Sandra Shamas (born 1957) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

puppeteer, comedic actress, writer, director and producer.

Biography

Shamas was born in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. She moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in 1980, where she held a variety of jobs before a workshop at

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre op ...

inspired her to pursue a career in performing arts. She acted with Second City and

Theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

, and worked as a puppeteer on the children's series ''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim H ...

'' before deciding to strike out on her own. In 1987, she premiered her first show, ''My Boyfriend's Back and There's Gonna Be Laundry'' at the

Edmonton Fringe Festival The Edmonton International Fringe Festival is an annual arts festival held every August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Produced by the Fringe Theatre Adventures (FTA), it is the oldest and largest fringe theatre festival in North America (based on ...

. The show, a mixture of personal stories drawn from her own life and

observational humour Observational comedy is a form of humor based on the commonplace aspects of everyday life. It is one of the main types of humor in stand-up comedy. In an observational comedy act, the comedian makes an observation about something which is common ...

about dating and relationships, was a smash hit of the festival, and soon Shamas was on tour performing the show across the country. In 1989, she began performing the sequel, ''My Boyfriend's Back and There's Gonna Be Laundry II: The Cycle Continues''. A third show, ''Wedding Bell Hell'', dealing with wedding rituals such as the bridal shower and selection of the wedding rings and dress, made its debut in 1991. In 1993, she took ''Laundry'' to the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Ma ...

Theatre in London for her first performance outside Canada, and was well received by the British audience and critics. After some time away from the spotlight, Shamas returned with a new series of shows, ''Wit's End'', ''Wit's End II...Heart's Desire'', and ''Wit's End III...Love Life.'' These shows revolved around her move to the country after buying a farm in Southern Ontario. Shamas has been nominated for the

Governor General's Award The Governor General's Awards are a collection of annual awards presented by the Governor General of Canada, recognizing distinction in numerous academic, artistic, and social fields. The first award was conceived and inaugurated in 1937 by the ...

and the

Stephen Leacock Award The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadians, Canadian writer, publis ...

for the ''Laundry'' trilogy. She won a

Gemini Award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in the United States ...

in 1991 for Best Performance in Comedy, and won the Best Theatre Award at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in March 2003. Shamas' play ''The Big What Now'' premiered in 2017 at the Harbourfront Centre in Toronto. ''The Big What Now'' is about menopause and being a woman over the age of 50. In January 2018, Shamas was appointed to the

Order of Ontario The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...

Books

* Sandra Shamas: a trilogy of performances (Mercury Press, 1997) * Wit's end (Mercury Press, 2002)

References

External links

*
Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia

(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Shamas, Sandra 1957 births 20th-century Canadian comedians 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian comedians 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian women writers Actresses from Greater Sudbury Canadian people of Lebanese descent Canadian stage actresses Canadian stand-up comedians Canadian women comedians Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Fraggle Rock performers Living people Members of the Order of Ontario Writers from Greater Sudbury