Just Joy Entertainment is founded by Australian-made comedy actor, writer and producer, Lisa Hughes.
We delight in the ridiculous. We cheer the authentic. We champion the magic in all. And we do this all through the beautiful lens of laughter.
The Just Joy family home may be built on an Australian foundation but the walls are perfected in four very talented Canadian filmmaking creatives. All the content created under the Just Joy Entertainment colourful umbrella, is a direct result of a group of passionate actors and writers on a mission to awaken the silly and playful within us all.
At the heart of all Just Joy content is a mission to breathe life into the child within us all.
WHY JOY?
Lisa’s grandma, Joy, was an extraordinary and passionate humanly treasure, that gave life more colour and more heart through the simple gift of laughter and play.
THE TEAM
LISA HUGHES
Lisa is a product of the sunny east coast of Australia. Lisa’s comedy writing has progressed through many workshops, most notably she received a Second City Summer Scholarship in Chicago, studying comedy writing for television and film, sketch, and improv. The body of Lisa’s work can be seen in the Leo award-winning comedy series, The Actress Diaries, where she held the role of showrunner and lead actor. More recently, Lisa was nominated for Best Female Performance (Comedy) for the International Academy of Web Television Awards in Los Angeles.
More about Lisa
MEGAN RUSSELL
Megan graduated from the University of Victoria with a BFA in Screenwriting and a minor in Professional Writing. She has worked on several films and TV series in a variety of roles while maintaining a steady stream of short and web content production where she writes, directs and produces. Her short film “The Roommate” was nominated for Best Mockumentary at the 2018 Portland Comedy Film Festival, her animated series “This Undead Life ” was selected for the 2017 OIAF Pitch This! competition, and web series she’s worked on have been recognized at the Leo Awards. Most recently, her comedy feature “Party Favor” won Best Coming of Age Screenplay at the 2018 Broad Humor Festival and was a Second Round Select at the 2016 Austin Film Festival Screenplay Competition.
KATE BATEMAN
Kate Bateman is an actor based out of Vancouver, BC. She holds a BFA in Acting and a BA in Theatre & Comparative Literature from the University of Alberta. Memorable theatre credits include playing King Lear in KING LEAR, Queen Elizabeth in THE CLINK, Claire in THE VISIT, and Heloise in the one-woman show she adapted and produced herself, entitled HELOISE, OBSERVED ONE NIGHT AT THE MOMENT OF TEMPTATION. She played the lead in an epic short film, TORA, starring opposite David Suzuki in his first-ever acting role; co-stars and co-produces the ongoing THE ACTRESS DIARIES, which earned her a LEO award; and cherishes both her therapeutic work with VANCOUVER PLAYBACK THEATRE and ongoing creation work with THE ASSEMBLY, an all-women clown troupe in Vancouver.
MATT HAMILTON
Matt is a Vancouver Film School Graduate for Writing for Film and Television and has a B.F.A in Writing from The University of Victoria. He was a writer on the MOW Marriage of Lies and the award winning web-series The Actress Diaries. His writing has placed in numerous contests and festivals including Praxis Fellowship, Scriptoid TV contest, Big Rock Eddies, Creative Screenwriting CS Open, StoryPros feature contest, 13 Horror feature contest, Storyline feature contest, LA Int’l Screenwriting contest among many others. Matt has also fared well in his acting pursuits, Leo award-nominated for his work in The Actress Diaries, and more recently nominated for Best Male Performance (Comedy) for the International Academy of Web Television Awards.
MAX SUSSMAN
Max holds a B.F.A in Writing and a B.A. in History from the University of Victoria. He was a writer on The Actress Diaries which earned four Leo award nominations. His writing has been featured in CBC’s Comedy Coup as well as several literary magazines, newspapers, and digital media outlets. Max took on the role of Head Writer for Season 3 of The Actress Diaries. He has been a producer and DJ for Mountain FM in Squamish. Max is currently a copywriter for Rogers Creative Services and on air hosts The Game Show, Friday nights at 11pm on Sportsnet 650.
