Sean Sennett Local Actor Stars in Queen Musical STORY BY MICHEAL SEGUIN
MEETING SEAN SENNETT, it’s difficult to believe that he was once shy. Standing at an impressive six feet, Sean has an athlete’s build. However, he has a disarming smile, and uses it liberally. When you talk to Sean, you feel like you’re reconnecting with an old friend. For the last six months, Sean has been flashing that smile around North America as a cast member on We Will Rock You, an off-Broadway musical featuring the music of Queen. Appropriately for a future performer, Sean lived a slightly rootless childhood. “We moved around a lot, growing up,” Sean recalls. “My parents got a divorce when I was three. So I never really had stable friends. There was a period of time when I was at a different school every year, before we settled. Now, I’ve been living in Essex for 15 years.” Perhaps as a consequence of this upbringing, Sean spent his early years trying his hardest to remain unseen and unheard. “I was the most shy kid in the world,” Sean explains. “I wouldn’t talk to people. I would make my parents order for me at McDonalds. Whenever the teacher would ask the class a question, I would mumble the answer under my breath because I was too nervous to raise my hand. And then someone else would answer—at the appropriate volume. It was brutal.” Despite his shyness, Sean spent most of his early years on the ice. He played hockey for 11 years, at one point even working with Ottawa Senators Head Coach D.J. Smith at a Spitfire training camp. However, when he was 15, the quiet, sporty Sean experienced an almost religious awakening.
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Above: The cast of We Will Rock You. Photo taken by Gene Schilling. Left: Windsor actor Sean Sennett. Photo by Callum Gunn.
“I remember the exact moment I decided to switch to acting,” Sean states. “My aunt took me to see West Side Story at Stratford. It was starring Paul Nolan and Chilina Kennedy. There was this scene where Tony jumps at a balcony and hurls himself over it. It was the most insane thing. I fell in love immediately. I thought, ‘I could do that..’” From there, Sean abandoned hockey, diving into the theatre world headfirst. His first major role was in the ensemble at Theatre Live’s production of Hairspray. The entire performance was choreographed by Corey Mariuz, who would later go on to So You Think You Can Dance Canada. “That was my first time stepping on stage,” Sean reports. “I was so nervous. There was this moment where we finished a number and had to hold a pose and my face was jittering. My teeth would not stop chattering. But Corey told me that I was the most improved dancer from beginning to end. That gave me a lot of confidence. After the show, I did more vocal work.” For the better part of a decade, Sean has continued to expand his performing repertoire. He took vocal lessons with Kathy Costa, the current Music Director of
