We were lucky to catch up with Janet McMordie recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Janet thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

Life-long learning and curiosity has been instilled in me by my family since I was a child. I have always loved the “learning of the thing”. Life-long learning is also a phrase that gets shoved down our throats in medical school and continuing medical education is required of us to maintain our medical licenses (as I believe it is in most other careers). My acting career is no different. I am constantly in some type of formal training to learn about this craft. Improv classes, script analysis workshops, movement classes, vocal coaching, therapy…I even took a clowning course! But I think informal learning is just as important-I love to read books on creativity and biographies of people in the industry. I watch SO MUCH TV AND FILM. I mean, come on, how lucky are we that we have a career where binging a TV series is considered research.

One of the best ways to learning the craft of acting is to actually do some acting (riddle me that!). It’s important to apply what you’ve learned through practical experience. Some of my greatest acting teachers have been community theater productions, student films, and background acting gigs.

In addition to formal training and practical experience, it’s also essential to our craft to develop a strong work ethic and a willingness to take risks and make mistakes. Acting requires vulnerability and the ability to connect with an audience, so it’s important to be open to feedback and criticism and to be willing to learn and grow as an actor.

Janet, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m also an actor, voiceover artist, improv and stunt performer. I decided to simultaneously pursue acting at the beginning of the pandemic. I found myself in a rut… sprinting into the inevitable burnout that comes from being a doctor in a global pandemic. I’d been a very creative person growing up, surrounded by creative family and friends, but found that creativity pushed to the side as I tunnel vision focused myself towards a career in medicine.

I started taking improv and acting classes online as a way to reconnect with that creativity and I haven’t looked back since!
I believe my work as a physician has had a positive influence on my acting career and vice versa… I’m continuously seeing the positive benefits my acting career has had on my work as a physician.

I also host Second Act Actors, a web series and podcast,
where I chat with and celebrate other people who have made a major life and/or career change into acting.

Stories are more important than ever these days. We live in isolated bubbles and it can be hard to learn about others during this time. I love having the chance to share stories and provide some connection. It’s also a heck of a lot of fun!

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is being part of a larger community of artists and like-minded individuals. I am a firm believer that the only way we can develop empathy is through storytelling and collaboration.

Research has shown that when we hear stories, our brains actually light up in areas associated with empathy and social cognition. When we hear stories, we often put ourselves in the shoes of the characters and imagine how we would feel or react in their situations. Stories are more important than ever these days as we carry out our lives in increasingly smaller, isolated silos. We need to hear stories from marginalized groups both in front of and behind the camera. This means more opportunities for women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and individuals with disabilities to be involved in all aspects of filmmaking.

The show that I’m working on currently (Trickle & Flow) has been a wonderful experience for me in terms of creative collaboration. We have a very diverse, female-led production group and I have found the brainstorming and idea generation that has come from this group of humans with such diverse backgrounds to be so exciting!
Also, as creatives, collaborating with others can provide us with emotional support and encouragement, which can be especially important when taking creative risks or facing challenges. As a female creative in a small industry like Toronto, Canada, there have been many challenges! We need to support each other and lift each other up. As Moira Rose famously said: ‘When one of us shines, we all shine”

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I think the biggest lesson I’ve had to unlearn is that things need to be perfect in order to proceed. I need to be perfect in order to be successful and worthy.

Growing up, I was really good at a lot of things without trying. I was a really good “promising beginner”. It was exciting to be told “Oh wow! You’re so good at that!”. However, when it came time to move beyond the promising beginner phase and actually train/practice, I would naturally make mistakes, leading to anxiety, self-doubt, and procrastination, equate all of this with failure, and quit. I would then start something new and the cycle would start again.

I’ve been doing a lot of work with my therapist to embrace imperfection. I have found that imperfection has led to greater creativity and innovation personally. My perfectionism would often focuses solely on the end result, rather than the journey. By focusing on the process of learning and growing, I have found I can enjoy the journey and appreciate small successes along the way.

I also think age has been helpful for me with this. As women, we become more invisible to society as we age…people don’t care as much about what we do. I could get on my soapbox and rage about the patriarchy here but I find this actually quite freeing. As I get older, I feel less pressure from society to conform to certain beauty and lifestyle standards. Also, I’m just tired and don’t have time to worry as much about external expectations and judgments.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.janetmcmordie.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/janetmcmordie
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/secondactactors
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@secondactactors
• Other: www.secondactactors.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/secondactactors

Image Credits
John Bregar Helen Tansey Farrah Aviva