Sarena Parmar grew up in the Okanagan Valley, surrounded by her family’s fruit orchard. From an early age, she loved to scribble in her notebooks and try to understand why people act the way they do. That curiosity has continued to fuel her work as an actor and writer.
After high school, she attended the prestigious National Theatre School of Canada. A celebrated theatre actor, Sarena has worked on stages across Canada, including the Stratford Festival, Shaw Festival, Bard on the Beach, Tarragon Theatre, and Canadian Stage. As a playwright, her first play, The Orchard (After Chekhov), premiered at the Shaw Festival, making her the first South Asian playwright produced in the company’s history.
Most recently on television, Sarena can be seen on Pretty Hard Cases (CBC) and Skymed (Paramount +). Other acting projects have screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and been nominated for multiple Canadian Screen Awards.
As a second-generation Sikh-Canadian, Sarena has had a keen interest in the history of Sikhs in this country. She is proud to uplift stories from her community with her writing, research and other projects.
She now splits her time between acting, writing and going on rainy day adventures with her two young children. She has dreams of planting an orchard in their backyard.
-Written by Ravi Jain
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Which ’hood are you in?
We lived near Trinity Bellwoods for over 10 years. We recently moved to Etobicoke with our young family.
What do you do?
I’m an actor and playwright. I move between stage and screen. Over the last eight years, I’ve begun playwriting and, more recently, dramaturgy.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently in rehearsals for The Roof is Leaking, a new play with Pleiades Theatre by emerging playwrights Davinder Malhi and Sanskruti Marathe. I’m also finishing two of my own plays, which are commissions from Tarragon Theatre and Theatre Northwest.
Where can we find your work?
The Roof is Leaking will play at the Berkeley Upstairs Theatre in May 2025. My first play, The Orchard (After Chekhov), is available wherever you buy your books.
