Seana McKenna (born 15 August 1956) 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 ...

actress primarily associated with

stage Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * Sta ...

roles at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

Background

Seana McKenna was born in

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 anch ...

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 C ...

, Canada. She is a graduate of the

National Theatre School of Canada The National Theatre School of Canada (NTS, french: École nationale de théâtre du Canada) is a private institution of professional theatre studies in Montreal, Quebec. Established in 1960, the NTS receives its principal funding from grants ...

, where as a student she played Gwendolen in ''

The Importance of Being Earnest ''The Importance of Being Earnest, A Trivial Comedy for Serious People'' is a play by Oscar Wilde. First performed on 14 February 1895 at the St James's Theatre in London, it is a farcical comedy in which the protagonists maintain fictitious ...

'' and Isabella in ''

Women Beware Women ''Women Beware Women'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Thomas Middleton, and first published in 1657. Date The date of authorship of the play is deeply uncertain. Scholars have estimated its origin anywhere from 1612 to 1627; 1623–24 has be ...

'' by

Thomas Middleton Thomas Middleton (baptised 18 April 1580 – July 1627; also spelt ''Midleton'') was an English Jacobean playwright and poet. He, with John Fletcher and Ben Jonson, was among the most successful and prolific of playwrights at work in the Jac ...

Stratford Shakespeare Festival

McKenna has played over 40

roles over the course of 23 years at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, and major ones from very early on, specializing since the 2000s in strong-willed women but also mesmerizing as an actress looking very different from one role to another. 2013 was her 22nd season: She played Queen Elizabeth I in Friedrich Schiller's '' Mary Stuart'' directed by Antoni Cimolino and Madame Arcati in Noël Coward's '' Blithe Spirit'' directed by Brian Bedford.

Roles in other companies

She has also played leading roles in many other major houses across Canada, including the title role in '' Antony and Cleopatra'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

(

Centaur Theatre The Centaur Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Montreal, Quebec. It was co-founded in 1969 by Maurice Podbrey along with The Centaur Foundation for the Performing Arts. It currently has Eda Holmes as the Artistic and Executive Director, ...

), Maggie in '' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof'' by

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thr ...

( Grand Theatre, London), ''

The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe ''The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe'' (1985) is a one-woman stage show written by Jane Wagner and starring Lily Tomlin, which won the Drama Desk Award for Unique Theatrical Experience and was turned into a film in 1991. T ...

'' by

Jane Wagner Jane Wagner (born February 26, 1935) is an American writer, director and producer. She is Lily Tomlin's comedy writer, collaborator and wife. She is the author of '' The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe'', ''The Incredible S ...

(

Belfry Theatre The Belfry Theatre is a theatre and associated theatre company in the Fernwood neighbourhood of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The company produces contemporary theatre, with a focus on Canadian work. The theatre building is a converted ...

, Neptune Theatre,

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

, Manitoba Theatre Centre/MTC), Blanche Dubois in ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pers ...

'' by Tennessee Williams (

Theatre New Brunswick Theatre New Brunswick is the only English language professional theatre company in New Brunswick, Canada. It began operation in 1968, and has been successfully operating since that time. Artistic directors * Walter Learning (1968-1978) *Malcolm Bl ...

), Eliza Dollitle in ''

Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...

'' and the title role in '' Candida'' by

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

(

Shaw Festival The Shaw Festival is a not-for-profit theatre festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest repertory theatre company in North America. The Shaw Festival was founded in 1962. Originally, it only featured productio ...

), ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

'' by

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

and ''

Hedda Gabler ''Hedda Gabler'' () is a play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The world premiere was staged on 31 January 1891 at the Residenztheater in Munich. Ibsen himself was in attendance, although he remained back-stage. The play has been ca ...

'' by Henrik Ibsen (MTC), Blanche Dubois again at MTC, '' Wit'' by

Margaret Edson Margaret "Maggie" Edson (born July 4, 1961) is an American playwright. She is a recipient of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''Wit''. She has been a public school teacher since 1992. Background and education Edson was born in Was ...

at the Canadian Stage Company, ''

Orpheus Descending ''Orpheus Descending'' is a three-act play by Tennessee Williams. It was first presented on Broadway on March 17, 1957 but had only a brief run (68 performances) and modest success. It was revived on Broadway in 1989, directed by Peter Hall an ...

'' by

at the Manitoba Theatre Centre and

Royal Alexandra Theatre The Royal Alexandra Theatre, commonly known as the Royal Alex, is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located near King and Simcoe Street. Built in 1907, the 1,244-seat Royal Alex is the oldest continuously operating legitimate theatre in Nort ...

, '' Doubt: A Parable'' by

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer P ...

at the Canadian Stage Company, ''

Phèdre ''Phèdre'' (; originally ''Phèdre et Hippolyte'') is a French dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677 at the theatre of the Hôtel de Bourgogne in Paris. Composition and premiere Wit ...

'' by

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

( American Conservatory Theater), and ''

The Year of Magical Thinking ''The Year of Magical Thinking'' (2005), by Joan Didion (1934–2021), is an account of the year following the death of the author's husband John Gregory Dunne (1932–2003). Published by Knopf in October 2005, ''The Year of Magical Thinking'' wa ...

'' by

Joan Didion Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer. Along with Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and Gay Talese, she is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won ...

(

Tarragon Theatre The Tarragon Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and one of the main centers for contemporary playwriting in the country.

, and

).https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pQhCi85Oew Video excerpt of Tarragon Theatre production of The Year of Magical Thinking

Films and TV

Mckenna has also acted in a few films and television, including the 1997 film '' The Hanging Garden'', in which she won a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well at filmed Stratford productions: Twelfth Night (1986, King John (2015), and Hamlet (2016)

Home life

She married director Miles Potter, and they have one son, Callan, born in 1998.

Stratford Shakespeare Festival credits

DVDs, CDs, Audiobooks, Video clips

*''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vi ...

'' (1986) CBC Home Video,

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

, based on the 1985 Stratford Shakespeare Festival production. *'' Good Mother'' (2002) by

Damien Atkins Damien Atkins is a Canadian actor and playwright."Damien Atkins stands out"
''< ...

Bell Canada Reading, CBC Audiobook CD,

. *''

'' (2001) by

CBC Audiobook CD,

, based on the 2001 Stratford Shakespeare Festival production. *Narrator for '' Away'', novel in Audiobook format by

Jane Urquhart Jane Urquhart, LL.D (born June 21, 1949) is a Canadian novelist and poet. She is the internationally acclaimed author of seven award-winning novels, three books of poetry and numerous short stories. As a novelist, Urquhart is well known for her e ...

. *Interview for Theatre Museum Canada by R.H. Thomson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qPUVOzJkrU

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Seana Actresses from Toronto Canadian stage actresses Canadian film actresses Best Supporting Actress Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners Living people Members of the Order of Canada Dora Mavor Moore Award winners 1956 births Canadian Shakespearean actresses