Briane Nasimok

Book Briane
Storyteller
Writer
Producer
Workshops

Every life is a story worth telling...

"Listening to Nasimok is a delightful way to spend an evening" |

— CBC Manitoba

Discover my story

How it All Started

Canadian Comedy Award recipient Briane Nasimok has been telling stories from an early age—a talent he primarily used in those days to get out of trouble.

When he was ten, Briane went to live theatre for the first time, which inspired him to pursue his dream. Unfortunately he had little success in acting in public school with roles lile A Boy, A Pirate and Policeman Number 2.
Somehow this led to an unusual career: appearing in over 30 operas and nearly 300 performances, without uttering a word.  He became “Canada’s Foremost Operatic Mute, the theme of his first one-person show.

Briane went on to a career in stand-up comedy as one of the earliest featured performers at Yuk Yuks and appearances on “A Spectular Evening in Canada” and “Evening at the Improv”..

As a television writer/producer he worked on shows ranging from Canadian Sesame Street to The Giller Prize, and was 9th runner-up in CTV’s Thrill of a Lifetime’s Male Beauty Pageant.

“His life experience as a mute performer led to the creation of an acclaimed one-person show.”

On stage

Briane has had an eclectic career, trending the …

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On Screen

Briane’s Career began when his uncle invested in …

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Live Events

When it came to writing award shows, …

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In Print

After years writing for school …

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Reviews

“Nasimok is a very likeable performer, who had the …

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there's more.

Briane spent over a decade warming-up …

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My Journey To Storytelling

After to many of appearing at Yuk Yuks, doing stand-up comedy, having a mortgage to pay, I turned to television writing and producing.

If it is My journey then the point of view has to change

– i.e. instead of “After a decade of creating shows for YTV, I took my talents to – “myi friend Michael Miloff and asked me why I wasn’t… was my reply…Three weeks later I got… Thinking it was a sign I took the course and began my career. 

Storyteller

In Toronto Briane has performed as part of numerous International Storytelling Festivals and regularly appears at various local shows.
His three, one-person storytelling shows have played at Fringe Festivals across Canada .

During Covid he performed on-line in storytelling shows in Chicago, Boston, Ottawa, California and Mumbai and is a three-time winner of the Six Feet Apart Story Slam on-line completion out of California.

Writer

Briane has written for almost every genre.  He got his start writing children’s theatre and continued to entertain the younger set when he moved to television creating scripts for Canadian “Sesame Park”, “Fred Penners’ Place”, “Max and Ruby”, and Rotten Ralph”.

For film, he wrote and directed “tricia”, a short film that played commercial with “Birth of a Nation”.  He is a credited writer on the feature  film“Spring Fever”

He co-wrote “Dead Air’, which played at the Charlottetown Festival, over twenty interactive scripts for the Grafton Street Dinner and Feast Dinner Theatre and three one-person shows.

Producer

Briane began producing while still in high school, taking charge of a group which he named 2nd Century Players.  They performed children’s shows at Toronto’ Colonade Theatre for three years, as well as in public school.

He produces shows with Storytelling Toronto along with his monthly showcase Tales at the Tranzac, with co-producers Madeline Sedgewick and Andrew Wong through their company, ‘Tales Toronto’.

Workshops

Briane offers three workshops, storytelling, improvisation and corporate team building.

He has created workshops for; the.Toronto Board of Education; Telus; Sheridan College; the Charlottetown Festival; Toronto High School Principal’s Association; Humber College and Tales Toronto.

He can create a special program for organizations’ need.

On Stage

Briane has had an eclectic career, trending the boards.  From a less than stellar public school performing career with roles like A Boy, A Pirate and Policeman Number Two, he was “discovered” at the University of Toronto, appearing in a comedy revue, that closed during dress rehearsal.

This led to a six-year career as a supernumerary with the Canadian Opera Company, that was the foundation for his first one-person show, “Confessions of an Operatic Mute”.

As part of Theatresports Toronto, Briane was a national champion and early coach of “the Kids in the Hall”.

Briane created and performed interactive Murder Mysteries, for Blyth and Company and was the innovator of the Governor’s Feast in Prince Edward Isalnd and the co-founder of the Grafton Street Dinner Theatre.

On Screen

Briane’s Career began when his uncle invested in a film and said “Give the kid a part”.  A Warehouseman in “HiBallin”, he was situated behind boxes, but still got a tail credit.

While performing at Yuk Yuks in Montreal, a film director came to see Howie Mandel, who ended up getting a lead role in the film “Gas”.  Briane was awarded the role of Sheikh Fawsi Ibin Fawsi, for a film that lasted two weeks. He received one review “it should not be held against Briane if has a career in film”.

Briane also had parts in “Tulips” and “Funny Farm”, not the Chevy Chase film.  He closed his career as an extra in “Eleni”, appearing with John Malkovitch.

He has appeared in numerous television shows including CBC’s “King of Kensington” and “In Good Company”, Showtime’s “A Spectacular Evening in Canada” and CTV’s Just Kidding” and “Thrill of a Lifetime”.

Live Events

When it came to writing award shows, Briane was the man to go to for over a decade.

His credits include, numerous “Genie”, “Gemini” and “Giller Prizes”; the Writer Guild’s “Top Ten Award”, writing and producing “The Siminovitch Prize for Theatre.

Briane was the writer/producer for 16 years of the Gilda’s Club Gala, which featured stars like Eric McCoramck, Andrea Martin, the Smothers Brothers, Eugene Levy, Marty Short, Colin Mochrie.

Briane hosted and created “Rebok’s Wacky Games”, held at Toronto’s then SkyDome”.

For over 26 years, Briane volunteer with Special Olympics Canada, writing their annual fundraising gala, working on competition opening and closing ceremonies and helping produce local events.  He was chosen Volunteer of the year in 2005.

In Print

After years writing for school newspapers, including the Senca, Innis Herald, and U of T Varsity, Briane was published in ”Take One” film magazine, when they bought a paper he did for his class, “Godzilla the Monster Behind the Myth.”

Tom Alderman a few years later interviewed “Canada’s Foremost Operatic Mute” for the Canadian magazine’s “CitySpan” section, and two weeks later hired him to freelance.

Over the next four years, Briane’s published articles about Toronto included “Where to Go, after 1am”, “Best Toronto Laundromat“; “Hospital Cafeterias to Avoid”, “Best Places to Worship” and Dining out at the Blue Jays”.

NC Press asked Briane to put together his articles, with other Cityspanners, which became the not best-seller, “Making Out in Toronto”

For 15 years he was part of a four-person crew who freelanced for United Press, covering Blue jay home games, writing up game stories and box scores.

Reviews

“Nasimok is a very likeable performer, who had the audience eating out of his hand. The script is well-written and finely honed, as befits a seasoned Gemini-nominated writer.

He’s a charming man with charming stories and listening to Nasimok is a delightful way to spend an evening.”  Rose Fernandez, CBC Manitoba

“A witty and ebullient man”, MacKenzie Porter, Toronto Sun

Confession of an Operatic Mute

“One of the Top Ten Fringe Shows not to miss!”   CBC, Canada Writes

Nasimok paces the stage and narrates his life with confidence… Briane endears through this underdog narrative before winningly concluding with a transformation into the lead role.”

Glenn Sumi NOW – NNNN

He has the seasoned delivery of a professional funnyman, which indeed he is, with a career in Canadian comedy going back decades.   Confessions feels like getting drunk with your most interesting uncle.”  CBC Winnipeg.

And there's more.

Briane spent over a decade warming-up television audiences, for shows ranging from :”The $128,000 Question”, “The Genie Awards”, “The King of Kensington” and “Thrill of the Lifetime”, where he was a late-entry in the “Mr. Thrill Beauty Pageant”, and was the ninth runner-up.

In high school he was a founder of “Second Century Players'”, a student theatre company based at the Colonnade Theatre, that toured productions to schools and community centres.

For two years he scripted the television of the Toronto Santa Clause. His favourite quote about life is – “it’s not that I know what I want to do, I just know what I don’t want to do”.