VANESSA SEARS | ACTOR, DIRECTOR, EDUCATOR
City: Deep River, ON
Instagram:Â @vanessa_sears
Previous work: Uncovered: The Music of Abba (Musical Stage Co); Is God Is (CanStage/Obsidian/Necessary Angel); Holiday Inn, An Octoroon, The Magician’s Nephew, Grand Hotel, Me and My Girl (Shaw); Why We Tell the Story, Billy Elliot, Little Shop of Horrors (Stratford); Mary Poppins, Wizard of Oz (YPT); Caroline or Change, Passing Strange (Musical Stage Co/Obsidian)
Vanessa Sears is an award-winning actor hailing from Deep River, Ontario. Among her many accolades are the Dora Award, Toronto Theatre Critics Award, BroadwayWorld Award and Critic’s Pick Award. She has starred in productions across Canada, including the Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival, Soulpepper, the Royal Alexandra Theatre, the historic Winter Garden Theatre and many more. Soon she will add Broadway to her resume.
Vanessa also has a number of TV and film credits under her belt, including Suits, Sex/Life, Y The Last Man, Sappy Holiday, 14 Love Letters and many more. She is also a director, educator, and serves on the board of the Canadian Green Alliance.
More about Vanessa Sears
How were you first introduced to your creative discipline (i.e. music, dance, comedy, etc.)?
“I first fell in love with live performance doing community theatre in my home town of Deep River, ON. We had a fantastic community full of warm and brilliant people who loved making art. I began with Deep River Youth Theatre, doing a production of Bugsy Malone, and had a great little feature. It was so much fun and from then on I did any community and school theatre that I could.”
How has your city, region or places you were raised impacted you artistically/creatively?
“The people who supported me in those early days, folks who cast me in challenging roles and drove me to out of town rehearsals, those people were so supportive and gave me the confidence to audition for post-secondary arts programs. Without them I never would have chased the dream of being an actor and gotten the training that led to me where I am now. Deep River continues to support my career, driving to Toronto and beyond to see my shows. Their love and encouragement continues to ground me when my profession starts to feel overwhelming.”
What’s something people should know about you?
“I might play some powerful and intimidating roles on stage but I’m a goofball at heart.”
