For Dr. Janet McMordie, curiosity has always been a driving force. Her passion for learning and trying new things has shaped her journey through medicine, the arts, and social change leadership.
In 2004, her curiosity led her from Canada’s west coast to a small university town in Nova Scotia. Inspired by a conversation with a StFX recruiter at her Vancouver high school, she moved to Antigonish sight unseen, settling in at MacIsaac Hall for a profoundly formative four years.
Janet found her academic home at StFX, where she studied human kinetics. She vividly recalls her first Introduction to Human Movement class with Dr. Angie Kolen, held outside by the football field. Sitting in the bleachers under the sun, she thought to herself, "This is what I'm meant to do."
Janet's fascination with how the body moves in space was first sparked in a high school physical education class and further fuelled by her undergraduate studies. This would inform her choice to specialize in sports medicine, blending her love for science and movement.
“Working with high-performance athletes just shows the human condition in such a unique way – what drives these people, what motivates them,” Janet observes.
She pursued a “tunnel-focused” medical career, which saw her working on the healthcare frontlines when the 2020 pandemic hit. Initially, there was a sense of excitement and camaraderie as health professionals worked together to solve unprecedented challenges.
However, as the pandemic dragged on, this energy was overtaken by exhaustion and frustration. Like many others, Janet found herself in physical isolation and facing burnout. Seeking connection and inspiration, she joined an online improv class in what would prove to be a life-changing moment.
The people in her class were not aspiring actors – they were lawyers, police officers, teachers, other healthcare workers, people "just like me," said Janet. They needed something to take their mind off the grim reality of COVID-19, and the positivity and fun of improv was just the right medicine.
In this space, Janet discovered a love for acting, setting her on an unexpected and transformative path. “It's grown into a weird, wonderful life that I've never expected,” she says.
One of the delights of this new chapter has been the dialogue fostered through her award-winning Second Act Actors podcast, which focuses on people who have taken up acting later in life. It explores diverse stories and experiences, revealing the many ways in which her guests find joy through creativity – from community theatre to voiceover work for audiobooks – and interweave the arts with other passion areas.
“The word ‘actor’ is such a huge word, and words like ‘career in acting’ are so loaded,” says Janet, referring to the dominant narrative that separates “serious” artists from part-timers and hobbyists. A major goal of her podcast is to disrupt conventional notions of creative success and amplify voices that are often overlooked.
Her Toronto-based production company, Second Act Actors Productions, provides skill development and mentorship to women and non-binary individuals in onstage and offstage roles — helping to dismantle barriers in what Janet notes is still a very male-dominated industry.
Meanwhile, Janet's medical work continues with energy and purpose. A standout moment came in 2024, when she took on the role of Team Canada’s physician at the Paralympic Games in Paris.
Communication and empathy, she notes, are important skills in both fields where she works and plays.
This year, a major focus of Janet’s time will be a dramaturgy project through the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine, focused on revising the play Vitals by Rosamund Small (a one-woman show about a Toronto paramedic) to reflect post-COVID healthcare challenges. The project, which also includes developing a mental health and wellness curriculum for healthcare students, will involve paramedics and paramedic students in the creative process.
Vital to Janet’s success has been an open and flexible mindset, a key pillar of improv acting.
“If you have the inkling of 'I want to try it,' that probably means you should try it,” she offers in a word of advice to the next generation. “And if it doesn't work, who’s to say that you failed? Just keep going.”
Janet credits StFX with nurturing this philosophy by providing a close-knit environment that encouraged curiosity and welcomed mistakes as part of learning – a gift she continues to pay forward in her multidisciplinary career.
