Vanessa Sears

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Vanessa Sears
Born (1993-02-01) February 1, 1993 (age 31)
Deep River, Ontario, Canada
NationalityCanadian
Education Sheridan College
Occupation(s)Actress, singer
Years active2015–present

Vanessa Sears is a Canadian actress and singer. She originated the role of Nicola in the Canadian premiere production of Kinky Boots , which played at the Royal Alexandra Theatre. In 2022, Sears originated the role of Anaia in the Canadian premiere production of Is God Is , for which she was nominated for a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role.

Contents

Early life

Sears was born and raised in Deep River, Ontario. [1] She is of Guyanese and Jamaican heritage, since her father was born in Guyana and her mother was born in Jamaica. [2] She has two brothers and two sisters. [2] As a child, Sears contracted flesh-eating disease, where she stayed at the Ronald McDonald House while receiving treatment at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario. [3]

Growing up, Sears performed in community theatre productions of Beauty and the Beast and My Fair Lady. [2] She also performed as an entertainer at Canada's Wonderland. [3] In 2014, Sears advanced to the semi-finals of an international singing competition to become the Voice of McDonald's. [4]

Although she considered pursuing studies to become a veterinarian, Sears decided to pursue musical theatre and graduated from the Honours Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance program at Sheridan College. [2] [5] As of 2023, Sears started studying to also become a musical theatre director. [2]

Career

Shortly after graduating, Sears made her professional stage debut in the Canadian premiere production of Kinky Boots , where she played Nicola. [6] The musical began an open-ended run at the Royal Alexandra Theatre on June 16, 2015, before closing on May 15, 2016.

In 2016, Sears starred as Dorothy in a production of The Wizard of Oz by Young People's Theatre in Toronto, for which she won a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Musical. [1] [7]

In 2017, Sears played Edwina in a production of Passing Strange , produced by the Musical Stage Company and Obsidian Theatre. [8] For her performance, Sears won the Toronto Theatre Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. [9]

Sears made her Shaw Festival debut in 2017. After appearing in the ensemble of two productions, Sears appeared as Zoe in the Canadian premiere of An Octoroon , which played between July 16 and October 14, 2017. [10]

In 2018, Sears starred as Mary Poppins in the Young People's Theatre production of Mary Poppins , which opened on November 8, 2018, and closed on January 6, 2019. [11] At the 2019 Dora Awards, Sears was nominated in the Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role category for her performance as Mary Poppins. [12]

During the 2019 Stratford Festival season, Sears appeared as Ronnette in their production of Little Shop of Horrors and as Dead Mum in Billy Elliot the Musical . [13] [14]

In 2020, Sears played Emmie Thibodeaux in a production of Caroline, or Change by the Musical Stage Company and Obsidian Theatre. [15] The musical, which starred Jully Black and Measha Brueggergosman, played at the Winter Garden Theatre between January 30 and February 15, 2020. [15] For her performance, Sears won the Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role. [16]

Sears starred as Anaia in the Canadian premiere of the play Is God Is , which was presented by the Canadian Stage Company between May 6 - 22, 2022. [17] She was nominated for a Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role. [18] Later that year, she played Regan in the world premiere production of Queen Goneril by the Soulpepper Theatre Company, for which she won the Dora Award for Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role. [19] [20] Sears also played Red Queen / Ruby in a regional production of Alice in Wonderland , which earned her a Dora Award nomination for Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role. [21] [20]

In 2022, Sears starred in her first Hallmark movie, 14 Love Letters. [22]

In 2023, Sears made her Broadway debut in New York, New York . She was a standby for the lead role of Francine Evans in the musical, which played at the St. James Theatre between March 24, 2023, and July 30, 2023. [23]

In 2024, Sears returned to Stratford Festival where she will star as Juliet in a production of Romeo and Juliet . [24] Following this, Sears will star as the Witch in a pantomime production of The Wizard of Oz, presented by Ross Petty Productions and the Canadian Stage Company. It will play at the Winter Garden Theatre between December 6, 2024, and January 5, 2025. [25]

Theatre credits

YearProductionRoleTheatreCategoryRef.
2015–2016 Kinky Boots Nicola Royal Alexandra Theatre Mirvish Productions [6]
2016 The Wizard of Oz DorothyRegional: Young People's Theatre [1]
2016 Million Dollar Quartet DyanneShoctor Theatre Citadel Theatre
2017 Passing Strange EdwinaThe Opera HouseMusical Stage Company, Obsidian Theatre [8]
Me and My Girl EnsembleFestival Theatre Shaw Festival
1837: The Farmers' RevoltEnsembleCourt House Theatre
An Octoroon ZoeRoyal George Theatre [10]
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat NarratorRegional: Theatre Aquarius
2018The Magician's NephewPollyFestival Theatre Shaw Festival
Grand Hotel Flaemmchen
2018–2019 Mary Poppins Mary PoppinsRegional: Young People's Theatre [11]
2019 Little Shop of Horrors RonnetteAvon Theatre Stratford Festival [13]
Billy Elliot the Musical Dead MumFestival Theatre [14]
2020 Caroline, or Change Emmie Thibodeaux Winter Garden Theatre Musical Stage Company, Obsidian Theatre [15]
2022 Is God Is AnaiaBerkeley Street Theatre Canadian Stage Company, Obsidian Theatre [17]
Queen GonerilRegan Young Centre for the Performing Arts World premiere: Soulpepper Theatre Company [19]
King Lear Regan Soulpepper Theatre Company
Alice in Wonderland Red Queen / RubyRegional: Bad Hats Theatre [18]
2023 New York, New York Francine Evans (standby) St. James Theatre Broadway [23]
2024 Romeo and Juliet JulietFestival Theatre Stratford Festival [24]
Twelfth Night Olivia
The Wizard of Oz: A Holiday Musical PantoWitch Winter Garden Theatre Canadian Stage Company / Ross Petty Productions [25]

Filmography

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2016 Suits Young JessicaS6.E10: "P.S.L."
2017 The Beaverton Various charactersS1.E7; S1.E10
2020Too Close for ChristmasAmy Parker-BarnettTV movie
2021 TallBoyz Various characters4 episodes
Sex/Life KylaS1.E7: "Small Town Saturday Night"
Odd Squad Reporter #5S3.E21: "Odd Off the Press"
Y: The Last Man StephS1.E5: "Mann Hunt"
Royally Wrapped for ChristmasMonicaTV movie
202214 Love LettersKallieTV movie
My Little Pony: Make Your Mark Additional voicesVoice role, S2.E1: "Izzy Does It"
Sappy HolidayJoy JohnsonTV movie
2024 My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale Sunny's MomVoice role, S2.E11: "Written In The Starscouts"

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2021 Romance in the Wilds Abi
Christmas in the Wilds

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNominated workResultRef.
2015 BroadwayWorld AwardBest Featured Female in a Musical Kinky Boots Won [26]
2016 Dora Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble The Wizard of Oz Won [7]
2017Toronto Theatre Critics AwardBest Supporting Actress Passing Strange Won [9]
2019 Dora Awards Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role Mary Poppins Nominated [12]
2020Outstanding Performance in a Featured Role Caroline, or Change Won [16]
2022Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role Is God Is Nominated [18]
2023Outstanding Performance in a Featured RoleQueen GonerilWon [20]
Outstanding Performance in a Leading Role Alice in Wonderland Nominated [20]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Dundas, Camille (March 24, 2016). "Dorothy Is Back - And She's Black". ByBlacks. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 La Rose, Miranda (June 4, 2023). "Canadian actress with Guyanese and Jamaican roots Vanessa Sears debuts on Broadway". Stabroek Weekend. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Cukier, Abigail (June 19, 2014). "Oakville Sheridan student a semifinalist as Voice of McDonald's". Oakville Beaver. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
  4. ↑ "McDonald's Welcomes Chris Daughtry and Wayne Brady as Celebrity Hosts for "Voice of McDonald's" Global Singing Competition". Globe Newswire. April 7, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  5. ↑ Sneddon, Scott (June 24, 2016). "Vanessa Sears can't help falling in love in All Shook Up". SesayArts Magazine. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  6. 1 2 Gans, Andrew (June 28, 2015). "Tony-Winning Hit Kinky Boots Opens in Canada". Playbill. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  7. 1 2 Kappler, Maija (June 27, 2016). "2016 Dora Award Winners". Intermission Magazine. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  8. 1 2 Cushman, Robert (January 31, 2017). "Passing Strange is a 'vibrant' piece about an aspiring young musician". National Post. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  9. 1 2 Murphy, Aisling (May 25, 2017). "Here Are This Year's Toronto Theatre Critics Award Winners". Intermission Magazine. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  10. 1 2 "An Octoroon to Make Canadian Premiere at Shaw Festival". BroadwayWorld. July 14, 2017. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  11. 1 2 Hoile, Christopher (November 9, 2018). "Review:Mary Poppins". Stage-Door. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  12. 1 2 "2019 Dora Award Nominees". Mooney on Theatre. May 29, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Sumi, Glenn (September 11, 2019). "Stratford Festival review: Little Shop Of Horrors is frighteningly good". NOW Magazine. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  14. 1 2 Siblin-Librach, Judy (October 29, 2019). "The bliss of Billy Elliot". Find Your Bliss. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  15. 1 2 3 Nestruck, J. Kelly (February 6, 2020). "Caroline, or Change is a tremendous musical-theatre debut for Jully Black". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Smith, Mae (June 29, 2020). "2020 Dora Mavor Moore Award Winners". Intermission Magazine. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  17. 1 2 Wild, Stephi (March 23, 2022). "Oyin Oladejo and Vanessa Sears Lead Canadian Premiere Of IS GOD IS". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  18. 1 2 3 Watson, Jessica (September 20, 2022). "2022 Dora Mavor Moore Award Winners". Intermission Magazine. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  19. 1 2 Sneddon, Scott (September 5, 2022). "Soulpepper's Electrifying Queen Goneril and apocalyptic King Lear create a conversation worth having". SesayArts Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Crowley, Helene (June 28, 2023). "Announcing the 2023 Dora Mavor Moore Award Winners". Intermission Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  21. ↑ Watson, Jessica (December 20, 2022). "REVIEW: Alice in Wonderland at Bad Hats Theatre/Soulpepper". Intermission Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
  22. ↑ Gidlow, Steve (July 28, 2022). "Vanessa Sears on Joining the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Family in "14 Love Letters"". MediaVillage. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  23. 1 2 Culwell-Block, Logan (February 1, 2023). "Clyde Alves, Emily Skinner, Janet Dacal, More Join Cast of Broadway's New York, New York". Playbill. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  24. 1 2 Smith, Cory (June 1, 2024). "Romeo and Juliet: Romance, passion and tragedy". Stratford Beacon-Herald. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  25. 1 2 Cristi, A.A. (July 19, 2024). "The Wizard of Oz: A Holiday Musical Panto". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  26. ↑ Henry, Alan (January 18, 2016). "2015 BroadwayWorld Toronto Award Winners Announced". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved July 15, 2024.
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