Bio
Rae Maitland is an award-winning performer, educator and director with a specialty in puppetry, clown and improvisation. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts from Concordia University (2014) as well as her Master's Degree in Fine Arts from York University (2019) both with a major in Theatre Performance. She currently lives in Ottawa, ON where she teaches theatre at the Elmwood School for Girls.
Rae was awarded the Ontario Graduate Scholarship for her graduate studies (2018), as well as York University's Entrance Scholarship and Fellowship (2017). In the year previous, Rae was given the opportunity to play the role of Suzy in Trey Anthony's " 'da kink in my hair" (starring Trey Anthony) in a co-production between The National Arts Centre and Theatre Calgary (2016). "Beaver Dreams", a puppetry and clown production co-created by Maggie Winston (Lost and Found Puppet Co.), Anne Lalancette (La Ruée vers l'Or), and herself was nominated for five Montréal Fringe "Frankie" Awards, winning both Best Clown Show and Mainline Theatre's Creativity Award (2015).
It was in assisting Leah Cherniak and Martha Ross in the creation of "The Chopin Project" at Soulpepper Theatre (2017-2019), that Rae's interest in theatre direction was piqued. Her first forays into directing were for the sold-out run of "Radioactive Spyder" at the Toronto Fringe's Kidsfest and its remount at Crows Theatre the following fall as well as Ian Tamblyn's "Nun of It" for Theatre Wakefield (2019)Rae's improv training and performing experiences span from the Canadian Improv Games (National Bronze Medal 2003) to Montréal Improv training and live performances (2016 onward), and The Second City Conservatory (2019).
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Rae has been lucky to have undertaken intensive training in Pochinko-style clown performance from Mump and Smoot duo's John Turner at the Manitoulin Conservatory for Creation and Performance. These opportunities led her to being on the sets of "Baroness Von Sketch", "Schitt's Creek" and a number of independent films. Rae was honoured to speak on behalf of Anglophone artists in Québec at the Parliament of Canada for the Standing Senate on Official Languages (2014). Her interest in the arts stems from personal inquiry, imagination, and a yearning to shake things up. Her last performing role was in the remount of her solo production entitled "Mayfly" (September 2023) about the feeling of missing one's chance at life's most important moments.