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P.E.I. born film worker leading way for deaf people in industry

P.E.I. born film worker leading way for deaf people in industry

Catherine Joell MacKinnon, originally from western PEI, has been deaf since birth, but that hasn't stopped her from pursuing her dream of making a career in the arts.

She's worked both as an actor and behind the scenes in theatre, film and television, including the hit series Fargo, and the comedy Kenny vs. Spenny.

She's also a leader in helping others in the deaf and hard of hearing community, and others with disabilities reach their goals. She was recently named the 2016 woman of the year by ACTRA magazine.

MacKinnon is home visiting family on P.E.I., and dropped by Island Morning to talk about her career on and off stage.

"My first live theatre experience was here in Charlottetown at the Confederation Centre, Johnny Belinda, when I was five years old. There was a woman onstage using sign language," she said. "That got me so fascinated by it, 'This is what I want to do. I want to be like her!'"

Told to forget acting

She kept that dream through school, even when advised to make different career plans.

"I was told 'You can't be an actor because you are deaf,' so I decided, you know what? No matter what they say, I'll still keep going forward," said MacKinnon.

"When we moved up to Toronto, and I took a degree at Ryerson University in the film studies program and graduated from there, so having a B.F.A. degree helped me open up doors and opportunities. One experience would lead to another, and before I knew it ... I didn't expect to move to Los Angeles so soon! And off I went to L.A. for five years."

Award-winning producer

MacKinnon worked behind the scenes in L.A. as a film producer, and co-produced an independent feature called The Hammer in 2011.

It's a biographical film about Matt Hamill, a deaf wrestler and mixed martial artist, which won eight film festival awards, an accomplishment of which MacKinnon is very proud.

Next came a move back to Toronto for Kenny vs. Spenny, quite a different experience, but all part of the career.

"I loved being part of that show because it's unscripted comedy, part reality, part crazy. It got a little mean-spirited at the end, but I had so much fun being on that show."

It's a unique career, where MacKinnon can enjoy the excitement of onstage work, and be an important part of the team backstage, making sure deaf characters are presented properly.

'Fargo' job

Her role on the TV hit Fargo saw her as a sign language teacher because of the deaf character in the cast, and providing on-screen continuity for scenes with that character.

Along the way, she's worked hard to get around the many obstacles.

"The challenge is for the film industry to accept a deaf actor, or an actor who happens to be deaf," MacKinnon said. "To break down barriers, saying look, we're here and we have the talent.

"According to ACTRA, the statistics for a person with disabilities or a deaf person on screen is less than three per cent in this country, so we need to do more."

MacKinnon's commitment to making it better lead to her being named ACTRA's 2016 woman of the year, something she was humbled and honoured to accept, as "A woman from the Maritimes, from P.E.I., overcoming adversity."

Her next career move is the development of a one-woman stage show, not a deaf or hard of hearing story she said. It will be a human interest story about how people can overcome challenges in their lives.

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