Shannon Steele is the creator, writer, and co-producer of Black Lake.  Born and raised in Calgary, Alberta, Shannon is passionate about fostering the film and performing arts industry in her home province.  She entered the industry as a dancer and quickly became involved with community theatre and independent film projects.  She now brandishes a career branching over 20 years extending into areas of project management, information coordination, and business ownership,   She has sat on numerous boards including the Calgary Girls Choir and Revitalize Energy; and during her 10 years living abroad in South East Asia was a general member on board of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce of Jakarta, the Saint Patrick Society of Yangon and was acting President for the Jakarta Canadian Women’s Association for two years.  She holds a Diploma in Ornamental Horticulture, a BGS in Architectural Studies, an MA in Ethnochoreology and is a certified Irish Dance Teacher with An Coimisiún Le Rincí Gaelacha.  She is currently in her first year of the Company of Rogues Master Class program and holds a place in the prestigious 6-Degrees Emerging Artist Summer Acting Intensive for 2024.   While acting has always been a primary focus for Shannon, recent play and script writing courses have led her to discover a new interest for the work behind the scenes.  In 2021, Shannon joined forces with Elwyn Lewis of Stonepeak Productions to co-produce the short films Sunshine (currently in post-production) and Falling to Pizzas.  In 2023, under the tutelage of Calgary Fringe’s Fringe U, Shannon wrote, directed, and co-produced alongside Rebecca See and Tamara Van Horne her first play, Recommend for Mercy.  Shannon currently lives in Calgary, enjoying her time raising her two incredible daughters, Olivia and Aveigne, and energetic dog, Tori.