Micki Maunsell

Micki was born February 13, 1923 in Poona, India. Her father was a hydraulic engineer in the service of the British Raj. Her early education was in London, England, where she won a 5-year scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dance and also studied at the Italia Conti school of acting. At the beginning of World War II she returned to India, where she became a WRINS officer and also met her first husband, Robert Peacock. After the war they returned to England, where Micki produced 3 children – Sydney, William and Beverley – and continued her theatrical career at the West Essex Rep, in cabaret work, and at theMountview Theatre in North London, where she acted, directed, and met her second husband, John. Married and with another son, Jonathan’ she came to Canada in 1967 and settled in Vancouver, quickly finding work with the Playhouse, the Arts Club and CBC radio & TV. In 1974 she was the moving spirit in the founding of Westcoast Actors, an actor -run company which over the next few years produced memorable stagings of “The Seagull”, “The Merchant of Venice”, “The Cherry Orchard”, “Charley’s Aunt” and many other classics.Micki also appeared in many Canadian theatres, notably in Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary,& London Ontario. She made the role of Lady Bracknell in “The Importance of Being Earnest” her own. She also made her mark as a teacher and counsellor, travelling for many years between her studios in Vancouver and Toronto, where she provided effective guidance to many an anxious auditioner as well as pioneering her unique brands of acting and vocal technique.