A very shy and quiet Ken Godmere first found himself on stage in 1976.

By 1981 he was building a career as a Toronto actor and learning to improvise at The Second City. He was being taught to take what's right in front of him, to accept what he's given and make something positive with it. He went on to work with The Second City, Theatresports, Theatre 48, Stage Centre Productions, Stephen Leacock Theatre, Kevin Sullivan Productions and other companies as actor, stage manager and director.

At about the same time, Ken was introduced to the corporate communications world when he was hired to direct videos at Ogilvy & Mather Advertising and Invisions Inc. for a wide range of clients from Avon, Bell, and Carling to Mattel and more.

When Ken moved to Ottawa in 1997, he was working for The Whitham School for the Performing Arts and the Stagecraft Studio teaching classes in open acting, improvisation, and acting for the camera. This grew to include coaching individual singers, musicians, voice actors, and the occasional 

corporate speaker and politician. 

He found he could bring ALL his improvising, acting and directing experience to his corporate workshops; his team and leadership coaching; and his seminarsand speaking engagements ('The Business of Evolution', 'Be Prepared to Be Unprepared', and 'Human Communication at Work').  [YOU CAN RENT KEN]

Ken Godmere’s intuitive, honest and positive approach has connected with corporate clients, government agencies, and non-profits in Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Jose and Seattle.  [GO TO KEN'S CORPORATE-LEADER-TEAM PAGE]

In 2003, United Way Ottawa named Ken Godmere “Ambassador of the Year” for his speaking, training, volunteering, and fundraising work throughout the city. He also received the Capital Critics Circle “Award for Best Professional Director” as he continued his directing and performing career in Ottawa with The New RO/Chum Television, CTV, Odessa Films, Mountain Road Productions, The National Arts Centre, Zucchini Grotto Theatre Company, and his own improv comedy club, The Institution. 

 [GO TO KEN'S THEATRE-FILM-TV PAGE]

Ken would have to put his own positive philosophies to the test in 2004. He was diagnosed with a degenerative brain disease and was told it was most likely CJD, the always-fatal human form of 'mad cow disease'. By the end of 2005, with his brain cells dying at an advanced rate, Ken had lost his executive brain functions, his driver's license, his comedy club and his career, but not his sense of humour. He had learned to take what was right in front of him, to accept what he was given and make something positive with it.

For the next two years, his declining mental capacities had him housebound, but NOT DEAD! Late in 2007 there were the first faint signs of improvement. A few months of progress and more tests indicated that whatever was destroying Ken's brain cells had stopped. Three days before Christmas, doctors retracted the terminal CJD diagnosis. [READ THE STORY]

With his adaptability, spontaneity and sense of humour intact, Ken has been rebuilding his mind, his life and his career one step at a time. He is now fully recovered with a “re-formatted hard drive” and even more positive perspective and experience than ever. 

Ken Godmere is back doing what he does best – teaching (at Algonquin College, OSSD and Ottawa Theatre School); writing/directing/performing (winning two consecutive E.O.D.L. Awards for Acting Excellence); speaking/facilitating/coaching (for even more corporations, agencies, teams and individuals); and helping people open up to what is right in front of them...  [READ THE LATEST]