Shawn Cuthand is a nehiyaw (Cree) and Kanien kehá:ka (Mohawk) writer, comedian, producer, actor and director living in so-called Saskatoon on Treaty 6 territory. Currently, he is a part of the satirical news group called The Feather News, where he has both on screen and behind the scenes writing and producing roles. The Feather recently won the APTN/ImagineNative web series pitch competition and spent 2022 professionally producing their series from conception to final edits. Currently, The Feather Entertainment, founded by Ryan Moccasin, completed their second season for APTN which will be aired in 2025.
Being a part of The Feather series has encouraged Shawn to further his acting skills by taking roles with theatre organizations such as the Gordon Tootoosis Nikawinan Theatre’s (GTNT) A Rez Xmas series for 4 years in a row playing multiple roles. He has also done voice acting in an audio play released by Burnt Thicket Theatre and GTNT called Remnance. This past winter he also acted in the children’s play “Tayen and the Mimi Kwesak” which toured communities in Saskatchewan. Through these opportunities, Shawn continues to build his acting skills and portfolio.
Shawn has also written articles for CBC online and was invited to be a storyteller for the Indigenous Cities project for the National Arts Centre.
Also, Shawn has been doing stand up comedy for 5 years and it is a major passion of his. Some notable performances include the Winnipeg Fringe, Woke Comedy hour, Laughter is Medicine and multiple YukYuk’s Comedy Clubs across Canada, and has made it to the finals of Edmonton’s Grindstone Comedy Competition in 2021. For the last four summers, Shawn and co-collaborator, Danny Knight produced a stand up comedy show for the YXE Fringe called Full Metal Comedy. The show received 4 stars Star Phoenix in 2021 and was at the Broadway Theatre in 2022 and this past year was awarded best local show of 2023. This past summer they also held the show at the YXE and Vancouver Fringes. Full Metal Comedy is also the name of the open mic comedy show that Shawn and Danny host at the Black Cat Tavern and Art Bar. Currently Shawn is working on a few scripts which he hopes to produce in the future.