Hello Shawn
Get ready, Kelowna! Sassafras & Co. is thrilled to announce the arrival of the incredibly talented Shawn Henry for the StageStrides workshop. The excitement is palpable as the local community eagerly anticipates the opportunity to learn and be inspired by Shawn's expertise. Join us for a transformative experience that promises to elevate your stage presence and leave you with a newfound passion for performance!
My Story
Shawn Henry is an actor, singer, writer, and director born and raised in Fredericton, New
Brunswick. His foray into the world of the performing arts began at the age of 12 with the song
and dance troupe Characters Incorporated. After graduation from high school, Shawn earned a
Bachelor of Music with a concentration in voice performance from Dalhousie University. Shawn
then moved to Toronto where he continued studying voice at the Royal Conservatory of Music.
Favourite acting credits include: Dan in Next to Normal, Riff-Raff in Rocky Horror Show, Anatoly
in Chess the Musical, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Dickon in The Secret Garden, and Man 2
in I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. While in Toronto he also was Musical Director for a
number of shows including: Something Happened on the way to the Forum, Mame, Anything
Goes, The Pajama Game, Crazy for You, Footloose the Musical, and Thoroughly Modern Mille.
In 2013, Shawn returned home to Fredericton and started his own production company called
Blind Faith Productions and since then has directed a number of musicals including: Next to
Normal, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Evita, Mary Poppins (Theatre New
Brunswick) and director of Christmas at the Playhouse (Fredericton Playhouse). His desire for
teaching at the University level was sparked while working as an instructor at St. Thomas
University’s Musical Theatre Department where he music directed Heathers the Musical and
Spring Awakening. In 2018 he received his Master of Arts in Musicology from Dalhousie
University. His master’s thesis was entitled “Sounding Disability in Musical Theatre.”
Shawn moved to beautiful Vancouver in 2019 and is currently a full-time faculty member at
Capilano University’s Musical Theatre Department. Select musical directing credits include: Into
the Woods, A Chorus Line, (Capilano U Theatre), Amélie, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown,
Cabaret, Spring Awakening (Arbutus Studio and Renegade).