Known for her keen sense of timing, razor sharp wit and extraordinary rapport with an audience, Shannan Calcutt has spent the last 20 years making people laugh. She has played an eclectic range of venues worldwide, from the Sydney Opera House, to San Francisco’s Bimbo’s 365 Club, to Saskatoon’s Wash ‘n Slosh Pub. For the last 15 years, Shannan has called the stage of Cirque du Soleil’s sensual sensation Zumanity in Las Vegas, home.
One of the world’s leading instructors in clown, creativity and devising theatre, Shannan has conducted workshops throughout Canada, Australia, Europe and the United States. She is a regular instructor at Cirque du Soleil and most recently won Guest Instructor of the Year for her class “Recess for Grown Ups” at Vegas Theatre Hub. She has a Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Dramatic Media (University of Nevada, Las Vegas), a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Performance (University of Victoria) and is a graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre.
Shannan made a name for herself co-writing and performing in the internationally-acclaimed solo Izzy trilogy: Burnt Tongue, It’s Me – Only Better! and Out of My Skin, co-written and directed by Sue Morrison. Her plays have been broadcast in full on CBC Radio and Canada’s Bravo! Network and she has been featured in the international arts magazines American Theatre and Border Crossings. CBC declared her “a national treasure.”
Shannan is sought after as an Acting Coach, Director, Writer, Comic Act Designer and Show Creator. In any collaboration, Shannan is renowned for her individual and intimate approach, encouraging artists to push the boundaries of what’s acceptable and embedding a confidence that allows them to work at their greatest potential.