Rae Ellen’s professional career began in Calgary, AB., where she received her initial actor training from the University of Calgary (BFA-Acting, Eng. Minor). After graduating, she took on roles at nearly every theatre in Calgary, including Theatre Calgary, ATP, Quest Theatre and Theatre in Exile. Her work in Theatre in Exile’s production of ‘Orphan Muses’ earned Rae Ellen a Betty Awards nomination for Best Supporting Actor. It was also in Calgary where Rae began teaching acting, at her alma mater the UofC.

Desiring further training and a change of scenery, Rae Ellen moved to Toronto, where she studied at York University, graduating at the top of her class with an MFA-Acting and a Graduate Diploma in Voice Teaching. At York, Rae was mentored by master teachers David Rotenberg (acting) and David Smukler (voice). Soon after graduating, Rae Ellen quickly established herself as a sought-after dialogue/dialect coach in film & TV. Over 20+ years, Rae Ellen has coached for Disney, NBC Universal, CBC, CW, Syfy, Lionsgate and Nickelodeon, amongst many others. An extensive list of Rae’s film & TV credits can be found here:
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1006589/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

Rae Ellen also spent many years in Toronto training hundreds of actors— in York’s undergrad conservatory, at renowned Toronto acting school The Professional Actors Lab, and at the Canadian Film Centre, where she served for a dozen years as Voice Mentor in the CFC’s distinguished Actors Conservatory.

Rae Ellen has also worked on numerous theatrical productions as both director and acting/dialect coach. Her direction of Hustle n’ Bustle’s production of ‘Offensive Fouls’ for Toronto’s Roseneath Theatre (followed by a production at Winnipeg’s Manitoba Theatre for Young People), was recognized with a nomination for the John Hirsch Award for emerging theatre directors and a Dora nomination for Best Production. Rae Ellen was also an Artistic Associate at Toronto’s much-celebrated Coal Mine Theatre for many years, where she acted as the company’s primary dialect coach in addition to directing August Strindberg’s ‘Creditors’ and Belinda Cornish’s ‘Category E’.

Rae Ellen has also shared her skillset with public speakers in the fields of politics (Paul Manly, former NDP Party MP), and spoken word poetry (Rupi Kaur). Over many years Rae also served as performance coach for members of public service union SEIU Local 1000 in Northern California, where she coached former president Yvonne Walker and her team of Officers.

Since moving back to her birth province, British Columbia, Rae continues to coach and train actors and public speakers of all kinds, while also shifting her energies toward writing and her work as a Buddhism-informed, certified MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) instructor, trained by master mindfulness instructors Pat Rockman (Centre for Mindfulness Studies, Toronto) and Susan Woods (UC San Diego), in the tradition of Jon Kabat-Zinn.