, Kim’s Convenience (Soulpepper Western Canada Tour), INTOby Dave Carley, Tout Comme Elle (Luminato/Necessary Angel), World Improv Championships (Just For Laughs).
Jane is a four-time nominee for the Canadian Comedy Awards for Funniest Female Improvisor and recipient of a Dora Award and Chalmers Award for Best Youth Script and is a Humber Theatre graduate.
