work
acting
acting
I credit my acting career to my Aunt Cher who, when I was a kid, was the first to tell my mom that ‘this behaviour isn’t normal’. My high school drama department and a culty extra-curricular acting class helped me land my first gigs as a teenager and encouraged me to apply to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. After graduating with my BA, I toured the UK in a production of Romeo and Juliet, falling in love and dying daily (sometimes even twice) for a year. Since then I’ve been working in theatre and film across Canada.
Some favourite theatre credits include playing Viola, Ophelia and Imogen at Vancouver’s Bard on the Beach; Tarragon Theatre productions like The Summoned, Hamlet, Bunny, and Post-Democracy; being the team captain of the Howland Company’s The Wolves (Crows); and playing Juliet and Helena in High Park. Some TV credits include Nurses, Anne with an E and Saving Hope, but my favourite work is the shorts and web series I’ve made with my work-wives. If you're in the mood for some millennial ennui check out BUDZ, or At Your Feet to experience a day in the life as a shoe shiner, or join the 7 million people who have watched Mom & Me.
Acting is such a delightfully strange human instinct. It encompasses the ugliest narcissism of our culture and the quivering nerve of our collective conscious. I’ve now become that slightly jaded person who tells young actors “if you can imagine yourself doing anything else… do that” but I’m also continuously humbled by the privilege and necessity of imagining what it’s like to walk in other people’s shoes. I believe that simple act is something the world needs more of.
directing
directing
As a storyteller, I’m most interested in work that explores the complexities of contradicting truths. I love watching and creating work that embodies the duality of life; the kind of drama that reveals humour, and comedy that reminds us of the heartbreak of being human.
writing
writing
I cut my teeth as a creator making short films and web series that have screened at festivals internationally, garnered nominations and awards, and have been viewed millions of times on YouTube. You can check out those projects, here, and read some of my writing below.
read my writing
read my writing
What I learned from my mom’s abortions in 1970s Canada
— Toronto Star
Why we need more abortion stories
— She Does the City
The right to “choice” and housing in Canada
— rabble.ca
What the U.S Election Results Mean for Canadian Reproductive Rights
— She Does the City
We can’t afford kids in Toronto. Whose fault is that?
— Toronto Star
The problem with rent control (or the lack thereof) in Toronto
— Toronto Star
The Good, the bad, and the ugly of abortion in Canada
— Ottar Magazine
let’s stay in touch
Emails go out when I have news to share or something to say.
email me connect@rachelcairns.ca
slide into my DMs @its.rachel.cairns