Jana Gillis

Jana Gillis is a professional skit artist from Cape Breton, NS. Her skits have taken many forms over the years. Sometimes as short films (screened at SJIWFF, AIFF, The Nickel, HIFF, TOSketchFest & various Sci-Fi & Fantasy Conventions throughout Atlantic Canada); as plays (St. John’s Short Play Festival, Cape Breton Stage Company) as “sketches” (Is This a Bit?, Almost Baymous, The Second City Toronto Sketch Conservatory) and straight up make ‘em ups (St. John’s Improv, Extreme Improv XStreamed, Movie Night Productions). She’s also acted in longform television skits (Hudson & Rex, Son of a Critch, Astrid & Lilly Save the World, Hallmark’s Everything Christmas). Jana studied professional skitcraft and earned a red t-shirt with a chair on it from The Second City Toronto and a BFA in Theatre Acting from Grenfell Campus, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Jana is a founding member of the St. John’s Short Play Festival, producing two of her original plays “Pirate Play” and “Work in Progress” in that first year. Her short films have premiered at film festivals across Atlantic Canada. She’s lent her voice to the writer’s rooms of sketch comedy troupes Halfhandsome (Almost Baymous), Bicycle Jousting Comedy (Is This a Bit? Quick! While They’re Not Looking!) and more. She regularly performs improv, stand up, solo sketch and bagpipes around Town and beyond, sometimes all at once.

Jana also works as a stage manager, comedy tech, assistant director in film and television, director, actor, and producer. She serves on the boards of the Newfoundland branches of the Director’s Guild of Canada and ACTRA.