About This Episode:

What happens when a sports medicine physician rediscovers her inner theatre kid during a global pandemic? In this episode, Phil sits down with Dr. Janet McMordie, a physician, actor, podcast host, and Team Canada Paralympics doctor, for a genuinely surprising conversation about what it means to pursue two very different callings at once.

Janet shares how Second City's free online improv classes for healthcare workers during COVID cracked open a creative life she'd tucked away during years of medical training. From community theatre up north to landing an agent at a showcase, her path back to the stage has been anything but conventional — and she's leaning into every messy, joyful step of it.

Now Janet is producing and starring in a remount of Rosamund Small's acclaimed play Vitals at Factory Theatre (May 2 - 10), directed by Alaine Hutton. She opens up about what it's like to hire yourself when the industry won't, the humbling surprise of discovering that the script is only 10–20% of the show, and why she believes theatre - real humans breathing the same air - is exactly what the world needs right now.

This episode explores:

How pandemic improv classes reignited Janet's lifelong love of performance
What it's like to navigate the identity of being both Dr. McMordie and an actor
Producing Vitals at Factory Theatre — finding funding through small businesses when grants fall short
Being a Team Canada physician at the 2024 Paris Paralympics
The politics of sport, the politics of theatre, and why artists can't just 'stay in their lane'
And much more!

Guest: 🩺 Dr. Janet McMordie

Dr. Janet McMordie is a Sport & Exercise Medicine Physician with specialty training in Women’s Sexual Health. She completed medical school, family medicine residency, and sport medicine fellowship at McMaster University. She holds a diploma in Sports Medicine from the Canadian Academy of Sport and Exercise Medicine (CASEM) and is a member of the International Society for the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH).

Dr. McMordie is an Associate Medical Director with Odyssey Medical Inc. She also provides medical consulting and surgical/medical device hand doubling services to the film industry.

She has extensive theatrical credits including the upcoming remount of VITALS at Factory Theatre, Theatre by The Bay, Mariposa Arts Theatre, The Second City and Antic Theatre. Select film/tv credits include Doc (Fox), Ginny & Georgia (Netflix), and Two Brothers (OutTV). Through her independent podcast Second Act Actors, recently nominated for a Canadian Podcast Award, she has facilitated over 200 in-depth interviews exploring identity, resilience, and transformation.

Connect with Dr. Janet McMordie:

🌐 Website: www.janetmcmordie.com

📸 Instagram: @janetmcmordie

🎙️ Podcast: Second Act Actors

Get tickets to Vitals at Factory Theatre (May 2 - 10): https://purchase.factorytheatre.ca/EventAvailability?EventId=52402

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