Jamie Cavanagh is a multidisciplinary performer whose artistic origins date back to his sophomore year in high school, when he was selected to be a part of his high school improv team.
“It is the first thing that I can remember being truly good at, and it was my first real passion in life. I had found a talent.”
This love of improv, and dedication to his own growth is what got him involved with the Edmonton improv giant Rapid Fire Theatre having been scouted from the 2006 Nosebowl High School Theatresports Tournament. It was there, in the renowned Varscona Theatre that he cut his teeth with some of Alberta’s sharpest comedians, actors, and playwrights, and performed weekly for full and energetic audiences for what would be 9 years.
“Rapid Fire introduced me to the concept of being a professional performer. I saw other people around me doing it, and I could see that it was possible. The precedent had been set. I had to seek out training.”
In the fall of 2008, Jamie started his first day of acting school in the renowned Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting conservatory program at the University of Alberta. It was there that he was classically trained in the art of acting and was given a multitude of performance and collaboration opportunities that would expand his abilities and his knowledge, nursing his investment in the trade.
“I went to school in the morning when it was dark outside, I went home at night when it was dark outside, I did two improv shows a week on Friday and Saturday evenings, when it was dark outside… I didn’t see the sun for three years.”
In 2011 Jamie graduated from theatre school and burst onto the Edmonton professional theatre scene; he began working at almost every major company in the city, performing a series of roles that were followed very shortly thereafter by an embarrassment of praise and award nominations. He had his feet under him, he could see that it could be done.
“I wanted to prove myself on a grander scale. I wanted to see how good I actually was. I didn’t just want to be an Edmontonian artist or an Albertan artist, I wanted to be a Canadian artist. I had to move to Toronto.”
In 2015 Jamie moved to Toronto, where he now primarily works and lives. He is an active company member of the acclaimed and historic Toronto theatre company VideoCabaret, and performs improv weekly at Comedy Bar and Bad Dog Theatre. When he isn’t in film or on stage he can be heard lending his voice to various animations, productions and ad campaigns.
Jamie teaches both public and private workshops in the fields of acting, auditioning, and performing improv comedy, and has been an instructor for such esteemed companies and organizations such as: London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts [LAMDA] (London UK), The Second City Toronto (Toronto ON), The Bridge Theatre Training Program (London UK), and Rapid Fire Theatre (Edmonton AB). To see a full breakdown of Jamie’s CV and credentials, click here.
Jamie Cavanagh 