Joel Cochrane, Kira Bradley, Steven Conde, Steven Morton, Shaun Smyth, Director – Jack Grinhaus, Set Designer – Narda McCarroll, Costume Designer – Rebecca Toon, Lighting Designer – Jessie Paynter, Sound Design & Composition – Miranda Martini, Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
Vertigo Theatre presents The Verdict by Margaret May Hobbs adapted from the book by Barry Reed. This is a thrilling courtroom drama and story of redemption that reminds us of just how satisfying and exhilarating live theatre can be. Tickets are available online at vertigotheatre.com or by calling the box office at 403.221.3708.
Have you ever found yourself staring in the mirror, late at night, drink in hand, contemplating what you’ve done with your life? Your failures. Your triumphs. Your regrets. Frank Galvin has. And Vertigo Theatre’s production of The Verdict lets us step into Frank’s world for an evening of soul-searching redemption.
The Verdict is one of my favourite movies by one of my favourite directors, Sidney Lumet. Lumet came from the theatre and liked to provide his actors with rehearsal time before shooting. And the result was always a more nuanced and more natural performance. You see in movies and on the stage, I think we’re really looking for human connection and empathy. We want to be seen, and we want to be heard. And the more natural a performance the easier it is for us to identify with the characters and the story. And that’s what director Jack Grinhaus along with his stellar cast has on offer for us as the final play of Vertigo’s 2025/26 season. A human story about connection and doing the right thing.
Steven Morton, Shaun Smyth, Director – Jack Grinhaus, Set Designer – Narda McCarroll, Costume Designer – Rebecca Toon, Lighting Designer – Jessie Paynter, Sound Design & Composition – Miranda Martini, Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
So, it’s the early ‘80s in Boston and Shaun Smyth gives a commanding and nuanced performance as Frank Galvin a one-time promising lawyer who starts his day by checking the obituaries so he can show up at funerals and offer his business card to the widow in case there’s a will or an insurance claim that could use his particular skills. He has fallen on hard times, faced disbarment, and spends his days numbing his pain with whiskey.
Frank is at a low point in his life, but he’s been thrown a lifeline. His battle-weary mentor Moe Katz played with plenty of comic insights by Dov Mickelson has gotten Frank a malpractice case that can easily be settled out of court and provide Frank with a big chunk of change. And Frank is grateful for the case. He’s grateful for the money.
But here’s the thing. Something terrible happened to Deborah Ann Kaye a young woman going to the hospital for the birth of her third child who ends up going into cardiac arrest while on the table. Her heart stops. Oxygen is no longer reaching her brain. A code blue is called and while the doctors fight against time to get her heart started again and deliver her child, in the end, she leaves that delivery room in a coma and four years later finds herself wasting away and lying in a dark room surrounded by monitors and pulleys and tubes that feed her and keep her diminishing body alive.
Frank represents Deborah’s mother Mrs. McDaid played with a heartbreaking sorrow by Shawna Burnett. They are suing the hospital, the archdiocese, and the two lead doctors, Dr. Danielle Crowley, played by Kira Bradley and Dr. Rexford Gilbert Towler, played by Steven Conde. Both doctors feel themselves above reproach and consider themselves to have done everything in their power when things went south to save both the baby and the mother. Frank assures Mrs. McDaid that this will all be settled without the ordeal of going to court. And that’s his intention. Until he goes to see Deborah in the hospital and that changes him.
Steven Conde, Shaun Smyth, Duval Lang, Director – Jack Grinhaus, Set Designer – Narda McCarroll, Costume Designer – Rebecca Toon, Lighting Designer – Jessie Paynter, Sound Design & Composition – Miranda Martini, Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
Up until going to the hospital Deborah was just a name on an insurance form. This Deborah – the one lying in bed wasting away in front of him is a real person and a woman whose life was stolen from her. Frank realizes that her story must be told and that a quick settlement won’t be near enough to pay for her long-term care and her children’s future. And so, Frank refuses the settlement and decides to take the case to trial so that fair compensation can be given and justice will be served. But of course, there’s no guarantee that he’ll actually win the case, and that’s where the dramatic tension lies in the play.
By going to trial Frank is choosing to go up against J. Edgar Concannon played with a commanding sense of confidence by Joel Cochrane. Concannon not only represents one of the most powerful law firms in the state, but it is also claimed that he has never lost a case.
Into this mix we meet Steven Morton who portrays the troubled Bishop Brophy who urges Frank to take the deal because it’s the smart thing to do and the best thing for the church.
Kelsey Verzotti, Duval Lang, Joel Cochrane, Director – Jack Grinhaus, Set Designer – Narda McCarroll, Costume Designer – Rebecca Toon, Lighting Designer – Jessie Paynter, Sound Design & Composition – Miranda Martini, Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
Doing double duty Christopher Clare plays Eugene Meehan the friendly bartender and owner of Frank’s favourite watering hole, as well as playing the unflappable Dr. Lional Thompson an expert witness that Frank flies in for the trial.
Kelsey Verzotti is Donna St. Laurent the charming and likeable waitress trying to get her own life back on track who works at the bar. Verzotti also portrays Natalie Stampanatto who was the nurse on duty the night that Deborah was admitted to the hospital.
And rounding out the cast is Duval Lang as irascible Judge Eldredge Sweeney who adds friction and tension to the legal proceedings.
Kira Bradley, Shawna Burnett, Director – Jack Grinhaus, Set Designer – Narda McCarroll, Costume Designer – Rebecca Toon, Lighting Designer – Jessie Paynter, Sound Design & Composition – Miranda Martini, Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
In addition to a great cast Jack Grinhaus has gathered together a terrific design team including set designer Narda McCarroll, costume designer Rebecca Toon, lighting designer Jessie Paynter, and sound designer and composer Miranda Martini to bring the world of the play alive.
The sets are made spacious and kept simple with dark wood paneling providing us with a feeling of age and time. The movement of a desk or the retraction of a wall easily changes the setting and the play moves along at an uninterrupted pace.
One of the things that makes the play work so well is that the entire second act is the trial. In the first act we learn the story and we learn about Frank and all the other characters. But when we come back after intermission, we’re in the court room. And we as the audience are brought into the world of the play by becoming the jury. All the testimony and opening and closing arguments are directly delivered to us as we try to figure out who is telling the truth and who might be less than honest about the events of that day.
You know, I’ve been looking forward to seeing this stage adaptation ever since Jack announced it last year and I’m happy to say I was not disappointed. The Verdict delivers a remarkably satisfying and memorable night at the theatre that is driven by powerhouse performances from the entire cast.
The Cast of THE VERDICT, Director – Jack Grinhaus, Set Designer – Narda McCarroll, Costume Designer – Rebecca Toon, Lighting Designer – Jessie Paynter, Sound Design & Composition – Miranda Martini, Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
In addition to seeing the show I also wanted to sit down with Jack and explore his thoughts about directing the play because he told me that this was a significant movie and book for him and I was curious to know about that personal connection.
JACK GRINHAUS
I grew up with a passion for stories and films about justice and injustice. I don’t know if that’s because one of my first memories is John Lennon’s assassination and it’s one of the first times I remember seeing my mother cry and it just impacted me. And those kinds of moments made me question humanity and to be curious about what justice means. You know the distance between what is true and what you can prove to be true.
And Sidney Lumet who directed the movie is one of my favourite film directors of all time. And it has Paul Newman and when you’re young you end up seeing more films than you do theatre because it’s more accessible. And besides that, it’s a really entertaining story about a guy who has one last shot to prove himself. And I think there’s a spectacle to courtroom dramas that lends itself perfectly to live theater that’s even better than film or TV.
And then, at the same time, it feels like we’re in a world today where I think a lot of people feel like there isn’t a lot of justice in the universe these days. And I wanted to offer our audience a place where you can come in and justice will be done. David can beat Goliath. So, it felt really relevant.
Shaun Smyth, Dov Mickelson, Director – Jack Grinhaus, Set Designer – Narda McCarroll, Costume Designer – Rebecca Toon, Lighting Designer – Jessie Paynter, Sound Design & Composition – Miranda Martini, Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, you’ve got this exciting courtroom drama, and I assume you must have had some visions or ideas about what you want to do with it. And now you’ve assembled the cast. You’ve got it on its legs, and I’m wondering, how has that cast brought your vision to life, or how has it maybe taken it in new directions?
JACK
Everybody came in really prepared. Most people right from the start were almost completely off book. You know, Sean Smyth, who plays Frank Galvin and is on stage almost all of the time and has huge swaths of text came in about 90% off book and so he led the charge and we started cooking really fast and really early.
And the play deals with characters who are a little older and so I’ve been able to assemble some of Calgary’s best and seasoned actors and put them in a room. We have ten people. And the majority of them are heavy-hitting professional artists in this town. And so, what they can bring to the table as mature actors who know how to make offers, as we say, is exciting.
So, as the director I don’t feel like I have to control the scenario. I can allow for a more organic creative process because they come in with really strong, exciting choices and challenge each other. All I have to do is go in and tweak it and make sure the tension is there and support them because a team like this brings so much to the table. And it’s a humble, fun, absolutely extraordinary group that has elevated the show from day one.
Dov Mickelson, Christopher Clare, Shaun Smyth, Director – Jack Grinhaus, Set Designer – Narda McCarroll, Costume Designer – Rebecca Toon, Lighting Designer – Jessie Paynter, Sound Design & Composition – Miranda Martini, Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
JAMES
You know, courtroom dramas have such a key moment or payoff. It’s the verdict. Guilty or not guilty. And that’s what makes these stories so gripping. But they only remain gripping if we feel the verdict could go either way. So how do you balance that in the play? How do you make a case for justice and yet balance the possibility that justice isn’t guaranteed?
JACK
The work I’m interested in has characters that have a certain level of moral ambiguity. I don’t necessarily believe in good guy vs bad guy. I think when those lines are blurred, audiences have more difficulty being able to take a side and even the people you would term the bad guys in this story – I’ve told the actors don’t play them as bad guys. They think what they did was right.
And the beauty of a courtroom drama is, it doesn’t matter who’s right or wrong, it’s what you can prove. So even if we all believe in what we know to be true in this story it doesn’t necessitate that people will win because we have to be convinced as a jury.
So, you learn everything in the first act and then in the second act we’re in the courtroom and I think Vertigo audiences love to chase a story. This isn’t as much a who done it or why done it or how done it, it’s more of a are they going to get caught and get what they deserve for what they did.
Because the court case swings back and forth. And I think that’s how you build tension. You have to focus on making sure that both sides feel like they’re winning that battle at some point. And so, I don’t think you totally know the outcome until the very end because you feel like everybody’s telling the truth. But in the back of your mind you know there’s something off. You don’t know what. And we have a great reveal in the play that helps take that over the edge.
Christopher Clare, Kelsey Verzotti, Director – Jack Grinhaus, Set Designer – Narda McCarroll, Costume Designer – Rebecca Toon, Lighting Designer – Jessie Paynter, Sound Design & Composition – Miranda Martini, Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
JAMES
You know, one of the lines that I remember from the movie is when they’re talking about justice and Frank says, “No, the courtroom gives you a chance for justice. It’s not a guarantee of justice.” And that makes it a worthy thing to pursue.
JACK
Absolutely. That’s one of the first scenes. The case is built around this hospital that’s run by the church and the diocese. So, the bishop is speaking with Frank saying, “You know there’s nothing we can do in this scenario. All we can do is try to offer something to help,” And Frank says, “I can’t take it because then no one will ever know what happened. No one will know what went wrong.”
And in his eyes, it’s better for this to become a public event so that people will know the story whether or not they win or lose. And so that becomes the gamble he takes. He may not win it. He wants to win it. But the chance he’s taking is to make sure that the story is still out there because if you take the payoff – no one will ever know the story. And as they say, history repeats and the same problem can occur again.
JAMES
Yeah, it’s a very short play if he takes the payoff.
JACK
Yeah, I think so. We’re done in scene one if that happens, right?
JAMES
That’s right.
Shaun Smyth, Director – Jack Grinhaus, Set Designer – Narda McCarroll, Costume Designer – Rebecca Toon, Lighting Designer – Jessie Paynter, Sound Design & Composition – Miranda Martini, Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
JACK
But we’re also meeting a man who is used to taking the payoff. As the play begins, we find out he’s fallen pretty hard from his glory days as a lawyer. He was very promising. And then, some things happened to him throughout his life that threw him into this place. And he’s given up. When the play begins, he’s calling up funeral homes early in the morning, seeing if anybody needs him to come by and meet some people. Maybe there was an accident, maybe there’s an insurance claim, maybe there’s a will. He’s at the bottom. He’s an ambulance chasing lawyer.
But then something about this case revives that great ancient soul in him that was a fighter and offers him a chance for justice and rejuvenation and retribution in his life. And we all wish we had those moments, you know, a chance to make things right. And that was the theme of this whole season. People reflecting on their lives to try to make right past wrongs. And I think for Frank there’s this moment in the play where he’s talking with his partner, Mo, and he just says, “This is the case.”
JAMES
So, you’ve announced your 50th season and you’ve got an outstanding lineup of plays ahead of us. Can you go over what we’re going to see next season?
JACK
Absolutely. You know, we had this huge fundraiser recently, and I wanted to do a historical perspective, so, I ended up doing this massive deep dive into the history of the company. I went back and read every Herald article from 1967 till today to see how things went from the Pleiades to Vertigo. The whole story. Every play.
And it was a massive undertaking and an incredible experience for me because I got to see how the lineage of this place actually was. And interestingly, there’s this idea that we are this Agatha Christie theatre, but in fact, I think we’re more of a crime theatre, if anything, which is why we started to branch out in those areas. And this season taking all that into account and looking up our history and trying to make sure that we’re looking ahead as much as looking behind I wanted to culminate all that 50 years in a way that was saying, “Okay, this is where we’ve come from. Here’s where we are today. Here’s where we’re going.” And do it all in five or six plays.
And you know, The Mousetrap would have been a great choice. Dial M for Murder would have been a great choice. Sheer Madness would have been a great choice. But all those shows were being done by other theaters in the city. So I went, okay, how do I stay exciting, original, fresh, and not feel like we’re repeating things that were recently done and looking forward so audiences can love Vertigo for what it is regardless of the stories.
And so, we start off with the world premiere of The Lodger. And if we’re going to be Canada’s National Theatre for Mystery and Intrigue, then we have to lead as much as follow. And so we’re going to start off with a show from two incredible writers, Vern Thiessen, who’s one of Canada’s most prolific and profound playwrights, and Susie Maloney, who’s one of Canada’s great, renowned horror novelists, who have come up with this concept for a modern take on The Lodger, which initially was written as a response to the Jack the Ripper cases that takes place in that period. And even the Hitchcock film from 1927 is kind of reflecting that period 40 years before.
So now we’re thinking about 40 years before now and that’s the 70’s, which was the rise of the serial killer in the modern era. You know, the Ted Bundy’s and all that stuff. And so, setting this play in that period lets us reflect on that very scary period where everybody stopped hitchhiking.
And so, The Lodger is this incredible Hitchcockian suspense about a series of murders that are happening in a nondescript American-like city and suddenly this poor couple takes in a lodger who’s a bit mysterious and creepy. So, we’re not waiting for the big reveal of who the killer is as much as what do we do once we know, right?
And Hitchcock’s greatest weapon is suspense. He always says, it’s not suspenseful to say with two minutes left in a story that a bomb’s going to go off. Instead what you do is two minutes into the story say a bomb’s going to go off. And the suspense in this story is the fear of having somebody like that in your home.
The Lodger is a world premiere play that’s exciting, fast paced, and I’m directing that, and we already have an incredible team that we just cast, and I couldn’t be more proud of that. So, we’re starting with a sharp, suspense, that’s a little scary and exciting thriller.
And then, we go to Sherlock Holmes: The Hunt for Moriarty. And this is a new play by Nick Lane, based on several stories from Arthur Conan Doyle. Nick Lane last brought us The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which was a huge hit. People really loved both his writing and storytelling nature. And this is almost like a political thriller. Sherlock Holmes, and his brother Mycroft, get caught up in it. And it’s Holmes and Watson against their greatest foe, Moriarty.
Then we go onto something new. Another Canadian piece. The Veil, by Keith Barker and Thomas Morgan Jones. An interesting moral laundry piece that’s very much Faustian in nature about a guy who makes a deal with the devil and then things start to go off the rails. And it’s a single actor coming in and telling this story to the audience. And the audience eventually gets implicated in a way and has to make choices of their own. It’s a fast-paced, heart-pumping, little chiller piece about a guy who picks up a curse, and how is he going to relieve himself of it?
The fourth show is another modern classic, The 39 Steps. Probably the highest selling show in every theatre it ever plays in because it’s a great spy thriller based on a Hitchcock film where Richard Hannay gets caught up in a weird spy drama where a woman comes to his house and gets murdered and then he’s on the run trying to figure it all out. It’s a bit like The Fugitive in a way. It’s very theatrical and we have Mark Bellamy, who was a previous artistic director here directing it and bringing back some of the people he worked with in the past.
And then, you know, we’ve been working on this for over four years, and we are finally able to announce The Midnight Torch: A Detective Murdock Mystery is going to have its world premiere here. And what I love about creating art in Canada is the idea of mythologizing Canadiana. After next season Murdoch Mysteries will be the longest running Canadian drama in history. And so, on their 20th anniversary and our 50th we’re starting to branch out and we started working with Shaftesbury and CBC to create a live stage version which is a bit of a prequel.
Jack Grinhaus Artistic Director Vertigo Theatre
So, we’re meeting Murdoch earlier in his career when he’s just a junior detective. And we get to see him meet Ogden, who in the TV series becomes his wife. And we get to see him build his relationship with some of the other characters like Crabtree and Brackenreid.
But if you’ve never seen the show, it’s also a standalone story. It’s a great mystery where Murdoch is invited to the home of this wealthy entrepreneur. And she had just come back from the Chicago World’s Fair and wanted to do something like that in Toronto and decided to invite a bunch of inventors over to her home. And then during one of the inventor’s presentations, he’s killed in the invention and then we realize it’s murder and suddenly Murdoch has to switch from his inventor hat and put on his junior detective hat and figure the whole thing out and we get to watch that as it happens in real time.
It’s very much like Murder on the Orient Express or The Mousetrap where there’s a lot of red herrings, big surprises, good gasps, and huge spectacle where we’ve got this huge machine that this guy built to transport himself and there are explosions and fireworks and so it’s a really exciting large-scale spectacle piece that we’re going to launch here in Calgary.
And it’s an excellent opportunity to partner up and take Maureen Jennings’ incredible books, which were turned into TV movies, then turned into a TV series by Shaftesbury, which is Christina Jennings, and Peter Mitchell, who’s the showrunner and came up with the concept for the story along with Saleema Nawaz. And he’s written 120-something Murdoch episodes, and then to get a writer like Michael Ross Albert to come in and make it a play. And it’s got humor, it’s got spectacle, it’s a chase, and I’m hopeful it will become, at some point in history, one of our Canadian classic pieces, so that we have something like The Mousetrap that’s Canadian.
And then, as a final topper for our season, I’m really excited about the opportunity of starting a second stage series. So, my dream would be that we have this main stage series in our playhouse, but then in our studio, we have some innovative, exciting work by locals, and by international artists that are working in the genre.
We have this incredible local company, 8ROJO, which is Javier Vilalta’s company. And they do physical plays. There’s no spoken text. And so, we have The Last Candle, which is based on a Grimm story called Godfather Death. And this guy gets this great power and deal with the devil, so that he can heal anybody. And of course, he ends up having to confront a very serious scenario down the road and make a big decision about it.
And so, for me, this really evokes what I want to look at for the future. You know, we’re creating new, exciting works. And just as we’ve seen some large Broadway musical shows try out stuff at Theatre Calgary or at the Citadel, we want to do that for our genre and I want Vertigo to be the place in the world that any new writer writing the genre comes to first. We want to be the home base for those works.
Synthia Yusuf and Nathan Kay in WILDWOMAN. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Alaia Hamer. Lighting Design by Gerald King.
Alberta Theatre Projects, in association with Gateway Theatre, presents Wildwoman by Kat Sandler running until May 10th at the Martha Cohen Theatre. This is a big, bold, and brash story that explores the life and times of Catherine de Medici, her husband Henry II of France, his mistress Didi, Pete the real-life inspiration for the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale, and his wife and lady in waiting to Catherine, Kitty. Tickets are available at albertatheatreprojects.com or by calling the box office at 403.294.7402.
George Bernard Shaw said, “Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh.” This is perhaps the best way to describe Wildwoman by Kat Sandler, a raw, racy and provocative play that is both very funny and very serious that is bursting with energy all told by a terrific ensemble that bring the play to life.
Nathan Kay, N Girgis and Connor Suart in WILDWOMAN. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Alaia Hamer. Lighting Design by Gerald King.
Our story begins on Saturday October 28, 1533 with the wedding of Catherine de Medici and Henry who at the time was second in line to the throne of France. Both were fourteen years of age. The marriage was consummated under the watchful eye of the King and so began a ten-year struggle for Catherine to produce an heir as Henry would, after the death of his older brother Francis, become The Dauphin and therefore next in line to the throne.
While Henry and Cathy shared a love of hunting and were committed to producing children their marriage would always be overshadowed by Henry’s love and devotion to his mistress Diane de Poitiers, known in the play as Didi, who was twenty years his senior and was a direct rival to Cathy’s power and rights as Queen.
Synthia Yusuf, Nathan Kay and N Girgis in WILDWOMAN. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Alaia Hamer. Lighting Design by Gerald King.
In addition to the royal love triangle, we are introduced to Petrus Gonsalvus known in the play as Pete who was the inspiration for the story Beauty and the Beast. Pete suffered from hypertrichosis, which is an abnormal amount of hair growth over the whole body. It turns out that the beast, who Henry keeps in a golden cage, is a gentle soul who eventually becomes a member of the court and marries Kitty who sees this marriage as an opportunity for her to secure her position in the world.
Director Jamie King has assembled a terrific cast that brings depth and comedy to the play while diving into some very dark realities about life in the Royal Court. Synthia Yusuf plays Cathy as a determined and intelligent woman who is actively working to achieve her goal of giving Henry an heir while also securing more power and position for herself.
Jamie King – Director
Nathan Kay’s Henry goes from a somewhat spoiled and impulsive young prince whose childish tantrums turn a darker shade as he grows into manhood and becomes King of France. N Girgis is Didi, Henry’s long-time mistress, who over time manages to gain more influence over Henry because of Henry’s love and affection for her.
Connor Suart as Pete – the beast – seems the most genuinely human of the group and Connor plays him as a gentle and curious beast who grows into a kind and caring man whose greatest desire is nothing more than to be surrounded by his wife and children.
And finally, there is Catherine Gonsalvus known as Kitty in the play who recognizes that her own position in life depends on playing the role that others want and conceding to their demands all too aware that she leads a life that depends on the favours and whims of others.
Elizabeth Barrett and Connor Suart in WILDWOMAN. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Alaia Hamer. Lighting Design by Gerald King.
Narda McCarroll’s set design features passageways in the back and four giant gold columns that reach into the sky. The empty stage is easily transformed into a throne room or a dungeon by changing nothing more than a few set pieces. That offers flexibility to the scene transitions that allow for the play to speed along at a rapid pace. Plus, all the furnishings and set elements end in tree branches that remind us of a forest.
The costumes by Alaia Hamer are stylistically fitting for the time and flexible enough for the physicality the play demands. The lighting by Gerald King and sound design by Nancy Tam presents us with hints of a forest just as the set does even though much of the action takes place within the walls of the castle. This is deliberate because the actual king’s court very much feels like a jungle where our characters must remain forever vigilant and aware of dangers and shifting fortunes.
Playing a character like Catherine de Medici which is based on a real historical figure in a play that explores power and gender and legacy is an interesting challenge. That had me wondering about the freedoms and constraints that offers an actor playing the role and so I contacted Synthia Yusuf to ask her about her own performance and how she felt about bringing this historical character to the stage?
SYNTHIA YUSUF
The thing about Catherine de Medici is that her story hasn’t quite infiltrated popular culture in the way that some others have. This was the time of Henry VIII and his famous six wives such as Anne Boleyn and there have been so many movies about those women that I feel like people already have an image of them in their mind. And while there are some people aware of Catherine de Medici, there are a lot of people who aren’t. So, I actually didn’t feel any pressure to live up to a figure that’s really present in popular culture.
I love describing Cathy as tenacious and I think, Kat Sandler has done a great job of capturing the essence of what we’re trying to portray which is this woman that is just relentlessly determined to get what she wants. Even with the odds stacked against her the whole time she never gives up. She is a survivor and she understood the rules and she played by the rules, but she really bent them to get what she wanted. She was a fighter for sure. She was very intelligent. Very well read. She really cared about politics. She was really interested in how to run the country and how a royal family should operate.
Synthia Yusuf – Cathy
JAMES HUTCHISON
When you’re given something this rich to explore as an actor how do you approach the material. Was it overwhelming or did you have a good understanding about how you wanted to approach the story from the start.
SYNTHIA
Sometimes – not often – but every once in awhile a script will come across my lap and I will know the character intrinsically right away and this was one of those scripts. It’s not often you get a script like this – especially for women – where you get the opportunity to be diabolical and hilarious. And this is one of the few auditions where I felt no nerves at all. I knew exactly what I wanted to do. And I got to read with Nathan who’s playing Henry. We auditioned together. We did a chemistry read together. And Nathan is a friend of mine, so I’ve known him for years, so I instantly felt comfortable and I just felt so at home in the material from the moment I read it.
Nathan Kay and Synthia Yusuf in WILDWOMAN. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Alaia Hamer. Lighting Design by Gerald King.
JAMES
You mentioned Nathan and you mentioned chemistry, so you need chemistry and trust as a cast when you’re doing a big complicated, physically challenging show like this one. What’s it like working with this cast and your director Jamie King as you brought the story to the stage.
SYNTHIA
Jamie has assembled a fantastic group of people. It’s a five-hander. Five of us in this play. And what I love about this group of people is that we all care really deeply about the process and about the work but we’re also all very very playful. And I think because it has such contemporized language that Kat has used to write the play all of us feel very comfortable in that style. So, that allows us to be able to be inspired by our natural impulses within it and I think the five of us have really found a nice balance of working really hard but also letting the play be alive – letting it breathe – letting new things land.
Kat Sandler – Playwright
JAMES
So, the first act is very funny, and the second act takes a turn and it gets more serious so I’m just curious as an actress and seeing how the play shifts and changes how do you approach that because it’s interesting to me how that change works.
SYNTHIA
The first act definitely has more of a farcical silliness to it whereas in the second act her life does get darker as we journey on in the play. However, it was important to Jamie that this remain a comedy throughout so as actors that’s part of the challenge. Having all of us being on board to maintain a kind of a playfulness throughout the drama. And I think that actually makes it more devastating in a way. That’s what I find most interesting to watch because that’s life, right. It’s not always one thing. We could be laughing at a funeral or crying at our wedding. That’s how humans are.
Connor Suart and Synthia Yusuf in WILDWOMAN. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Alaia Hamer. Lighting Design by Gerald King.
JAMES
So, you’ve had quite a career. You’ve been in Frozen and played Maria in Sound of Music and now you’re doing this. So where are you at in your career and did you imagine you’d be here and what is the vision for the future?
SYNTHIA
No, I didn’t. And it’s nice to kind of be present in that so thank you for asking that question because I’ve been at it for a long time. I went to theatre school right out of high school and my focus was musical theatre, so I had a lot of singing and dance training and coming out of school it took a long time to get things going. I would say I probably had my breakthrough just before the pandemic.
And since then, I’ve gotten so many incredible opportunities ranging from doing Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in Toronto which is this huge West End – Broadway Play that I worked on for a year and a half. And I’ve been travelling all over Canada working on musicals and Shakespeare and now this. So, I’d say the variety of what I’ve been able to do is something I never thought would be there for me but I’m so thrilled and privileged and grateful to have done all of that work.
For the future I’ve always said I’m happy as long as I get to keep doing this. And I am so excited to be working on Wildwoman. I have never done something like this before that required so much of me as an actor. And I’m really interested in more work like this. Like I said at the beginning, you don’t get scripts like this every day. And so, my hope for the theatre landscape as a whole is that there are more parts for women like this and that I get to play some of them.
Connor Suart and Synthia Yusuf in WILDWOMAN. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Alaia Hamer. Lighting Design by Gerald King.
JAMES
It sounds to me like what shifted in the world was that opportunities began to be offered rather than you chasing them all the time.
SYNTHIA
I kind of feel when I started out diversity wasn’t a thing that people really prioritized that much and I just felt that when I left school there wasn’t a spot for me and I pulled away from the industry for a long time because I felt like no one wanted to see someone that looked like me in the parts that I wanted to play. And so, I think it was kind of a push and pull with me and the industry. I had a few doors open and I really just kind of pushed through them. I played Ariel in The Little Mermaid a couple of years ago and that’s something I never thought that I would do, but someone took the opportunity to see me in that kind of a role and once you start getting those opportunities you start to believe that you can do anything.
Synthia Yusuf in WILDWOMAN. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Alaia Hamer. Lighting Design by Gerald King.
JAMES
Okay, just for fun I’m curious to know if you could have Cathy over for dinner what would you serve? And then second, what would you want to ask her about her life?
SYNTHIA
Well, I’m not a very good cook. So, I would probably take Cathy to a restaurant because she was a queen. She’s used to eating something very fine – something very delicious – well crafted. I’m quite a foodie so I love fine dining restaurants and since I’m from Vancouver I’m not super familiar with the Calgary scene, but I did go to Caesars last night and it was fantastic. So, maybe I’d take her there. She was quite a prolific hunter. So maybe I would want to serve her some boar – she hunted boar. I think she’d really like a farm to table restaurant.
And I would love to ask Cathy what those ten years were really like for her. Those ten years where she couldn’t have a child and that’s all that anyone wanted or expected from her. Because that’s a really long time to be trying and having all eyes on you because that’s your only purpose. I would just love to hear from her and know what her mind set was like at that time.
JAMES
Alright you’ve had dinner and she gets to see the show. What do you think she’d make of the play and your portrayal of her and her life?
SYNTHIA
I like to think that Cathy was cool, you know. She was a patron of the arts. That was very important to her. So, I’d like to think in a modern context she still would be. And I was surprised by how many people loved this play in Vancouver and I really hope that Calgary loves the show. It’s very unorthodox and probably not for everyone but I was really shocked by how many people really did love it. People from all different age brackets and generations and so I think she would be in that group of people that loves it as well and I think she would find it hilarious.
***
For me personally, Wildwoman feels somewhat like Game of Thrones and Synthia Yusuf’s portrayal of Catherine embodies the intelligence and sense of humour of Tyrion Lannister while also having the cunning and ruthless survival instincts of Cersei Lannister. That gives you a feel for the tone of the play and so you know it’s going to be an evening of sharp observations about sex, politics, and power with plenty of big bold moments that give the play an exciting energy.
Alberta Theatre Projects, in association with Gateway Theatre, presents Wildwoman by Kat Sandler running until May 10th at the Martha Cohen Theatre. Tickets are available online at albertatheatreprojects.com or by calling the box office at 403.294.7402.
Wildwoman is recommended for ages 16+ and features mature content, strong language, and sexual situations.
Hayley Rosenau, Sarah Joylyn Irwin, Brent Gill, Matthew Mooney, and Nathan Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production Hurry Hard by Kristen Da Silva. Photo by Lauren Hamm Photography
In search of some lighthearted fun and plenty of laughs, then head out to Rosebud Theatre and catch Kristen Da Silva’s very funny and crowd-pleasing comedy Hurry Hard. The show runs until May 23rd and includes Chef Mo’s always delicious buffet. Tickets are available at www.RosebudTheatre.com or by calling the box office at 1-800-267-7553.
As the play opens, we are introduced to Terry and Bill, two bickering brothers from Didsbury with a complicated history. Bill is the quiet one hesitant to stand up for what he wants, and Terry appears to be the screw-up of a brother who can’t keep a job while focusing all his dreams and ambitions on winning the Regional Bonspiel so that he can finally have bragging rights over the current champions – that annoying team from Olds. This is the last chance for Didsbury as the town is planning to tear down the curling rink leaving the local teams without a place to play. Unfortunately, the team finds themselves short a man and in need of a replacement or they’ll have to forfeit the game.
Matthew Mooney, Brent Gill, Nathan Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Hurry Hard by Kristen Da Silva. Photo by Lauren Hamm Photography
Also sharing the curling rink is the women’s team which also finds themselves short a player. That’s where we meet Sandy, Bill’s ex-wife who happens to be a pretty good curler and who’s currently attempting to teach her friend Darlene, the local hairdresser, how to play the game. Of course, you can see where this is heading. The men and the women will have to team up and play as a mixed team in order to keep their dream of being regional champions alive. Adding to the mix is Johnny , a handsome, six-pack-sporting new member of the men’s team whose mere presence can cause women to swoon like schoolgirls over their favourite boy band.
Sarah Joylyn Irwin and Hayley Rosenau in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Hurry Hard by Kristen Da Silva. Photo by Lauren Hamm Photography
Of course, Hurry Hard isn’t the first Canadian play to use curling as a setting for a story. The New Canadian Curling Club by playwright Mark Crawford, which graced the Calgary stages at Alberta Theatre Projects a few years ago is another one, and there’s W.O. Mitchell’s classic tale, The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, which was originally produced by Theatre Calgary back in the ’70s and more recently by Alberta Theatre Projects in 2024. That had me wondering if writing a play about curling is a rite of passage for Canadian playwrights and so I contacted Kristen and asked her what she thinks is the appeal of the game as a background for these different stories and her story in particular.
KRISTEN DA SILVA
It’s a funny story about Mark’s play and mine.
Hurry Hard was commissioned by Lighthouse Festival Theatre at the same time as Mark was writing The New Canadian Curling Club for Blyth Festival Theatre. Neither of us knew the other was working on a curling play until the season announcements came out. Now we jokingly check with one another before starting a new script.
Personally, I’ve never been able to pass up a good sports story, especially any kind of underdog story. I chose curling, specifically, because it’s a very cool part of our Canadian tradition. It’s a sport that attracts all ages and all skill levels and, in small towns especially, curling clubs become these community hubs. I think there are nearly endless story-telling possibilities, which is why these three plays can share a setting and be so different from one another.
Playwright Kristen Da Silva
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, last year Lunchbox Theatre in Calgary did a marvelous production of your play Beyond the Sea which I saw and thought was fantastic. And now here we are in Rosebud, and they are producing what I’m sure won’t be their last Kristen Da Silva play – your full-length romantic comedy Hurry Hard. So, I’m wondering with that success and as you get more productions around the world and audiences see your work has your relationship with the work and industry as a playwright changed? Are some things easier? Harder? Unexpected?
KRISTEN
Thanks so much! I wasn’t able to get to Calgary to see it myself but it looked terrific.
And thanks for the invitation to look back a bit with this question. I guess my first thought is just how fortunate and surprised I feel. In the beginning, I flew by the seat of my pants more. I think more about the craft now. I work harder at it. There have been so many opportunities given to me and I collaborate with such amazingly talented people; I want to work really hard to live up to them. It’s a gift to get to do this job every day. It’s the best job I can imagine.
JAMES
Okay, I have to ask the question, because it is a major topic of discussion in the arts. Any thoughts on AI and its impact on the arts and theatre in general.
KRISTEN
When it comes to writing, I don’t understand it at all. We have so many gifted writers on this earth. We should invest in them, because I’ve personally never left the theatre wishing the play felt less human.
JAMES
And finally, why go to Rosebud and see Hurry Hard? What do you hope audiences take away from the experience of seeing your play and this production?
KRISTEN
I hope audiences go to Rosebud, leave their troubles at the theatre door, spend a couple of hours laughing, and leave with a little more hope and joy in their hearts.
Sarah Joylyn Irwin, Hayley Rosenau, Matthew Mooney, Nathan Schmidt, in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Hurry Hard by Kristen Da Silva. Photo by Lauren Hamm Photography
After seeing the show, I can guarantee that audiences are definitely laughing and coming away from the experience with a more positive and happier feeling about the world. Director Craig Hall expertly balances the comedy and heart of the play by assembling a terrific ensemble that brings these characters to life while Da Silva’s script is filled with smart and clever dialogue that keeps the pace moving and the laughs coming.
Brent Gill is great fun as Terry playing him with a blustery male energy that masks his true feelings and desires. Nathan Schmitt portrays his brother Bill as a man clearly with more than curling on his mind as he awkwardly tries to reconnect with his ex-wife Sandy. Sarah Joylyn Irwin plays Sandy as a woman debating which path to follow as she reviews her life choices and considers her future options. Hayley Rosenau brings a mischievous energy and sparkle to Darlene who must rise to the challenge as the Didsbury team comes together for the final game against Olds. And Matthew Mooney is a charming, friendly, take life as it comes presence who’s just happy to be a part of the team.
Hurry Hard by Kristen Da Silva at Rosebud Theatre, Scenic Designer Dale Marushy, Costume Designer Amy Castro, Lighting Designer Becky Halterman, Sound Designer/Composer Joy Robinson. Photo by Lauren Hamm Photography
One of the nice things about the play is that there are no villains, unless of course you’re referring to that team from Olds. These are nice people facing challenges and trying to navigate complicated feelings. That’s what humanizes the story more than anything because we’ve all been there trying to figure out our next step in life or have known friends facing these same kinds of life situations. Adding to the relatable feeling of the play the set design by Dale Marushy, costume design by Amy Castro, lighting design by Becky Halterman, and sound design by Joy Robinson create a realistic playground for all the action to take place.
Hurry Hard is a play filled with laughter about lost dreams, second chances, and learning to speak from the heart. The lady behind me not only laughed throughout the entire play but also added the occasional comment about how the play was hilarious. So well written. And filled with laughter. This live endorsement in no way detracted from our enjoyment of the play and I have no doubt expressed the feelings and thoughts of the less vocal members of the audience.
Hayley Rosenau, Sarah Joylyn Irwin, Brent Gill, Matthew Mooney, and Nathan Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Hurry Hard by Kristen Da Silva. Photo by Lauren Hamm Photography
Hurry Hard by Kristen Da Silva runs until May 23rd with matinee performances Wednesday to Saturday and evening performances on Friday and Saturday. The show is just over two hours long including an intermission. Matinee performances begin at 1:30 pm and the evening shows start at 7:30 pm. Patrons enjoying a meal before the show are advised to arrive between 11 am and 12 noon for the afternoon performance and between 5:00 pm and 6:00 pm for the evening performance. For complete details and to purchase tickets visit www.RosebudTheatre.com or call the box office at 1-800-267-7553.
Christopher Hunt in RIBSTONE. Photo by Hannah Kerbes
Christopher Hunt’s Ribstone is a richly entertaining and personal reflection about family, storytelling, our connection to the land, and our changing relationship to the past. It’s packed with stories, both tragic and humourous as well as the occasional song. And while the current run at Lunchbox Theatre is sold out, I’d recommend you keep an eye out for a return engagement so you can grab those tickets and see the show – because I guarantee – you won’t be disappointed.
Hunt is our guide for the evening. And the casual, friendly feel of the show begins when he takes his place onstage and begins to quietly strum on the old banjo while the audience is still coming into the theatre.
To his right, is the crankie.
What is a crankie?
Well, it’s the IMAX of the 1800s albeit on a much smaller scale. It’s a visual storytelling device. Basically, it’s a box with a display window cut into the front. On either side of the box are cranks that you turn to move a scroll across the window. That scroll can contain drawings or titles or anything else you want to draw on it to help you tell your story.
Directly behind Hunt is a barn-like structure containing a window where you can hang a lantern and a number of hooks with some of the relics that Hunt uses during the show. The set is built entirely from weathered wooden planks. Each board bears the marks of time having been aged grey from the sun and grooved by the wind and rain. These boards not only show the mark of time passing but contain the initials and carvings of those whose stories we are about to hear. (Please note the production photos in this blog were taken before the set was finished and in place.)
So, what exactly is a Ribstone and why is that the title of the show? Well, a Ribstone is an ancient and sacred artifact to the Indigenous Nations, such as the Blackfoot, that lived on this land long before we arrived. There are about a dozen of them in existence today. The stones have grooves carved into them that represent the ribs of the buffalo as well as other markings. When Hunt’s grandfather came to Alberta the land he ranched included one of these Ribstones on the top of a hill. So, the stone is the namesake of the ranch, and it was also the namesake of the butcher shop Hunt’s family ran in Calgary for many years.
Christopher Hunt in RIBSTONE. Photo by Hannah Kerbes
There are a dozen or so characters we hear from through the course of the play and Hunt jumps easily from one character to another as he tells us stories and reflects on his family’s history. We learn about the importance of talking to your elders, old-time music, and the story of Lee Brainard who moved his cattle herd up from Montana into Alberta during the winter of 1906/07 with the mistaken belief, that Chinook winds would regularly melt all the snow, so his cattle could feed on the prairie grass over the winter.
One of the most enjoyable things about Hunt’s performance is the unhurried but deeply engaging way he speaks to us. Whether he’s telling us a story about trying to work up the courage to ask a girl out or gaining new insights about Residential Schools from an Indigenous perspective he knows how to use a pause to convey meaning. To land a joke and give us a chance to laugh. To ponder a question about our place in the universe and give us room to explore our own thoughts.
I find so much of the media we consume today is focused on speed and pace and cutting out the pauses. How many badly edited YouTube videos have you seen where they’ve cut out the breaths in order to speed up the delivery?
Why would you do that?
The breath is one of the key things that makes speech human.
And it’s when we get to experience live theatre with a performer as gifted as Hunt that we once again get to experience the magic of words. The magic of the moment. How a hesitation between two spoken words can be filled with meaning and weight.
To help bring the story to life, Hunt has assembled a talented team of artists including director Jamie Dunsdon, whose work always reflects her ability to capture authentic human moments. Not only did Jamie direct the show, but she also did the lighting and the emotional shifts in tone and story are reflected in gentle changes to the lights. Plus, there is, later in the play, a wonderful and entrancing image achieved through a simple backlighting effect that drives home the complicated emotions and questions we’re dealing with today as we move forward with Truth and Reconciliation.
Christopher Hunt in RIBSTONE. Photo by Hannah Kerbes
The set design is by Hanne Loosen, and like I said earlier, I found the use of the aged wood a perfect backdrop for telling these stories. It’s much more than just the side of a barn. It’s living history. And it frames the entire show by making us feel like we’re out at the ranch on a summer night listening to stories and looking up at the night sky.
Hunt’s musical consultant for the show was celebrated blues and roots musician and Calgary musical icon Tim Williams. According to Hunt Williams showed up one day with a song he’d written for the show and told Hunt that it was his to use if he wanted. Well, of course, he wanted to include it and The Ribstone Waltz is one of the musical highlights of the show. It puts into music the feel of the entire evening. Sadly, Tim passed away last November, and so Hunt has dedicated Ribstone to the memory of Tim Williams who he notes in the program, “helped me find the heart of the piece.”
Ribstone is the perfect show to share with family and friends, because not only does it gives you something to talk about after you leave the theatre but you walk out feeling good about life. Not because every story is uplifting, although there are many uplifting stories, but because the play focuses on human connection and how exploring our history and the difficult questions of life can deepen our sense of belonging and help us to understand more about ourselves and our place in the world.
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Lunchbox Theatre and One Yellow Rabbit present Ribstone at the 40th Annual High Performance Rodeo. Ribstone is already sold out, but if you’d like to check out the rest of the shows at this year’s High Performance Rodeo you can visit their website at www.oyr.org And be sure to check out the next Lunchbox Theatre show, Thank You For Your Order by Jessica Moss, at www.lunchboxtheatre.com.
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RIBSTONE
Christopher Hunt | Writer / Performer Jamie Dunsdon | Director / Lighting Designer Hanne Loosen | Set Designer / Crankie Images Ralamy Kneeshaw | Costume Designer Tim Williams | Music Consultant / “Ribstone Waltz” Composer Telly James | Indigenous Consultant Leo Wieser | Crankie Designer / Builder Keri Halfacre | Set Builder
Thingwall Players Production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Alex Harrison
This Christmas the Thingwall Players are producing my adaptation of A Christmas Carol in Liverpool England. In my version of the story you’ll meet Mr. Bentley, learn about the letters Scrooge wrote to his sister Fan, and find out who Mr. Newbury is. You’ll still find all the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future along with Scrooge’s nephew Fred, and the love of Scrooge’s life, Belle. There are some new scary bits, a few good laughs, a tender moment or two, and some surprises! Above all else, A Christmas Carol shows us that no one is beyond redemption, and it’s always a thrill for me to have theatre companies like the Thingwall Players produce my adaptation of the story and share it with their community, because A Christmas Carol reminds us that we all have the power to make the world a better place.
I contacted Charlotte Holguin, the director of the show, to chat with her about why A Christmas Carol still resonates with audiences today, her love of theatre, and what audiences can expect when they go to see the show.
Director Charlotte Holguin
JAMES HUTCHISON
Charlotte what do you believe is the central role of a director in the creative process? Are you a guide? A collaborator? A visionary? Or something else?
CHARLOTTE HOLGUIN
I’m not sure I view myself in that way to be honest James. I think I’m a mix. I have a vision obviously. I think the director’s role is certainly initially to lift the page onto the stage. To bring the text to life. And then to give those around you – the actors as well as the crew – the inspiration and confidence to bring that into effect.
And sometimes other people have better ideas than me. So, I like an element of collaboration. I’m very open with the cast and the crew that if anybody has an idea then I really welcome it and I want them to tell me about it. And in this production, there have been many occasions where they’ve come up with much better ideas than me and we’ve put them into effect and they’ve worked.
JAMES
Well, you know you mentioned it’s a community production and so people are there for the love of theatre.
Thingwall Players Production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Alex Harrison
CHARLOTTE
Yes.
JAMES
And so where does your love of theatre come from?
CHARLOTTE
Oh, gosh. It’s my happy place. I suppose my love of theatre grew from being at school and being in productions and it continued through into my adult life. And I act, as well. That was my first love, and in fact, I’m relatively new to the director’s role and I wasn’t sure whether I was going to like it. But actually, I’ve loved it.
I think, the experience of being an actor is incredibly useful because I know the difficulties – the trials and tribulations – and I have a better understanding of where an actor is coming from by having been there myself.
And this is the biggest cast that I’ve ever drawn together. I have tried to do very deliberately a selection of actors from a range of different ages, a range of different backgrounds, and a range of different experience levels. And I’m trying to draw from them the best that they can be so this production can be the best that it can be. That has been challenging but overwhelmingly joyful.
JAMES
You know some of the best loved stories in the world are actually stories about redemption and Christmas. So, what is it about these stories that continue to make them resonate with a modern audience. Why do we continue to watch them.
CHARLOTTE
These types of stories draw on themes, I think, that all of us – or certainly the vast majority of society deals with in their everyday lives. So, for example when you’re talking about economic challenges, social indifference, and inequality those are challenges that humanity has faced over centuries and it doesn’t stop. Those themes are as relevant now as they would have been in Dickensian times.
Thingwall Players Production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Alex Harrison
And so when people come and they experience a story that taps into those themes and is about growth, reflection, redemption, and hope and the idea that you can change for the better – the idea that community is important – that you can neglect your community but yet on a road to redemption you can rediscover it and thereby again rejoin it is something that the Christmas Carol story tells tremendously well and that people want to be a part of. I think that’s why perhaps they transcend time.
JAMES
Tell me about the cast you’ve assembled.
CHARLOTTE
The actual cast that I’ve assembled is somewhat different than the cast I thought I was going to assemble. It’s twenty-six strong. It involves four children. The age ranges right up to 70s. Zoran Blackie plays Scrooge, and he’s tremendous. He doesn’t play the part as a miserly old man hunched over with white hair. He’s still got flocks of black hair. He’s very much approached Scrooge in a way that is much more the sensibilities of a modern man but in that time. Still a miserly, horrible, cruel individual but it’s more how he speaks down to people and dismisses people. It works tremendously well, and I think it feeds into the relevancy of it.
And then we have a huge supporting cast behind him. We have a female ghost of Christmas past, a female ghost of Christmas present, and a female ghost of Christmas future, so they’re all women. We’re also trying to showcase the musical talents of some of our cast members and in particular a younger cast member who can play the violin. So, she comes on as the fiddler at the opening of the play, and she comes on in the Fezziwig scene along side some other musicians.
JAMES
What was it that attracted you to my adaptation and what made you want to put it on stage and share it with your audience.
CHARLOTTE
I read and really enjoyed the prospect of your short play small cast version and what I intended initially was to select 10 actors to play the entire show. And I thoroughly enjoyed the prospect of being able to do the whole show in front of the audience.
Thingwall Players Production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Alex Harrison
In your Christmas Carol and, in my last show for example, all the set is changed by the cast. There are no stagehands. Pieces are multi functional. So, we have, for example, the schoolboy desk that when turned around converts to a newspaper stand in the street scene.
I like doing theatre where things are magically transformed on stage in front of the audience and you have actors playing multiple parts who just by snatching a hat or throwing on of a cape become a different character.
So, that’s what initially drew me to it. Alongside the fact that it is hugely flexible and adaptable to the number of cast members that you have, and for me that was really important because in community theatre you don’t know who you’re going to get turning up for the auditions.
You don’t know how many are turning up. You don’t know the experience level or whether you’re going to have any musicians or dancers. Your adaptation enabled me to either have a small cast or a large cast if need be. What happened and what changed was that I had a vast amount of people turn up to audition for this show. Which was wonderful.
And so, with this being community theatre I wanted to reflect the community. And I had enough people turn up that enabled me to do that. So, that’s what I did. I selected as widely as I could. It didn’t matter what their age was or if they had no experience or vast amounts of experience. What I hope we’ve succeeded in doing – in the true spirit of A Christmas Carol – is to reflect our community.
Thingwall Players Production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Alex Harrison
JAMES
So, for folks coming to see A Christmas Carol what sort of experience can they expect. What kind of show are they going to see. What can they look forward to?
CHARLOTTE
From the moment that an audience member walks through the door we create an immersive experience. We have the whole theatre decorated in Victorian Christmas style with garlands and wreaths. And we have it set up as a kind of market.
So, there are market stores around the outer edges. The audience is sat in the middle. So, there’s a sweets stall, a craft stall, a drinks stall, and the front of house are all in costume. And the cast all in costume come in fifteen minutes pre-show. They’re going to cue up with the audience. They’re going to buy sweets, and they’re going to buy drinks with them and move around the audience as if they were there in the Christmas market themselves. So, we’re creating smells and we are really trying to make it an immersive experience as soon as you walk in.
And then the play starts when the children who are on the stage having a snowball fight run off and the young lady – Emma – who I told you about who plays the violin grabs her violin and comes back out onto the stage. And we expect the audience is still going to be milling around at this stage, and she plays on her violin in solo the first line of Deck the Halls.
And then one of our strongest male cast members and vocalists, Fred, sings the first line of Deck the Halls. And I think as you in part envisaged the actors who are now all in the auditorium join in line by line of the song until we have a great crescendo and then we’re into the play.
And I’m hopeful that the audience will see a show that transports them through a range of emotions. That gives them an immersive experience. That leaves them in the end feeling joyful and that makes them smile more when they’re leaving than when they entered.
***
The Thingwall Players Production of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens Adapted for the stage by James Hutchison
THE CAST
Ebenezer Scrooge – Zoran Blackie Young Scrooge – Conor Burns Jacob Marley – Paul Arends Ghost of Christmas Past – Holly Blue Ghost of Christmas Present – Lorna Pout Ghost of Christmas Future – Chrys Fergani Bob Cratchit – Kevin Thomas Mrs. Cratchit – Natalie Pearce Belle, Martha Cratchit – Meredith Clayton Scrooge as a boy, Peter Cratchit, boy in street – Will Holguin Carol singer, Abigail Cratchit, Georgina, girl – Hattie Holguin Tiny Tim Cratchit – Emma Laurie Mrs. Dilber (Scrooge’s housemaid) – Laura Powell Fred – Connor Jones Fan, Emma – Zoe Marras Dick Wilkens, Topper – Shaun Greatbanks Mrs Harrington, Rose – Angela McComb Cook, Mrs Fezziwig – Kate Mulvihill Mr. Fezziwig – Stephen Walsh Grace, girl in Street – Serenity Arends Mr. Bentley, Caroline – Samra Uddin Thomas – Ray Ormsby Mrs. Granger, Mr Newbury – Vicki Griffiths Old Joe, homeless person – Tom Large First Businessman – Dave Owens Second Businessman – Dan Pout Musicians – Emma Laurie, Sally Laurie, Aslan Herzen, Natalie Pearce, Chrys Fergani, Meredith Clayton
THE CREW
Director and Producer – Charlotte Holguin Light and Sound lead technician – Meg Doherty Light and Sound assistants – Bethany and Natasha Cragg Costume – Carol Golightly Backstage/ Props – Caroline Doyle, Hayley Jeffrey and Laura Powell Musician lead – Sally Laurie Set making – Robert Bowes Social Media/ Publicity – Mish Forder
Cast members in Alberta Theatre Projects production of The Wizard of Oz. Photo by Jeff Yee. Set, Lighting and Props Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw.
If you’re looking for a memorable and fun family outing to celebrate the holiday season, then be sure to catch Alberta Theatre Projects inventive and highly entertaining production of The Wizard of Oz.
This is the stage musical based on the 1939 film starring Judy Garland which was based on the books by L. Frank Baum. Few films imbed themselves as deeply into the culture as The Wizard of Oz has and so many people have an affection and love for the story, the characters, and the music.
Hannah Adamson and Breezie in Alberta Theatre Projects production of The Wizard of Oz. Photo by Jeff Yee. Set, Lighting and Props Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw.
The amazing thing about this story is just how many of the characters we know and remember. Often in a movie you’ll have the lead character and maybe another character or two who really define the story and become part of the culture. But in The Wizard of Oz every character adds something powerful to the journey. The Tinman, The Cowardly Lion, The Scarecrow, The Wicked Witch of the West, Glinda the Good Witch of the North, The Wizard of Oz, and Dorthy are all vivid in our minds and our memories.
Oh, and Toto. You can’t forget Toto.
Kevin Corey, Ryan Maschke, Hannah Adamson and Jason Lemmon in Alberta Theatre Projects production of The Wizard of Oz. Photo by Jeff Yee. Set, Lighting and Props Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw.
All of these characters are relatable. Why? Because they’re flawed. I mean who hasn’t felt stupid or scared. Who hasn’t wanted to run away from home when life gets hard. And then there are the songs. Fun. Joyful. Happy. Sing along songs like We’re Off to See the Wizard or Somewhere Over the Rainbow that not only entertain but speak deeply to the heart of every soul who has ever spent time with their kids or their parents or grandparents watching this magical story unfold.
And so, I’m happy to report that director Tracey Power has captured some of that magic by assembling a terrific cast that embodies the spirit of the story and has the theatrical expertise and singing skills to bring The Wizard of Oz to life.
Hannah Adamson, Ryan Maschke, Christopher Hunt, Brent Gill and Ethan Vasquez Taylor in Alberta Theatre Projects production of The Wizard of Oz. Photo by Jeff Yee. Set, Lighting and Props Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw.
The story for those that don’t know is about a young girl named Dorothy who along with her dog Toto runs away from home and finds herself in the magical kingdom of Oz. There she teams up with the Tinman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion as they travel to the Emerald City to ask the Great and Powerful Wizard of OZ for help, all while being relentlessly pursued by the Wicked Witch of the West.
I would suggest that more than the books the iconic performances of the actors in the original film define what we expect when we see a stage production of the show. The trick for any actor is to honour the original performance while bringing something fresh and exciting to the role and the entire cast does exactly this. They feel familiar yet original. And by doing so we see a show we love but with a new energy and a different dimension because every actor brings to every character they play a bit of their own soul and emotional understanding of the world.
Daniela Vlaskalic, Jessica Jones and Hannah Adamson in Alberta Theatre Projects production of The Wizard of Oz. Photo by Jeff Yee. Set, Lighting and Props Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw.
Hannah Adamson takes on the role of Dorothy Gale and does an admirable job bringing a youthful enthusiasm and resilient determined spirit to the role. Joining Dorothy on her journey is the kind-hearted and caring Scarecrow played with a childish innocence and an astonishingly high degree of physical flexibility by Ryan Maschke. Jason Lemmon plays the prone to tears tin man as compassionate and brave, despite his fears and insecurities.
Returning to the stage to reprise his role as the Cowardly Lion having previously played the part at ATP is Kevin Corey easily one of the best physical comedians working on the Calgary Stage. Corey’s portrayal has the right balance of comic exaggeration and genuine emotion which makes his Cowardly Lion both funny and endearing.
Cast members in Alberta Theatre Projects production of The Wizard of Oz. Photo by Jeff Yee. Set, Lighting and Props Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw.
Playing the Wicked Witch of the West Daniela Vlaskalic brings a cackling and menacing presence to the role and does a great job playing the villain of the story. Jessica Jones as Glinda the Good Witch of the North is the perfect counterbalance to Vlaskalic’s Wicked Witch of the West. Jones radiates goodness and has a carefree nature about her that fits perfectly as she guides Dorthy on her journey and steps in at key moments.
Brent Gill who plays the Emerald City Guard (who in the movie has always reminded me of a deranged Gene Shalit) brings a fun mix of bureaucratic bluster and comedic self importance to his role. And last but not least Christopher Hunt does a wonderful job of playing the Wizard of Oz as both the loveable conman with a heart of gold he is while pretending to be the Great and Powerful Wizard who strikes fear in all those who dare seek him out.
Cast members in Alberta Theatre Projects production of The Wizard of Oz. Photo by Jeff Yee. Set, Lighting and Props Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw.
Not only has director Tracey Powers done an excellent job of casting and directing the show but she’s assembled a strong design team including set, lighting, and props designer Narda McCarroll, costume designer Ralamy Kneeshaw, sound designer and keyboard #2 Van Wilmott, and Musical Director and Keyboard #1 Joe Slabe.
The production features live music which always enhances the production and adds an element of live performance that brings a vibrant feel to any musical. The sets are all made of things like umbrellas and plates and bottles and bicycle wheels and old jeans and tin cans that have been transformed into trees and forests and hills that anchor the play in the plains of Kansas and the magical land of Oz. Which leans into the theatricality of the show and the magic of theatre all of which make the production a visual treat and something more than simply replicating the movie.
Cast members in Alberta Theatre Projects production of The Wizard of Oz. Photo by Jeff Yee. Set, Lighting and Props Design by Narda McCarroll. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw.
Bottom line this is a fine production. It’s entertaining and inventive. The Wizard of Oz at Alberta Theatre Projects is a magical and family-friendly holiday production that brings this much-loved story and characters to life on stage. Tracey Powers has brought together a talented cast and show with design elements crafted from recycled materials, while featuring live musical elements that manages to capture the spirit of the original movie while creating a fresh theatrical experience for everyone to enjoy.
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The Wizard of Oz runs until January 4th at Alberta Theatre Projects. Please note evening performances from Tuesday to Saturday have family friendly start times of either 7:00 pm or 7:30 pm depending on the date of the performance. Saturday and Sunday matinees start at 2:00 pm. Tickets are available at albertatheatreprojects.com or by calling the box office at 403-294-7402
Austin Halarewich, Graham Percy, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
Kidnapping, blackmail, and murder are all being served up in the Vertigo Theatre production of Peril in the Alps by Steven Dietz.
Bella Duveen has vanished, and Arthur Hastings can think of no one better to find his sister-in-law than his good friend Hercule Poirot – a master sleuth who has saved Bella once before. Coincidentally, Poirot has just taken on a missing persons case that seems eerily similar – are they connected? And how are these disappearances intertwined with past mysteries that have already been solved? With the suspicion of a greater scheme at play, Poirot must travel to the snow-capped Alps, where the famed Belgian detective may finally meet his match. Six actors bring to life dozens of eccentric characters and clever suspects in this diabolically funny mystery romp.
The only question is – are you able to match wits with our famous Belgium detective and solve the mystery before he does? To find out catch Peril in the Alps from November 15th to December 14th and get your tickets from the Vertigo Theatre Box Office by phone at 403.221.3708 or online at vertigotheatre.com.
I contacted the director of the play Clare Preuss, who was in the middle of rehearsals, in order to talk with her about the enduring appeal of Poirot and the magic of theatre.
Clare Preuss Director of the Vertigo Theatre production of Peril in Paris
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, lets talk a little bit about the cast. You’ve got Graham Percy playing Hercule Poirot and Austin Halarewich playing Hastings. Rounding out the cast you’ve got Tyrell Crews, Linda Kee, Heidi Damayo and Aiden Laudersmith all of who are playing multiple roles in the production. So, tell me about the cast you’ve assembled for this production and what sort of an ensemble you’ve put together.
CLARE PREUSS
They’re just fantastic. And to fully manifest a show like this the actors have to be virtuosic. There’s a level of skill that is needed. The ability to drop into characters really quickly and the ability to play a character with authentic intentions and with authentic tactics and then to also play something that’s arched because there’s an arched element to the show. So, I think being able to find folks who have that dexterity is really incredible.
And then for me I always want to hire people and work with people that are generous. That are willing to take risks. And all of them are. And they’re all so funny. I mean there are so many moments that they’ve come up with in the room where they just play off each other and they’re willing to be vulnerable. And that’s really important. They’re an incredible cast and every single one of them has shining moments in this story.
The Cast of PERIL IN THE ALPS, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
And then Austin and Graham really have to carry the show, and they have to play friends that have known each other for many years and it’s incredible what they’ve come up with.
And if anyone knows Graham Percy’s vast experience in the community and the roles, he’s played watching his Poirot is something stunning. He’s got this balance. You just believe he’s that smart. That he puts together the clues the way Poirot does. And then you also feel this heart.
I said to him the other day in rehearsal, “Your Poirot is so smart and also has a heart the size of a mountain.” And I think that’s really beautiful because Poirot is in service to people. But he’s also conceited as hell. He knows he’s smart. And so, I think having that edge – someone who’s very sure of themselves and also someone who can be very generous and care is again really special.
And Austin is fresh out of the gate. I mean he’s such a youngster but wow stunning. A stunning, nuanced, generous, present performance. I think he’s got a huge career ahead of him.
Graham Percy, Linda Kee, Austin Halarewich, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
JAMES
Some of the best comedies in the world center around murder and mayhem such as Arsenic and Old Lace or Dr. Strangelove. What is it about these high stakes stories where death looms that makes them such an ideal vehicle for laughter and farce.
CLARE
The one thing we know when we come onto planet earth is that we’re going to die. And it’s something that we don’t talk about that often, so these stories take that taboo and make fun of it. And even though we can be killed so easily – as a society most of us agree we’re not going to kill each other. So, I think there’s something fun in bringing up a completely immoral, illegal, taboo act and laughing at it. And to think about it in a playful way because we know we’re not allowed to do it. But there’s something tantalizing about the forbidden fruit idea of it. And I love laughing at things that are deeply serious. It’s naughty and cathartic and I think people like being naughty.
Tyrell Crews, Linda Kee, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
JAMES
You know I saw Liars at a Funeral which you directed at ATP last year and it was a very funny show but one of the parallels between that play and this play and a lot of plays these days is they might have one or two people who play a single character and then they’ve got a cast that are playing multiple characters and that seems to be very common now and I’m wondering what sort of elements to a production does that type of casting and that type of story telling create?
CLARE
That’s part of the fun, right. Watching people transform. And this particular show is written for the TikTok generation. I say that because the scenes are short. There’s lots of stuff to look at all the time. And that’s the play written and then we’ve leaned into that with the production where there’s so much happening on stage all the time. In a good way. And it’s still focused.
Obviously, budgets have influenced the desire for actors to take on multiple characters. But I also think in a world where we can see so much on TV and on our phones at the drop of a hat where we see big casts and people playing specific characters all the way through – that there’s something fun about the poetic nature of theatre that really lends itself to people taking on different roles. And that’s certainly true with this show with the number of costumes and quick changes happening. It’s like watching a high wire act, right. There’s a joy in watching that kind of stuff.
Tyrell Crews, Aidan Laudersmith, Heidi Damayo, Austin Halarewich, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
JAMES
So, Peril in the Alps by Stephen Dietz is a sequel to last year’s Murder on the Links and both plays focus on Hercule Poirot. And even though the plays have a lot of laughs they maintain the core characteristics of Poirot, and I wonder what are those qualities of Poirot in the plays that make him such an enduring and loved character in the world.
CLARE
Well, I think it’s his psyche. His ability to be present. To not just be witnessing something but to be really aware of it. Aware of the minutiae in a moment in a case. To follow the evidence and not his emotions. To remain somewhat detached and to be able to piece together very simple clues that other people skip over because they’re not actually paying attention. They’re just watching. So, his ability to be so fast and put things together so quickly is lovely. And his desire to serve people is I think something that’s endearing.
And then I think we love a character that’s a bit conceited. We love a character that is sure of himself. We love a character like that because we are taught that you shouldn’t do that in the world. We should be modest and not toot our own horn. So, I think a part of what we enjoy about Poirot is that he has the courage to sit in pleasure. This brings me pleasure and I’m doing it. So, he does that very clearly. And then to know that you’re good and to know and be clear about knowing that you’re brilliant. And he knows he’s the best.
He’s also very solitary. Never been married. He’s kind of a mystery at home. There’s something about that containment that’s magic. Mystery is magic. So, his life is magic and there’s something I think about the lone wolf part of him that I find very attractive too. Like this interesting guy who is able to go into other worlds, but his world is actually quite private. So, there’s something cool about that.
Tyrell Crews, Linda Kee, Austin Halarewich, Graham Percy, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
JAMES
For audiences coming to see Peril in the Alps which blends suspense and comedy and includes a cast playing multiple characters what kind of an evening can they expect as they take their seats, and the curtain rises, and the story unfolds.
CLARE
It’s amazing. I mean Naomi is right over here and we just had a run through. She’s the stage manager. She’s brilliant. We just had a run through earlier today and we both looked at each other after the run through and we’re like it goes so fast and it’s really like a roller coaster ride. You get on at the beginning of Act I and it just comes to life so quickly and with so much detail and the precision of it is so entertaining.
So, it’s fast paced and I say it’s great for all generations. There are some people who are going to know Poirot and are going to know his cases in depth. But you can bring your kids, and they’ll be like – “Oh, my God. That’s amazing! Oh, lights. Flashing. Sound. Oh, I learned something. Oh, there’s a bit of a mystery here I can follow. Oh, it’s funny.” Like it’s very poppy in that way.
And it’s a totally solvable mystery and people like to peace together clues. And it’s just so fast paced and funny and the characters are so charming. The set design is gorgeous. And the lighting is by Anton deGroot who is amazing. And we have Peter Moller one of our iconic sound designers in town creating the sound. And then watching people get in and out of all these costumes is fun. So, it’s like getting on a roller coaster and watching a high wire act where you throw in a solvable mystery and laugh your butt off and there’s a night at the theatre I’d pay for.
Austin Halarewich, Graham Percy, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
JAMES
Hey – before I let you go – you know these days we have things called social media.
CLARE
Oh yeah.
JAMES
And I follow you on Instagram.
CLARE
Oh, you do. I should follow you back. Do I follow you back?
JAMES
You do actually. But I’ve got to tell you, I like looking at your Instagram feed because it shows all the amazing people you work with and all the amazing work you’re doing, and I was wondering if you can help me with one thing. On your Instagram account you describe yourself as an Artistic Director / Director / Actor / Creator / Meditator / and an Eternal Optimist.
CLARE
Yes.
JAMES
That’s what I need help with. I tend to see the dark side of things. So, how do you become an eternal optimist? Is it your nature? Is it something you foster? Is it an attitude?
CLARE
I’ve always had a very buoyant personality, but I’ve also had some really really tough stuff that came my way at a very young age. And it’s interesting because when I started theatre school my classmates were like, “Ah she’s the youngest in the class. She’s so irritating. She’s always so happy.” And I was like – well I can tell you my life story – this is earned happiness. And I won’t go into it now, but life has thrown me many curveballs, and I think the only way to get through it with a sense of joy is to believe – not just believe at this point – but to know that everything is always going to work out. And don’t take things too seriously. What’s the worst thing that’s going to happen? You’re going to die. And we’re all going to die anyway. So maybe it’s just my dark side that makes it deeply macabre and funny. (Laughs) I don’t know.
The Cast of PERIL IN THE ALPS, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
JAMES
Well then how do you think theatre help us find joy and optimism.
CLARE
I love everyone that creates theatre. The people who actually put their bodies on that stage – like the actors who get up there every night – they are front line workers. Because what we’re doing in theatre I think is showing people that you can have the courage to live beyond the mundane. And for me that is just huge because I think rather than compare yourself with everybody on social media and to constantly be putting yourself in boxes you should free yourself and imagine something beyond the mundane.
And I think there’s something beautiful about the liveness of theatre that you can be present with other people in this dark space. It’s magical. It can change the way you think about the world. It can change the way you feel about yourself. It can help you process really hard things. It can also help you laugh at life and escape some of the drama that feels so serious around us. So, I think theatre offers a lot of different things and I think this particular show stokes the whimsey in us. It stokes the child like nature in us. It stokes our sense of imagination and possibility. And there’s a lot of daring in the show and so, I think it makes us a bit more daring.
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Vertigo Theatre Presents Peril in the Alps by Stephen Dietz based in part on Agatha Christie’s Poirot Investigates from November 15th to December 14th. Tickets are available from the Vertigo Theatre Box Office by phone at 403.221.3708 or online at vertigotheatre.com.
Devon Brayne, Jamie Konchak, Emily Howard and Doug McKeag in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Photo by Abigaile Edwards, courtesy of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Set, Puppet & Costume Design by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Lighting Design by Sonoyo Nishikawa.
This October The Legend of Sleepy Hollow comes alive on the Alberta Theatre Projects stage featuring all your favourite characters including Ichabod Crane, Katrina Van Tassel, Brom Bones and of course the Headless Horseman. The story has been expanded to dive deeper into the murky waters of post-Revolutionary America and the politics and superstitions of the time. The play is being penned by Anna Cummer and Judd Palmer and features Matthew Mooney as Ichabod, Emily Howard as Katrina, and Devon Brayne as Brom. Rounding out the cast is Christopher Clare, Jamie Konchak, Doug McKeag, and Alice Wordsworth.
The play is being produced in association with the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and is being brought to life by the twisted genius of The Old Trout Puppet Workshop which includes Judd Palmer, Pete Balkwill, and Pityu Kenderes along with the rest of the design team including lighting designer Sonoyo Nishikawa and sound designer Andrew Blizzard.
The play runs from October 22nd to November 9th at the Martha Cohen Theatre in the Werklund Centre which was formally known as Arts Commons. Tickets are available at albertatheatreprojects.com or by calling 403-294-7402
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I contacted the director of the play Craig Hall, who was out in Banff along with the entire creative team making final preparations for the play’s premiere, in order to ask him about this particular adaptation and how it evolved.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, stories like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dracula, and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow continue to be retold and reimagined even centuries after they were first shared with people. What is it about these myths, ghost stories, and tales of the supernatural that allows them to transcend their original time and place and still resonate with a modern audience?
CRAIG HALL
I think it’s good storytelling. You know with all the right tension and with all the right sort of secrets and mystery. And audiences love being scared. And I don’t just mean theatre audiences. Look at the horror genre. It’s massive. And so these stories are classics because it’s great storytelling and because audiences love to be scared.
JAMES
Who hasn’t hidden around the corner and gone boo at one of their unsuspecting family members.
CRAIG
Exactly. It’s in us. That love of being surprised and the adrenaline rush that is caused by something being unknown or unexplainable. And the mystery genre in fiction is one of the biggest genres in the world and has been for a long time. Even if it’s a straight-ahead drama or comedy, there’s always an element of mystery in everything that I’m drawn to because it’s more than just an intellectual experience, it’s a physical experience as well. And it makes us active. We’re an active participant in the story. And I would suggest that every ghost story is a mystery although not every mystery is a ghost story.
Doug McKeag, Matthew Mooney, Jamie Konchak and Emily Howard in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Photo by Abigaile Edwards, courtesy of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Set, Puppet & Costume Design by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Lighting Design by Sonoyo Nishikawa.
JAMES
This is a new play and it’s an adaptation of an existing story so as the director I’m wondering how you see your role first in working on the script and the story with the playwrights Anna Cummer and Judd Palmer. How did that process work.
CRAIG
It’s been a long process. Anna and Judd have been working on this since Covid. They were looking for something to tackle and they went with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow because it had the intrigue that they were looking for. It had the potential for the style that they were looking for. And it’s a story that’s in the public domain so they could do what they wanted with it.
I’ve been in and out of the process as a bit of a dramaturge with a directorial eye. And I’ve been involved in the workshops as we’ve gone along and that role kind of transforms from dramaturge to director through the course of the process. So, it’s been a real luxury to be involved with it from its inception.
Often as a director you’re coming into it just as somethings heading into production. But to be involved since the inception and to be able to nudge and contribute has been great. Anna and Judd are certainly the leads, but we’ve all had a little bit of input here and there and it’s been great working with the Old Trout Puppet Workshop and with Anna who is my partner of course.
And because the Trouts are so heavily involved the design almost develops alongside the play. Your usual process is the designers come in as you’re heading into production, but this play has had a design dramaturgy kind of lens, so the design evolved very organically. So, we’ve been able to create the play with the design in mind.
Alice Wordsworth, Devon Brayne, Jamie Konchak, Emily Howard, Christopher Clare. and Doug McKeag in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Photo by Abigaile Edwards, courtesy of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Set, Puppet & Costume Design by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Lighting Design by Sonoyo Nishikawa.
JAMES
As you mentioned a core component of this adaptation of Sleepy Hollow is the The Old Trout Puppet Workshop who are bringing their puppetry and storytelling talents to the adaptation. In what ways does having puppetry expand the storytelling possibilities?
CRAIG
It’s interesting, I mean, because it’s the Trouts everybody assumes that it’s puppet-forward but in this case it’s more about the esthetic of the whole show. The Trouts are doing the costumes. They’re doing the props. They did the set. There’s some puppetry in the piece and everyone knows that the Headless Horseman is going to make an appearance at some point, but it’s less a puppet show than it is a Trout-driven esthetic. It’s almost like the humans are the puppets in a way. They act as narrators. They act as characters. And everything from their costumes to how they move through this world is a very Trout-driven esthetic.
Alice Wordsworth and Matthew Mooney in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Photo by Abigaile Edwards, courtesy of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Set, Puppet & Costume Design by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Lighting Design by Sonoyo Nishikawa.
JAMES
So, as part of the process of bringing The Legend of Sleepy Hollow to the stage ATP teamed up with The Old Trout Puppet Workshop along with the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. In fact, as we’re doing this interview, you’re currently in Banff in rehearsals getting the play ready for its premiere. How did the opportunity to bring the play to the Banff Centre contribute to the development of the play both artistically and from a practical perspective.
CRAIG
I shouldn’t speak out of turn here, but the Banff Centre made this possible. Without the Banff Centre I’m not sure that ATP could have taken this project on. It was when the Banff Centre came on board that everything lurched forward and got under way. And last night Doug McKeag took us all out on a night time walk through the forest that he’d planned and the group recreated one of the ritual scenes that’s in the show and they came out of the forest with lanterns and you don’t get that kind of bonding beyond the rehearsal hall when everybody is living in their home and going home directly after work. So, it’s been such a privilege to be out here in such an extraordinary facility as an ensemble and to concentrate on the work.
Emily Howard and Matthew Mooney in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Photo by Abigaile Edwards, courtesy of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Set, Puppet & Costume Design by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Lighting Design by Sonoyo Nishikawa.
JAMES
I read the original story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving and one of the things that really stood out to me was just how clear and vivid the characters are in the story. Tell me about how these characters have been lifted from the page and put on stage to help tell the story.
CRAIG
It’s certainly not a traditional retelling of the story. Those basic characters of Katrina Van Tassel and Ichabod Crane and Brom Bones come from the original and the love triangle still exists but it’s an expanded world. It’s not as simple a story.
It’s got a lot of politics around the revolutionary war in it, and everybody is suffering a little bit of PTSD from the war and how the country was torn to pieces. So, Anna and Judd really dug into the history and what was happening at the time and how that parallels what’s happening now. The story goes far beyond the simple relationships of those three characters.
And Ichabod is very much a creature of survival. He will become whoever he needs to become in order to survive. You’ve got this character who’s out of his element and you’re really rooting for him but then his choices are not always correct morally. And what he believes to be true versus what’s actually true becomes this sort of interesting moral conundrum in the piece.
JAMES
You mentioned truth. Do you believe theatre’s role is to reveal truth?
CRAIG
I think its role is to wrestle with it. The most interesting theatre requires you to discern what the truth is. It offers both sides of an argument. And I think that’s what Anna and Judd have done. They want the audience to see there’s an ambiguity to it, and they want the audience to go I’m not sure who the hero is and whether or not they are a reliable narrator so that the audience is wrestling with that truth by the end. And I think they’ve put so much thought into the story and done a lovely job of it so that it ends up being a really satisfying journey and puzzle.
Matthew Mooney, Christopher Clare, Devon Brayne and Alice Wordsworth in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Photo by Abigaile Edwards, courtesy of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Set, Puppet & Costume Design by The Old Trout Puppet Workshop. Lighting Design by Sonoyo Nishikawa.
JAMES
So, what kind of an experience are audiences going to have when they come to see the show?
CRAIG
I think at its base it’s a nice spooky experience with some beautiful ensemble storytelling. Some beautiful visuals. I think that people who know the story will love to see it expanded and to see these characters fleshed out.
And Judd and Anna are two of the smartest people I know. They both have their own fascinations. Judd loves chaos and Anna loves order. And you get to see these two things kind of battle inside of a script which makes for a really satisfying whole. I think that each of them individually would have written a very different piece, but together they wrote something that has a lot of complexity and depth.
And Ichabod calls himself a poet warrior. That’s his own self-aggrandizing definition of himself but words are what he uses for battle. It’s that idea that the pen is mightier than the sword and he’s going to change the world through his words, and he does but whether it’s for better or for worse remains to be seen.
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Alberta Theatre Projects presents the world premiere of a brand-new Canadian adaptation of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. Co written by Anna Cummer and Judd Palmer and produced in association with the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity and The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, this production presents an exciting multi-organizational collaboration that breathes new life into the enduring and haunting tale of the Headless Horseman.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow runs until November 9th at the Martha Cohen Theatre in the Werklund Centre. Tickets are available at albertatheatreprojects.com or by calling 403-294-7402.
Mike Tan and Meg Farhall in Beyond the Sea by Kristen Da Silva, Directed by Bronwyn Steinberg, Photo by Benjamin Laird.
Lunchbox Theatre kicks off its 51st season with the very funny and heartfelt Beyond the Sea by Kristen Da Silva running from October 14th to November 2nd. Playpasses and tickets are available online at lunchboxtheatre.com or by calling the box office at 403-221-3708.
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Every stranger we meet has the potential of influencing our lives in a deep, meaningful, and powerful way. Of course, that does require a level of vulnerability and often I would suggest the sharing of pain. The painful aspects of life. The struggles. And those struggles can be individual short falls or life’s unfair circumstances. No life is without its challenges.
How’s that for a comic premise?
It’s a pretty darn good one actually.
And playwright Kristen Da Silva has crafted a genuinely funny, heartfelt, and deeply moving play that follows the evolving and deepening relationship between two strangers who by the end of the story have transformed from strangers to friends.
Mike Tan and Meg Farhall in Beyond the Sea by Kristen Da Silva, Directed by Bronwyn Steinberg, Photo by Benjamin Laird.
The play is brought to life with wonderful performances by Meg Farhall and Mike Tan. Mike portrays Theo as a man whose personal shortcomings and approach to life have forced a reckoning from which he is trying to emerge a better person. He’s been working on himself – let’s say. And the new Theo has arrived at the pier where he has arranged to meet a woman he met online for a first date. Needless to say, he’s nervous and vulnerable and the pressure is on because he wants to do better and be better and not mess things up like he has in the past.
Meg Farhall, always a joy to watch on stage, plays Gwen who on a very hot day dressed in heavy wool clothing of the 1800s and is the ticket seller for the lake’s ghost tour which features the story of The Woman in White seems to be a free spirit who approaches life with a smile and humour. There’s an immediate fun and playful chemistry between Gwen and Theo as they chat and joke and get to know each other on a deeper level. But of course, there’s more to the story than we first realize as secrets are revealed and intentions uncovered.
Meg Farhall and Mike Tan in Beyond the Sea by Kristen Da Silva, Directed by Bronwyn Steinberg, Photo by Benjamin Laird.
Personally, I like the intimacy of a small theatre. I like to be close to the performers. I love a theatre where the actors can be more natural and their voices more nuanced because they don’t have to project to the back of the second balcony. Not to say I haven’t enjoyed some big, bold, beautiful plays on the larger stage but when it comes to an intimate two-hander like Beyond the Sea the play works best when presented in an intimate space. And so, the play is ideally suited for the Studio at Vertigo Theatre which makes the play all that more compelling.
Beyond the Sea is a wonderfully intimate and funny play brought to life with tenderness and humour by director Bronwyn Steinberg who has a talent for these deeply human and evolving relationship stories. This is the perfect play for an afternoon or night out with friends. Or a great idea for a first date. Or a terrific option for a date night for any couple looking for an entertaining and heartwarming story about second chances that will have you leaving the theatre feeling good about life and the future.
Meg Farhall and Mike Tan in Beyond the Sea by Kristen Da Silva, Directed by Bronwyn Steinberg, Photo by Benjamin Laird.
Beyond the Sea by Kristen Da Silva runs from October 14th to November 2nd at Lunchbox Theatre. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 12:00 pm with evening performances on Friday at 7:00 pm and late Saturday afternoon at 4:00 pm and Sunday at 1:30 pm. Tickets are available at lunchboxtheatre.com or by calling the box office at 403-221-3708.
Ray Strachan, Jamillah Ross, Aaron Refugio, Daniel Fong, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
Vertigo Theatre is launching their season with the ghostly tale The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas that runs until October 26th. Tickets are available online at vertigotheatre.com or by calling the box office at 403.221.3708.
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There are certainly a lot of ghosts haunting Calgary stages this Halloween season including a malevolent supernatural spirit whose intentions are far from friendly. Heidi Damayo takes on the role of this supernatural being in a physically demanding performance that sees this twisted force emerge and take an active role in haunting and terrorizing Delia and Felix, a couple who fled their hometown of New Orleans shortly before it was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Delia, played by Jamillah Ross and Felix, played by Ray Strachan are displaced people in their own country having been born and raised in New Orleans and now finding themselves with only a collection of records and one other significant item rescued from the destruction. The failure of America to respond to Katrina and the ensuing loss of life and destruction of the city illustrates the lack of help that many Americans, even those born in America, experience in the land of opportunity.
Aaron Refugio, Daniel Fong, Carolyn Fe, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
This too is an experience that many immigrants feel as they leave behind their own culture and come to a new land seeking a better life. And that’s exactly the story we hear about from Max, his brother Visarut, and their mother Tasanee who came to American because her husband also dreamed of a better life and more opportunity.
Unfortunately, in regards to immigration there are certain aspects of this play that resonate with much of our current social and political climate, making the haunting all the more timely and relevant to an audience in 2025. Twenty years after the events of Katrina. However, the play does not at all dwell on those things. This is more my observation that any intention by the playwright.
Daniel Fong, Aaron Refugio, Ray Strachan, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
Daniel Fong plays Max. Max is the younger brother to Visarut played by Aaron Refugio who still retains much of his Thai accent and deeper ties to his culture than does Max. Max was born in America after his mother Tasanee played by Carolyn Fe and his father immigrated to the states. Whereas Visarut had been born thirteen years earlier in Thailand, long before his family moved to America.
Max finds himself returning to live with his mother and brother when both of them run into a crisis and need Max’s help in order to deal with the situation. Finding himself back at home Max, in spite of being a skeptic, decides to, along with his brother who is the expert in such matters, start up a Paranormal Detection and Debunking business.
Daniel Fong, Carolyn Fe, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
Unfortunately, business doesn’t go that well and after six months it looks like The Brothers Paranormal might have to shut down. That is until Delia appears seeking Max’s help to rid her and Felix’s apartment of a malevolent force. Delia is uncertain about hiring Max at first but after Max delivers his best sales pitch, he manages to get Delia to hire him and his brother so they can investigate the apartment to determine if they can find any evidence of such a spirit.
In order for a ghost story to work and be entertaining you have to care about the characters and there have to be twists and turns and unexpected moments of horror and danger that make the story compelling and fun for an audience. And the good news is we learn enough about these characters to care about them.
Jamillah Ross, Ray Strachan, Daniel Fong, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
After all it is a ghost story, and we want to be scared. Not just for us but for Delia and Felix as well. Delia who has hardly slept in six months is being haunted by this spirit that seems intent on making her life hell. But why the spirit is there and what the spirit actually wants is one of the revelations you’ll need to see the play in order to discover.
The cast is terrific, and I really enjoyed Ray Strachan as Felix and Jamillah Ross as Delia whose marriage and love for each other comes across on stage, and there are some beautiful moments between the two as they talk about how they met as they cuddle together feeling safe in each others’ arms.
Ray Strachan, Jamillah Ross, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
Carolyn Fe plays Tasanee, the family matriarch, with a sense of humour and a love for her boys while her performance is coloured by her mourning the loss of her husband.
Aaron Refugio as the older brother Visarut, plays him with a bit of big brother teasing while still being haunted by his past when he had chosen alcohol to help him deal with life’s problems.
Daniel Fong plays Max who is on a journey to discover who he really is and what his family and culture really means to him with a real feeling of emotional depth.
And of course, as I’ve already mentioned Heidi Damayo takes on the physically demanding role of Jai with a haunting intensity as the spirt at the centre of this ghostly tale.
Bringing this altogether is Director Esther Jun who effectively guides us through this ghostly tale and all the twists and turns and revelations that Prince Gomolvilas has skillfully incorporated into a story about family, identity, and the unseen forces that haunt us from both a supernatural and emotional point of view.
Jamillah Ross, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
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The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas runs until October 26th at Vertigo Theatre. Performances are Tuesdays to Saturdays at 7:30 pm with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Tickets start at $32 and are available online at vertigotheatre.com or by calling the box office at 403.221.3708.
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So, as I was leaving the theatre I found myself thinking about some of the ghost stories I’ve heard about our own city of Calgary. You see not only can people be haunted but places and things can be haunted as well.
There are two ghost stories that I know of and have encountered over the years. Not in person mind you but from my sister and a friend of mine who worked for Calgary Transit back in the 80s and who claims to have seen a ghostly apparition on the CTrain. You may already be familiar with both of these supernatural stories as they certainly aren’t anything new.
Anyway, I had a friend Chevan Kozar who worked for Calgary Transit for about ten years from the early 80s through to the early 90s. This was when they were building the South bound CTrain leg of the system, and he told me that a ghostly apparition would sometimes appear on the CTrain as it enters the tunnel beneath Union Cemetery and disappears when you emerge. It’s a woman and child both dressed in outfits from the turn of the last century.
No one is sure who they are or what their story is but there is one gravesite in the cemetery containing a mother and child by the names of Emma and Grace Miller that perished from the 1918 flu epidemic that some people have speculated might be these spirits.
From my understanding these spirits don’t appear all that often and if and when they do the train car is usually almost empty. As the play The Brothers Paranormal points out it takes a lot of energy for a spirit to manifest, and I assume that such spirits prefer to visit this realm when things are quiet and not after the trains are packed with Flames fans returning home from a game.
Daniel Fong, Jamillah Ross, Ray Strachan, Aaron Refugio, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
The second story I have about paranormal activity involves my youngest sister and her time working in the Prince House at Heritage Park. These days the Prince House is known as a haunted place but when my sister originally worked for Heritage Park, it wasn’t.
She worked three summers at Heritage Park from 1969 to 1971 while she was going to the University of Calgary. Each of those summers she worked at the Prince House. The first two summers nothing happened.
No voices.
No footsteps.
Nothing.
But the third year she worked in the Prince House they added a China tea set from the 1890s to the furnishings. This tea set of which no one knows the origins was kept on the hutch in the dining room. And in fact, it’s still there today.
Anyway, after that tea set was placed in the house, my sister would sometimes hear voices on the second floor even though no one was upstairs. Sometimes she heard footsteps on the third floor even though the stairway to the third floor was locked. And sometimes on the landing leading to the second floor and in the front parlour there would be the faint smell of pipe tobacco.
But the strangest thing of all was that some mornings when she opened up the house the tea set would be sitting in the kitchen with the kettle on the stove as if someone was going to make a pot of tea.
Florence would return the teapot and the teacups to their place on the hutch in the dining room but three times over the course of that summer when she arrived in the morning the tea set was in the kitchen.
Explain that.
As far as I know these ghosts in Heritage Park have never been malevolent, but clearly, they are restless spirits.
And you never know if the misfortune that has trapped them between this world and the next might not be passed on to the living.
So, I would always recommend that you honour the dead and not give them any reason to focus their attention on you. Because you never know when they could become angry or seek vengeance on the living as such spirits, as clearly illustrated in The Brothers Paranormal, can bring misfortune and harm to those who disrespect or ignore them.
Jamillah Ross, Ray Strachan, Heidi Damayo, Photo by Fifth Wall Media
It’s the final week of The Brothers Paranormal by Prince Gomolvilas at Vertigo Theatre. Tickets start at $32 and are available online at vertigotheatre.com or by calling the box office at 403.221.3708.
Rosebud Theatre’s The Green House with Kate Corrigan, Heather Pattengale, and Camille Pavlenko.
Rosebud Theatre presents the world premiere of The Green House, a new family drama that explores the changing nature of memory by Alberta playwright Krista Marushy. Tickets can be purchased at www.rosebudtheatre.com or by phone at 1-800-267-7553.
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The Green House travels through time and memory. In fact, the production is designed in such a manner that it feels like the play is not positioned in any single moment of time but instead flows between the past and the present revealing memories and relationships.
Heather Pattengale plays Susanne our haunted central character as an adult and Kate Corrigan plays the younger feistier version of Susanne known as Susu. In addition to Susu, there’s her roughhousing older brother Jameson played by Matthew Boardman and her domineering mother Kit who is also played by Heather Pattengale. Camille Pavlenko plays the mysterious and reclusive Ava Green who lives on the edge of town in what has come to be known as The Green House. Rounding out the cast is Nathan Schmidt who plays Struthers the peace maker who boards with Kit, Susu, and Jameson.
The Green House is a play that explores the changing nature of memory and how our understanding of ourselves and the people in our lives can be altered and changed as we gain a different perspective on past events. As part of the experience of seeing the play audiences are encouraged, in the program, to ask questions about their own memories and life mysteries and are invited to stay for talkbacks following the Friday evening and Saturday matinee performances.
The Green House is a challenging play to fully explain as doing so would give away too much of the plot however I was able to sit down over ZOOM with playwright Krista Marushy and ask her about the process of writing the play and what it was like to see The Green House reach the Rosebud Theatre stage and go out into the world.
KRISTA MARUSHY
When I started The Green House, I was in graduate school, and we were in a class that had very specific writing prompts and we had three days to execute it. The prompts for this particular play were an article I’d read in the newspaper that day, expressionism, an unreliable narrator, and two characters based on literary characters. And you had no time to think about it. You just had to go with it. The arch of the story was done in three days. And then I spent sixteen years fine tuning the details.
Playwright Krista Marushy
JAMES HUTCHISON
You look at memory and trauma in your play and you also look at it from three different points in time. Often the time periods even overlap within a single scene as actors inhabit characters at different moments in life. How much do you think time influences and alters our understanding and perception of past events and trauma.
KRISTA
I tend to think that feeling affects our memory more than time. So, we store a memory because it impacted us in some way. There are tonnes of things you and I both forget on a regular basis, but we can still remember being embarrassed by somebody in grade two. And there’s a study that came out of Northwestern that talks about how memory is more akin to the telephone game and the more you tell a story the more you remember the retelling than the actual memory. So, that shows how we actually are unreliable narrators of our own life. And as we tell ourselves the stories of why we are the way we are and who we are, and we communicate those to people over the years the story has shifted drastically from whatever the original facts were. That’s the science of it. That’s life.
JAMES
I think when people think about their lives they have these “Aha!” moments and that is a process of looking at a memory and understanding it from a different perspective. And in a sense, that’s sort of what happens in your play – there’s sort of an “Aha” moment where things fall into place that weren’t there before.
KRISTA
Yeah, and I just started writing the story from an intuitive place and then over the years I started to have more empathy for characters who weren’t necessarily the central characters. I think that the journey of the main character is ultimately having more empathy for some people that she originally saw in a limited way. And by revisiting the story and sort of walking a mile in their shoes she is seeing it from an older perspective and finding some empathy and forgiveness for things she didn’t necessarily see or understand at the time.
Rosebud Theatre’s The Green House with Matthew Boardman, Kate Corrigan, Heather Pattengale, and Nathan Schmidt.
JAMES
As a playwright you write it, but you need a creative team to put it together and get it on stage. So, lets talk about the creative team. Rosebud has assembled a great group of folks including Craig Hall who is directing the show. And you’ve got an amazing cast including Heather Pattengale, Camille Pavlenko, Nathan Schmidt, Matthew Boardman and Kate Corrigan. This is my first time seeing Matthew and Kate, but I’ve seen all the others many times and seen many shows directed by Craig. Just a terrific team. So, tell me about them and what they bring to the process and final production.
KRISTA
Well, it’s an incredible cast. I knew from the beginning I would be working with two students so that was always part of the deal with Rosebud and their organization. And Kate and Matthew have really done incredible work and I’m really proud of them. And then the three established professionals Heather, Nathan, and Camille of course are all incredible. So, it was a delight to see them bring the story to life.
Craig in particular was really helpful and instrumental especially in the first weeks of rehearsal because he gave such an open playground for the script to develop and I think he just approaches life with a very different brain than me. I’d say he looks at things more strategically and is always looking for clarity in a play that has all these layers of memory and expressionism. And that became a really important anchor for me. It was a really lovely counterpoint to have in rehearsals. Somebody who was simultaneously really generous and really intelligent and really insightful about the script, but someone also asking excellent questions and saying I’m missing something here but doing so very graciously and gently. That was incredibly helpful and necessary for the process of script development and for a first production.
And I feel like from the beginning the cast knew who these people were and they jumped in fully on board and that was an incredible gift to be in day three of rehearsal and feel like – they totally understand who these people are and what this is about and I can sit back and really look at how do we shape the text to heighten and highlight what’s already going on.
Artistic Director Rosebud Theatre Craig Hall
JAMES
In addition to the actors you have to have a design team and the show is beautiful and the set and the lighting and the sound is absolutely gorgeous and you’ve got Luke Ertman who’s doing the sound design, Dale Marushy – whom you might know – is doing the scenic design, the costume designer is Amy Castro, and the lighting designer is Michael K. Hewitt and they’re all contributing their talents to the production. So, tell me about the design elements and the look and feel of the show in terms of visuals and sound and how that encapsulates and helps tell the story.
KRISTA
I did not speak to the design elements even though I’m married to the set designer. I was like, “Don’t show me. I don’t want to know.” Because I knew he would do beautiful work, and I didn’t want to invade that process at all. I think the design team went wild in a beautiful way and I hope they were inspired. I think it was really important to have a set in a world that could constantly be shifting but you still feel grounded. So, things like transparency and visibility are important design elements and are themes in the show. And it feels like everything has an emotional texture and the design of the show gives a sense of time without restricting us and gives the story so much ability to move and transform and go from one place to another without any delay.
Rosebud Theatre’s The Green House with Kate Corrigan, Heather Pattengale, and Camille Pavlenko.
JAMES
You’ve been working on this play since 2009 and now here we are sixteen years later. When you saw the play on opening night what sort of thoughts went through your mind and what sorts of emotions did you go through as you watched the play come to life and go out into the world.
KRISTA
Well, first of all I will say though I’ve been working on this play for sixteen years I also had three children in that period, so it wasn’t like I was just typing away.
JAMES
So, you were producing a lot is what you’re trying to say.
KRISTA
Yeah, I had a lot of other productions during that time. So, yes, it’s been a long incubation period, but the essential story is still really close to what it’s been since the beginning. And I just have so many mixed feelings. It’s exciting. It’s vulnerable. It’s thrilling. There’s stuff I still want to fix because I’m a bit of a perfectionist. But you get to a place where you are excited to share it with the world, and I’m dazzled by the design and the creative team. There are so many feelings I have and then I also feel vulnerable because I don’t know if anyone is going to be into this. I feel like I took lots of creative risks and so I feel the trepidation of that, but I also feel really proud of that. Because I think that’s the kind of artist I want to be. Someone who takes a big swing and everything may not land but I’m really proud of the work.
Rosebud Theatre’s The Green House with Kate Corrigan and Matthew Boardman.
JAMES
So, why should people head out to Rosebud to see your play? The Green House. What are you hoping audiences can take away from the experience?
KRISTA
I think it’s a really original story. I think they will be surprised. And I think it’s also about having greater empathy and understanding for yourself and for your memories and for your own family. And also, it’s funny. However much it’s serious there’s a lot to laugh at. And I think the artists in Rosebud are doing phenomenal work. And hope is at the centre of this story and forgiveness and empathy and so I hope that it just increases people’s capacity for understanding themselves and the people around them and I hope they have a good time. I think they will.
JAMES
And with Rosebud you do get Chef Mo’s delicious buffet.
KRISTA
Yes, you get a good meal. A feast.
JAMES
Something for the stomach as well as something for the mind and the heart.
KRISTA
Exactly.
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The Green House is a play about memory, empathy, and forgiveness featuring a stellar cast that shows how revisiting the past can alter our view and understanding of the present. The play not only invites audiences to experience Susanne’s journey and transformation but to also reflect on the stories we tell ourselves about the past.
Which brings to mind that each encounter with a production is a personal experience. We never come to the theatre in a completely neutral mind. That’s impossible. We are always at any moment an emotional and physical representation of where life has brought us up to this point in time. A year from now I’ll be a different person. A year ago, I was a different person. How much variation between who I was and who I will be depends on a multitude of factors.
So, our health and emotional and financial well being as well as the epoch in which we live influences how we think and react and interpret what we see and experience. And a big part of me is feeling rather exhausted mentally, physically, and spiritually at the moment.
Graham and James in Rosebud on September 20, 2025 looking forward to some good food and engaging theatre.
So, I’ve come to the theatre in need of nourishment. I need something to engage my mind and lift my spirits. And by that I don’t mean I need comedy. Even though I love comedy. What I need at the moment is engagement. I’m looking for a story that will reveal some truth about this journey we all find ourselves on. And so, with all that in mind I have to say I enjoyed my journey out to Rosebud and my encounter with The Green House and the discussions I had with my son, Graham, after we saw the show.
You can catch The Green House at Rosebud Theatre until Saturday October 25th with matinee performances from Wednesday to Saturday at 1:30 pm and evening performances on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased at www.rosebudtheatre.com or by phone at 1-800-267-7553.
I guarantee you there will be drama! Comedy too, I’m guessing. And cake. What more could you ask for. The Alberta Playwrights’ Network is about to celebrate its 40th Anniversary and you’re invited to join the party in Calgary on Saturday, September 13th at the Confluence, and in Edmonton on Saturday, September 27th at the Hazeldean Community Hall. Pay what you can tickets and event details can be found on the Alberta Playwrights’ Network website or by checking out their Facebook page.
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In September 1985 Alberta playwrights Stephen Heatley, Conni Massing, Lyle Victor Albert, and Raymond Storey with funding from Alberta Culture founded the Alberta Playwrights’ Network. APN strives to be a resource for playwrights at any stage of their career and has helped in developing well over 3000 plays and assisting countless theatre creators in their artistic journey. At APN you’ll find a small, dedicated team that believes “every story deserves an audience, and every voice deserves to be heard,” and they work everyday to make sure that Alberta playwrights have a place where their work can be supported and showcased.
I contacted the Executive Director of APN Trevor Rueger to ask him about the 40th Anniversary Celebrations, the history of APN, and how the organization continues to support the work of Alberta playwrights and theatre makers.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Trevor you’ve worked at APN as the Executive Director since 2007. I’m curious to know how the organization has evolved over that time and how you as executive director have responded to the changing theatre scene and the needs of the playwright.
TREVOR RUEGER
One of the biggest discoveries I had in the early years of my tenure was that the organization is a “one-size-fits-one” organization. Our work and the support that we can provide writers is much more fulsome when we gear it to the individual rather than trying to provide programming for groups of writers. The RBC Mentorship Program is a great example of this. While it is a program for a group of writers, we take the needs of each individual and try and pair them with a mentor that has experience in that genre or style of production. While we have “programs” that we offer, those are really just generic markers. What we offer is something tailored to the individual. As an organization we try to start every conversation with every new writer who approaches us with “What do you think you need?” rather than “Here’s the program you fit into”. “Bespoke” is one of those trendy words that people use, but it is the best way to describe the philosophy of our programming at APN.
JAMES
One of the things I know you mentioned to me some years ago was the importance of making sure that everyone feels welcome and everyone has a right to tell their stories. How has APN worked to create a more diverse and inclusive environment that more accurately reflects the community in which we live.
TREVOR
In about 2012 a board member who worked for an oil and gas company that was undergoing diversity training asked me what our policies were regarding DEI. At the time I responded with some defensiveness – “Our organization is open to anyone who comes to us.” While this was true as an internal policy, we realized that we weren’t doing a very good job of getting that message into the community. So that was where we started. We committed to outreach and attempting to reach to underrepresented communities. We committed to learning and committed to expanding our casting. We continue to learn with the understanding that it is an iterative process, which is to say, we’re not always going to get it right, but when we get it wrong, we learn from it.
There are other organizations that are better poised to support underrepresented communities, and APN has made a commitment to support them in any way that we can. We have partnered with SkirtsAFire which is a multi-disciplinary arts festival that empowers women, Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre’s Indigenous Playwrights’ Circle, NextFest an annual youth arts festival, and most recently Chromatic Theatre’s Playwrights’ Unit.
One of the programs that we continue to try and find support for is our IBPOC Writer’s in-Residence program. In 2023, with the support of the Edmonton Arts Council, we were able to commission three IBPOC writers and pay them to create new works. It was a great program that we hope we can find support or sponsorship for in the future.
Of course, there is more work to be done, and we are committed to that work.
JAMES
Okay, I’m curious. What makes a good comedy? Because we’ve all seen lots of plays and some are funny and some are hilarious and some are satires, and some are romantic comedies, and some are farces, but they’re all meant to make us laugh. Is there any quality that really defines what makes a great comedy.
TREVOR
Character!! And a character that has a strong want or desire and will do anything to reach that goal.
Comedy is about subversion and surprise. The comedies that really work, are those plays that set up a situation that we all understand and then find a way to subvert what an audience expects.
Michael Frayn’s “Noises Off” – specifically ACT TWO – is a clinic in comedic writing. The scene that the audience sees is backstage during a performance of a farce, by a group of actors who have been on tour for far too long and hate each other. We see them attempting to injure, interfere, seek revenge on each other, while trying to make sure that the show goes on for the imagined audience. There is virtually no dialogue – it is all the characters pursuing their goals in silence. When you read it, it feels like it is a series of physical gags strung together. However, when it is staged correctly, with the actors understanding what their character wants – it truly comes together as a fantastic comedic visual story for an audience.
JAMES
We can’t talk about comedy without talking about tragedy. Two sides of the same coin traditionally. And iconic symbols for the theatre that most people are familiar with. So just like I was asking about comedy are there particular qualities that make a great tragedy? Is it something about the characters or the premise or the structure.
TREVOR
When I teach my introduction to playwriting (Prologue) for people who have never written in the genre, we spend the bulk of the course discussing the building blocks of dramatic writing with a focus on starting the process with character. Character is the key to drama as well as comedy. Plays are about people – people are complex. I find that beginning playwrights don’t spend enough time investigating their characters before they begin the process of giving them things to say. So, for me what makes a great drama is a character that is rich with inner conflict. If a character has inner conflict, they will struggle on their journey just as we all do in real life.
Around 2001, I had written a TYA play for Shadow Productions. My then seven-year-old niece attended a performance. It had crazy characters, colourful costumes, antics. I asked her afterward what her favourite part of the play was. I was expecting her to comment on the antics because we all thought it was funny – the characters being goofy for the sake of being goofy. In fact, her favourite part was “I liked the parts where the characters had to figure something out.” That has stuck with me since. That’s what makes good drama.
JAMES
One of the major programs APN has is the Sharon Pollock Award. Tell me how that started and how it became the Sharon Pollock Award and not just the Alberta Playwriting Award and what is the significance of the competition.
TREVOR
The Alberta Playwriting Competition was started in 1965 and was operated at that time by Alberta Culture. It was one of the earliest competitions in Canada specific to playwriting. In the early 2000’s, the Alberta government was going to cancel the competition. APN stepped in and took over the administration and execution of the competition. To this day, it remains one of the longest, continually running competitions of its kind in North America. It has been a springboard to the careers of the many playwrights who have been recognized by the competition.
After the passing of Sharon Pollock in 2021, I reached out to the Pollock family and asked if we might recognize Sharon and her contribution to the playwriting community in Alberta by changing the “Grand Prize” to the “Sharon Pollock Award”. Sharon was not only an amazing writer herself, but she was also incredibly generous in sharing her gifts and wisdom in the mentoring of new and emerging playwrights. She was the president of the board at APN before taking over the operations as the Executive Director in the late 1990’s. Sharon was truly a champion for theatre and playwriting in Canada and it seemed like a way to keep her legacy alive.
JAMES
Let’s say I’m an aspiring playwright. Maybe I don’t even have a clue about where to begin or maybe I’ve managed to hammer out a first draft and I want to take it to the next level. In what ways does APN support the playwright’s journey helping them to work towards creating a finished play.
TREVOR
We meet every playwright where they are at in their creative journey. If you have never written, we have supports for you to understand the genre and to give you a place to begin. If you’ve completed a draft, we have services and supports to provide you with feedback, mentorship, script development, and professional development. If you are a seasoned playwright, and you know what you need for your process, we’ll meet you there and provide you with the resources you need to get to the next draft. The creative process is ethereal and different for everyone. We strive to meet each playwright where they are and to give them the support they need to get to the next stage of their creative journey. Once the work gets to the point of completion, we also assist playwrights in the process of getting the work into the hands of producers. Our services and supports cover the gamut of the creative process – from inspiration to conception to creation to advocacy.
JAMES
There are the practical aspects and programs you have but anytime someone creates art they often feel vulnerable because it’s a bit nerve wracking to put yourself out there. That’s where having a supportive community helps and I’d like to know how APN fits into the Alberta theatre community and how do you work to integrate the organization with the various individual artists and professional and amateur theatre companies that make this province home.
TREVOR
It’s in the name – NETWORK. In my tenure, I’ve worked hard to meet the other organizations, producers, presenters, theatre companies not just in the province, but across the country. We’ve worked hard to cultivate a strong reputation not just for our programming and supports to playwrights, but also as a recommender of work and as the flagship of play development centres in this country. We really rely on word of mouth for our organization and any time we can ingratiate ourselves into a conversation, be it with playwrights or with producers, we take that opportunity to see if there is some synergy that can be created. I’m terrible at opening nights or at parties, because the moment I overhear someone say “new play” or “dramaturg” I immediately head in their direction.
Where we find ourselves really valuable is by providing dramaturgical resources to indie or community theatre companies who are just starting to work in the play development sphere. They often lack the knowledge of where to start a process, and we can assist them in creating a program which in turn provides opportunities for playwrights.
JAMES
I personally think APN is a wonderful organization and having worked with you I know you’re an amazingly insightful and supportive dramaturg whose ability to break apart and dig into the inner workings of a play offers terrific insights and always gives the playwright plenty of ways to improve the script. Plus, you know how to give feedback in a way that makes it easy to hear. Often in the form of questions. Anyway, what is your own philosophy or approach to working with playwrights and how does that filter out into APN.
TREVOR
Thanks, James. That’s very kind. When I started at APN, I didn’t fully understand the needs of the bulk of the membership. I had worked many times as an actor in readings and workshops at APN and those readings were usually on scripts by established playwrights. After taking the job, I realized that the bulk of the writers who came to us were new or emerging. So, I discovered that I needed to listen to what their needs were and create supports and models to assist them in the best way possible. That bled into my philosophy as a dramaturg, rather than my philosophy of dramaturgy bleeding into my role as Executive Director.
I approach dramaturgy as an audience member. I put myself in the role of the playwright’s first audience. What am I experiencing? What am I taking away from the script? Where did I have questions or become confused? What are the opportunities that are perhaps being overlooked? That final question is the dramaturgical one that I continue to ask myself as the Executive Director – what are the opportunities that are being overlooked? A leadership mentor once asked me “What is it about the organization that gets you out of bed in the morning, not the one that keeps you up at night?” That’s my answer – what are the opportunities.
JAMES
We’ve talked about how the organization has changed over time but how have you changed. What has APN meant for you and your career and the work that you do.
TREVOR
When I was offered the job at APN, my goal was that it was going to be a great credit on my resume towards my ultimate goal of becoming an Artistic Director at a company. As I grew in the job, that changed for me. I discovered that I love working at the ground level – I love getting into a project that may only be a spark of an idea and assisting a creator to move the work forward. I’m way less interested in picking a season and producing a season (and to AD’s reading this – I know there is way more to the job than just that!!!) and much more interested in the creative process. Working on story and craft day after day has changed my process as an actor and a director. Understanding play craft and constantly discussing it with creatives has altered the way I look at a role as an actor and how I read a play as a director. As a young artist, I was only fixated on my work and how I was performing in a role. I now look at all work from the perspective of the audience. What do I need to do to clearly articulate the playwright’s ideas to an audience? What do I need to show them, tell them, communicate to them in order for the playwright’s vision to be realized? I had the opportunity to learn these concepts at the feet of Sharon Pollock, to whom I will always be grateful, but I didn’t really holistically understand these concepts until I began my work at APN.
JAMES
So, tell me about this 40th Anniversary party. I understand you’re having an event in Calgary on Saturday September 13th and an event in Edmonton on Saturday September 27th. How does one go about celebrating 40 years of helping playwrights go from the page to the stage.
TREVOR
Well, that’s an interesting question! So much of the work we do at APN is behind the scenes if you will, that it was a challenge for us to figure out how best to celebrate this milestone. So, we are doing what we usually do. The evening will be a series of reading of excerpts from plays that have had success in the Alberta Playwriting Competition. We will be presenting some Honourary Lifetime Memberships to individuals who have not only supported APN over the years, but who have also made a significant contribution to playwriting in Alberta. And we’ll have live music and hopefully dancing (playwrights do tend to be introverts).
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In a world where it seems the arts and artistic freedoms are under attack it gives some hope to celebrate the voices of the past and to advocate and support the voices of the future. There have been many changes to the theatrical landscape in the in the past 40 years, but APN has always been the touchstone organization for anyone interested in pursuing the art and craft of writing for the stage.
Celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Alberta Playwrights’ Network in Calgary on Saturday, September 13th at the Confluence, and in Edmonton on Saturday, September 27th at the Hazeldean Community Hall. It will be an evening of readings, music, cake as well as an opportunity to celebrate world-class local writers and creators, including Eugene Stickland and others in Calgary and David Van Belle and Collin Doyle in Edmonton. Pay what you can ticket and event details can be found on the Alberta Playwrights’ Network website or by checking out their Facebook page.
The 1000 Monkeys Project featuring five Calgary playwrights is just one of the many shows you can see during this year’s 19th Annual Calgary Fringe Festival running in Inglewood from Friday, August 1st to Saturday, August 9th.
This year’s featured ten-minute plays include Adrift by Greg Miller, KinDread Spirit by Sydney Wolf, Polly’s Plan by Deb McKenzie, Good n’ Gooders by Logan Sundquist, and The Exit Interview by Mark Ricalde. The show is being presented by the Alberta Playwrights’ Network. I contacted Trevor Rueger the Executive Director of APN to ask him a few questions about this year’s show and APN’s 40th Anniversary celebrations.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Tell me about the five plays we’re going to see this year and what audiences can expect?
TREVOR RUEGER
We have a great assortment of plays this year. It was tough selecting from the 20 submissions we had. We’ve got
Adrift by Greg Miller imagines the story of the two stranded astronauts and their time alone on the International Space Station and their desire to get to a place they can call home.
Polly’s Plan by Deb McKenzie is about a woman trapped in an elevator speaking to a security guard as the perfect life she has planned disintegrates around her.
KinDread Spirit by Sydney Wolf sees a young person looking in the mirror and discovering someone else on the other side. It’s not just the drugs they took talking.
The Exit Interview by Mark Ricalde. An executive undergoes the firing of a problematic employee, but that employee is his father and the founder of the company.
Good n Gooder’s by Logan Sundquist. A wanderer walks up to a drive thru window of a crazy restaurant and truthfully answers the question “What can I get you today?”.
JAMES
One of the fun things about the show is you have a small group of actors who present all the plays. Who are the actors we have in the show this year?
TREVOR
We’ve got a great group of artists reading this year: Roberta Mauer-Phillips, Sepidar Yeganeh Farid, Luigi Riscaldino. And also Trevor Rueger.
JAMES
I’m curious as a dramaturge who has worked with many different writers over the years, what have you observed about how various writers work, where they find inspiration, and what their creative process is like.
TREVOR
I taught a playwriting class this past year to three of the writers being presented. It was interesting seeing how they approached the work. One person got inspiration from the news of the day and just wrote, one had a very clear idea about the subject they wanted to explore and was diligent about planning before writing. While I teach playwriting in a practical sense (giving the building blocks of dramatic writing), I am always amazed at the different ways that writers come to and go through a creative process. I think that the biggest challenge any artist has is discovering that process that works best for them – and that usually only comes through trial and error.
JAMES
I also want to know what’s going on in the zeitgeist. You run this show at the Fringe. APN also awards the Sharon Pollock Award to an outstanding Alberta play every year and you yourself work with lots of different playwrights at various stages of their careers. What kinds of topics and themes are playwrights from Alberta exploring these days and what are these plays saying and exploring about the world we’re living in.
TREVOR
It’s really hard to put a finger on what’s being created currently. We seem to be in a place where writers are exploring the personal, but approaching the writing at an arms length, which is to say, creating a fictional world with fictional characters to talk or experience something they’ve personally dealt with. There is also a current push by younger writers to explore absurdism and/or horror.
JAMES
And finally, APN will be celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year. You and I will be doing a more in-depth interview about APN in September but until then can you give us a little preview of your upcoming celebrations.
TREVOR
We are having two celebrations – one in Calgary on September 13 and one in Edmonton on September 27. We will do some play readings of work that has come through APN, as well as celebrating some of those extraordinary writer’s who have devoted themselves to Alberta voices and APN. There will be music, dancing, and cake. We’ll be officially launching and sending out info in the next couple of weeks.
For complete details about all the shows in this year’s festival and to purchase tickets for in-person shows or on-demand shows visit the Calgary Fringe Festival Website or drop by the Fringe Festival Box Office at Festival Hall and pick up a program. Regular tickets are just $20 bucks with several shows offering pay-what-you-want performances.
The Alberta Playwrights’ Network is a terrific organization helping Alberta playwrights go from the page to the stage. If you’d like to find out more about APN and what they offer in terms of programming and community check out the Alberta Playwrights’ Network website.
Helen Knight, Tyrell Crews, Joel David Taylor, Maureen Thomas and Grace Fedorchuk in Liars at a Funeral. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Lighting Design by Anton deGroot. Costume Design by Abbie Brokenshire. Sound Design & Composition by Kathryn Smith. Sound Design Support by Miranda Martini.
Alberta Theatre Projects, in association with Western Canada Theatre, ends it’s 50th Anniversary season with the audience pleasing comedy Liars at a Funeral by Sophia Fabiilli.
Tyrell Crews fresh off his stint as Charles in the very funny Theatre Calgary production of Blithe Spirit by Noel Coward joins a terrific ensemble cast that includes Maureen Thomas as Mavis the Matron of the family who flutters around the chaos like a moth dancing around a flame.
Tyrell Crews, Grace Fedorchuk and Maureen Thomas in Liars at a Funeral. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Lighting Design by Anton deGroot. Costume Design by Abbie Brokenshire. Sound Design & Composition by Kathryn Smith. Sound Design Support by Miranda Martini.
Helen Knight takes on the role of Evelyn who is Grace’s daughter and the estranged mother of twin daughters Dee Dee and Mia. In the opening moments of the play we discover that Evelyn is concealing a secret from her family that she fears if revealed may further damage her relationship with her daughters. Knight also portrays the insatiable Leorah the owner of the funeral parlour who is always on the look out for a good time.
Helen Knight in Liars at a Funeral. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Lighting Design by Anton deGroot. Costume Design by Abbie Brokenshire. Sound Design & Composition by Kathryn Smith. Sound Design Support by Miranda Martini.
Grace Fedorchuk portrays Dee Dee and Mia, Evelyn’s twin daughters who haven’t spoken in over a decade and remain estranged due to lingering resentment over what can best be described as creative differences surrounding a production of Hamlet.
Completing the ensemble is Joel David Taylor who plays Dee Dee’s love interest and dedicated funeral parlour employee Quint, as well as Cam the energetic and always positive boyfriend of Mia.
Joel David Taylor, Maureen Thomas and Grace Fedorchuk in Liars at a Funeral. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Lighting Design by Anton deGroot. Costume Design by Abbie Brokenshire. Sound Design & Composition by Kathryn Smith. Sound Design Support by Miranda Martini.
Basically, the premise of the play is that Mavis has faked her own death and is now having a funeral in order to get everyone into the same room so that the family can come together and heal and put an end to what Mavis calls the family curse.
Of course, nothing ever goes according to plan, and it isn’t long before Mavis and her charade of a funeral goes off the rails. The setting for the shenanigans is the funeral parlour with the coffin front and centre. And with all the chaos going on Mavis isn’t the only one who ends up in the coffin as events unfold.
Maureen Thomas, Tyrell Crews, Grace Fedorchuk and Joel David Taylor in Liars at a Funeral. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Lighting Design by Anton deGroot. Costume Design by Abbie Brokenshire. Sound Design & Composition by Kathryn Smith. Sound Design Support by Miranda Martini.
Having one actor play two or more characters is a fairly common troupe these days and it offers comic possibilities, but it also places limits on how a story can be told depending on the style of production.
A more farcical production might have an exchange between an actor playing two roles by simply using a hat to have the actor transition from one character to the other. But in Liars at a Funeral the actors never encounter their other selves and so while it’s fun to watch the quick changes and multiple characters coming and going through entrances and exits it means dramatically you can never have certain characters interact and confront each other.
Helen Knight and Grace Fedorchuk in Liars at a Funeral. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Lighting Design by Anton deGroot. Costume Design by Abbie Brokenshire. Sound Design & Composition by Kathryn Smith. Sound Design Support by Miranda Martini.
But then I take it that was the intention of playwright Sophia Fabiilli to tell the story in this manner and to let the audience in on the joke and part of the fun for example is watching Tyrell disappear out one door as Wayne, Evelyn’s ex husband and Leorah’s love interest and reemerge moments later from another door as Frank Evelyn’s gay friend who is pretending to be her boyfriend.
Now combine Tyrell’s entrances and exits with all the other actors’ comings and goings and switching roles and hiding from each other and all of the characters having multiple secrets that could at any moment be revealed and you have the basic ingredients for an amusing and entertaining farce that is packed with misunderstandings and comic misadventures. The cast’s comedic timing, quick costume changes, and their ability to play off each other keeps the energy high and makes for a fun evening at the theatre.
Grace Fedorchuk, Joel David Taylor, Tyrell Crews and Helen Knight in Liars at a Funeral. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Lighting Design by Anton deGroot. Costume Design by Abbie Brokenshire. Sound Design & Composition by Kathryn Smith. Sound Design Support by Miranda Martini.
Skillfully putting all of this farcical concoction together is director Clare Preuss who along with her talented cast and design team have created an amusing and entertaining evening filled with plenty of laughter and perfectly timed comedic chaos. Liars at a Funeral by Sophia Fabiilli runs at Alberta Theatre Projects until May 11th. Tickets are available from the Alberta Theatre Projects website or by calling the box office at 403.294.7402.
Alberta Theatre Projects has also announced their 2025-26 Season which includes a vibrant range of stories from classic folklore and reimagined fantasy to Canadian history and feminist myth making all brought together by larger-than-life characters who transcend the stage.
“This season is about legacy,” says Haysam Kadri, Artistic Director of ATP. “These are stories that have endured because they challenge, enchant, and inspire us – and now, they return to the stage with fresh eyes and fierce energy.”
Alberta Theatre Projects 2025/26 season begins with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow based on the story by Washington Irving and brought to life by the twisted genius of The Old Trout Puppet Workshop. The haunting tale of the headless horseman runs from October 22nd to November 9th, 2025.
This year ATP’s Christmas show is The Wizard of Oz by L Frank Baum brought to the stage in association with Forte Musical Theatre. The production features all the iconic songs and the classic story which reminds us about the enduring power of friendship and the importance of home and runs from November 25th, 2025 to January 4th, 2026.
Next Alberta Theatre Projects in association with The Citadel Theatre brings us Casey and Diana by Nick Green. The play tells the story of when Princess Diana visited Casey House, Canada’s first free-standing AIDS hospice in October 1991, and how her compassion brought much-needed attention and understanding to the AIDS crisis. The show runs from February 24th to March 15th, 2026.
The season ends with the ATP production of Wildwoman by Kat Sandler in association with Gateway Theatre. The play is based on the shocking true story that inspired Beauty and the Beast and is a viciously bold and sexy comedy about what happens when we let the monster out. The show runs from April 21st to May 10th, 2026.
To explore Alberta Theatre Projects new season in greater depth or to buy subscriptions to the 2025/26 season visit albertatheatreprojects.com or call 403.294.7402.
Lauren Brotman, Braden Griffiths, Set Design by Narda McCarroll, Costume Design by John Iglesias, Lighting Design by jaymez, Projection Design by Andy Moro. Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
So, what have director Jack Grinhaus, playwright Thomas Morgan Jones, and actors Lauren Brotman and Braden Griffiths been cooking up over at Vertigo Theatre? A little something called A Killing at La Cucina. A Luccia Dante Mystery.
Vertigo Theatre’s latest murder mystery takes us on a journey that delves into the realm of high-end dining, the influence of critics in our society, as well as the world of virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and our own mortality.
Introducing Lucia Dante a world-renowned espresso drinking Italiandetective hired with the task of figuring out who might have murdered Robert Carlyle one of the world’s most famous and influential food critics. A man whose opinions could make or break any dining establishment – virtual or real – and who was a frequent guest at FATE the restaurant where his life ended, and our story begins.
Lauren Brotman, Set Design by Narda McCarroll, Costume Design by John Iglesias, Lighting Design by jaymez, Projection Design by Andy Moro. Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
Why is the restaurant called FATE? Well, that’s because you pay $15,000 to enjoy a meal unlike any you’ve ever experienced before where the food has been reduced and transformed into a taste shattering concentrate that provides you with an unparalleled euphoric dining experience. Plus, on average one out of every one thousand diners will die.
Adding to the drama of the evening patrons are asked to prepare messages to send to loved ones that can be delivered should they be that one out of a thousand. The danger and presence of death creates an emotionally complex layer to the dining experience at FATE that no other establishment can duplicate.
Braden Griffiths, Lauren Brotman, Set Design by Narda McCarroll, Costume Design by John Iglesias, Lighting Design by jaymez, Projection Design by Andy Moro. Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
Who are the suspects? We have Hunter the Head Waiter who considers himself the face of FATE since he’s the one who guides diners through their culinary experience. There’s the introverted and seemingly innocent Drew the dishwasher whose job is to look after, clean and account for all the glassware, cutlery, and dishes in the restaurant.
Next on our list of suspects is Dominic the Sous chef and Sebastian the Chef and owner of FATE who both have access to the food and how it’s prepared and so each had the opportunity to tamper with Richard Carlyle’s meal. Rounding out our list of suspects is Armand a billionaire and an investor in the restaurant as well as Prism a sinister developer, entrepreneur, and hacker whose online activities are not always legitimate.
Braden Griffiths, Lauren Brotman, Set Design by Narda McCarroll, Costume Design by John Iglesias, Lighting Design by jaymez, Projection Design by Andy Moro. Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
Playing this array of characters is the versatile Braden Griffiths who uses his impressive skills to give each character a distinct voice, unique body language, and different personality while giving us an array of suspects each with their own secrets and motives making it a challenge to uncover the truth.
The play is essentially a series of interrogations as Lucia one by one questions each of the suspects searching for motives and opportunity. But she’s there not just to figure out what happened to critic Richard Carlyle but to also settle a personal vendetta against Prism the nefarious hacker whom she blames for the death of fashion designer Isabella Rouge. But in this new digital age Isabella lives on – at least virtually as an AI that Lucia has created and uses to help her solve the mystery and exact justice over the course of the story.
Lauren Brotman, Set Design by Narda McCarroll, Costume Design by John Iglesias, Lighting Design by jaymez, Projection Design by Andy Moro. Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
Bringing Lucia Dante to life is Loren Brotman who delivers a performance that masterfully conveys the complexity and depth of Lucia’s character while guiding us through her investigation where we learn more about her story while she uses her insightful interrogation techniques to solve the crime and reveal the truth.
Rounding out the cast A Killing at La Cucina and playing food critic Robert Carlyle is real-life theatre critic Louis B. Hobson. I kept Louis’s appearance in the show out of my original review as I wanted audiences to enjoy his cameo and performance free of spoilers. Louis appears in the play as Robert Carlyle in recorded segments. Some of these segments were recorded on the night he died and so promise clues as to who, if anyone, might have had a hand in his demise.
Louis B. Hobson, Lauren Brotman, Set Design by Narda McCarroll, Costume Design by John Iglesias, Lighting Design by jaymez, Projection Design by Andy Moro. Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
Louis has successfully navigated the world of being a critic, a director, and a playwright for decades and so it was fun to see him on stage – playing a critic. And these days with the shortage of conventional media coverage and the disappearance of critics Louis’s reviews are very much needed to help get the word out. In fact, I personally believe the more reviews the better since plays always strike people in different ways and having a variety of opinions about a production helps those productions find their audience.
Louis of course was unable to review this show because he was in it, but you can read his other theatre reviews online at The Calgary Herald. As far as other critics go in the city you can also read Caroline Russell-King’s theatre reviews at her website Postcard Reviews where Louis also publishes long form play reviews that don’t appear in the Herald.
Louis B. Hobson, Braden Griffiths, Set Design by Narda McCarroll, Costume Design by John Iglesias, Lighting Design by jaymez, Projection Design by Andy Moro. Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
One of the most entertaining aspects and enjoyable parts of A Killing at La Cucina is the imaginative set, digital projections, and stylistic break the fourth wall moments. I loved that aspect of the play and would welcome more of those moments should Lucia return for future murder mysteries.
Creating this theatrical and futuristic feeling setting is set designer Narda McCarroll, lighting designer Jaymez, projection designer Andy Moro, costume designer John Iglesias, and sound designer MJ Dandeneau. Adding to the fun are the theatrical moments where characters use cleverly staged movement and transitions to tell the story. This illustrates a wonderful collaboration between the cast, director, and choreographer Javier Vilalta that adds a heightened sense of style and sophistication to the production.
Skilfully bringing all of these elements together director Jack Grinhaus and playwright Thomas Morgan Jones have created a culinary thriller that is both visually stunning and intellectually stimulating that will leave audiences fully satisfied yet hungry for more.
Braden Griffiths, Lauren Brotman, Set Design by Narda McCarroll, Costume Design by John Iglesias, Lighting Design by jaymez, Projection Design by Andy Moro. Photo by Fifth Wall Media.
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A Killing at La Cucina by Thomas Morgan Jones and directed by Jack Grinhaus and starring Lauren Brotman and Braden Griffiths provides audiences with a tasty mystery presented in a highly theatrical manner that dives into the nature of the virtual world, our fascination with fate and death, and the darker side of human nature and ambition.
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Up next at Vertigo is The Davinci Code running from May 10 to June 8, plus Vertigo has just announced their 2025/26 Theatre Season which features a wonderful selection of plays that will certainly satisfy the appetite of any mystery loving patron. To explore the new season in greater depth, click the link below. Subscriptions to the 2025/26 season start at $200 and may be purchased online at vertigotheatre.com or by phone at 403-221-3708.
Michael Blake and Devin MacKinnon in King James. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set & Costume Design by Brian Dudkiewicz, Lighting Design by Louise Guinand.
Alberta Theatre Projects continues their winning season with a sharp, funny, and engaging co-production with Theatre Aquarius of King James by Rajiv Joseph. Smartly directed by Haysam Kadri and starring the talented Michael Blake as Shawn and Devin Mackinnon as Matt the play focuses on the friendship between two men who bond over their love of basketball, superstar athlete LeBron James, and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Adding to this entertaining production is Multi-Disciplinary artist and DJ Diana Reyes, better known as Fly Lady Di, whose sound mix uses original sports clips and soundbites of LeBron James to bridge scenes and add a feeling of a live sporting event to the evening.
Diana Reyes (Fly Lady Di) in King James. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set & Costume Design by Brian Dudkiewicz, Lighting Design by Louise Guinand.
The story of the play unfolds over the course of twelve years and begins in 2004 when LeBron James is the number one draft pick in the NBA, and he plays his rookie season as a Cavalier. Matt, who is a true fan, has had seasons tickets to the Cavaliers since he was six years of age. His fondest memories of childhood are going to the games with his father. Unfortunately, he’s now run into some financial difficulties and he’s trying to sell his father’s remaining season tickets to raise some money so he can pay off some debts he’s accumulated through a failed business venture.
Enter Shawn an equally dedicated Cavalier fan whose childhood also revolved around his love for the Cavaliers, but his family never had the money to afford tickets to a game. Now having had an unexpected bit of good fortune he wants to fulfill his lifelong dream of going to the games and cheering on his team. A mutual acquaintance brings Matt and Shawn together and there’s an immediate bond between the two as they start to share their views and opinions about LeBron and the Cavaliers and what an impact the team had on them as they grew up in Cleveland.
There’s a friendly and teasing banter between the two right from the very start as they haggle about the price of the tickets, and they get to know each other. Of course, there’s no big secret about where this is heading. Matt has tickets. Shawn wants tickets. There are two tickets for each game. That could only mean one thing – this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Michael Blake and Devin MacKinnon in King James. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set & Costume Design by Brian Dudkiewicz, Lighting Design by Louise Guinand.
If you’re a sports fan, then you know that following your team through the seasons year after year as they battle their way to the championship is a journey filled with euphoric moments of victory and crushing moments of defeat. It’s also a lot of fun to share that journey with fellow fans and in particular with friends who share your passion for the game. The good news is you don’t have to be a sports fan to enjoy King James. Sports acts as a backdrop with the career of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers providing the historical context of the play.
Playwright Rajiv Joseph when talking about the play said, “In this country, at least, there’s sometimes this notion that some men are only able to express their emotions when they’re talking about sports, and I think that’s what this play is about. It’s about these two individuals – these two young men – who are friends, who have a hard time actually telling each other what’s on their mind, and their only entry point into that sort of deeper emotional exchange is through talking about sports – talking about LeBron – talking about Michael Jordan.”
Devin MacKinnon and Michael Blake in King James. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set & Costume Design by Brian Dudkiewicz, Lighting Design by Louise Guinand.
In addition to an outstanding and talented cast director Haysam Kadri has assembled a first-rate design team composed of set and costume designer Brian Dudkiewicz, lighting designer Louise Guinand, and sound designer Maddie Bautista.
The play takes place in two locations. In act one we find ourselves in La Cave du Vin, a wine bar on the east side of Cleveland where Matt works as a bartender. The bar is partially underground was formally a church and features stained glass windows to bring natural light into the place.
In act two the action shifts to Armand’s Upholstery and Used Furniture Store. It’s one of those old curiosity shops filled with everything from stuffed Armadillos to one of those large globe bars that you can open up and store bottles of whisky in.
Armand’s is the family business where Matt’s parents earned a living and funny enough while Matt tends to take it for granted and not think of it as being anything particularly special Shawn loves the place.
Michael Blake and Devin MacKinnon in King James. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set & Costume Design by Brian Dudkiewicz, Lighting Design by Louise Guinand.
It’s the real and heartfelt performances of Michael Blake as Shawn and Devin Mackinnon as Matt that makes the play such fun to watch because we can see these two guys being friends. They click. They find in each other someone to share the journey. And they do such a convincing job of being friends that when Matt and Shawn’s friendships runs into a crisis, we feel upset.
Why? Because nobody likes to see their friends fight. Come on guys. Grow up. All we want is for Matt and Shawn to think big picture and not get caught up in saying and doing hurtful things that they’ll end up regretting later. But rest assured while there are certainly a few dramatic turns and twists in the play much of the story is filled with good humour and big laughs and a satisfying and hopeful ending.
King James is a play about friendship. How it begins. How it flourishes. How it can go sideways. And how it can be restored and renewed. As an audience what we’re really experiencing is an emotional journey for two people with a fondness for the game and a love for each other that they find difficult to express.
Devin MacKinnon in King James. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set & Costume Design by Brian Dudkiewicz, Lighting Design by Louise Guinand.
The play ends when Shawn and Matt are still relatively young. They’re only 33 years of age. The stories not over. I want to know what happens to these characters as they get older and enter middle age. I want to hang out with these two and listen in on their conversations about sports and life and learn about their dreams and hopes and disappointments. I want to know what kind of a person Shawn is at 40 or Matt is at 60 and most of all I want to follow them on their journey because I would love to think that these two share a lifelong friendship that makes both of their lives richer and more rewarding.
King James by Rajiv Joseph is the third play in the 50th Anniversary Season of Alberta Theatre Projects and offers audiences a touching and humourous exploration of friendships that celebrates the unifying power of sports.
Epilogue – March 17, 2025 – St. Patrick’s Day
There was more I wanted to say about King James in my original blog post, but I didn’t say it because at the time I couldn’t find the words I wanted to use. Or I couldn’t find a concise way to talk about the things I wanted to talk about. And I still haven’t. But I was really excited to see King James because the play offers such a rich opportunity for discussing so many different things about life.
King James allows us to explore our feelings and thoughts about sports and our feelings and thoughts about friendship and our feelings and thoughts about how theatre and sports are cousins because they both focus on the human experience and are live visceral events. And so, I thought I’d publish my original blog and then return to it after the run and explore a few more aspects about the play – free now from having to avoid spoilers. So, fair warning. If you do read on, then I may mention things about the play that if you haven’t seen it will definitely be spoilers.
So, first what are we to make of professional sports? Back a long time ago when towns would participate in sporting events you really had teams made up of people who lived and worked in that city or that town. It was your home. And so, when you went to cheer on the hometown team you were really cheering on the hometown team.
Michael Blake and Devin MacKinnon in King James. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set & Costume Design by Brian Dudkiewicz, Lighting Design by Louise Guinand.
Members of the team were actually your friends, neighbours, coworkers and family. Of course, some towns would hire a ringer. A player of greater physical ability that the locals could pass off as one of their own. This would be someone who for a fee would play on your team and tip the scales. And it was considered bad form to do such things.
Jump ahead to today and I’d argue that the hometown team is now almost entirely composed of what would have been described as ringers and only very rarely does a team include a hometown boy. So, what is it we are cheering for if we’re no longer cheering for the real hometown team? What is it we’re identifying with when we go to watch a team play because the players are paid employees. Their loyalty is bought and sold. They can and do play for different teams during their career. So, why when they play for our team do we cheer them on. Why do we care about the outcome of the game when the people playing often have no real connection to where we live other than a contract.
I think it’s part of our tribal behaviour. I think we naturally gravitate towards groups that represent our thoughts, ambitions, hopes, and feelings even if that group is an artificial creation. I think that’s because a lot of our identity comes from the groups each of us associates and identifies with. That includes the sports teams we cheer for as well as the political party we support, our religious identity, whether or not we’re vegetarian or – like the Dude in The Big Lebowski – we live to bowl.
And as is true of all things human there’s a good side to our tribal behaviour and an evil side to our tribal behaviour. The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde of society. I would also argue that we’ve been seeing a lot more of Mr. Hyde on the world stage of late than the kindly Dr. Jekyll.
The bad side I’m not going to dwell on. I’m just going to mention it. On the bad side we see the violent hateful and competitive side of humans who can take things too far in sports. I mean soccer riots and the violence against fans of an opposing team – what does that tell us about humans? It’s a tin cup for Christ’s sake. At one time it did not exist. At some point in the future it won’t exist. Yeah, have fun and cheer on your team but what’s with the violence and hate and the riots after your team wins the championship. They won. Why are you burning cars. Those are disturbing outcomes.
And then there’s the 1971 Stanford Prison Experiment that reveals a lot about group dynamics and our willingness to adopt the beliefs and behaviours of particular groups and ways of thinking. Ever heard of that one? That was a psychological experiment where participants in the study either became guards or prisoners. Let’s just say some people took the experiment a little too far. You should look it up. It’s part of that ugly side.
Michael Blake and Devin MacKinnon in King James. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set & Costume Design by Brian Dudkiewicz, Lighting Design by Louise Guinand.
On the good side, sports give us an opportunity to celebrate the human spirit and to marvel at the amazing physical abilities of elite athletes like LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Tiger Woods. And LeBron James, from what I can tell, is not just an exceptional athlete but is also an exceptional person whose success on the basketball court has been the result of a life dedicated to developing the natural gifts he was born with.
Here is a man who is arguably the best basketball player of all time, having racked up an impressive number of records and stats, including being the NBA’s all-time leading scorer with, as of March 17, 2025, 41,924 points. The next closest to LeBron is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who has 38,387 career points and has been retired since 1989. LeBron who just turned forty has said he has a few more years of peak performance in him before he plans on retiring so that number is sure to increase.
LeBron has won 4 NBA championships, including back-to-back wins with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013, and with the Cavaliers in 2016, and with the Lakers in 2020. He also has three Olympic Gold medals from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 2012 London Olympics, and the 2024 Paris Olympics, and an Olympic Silver medal from the 2004 Athens Olympics. You do not obtain that level of success on talent alone. Achieving that level of success demands a level of commitment that few of us would be willing or able to match. And while the stats are a numerical record of his achievements, the real beauty of sport is to see him live in action. To be at the game. To witness firsthand his electrifying performance, his precision and his power and to marvel at his command of the sport.
And isn’t that also true of great actors. Do we not go to see them because they bring something extra to their performance? They reach deeper than other actors. They somehow are able to convey something more. And just like in sports the real joy of theatre is seeing a live performance. To be at the theatre and to witness firsthand what a great actor brings to the their performance and how they command the stage.
Both theater and sport can be thrilling. Isn’t that why we go to the game? For the thrills. Isn’t that the same reason we go to the theatre? We go to be thrilled. We go to be entertained. We go to experience some emotion and to make our life more fun and meaningful. We go to both the theatre and to sport to share the experience. Yes, with an audience but more importantly with the person we’re going with. When we go to the theatre that play becomes a part of our history, and a memory that we can relive and enjoy when we get together with the family or friends with whom we shared the original experience.
Diana Reyes (Fly Lady Di) in King James. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set & Costume Design by Brian Dudkiewicz, Lighting Design by Louise Guinand.
And while sport and fandom are definitely a part of King James the play is really about friendship and the importance of friendship in our lives. The play is divided into four scenes and this choice was made in order to duplicate the structure of a basketball game which is also divided into four quarters. Does that really work? I don’t know. Two acts four scenes – I suppose. But I don’t honestly feel it matters much. That might be the intention but for me I just like spending time with Shawn and Matt as they hang out together. There could have been a couple more scenes and that would have been fine with me.
Scene Two of Act I coincides with LeBron James leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers and going to play for the Miami Heat and it’s also when Shawn gets an opportunity to go to New York to pursue his dream of being a writer. That means he won’t be going to the games anymore. He’s moving on. And interestingly while Shawn feels betrayed by Lebron leaving and is even ready to burn his LeBron Jersey he’s ready to move on which means just like LeBron leaving his team Shawn is leaving his friend Matt. Matt doesn’t really say so but that feels like a bit of a betrayal. And even when we wish our friends well, we can often have mixed feelings about the choices our friends make that take them away from us. Distance is a hard thing to overcome. Even in todays connected world. Proximity plays a big role in our lives. And when you put physical distance between people over time the bonds of friendship can weaken because that distance usually results in less frequent opportunities to get together and build new memories.
In scene one of the second act there is an actual crisis in the friendship that plays out with the two friends becoming estranged from each other which means the final scene of the play is an attempt to repair and renew the damaged friendship. And while I like to think of Shawn and Matt being friends for life, you never know. This might indeed be the end of their friendship because life and circumstances have taken them in different directions. Shawn lives in L.A. working as a television writer. Matt still lives in Clevland and has yet to have had much success with any of his business ventures. So, they no longer spend time together going to Cavalier games which was the foundation of their friendship and there is the possibility that their friendship might become nothing more than the annual birthday greeting on Facebook and occasionally getting together when they’re on vacation.
Or maybe not.
The final scene in the play takes place on June 22nd, 2016, a few days after the Cavaliers have won their very first NBA Championship. Game 7 was played in San Francisco and Shawn was at the game and when it came down to the final seconds, he realized that the person he wanted beside him and to share that moment with was his friend Matt. But Matt wasn’t there. He should have been. And so, Shawn drives from San Francisco all the way to Cincinnati to see his friend Matt and to try and reconnect and hopefully begin again.
Michael Blake and Devin MacKinnon in King James. Photo by Dahlia Katz. Set & Costume Design by Brian Dudkiewicz, Lighting Design by Louise Guinand.
And I think they will. That’s the sentimental hopeful side of me.
I do think this friendship will last and I’d love to see the story continue as I mentioned earlier in my blog. I’d love to see another play or two that follows these two as they live their lives and get together when they can to catch up and reconnect. And maybe they’ll finally be able to move beyond their mutual love of basketball to being able to talk about other things going on in their lives in a deeper way.
We need our friends to keep us real. To help us process life. To explore options. To celebrate the big wins and the tragic defeats.
Life is hard. It’s even harder without friends.
And King James is really a celebration of friendship. And while theatre opens doors to empathy and understanding so too do things like our shared love of sport and our shared passion for the game whether that game happens to be basketball or hockey or football.
And so, since today is March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day – it feels to me like it would be appropriate to end this updated blog with an Irish toast that celebrates friendship. A final thought to cap off these rambling thoughts. A bit of concise Irish Wisdom instead of the long-winded ponderings of a guy trying to put into words what can so easily be said and has been said for generations.
***
“There are good ships and there are wood ships, the ships that sail the sea. But the best ships are friendships and may they always be.”
Trevor Rueger, Javelin Laurence in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie and adapted for the stage by Steven Dietz is designed to not only give your little grey cells a workout but to tickle your funny bone as well. Yes, this adaptation of Christie’s story is murderously funny while still retaining all the intrigue, mystery, and appeal of the original story. The fun, and there is much of it, comes from how the production is designed and the imaginative way in which the story is told.
To begin with I want to say how very much I like Trevor Rueger as the world-renowned Belgium Detective Hercule Poirot and Javelin Laurence as his trusty companion and friend Captain Hastings. I would love to see more of these two in these roles on the Vertigo stage. They have a delightful chemistry and feel absolutely perfect as Poirot and Hastings. In fact, the whole cast is brilliant. And much of the success of any play is based on finding actors who fit their roles and interact with each other in a natural and appealing way and director Jenna Rodgers has certainly accomplished that and put together a terrific ensemble.
However there is one slight situation which requires a word of explanation. On the night I saw the play the very talented and well known to Calgary audiences Meg Farhall who plays Woman 1 was, due to illness, unable to perform. Stepping into the role was another well known and talented actor from the Calgary Community, Ayla Stephen. I have little doubt that Farhall is absolutely brilliant in the play, and I’m disappointed I didn’t see her performance but rest assured Ayla did a wonderful job and fit into the ensemble perfectly. Of course, we wish Farhall a full recovery and a speedy return to the stage. So, for this review I’ll be talking about Ayla’s performance, but the production stills will be of Meg Farhall.
Heidi Damayo, Todd Houseman, Javelin Laurence, Meg Farhall, and Graham Percy in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
The rest of the cast is composed of the highly versatile and talented Graham Percy, Heidi Damayo, and Todd Houseman. These three bring much fun to the proceedings as they play multiple roles and illustrate a keen sense of comic timing and playful story telling. The play is designed in such a way that one actor plays Poirot, and one actor plays Hastings, and the other four actors play multiple characters.
The story begins when Hastings meets a young lady, played by Heidi Damayo on a train who will only identify herself as Cinderella. Hastings is absolutely charmed by the young lady, but she departs and Hastings heads home and finds his flat mate Poirot restless and disappointed that no new adventure has surfaced to occupy his time and challenge the little grey cells. However, Hastings notices a letter in the post from a Paul Renauld, played by Graham Percy, asking Poirot that he come urgently as Renauld fears that his life may be in danger because of a secret he possesses.
This intrigues Poirot and with the call to adventure answered Hastings and Poirot arrive in France only to discover that Renauld has been murdered! His body was found in a shallow grave on a golf course adjacent to his estate. But of course, everything is not as it seems. And as usual in a Poirot story there are some delightful twists and turns along the way before the true identity and motive of the murderer is revealed.
Trevor Rueger, Javelin Laurence and Hedi Damayo in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
The list of suspects includes Paul Renald’s wife Eloise Renald played by Alya Stephen who seems to have an alibi. There is Renald’s son Jack played by Todd Houseman who had argued with his father and made threats against him only days before. And there is Theodora Van Hoven played by Alya Stephen and Theodora’s daughter Marte Van Hoven played by Heidi Damayo who have recently moved into the neighbouring estate.
Much of the fun in a Poirot mystery comes from the fact that there are always plenty of suspects who have some connection to the murder. In this case that includs the mysterious young lady known as Cinderella and another young woman by the name of Bella Duveen who is also played by Heidi Damayo. Adding to this group of suspects there are a number of other characters including a weepy maid, Renauld’s lawyer, a judge, a station master, and a couple of characters from a previous murder similar to Renauld’s murder who may be connected in some way to the current investigation.
Javelin Laurence, Todd Houseman, Trevor Rueger, Graham Percy in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
Poirot is not the only one investigating the crime. There is the local police Commissary Lucien Bex, played by Graham Percy who is more than happy to have Poirot on the case and marvels as Poirot turns up clue after clue after clue that Lucien’s own men have missed. In addition to Lucien there is Monsieur Girard a detective from the Paris Sûreté, played by Todd Houseman who sees himself equal to if not better than Poirot. The two rivals, decide to make things interesting by making a gentleman’s wager as to who will be first to solve the crime.
In addition to a terrific acting ensemble director Jenna Rodgers has assembled an outstanding design team including set designer Julia Kim, costume designer Jolane Houle, lighting designer Kathryn Smith, and sound designer Tori Morrison who also created additional compositions to add to the original music compositions by Robertson Witmer.
Heidi Damayo, Graham Percy, and Meg Farhall in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
One of the things that keeps the energy up in a play is designing smooth transitions between scenes and in order to accomplish that you have to design a set and style of production that makes the scene changes feel like a dissolve on stage instead of stopping the action, moving things about, and beginning again. When we first take our seats, we are greeted with an empty stage with two very tall panels on either side. The stage is painted in beautiful garden colours that make us feel like we are being transported to a country estate in France where a substantial part of the play takes place.
There are a variety of locations including a golf course, an estate, a garden shed, a court of law, and a train station. To facilitate the various locations a few props are used when needed. Tall flats with a door to enter or exit from and with windows on the second floor through which we can observe the shadows of the occupants in the rooms above are wheeled on and off stage to create the various locations. During these transitions the dialogue and music continue and so the action and energy never stops. Adding to the ambience is the lighting design which leads our eye to particular places on stage and creates a unique feeling for each location.
Trevor Rueger, Graham Percy, Todd Houseman, Javelin Laurence, Meg Farhall and Heidi Damayo, in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
The music – and there is plenty of it – is a particularly fun element. It adds to the comic moments by underscoring the sudden reveals, red herrings, and clues and plays up some of the melodrama of the murder mystery genre. The music never overpowers what’s happening on stage or being said by the characters but instead blends perfectly and naturally with the dialogue and action.
You know one of the fun things about a great fictional character is that it gets many interpretations. In fact, part of the joy of Hamlet, Sherlock Holmes, and Felix Unger is not just the written text, but also the unique qualities each actor brings to the character. So, when it comes to Poirot, I love Peter Ustinov’s portrayal of the character and in particular his version of Death on the Nile because he adds an element of comical mischief to his Poirot. I love David Suchet’s Poirot because I think he really embraces the vision that Christie had for the character, and he often seems during his investigations to ponder the morality of mankind. And Kenneth Branaugh’s egg obsessed Poirot is all about the moustache, I think. A bold choice. And moustache aficionados everywhere will be excited to know that there’s a rumour going around that Kenneth Branaugh’s moustache will be returning as Poirot for a fourth time in order to solve The Murder of Roger Ackroyd in a new movie adaptation of Christie’s classic novel.
Todd Houseman, Graham Percy, Trevor Rueger, and Meg Farhall in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
So, the fun of seeing a stage production is we get to see a new interpretation of the character by one of our local actors. Trevor Reuger’s performance as Poirot is a delight. Trevor is a master of comedy and like most good comic actors he also has a talent for the dramatic and he’s able to be serious when needed and playful when needed. Yes, his Poirot is obsessed with order but his drive and determination to arrive at a solution is what makes him so much fun to watch and he is often two or three steps ahead of everyone else.
Javelin Laurence as Hastings brings a feeling of immediate trust and likability to their portrayal of Hastings. Much of the play has Hastings and other characters delivering narration directly to the audience and Laurence brings a charm and slightly naive honesty to their interactions with both the audience and other characters. But that can be forgiven because Hastings is a bit of romantic and their encounter with Cinderella has left them with hopes and feelings that we’ve all felt sometimes when we’ve had a brief encounter with someone and there’s been a little spark of interest between us.
Trevor Rueger, Javelin Laurence, and Meg Farhall in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
The rest of the cast is just as marvelous and its so much fun to see them playing off each other and finding both the comedy and the mystery in the play. Whether she’s playing a weeping maid or the mysterious and brash and full of life Cinderella Heidi Damayo is a joy to watch. She knows how to turn a phrase or give a look to the audience that delivers a laugh or a more mysterious and sinister message.
Ayla Stephen can play big bold characters and Theodora Van Hoven the new neighbour is a big flamboyant and commanding woman who is clearly used to getting what she wants and she’s not afraid to do battle with Poirot or anyone else who stands in her way. In contrast to this powerhouse Ayla plays Eloise Renald the loving and grief-stricken widow with a sincere and emotional honesty.
Meg Farhall and Trevor Rueger in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
Graham Percy brings an adoring fanboy quality to his portrayal of Commissary Lucien Bex who I wouldn’t be surprised to find out has a poster of Poirot on his study wall. Percy contrasts that characterization with some wonderful deadpan moments as he plays other characters including the grounds keeper, a train agent, and a front desk clerk.
Todd Houseman’s portrayal of Monsieur Girard from the Paris Sûreté has a delightful arrogance and cheerful pomposity that contrasts nicely with his portrayal of the emotional and fiery son Jack who is one of the main suspects in the murder. Houseman also portrays the family lawyer, and he physically feels very much like a snake as he slithers in and slithers out of scenes providing Poirot with the latest version of Paul Renauld’s will.
Todd Houseman and Heidi Damayo in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
There are two particularly delightful parts to Steven Dietz’s inventive script that I’m going to share with you because telling you about them doesn’t dimmish how fun they are to watch, and I think they are in fact a huge drawing card that makes the evening memorable.
Since this is a cast playing multiple roles, situations arise where the actor playing one of their roles is required to play one of their other characters at the same time. For example, at one point in the play when Todd Houseman is playing Jack the son of the murder victim, he is suddenly required to also play Inspector Girard and interrogate Jack. Houseman’s quandary is shared by other cast members as they too are asked at times to double up and the resulting solutions the actors come up with results in plenty of laughter and fun.
Trevor Rueger, Heidi Damayo, Graham Percy, Javelin Laurence, Todd Houseman, and Meg Farhall in Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre. Photo Fifth Wall Media.
This is Agatha Christie so – yes, the plot does get complicated. There are always a lot of characters to keep track of and motives to sort out and all these characters are usually lying about who they are, where they were, and what they know. So, to help the audience understand exactly what’s going on Poirot enlists the rest of the cast and a bunch of bowling pins dressed in little costumes that match the costumes of the characters in the play to help explain what we know so far. Needless to say, not only do we clarify the case and the suspects and their motives, but we also get to enjoy a lot of good laughs along the way.
Murder on the Links at Vertigo Theatre has all the zany fun of a play like Arsenic and Old Lace but still retains all the elements we’ve come to expect from a satisfying and puzzling mystery. Director Jenna Rodgers has worked her magic by gathering together a talented group of actors and designers who bring to life an inventive and clever script by Steven Dietz that makes for a fun and entertaining evening at the theatre.
Murder on the Links runs at Vertigo Theatre until Saturday December 21st with matinee performances on Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 PM and evening performances from Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 PM. Single tickets start at $30 and are available by calling the Vertigo Theatre Box Office at 403.221.3708 or online at vertigotheatre.com.
Karyssa Komar, Heather Pattengale, Seana-Lee Wood, Nathan Schmidt, and Mark Kazakov in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Christmas on the Air. Photo Morris Ertman.
Christmas on the Air at Rosebud Theatre is a charming way to spend an evening celebrating the Christmas spirit along with a talented cast in a light-hearted and song-filled production.
It’s Christmas Eve 1949 and we are witness to and participants in CKOL’s annual Christmas Eve radio program which consists of familiar songs and stories. When we first arrive at the Rosebud Theatre Opera House to take our seats Danny “the kid” Frank, played by Mark Kazakov is buzzing about making final adjustments and greeting people as they take their seats.
Meanwhile, Danny’s father, Percival B. Frank, played by Nathan Schmidt, seems to be lacking some Christmas cheer as he takes on the burden of producing and hosting the show. His wife Yolanda Frank, played by Heather Pattengale, just wants Percival to relax a bit and enjoy some of the spirit of the season and maybe trust their son to run things and take on some of the burden.
Heather Pattengale and Nathan Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Christmas on the Air. Photo Morris Ertman.
Adding to this radio family is Sylvia White, played by Seana-Lee Wood, who hosts the radio station’s cooking show and is the featured musician accompanying everyone on the piano or joining the cast for some seasonal harmonies.
The final member of the ensemble is Kitty McNally, played by Karyssa Komar, the new weather girl who has caught the eye and attention of Danny but unknown to everyone is a single mom. Unable to find a sitter on Christmas Eve Kitty has opted to bring her baby to the station hoping he’ll sleep through the show.
Director Ian Farthing works with his cast to keep the action moving and his design team which includes scenic and costume designer Hanne Loosen, and lighting designer Becky Halterman have transformed The Rosebud Stage into the radio studio where the action takes place.
Heather Pattengale, Nathan Schmidt, Karyssa Komar, and Mark Kazakov in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Christmas on the Air. Photo Lauren Hamm.
The set is cheerful with a forest of Christmas Trees in the background and the CKOL sign above the stage featuring the radio station’s logo and motto, “CKOL Radio. The people hoodoo great music.”
One side of the stage is reserved for the grand piano used by Sylvia throughout the evening and on the other side of the stage is the sound effects table used to add sounds and highlight emotional moments during the show.
The stage is raked and provides a clear view of the action as characters move from performing in front of the mics to carrying on more private conversations about their personal lives — like perhaps that baby I mentioned earlier who might deserve a word or two of reflection and explanation.
Mark Kazakov in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Christmas on the Air. Photo Morris Ertman.
By gum, I liked Mark Kazakov as Danny. Mark has an infectious enthusiasm and a comic body that reminds me of the wonderful Dick van Dyck’s physical aptitudes. Kazakov brings a fun energy and youthful exuberance to his portrayal of Danny who is basically a loveable, good-hearted, goof.
Nathan Schmidt as Danny’s father P.B. Frank is a more solum soul. He’s a kind man who dives into his work even on Christmas Eve in order to cope with a personal loss that he and his wife Yolanda share. Heather Pattengale as Yolanda is always a delight on stage and she’s often teamed up with Nathan as her significant other and the two together always bring a deep sense of truth to the story. These are both talented actors who never disappoint and I’m always thrilled whenever I get a chance to see them on stage.
Heather Pattengale, Seana-Lee Wood, Nathan Schmidt, and Karyssa Komar, in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Christmas on the Air. Photo Lauren Hamm.
Seana-Lee Wood adds her immense musical talent to the production while also bringing something familiar to her portrayal of Sylvia in the story. We all know people like Sylvia. Good people who find themselves alone in later life or on Christmas Day and yet still have plenty of love and support to give to the world. In one particularly fun segment of the show, Sylvia demonstrates on radio and live for the studio audience how to prepare a festive Christmas yule log. It’s a bright fun moment in the play and Seana-Lee reveals to us that despite being alone Sylvia still has a zest for life and joy in her heart.
Being a mom is never easy. Being a single mom is hard. Being a single mom in 1949 harder still. And Karyssa Komar shows us how Kitty feels under threat that once she reveals herself to be an unwed mother, she’ll lose her job and Danny’s affections. That’s certainly a risk and Komar makes us sympathize with her situation, but of course, with this being a Christmas story there might yet be some hope of a happy ending.
Nathan Schmidt, Heather Pattengale, Karyssa Komar, and Mark Kazakov in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Christmas on the Air. Photo Morris Ertman.
How would I describe this show? It’s sort of like showing up on Christmas morning and playwright Lucia Frangione has left us with a bunch of gifts under the tree. One gift might contain a familiar Christmas Carol such as O Christmas Tree, Joy to the World, or O Come All Ye Faithful or a more recent Christmas tune like Blue Christmas, Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, or I’ll Be Home for Christmas. Another oddly shaped gift might contain a favourite Christmas story such as The Gifts of the Magi by O. Henry or Clement Parker Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas complete with sound effects.
But just like Christmas day the big gift isn’t what’s under the tree it’s who you share the day with. The true gift of Christmas is connecting with our family and connecting with our fellow man and making the world a better place. That’s the real gift of theatre and the arts. They connect us. They help us to focus on our common humanity. And this Christmas you can share your hopes for peace on earth and goodwill towards all men with the good folks at CKOL Radio who just want to bring some much needed Christmas Cheer to the world.
Karyssa Komar, Heather Pattengale, Seana-Lee Wood, Nathan Schmidt, and Mark Kazakov in the Rosebud Theatre Production of Christmas on the Air. Photo Morris Ertman.
Christmas on the Air runs at Rosebud Theatre until Sunday, December 22nd with matinee performances from Wednesday to Saturday at 2:00 pm and evening performances on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm. Make sure you arrive at least two hours before curtain in order to enjoy Chef Mo’s delicious Christmas on the Air buffet featuring roasted turkey with cranberry sauce, butter chicken with saffron basmati rice, and sticky toffee pudding with caramel & butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream. Tickets can be purchased at www.rosebudtheatre.com or by phone at 1-800-267-7553.
Christopher Hunt, David Trimble, Shaun Smyth, Paul Gross and Chirag Naik in Alberta Theatre Projects’ production of The Seafarer. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Props Design by Hanne Loosen. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw. Lighting Design by Anton deGroot.
Alberta Theatre Projects has set sail on its 50th Anniversary Season and the first leg of this voyage is the darkly comic and booze-driven production of The Seafarer by Conor McPherson starring Paul Gross in a triumphant return to the Calgary stage.
The play is partly inspired and named after The Seafarer a 124-line Old English poem told from the point of view of a sailor who is reminiscing on the hardships of life on a wintery sea. The oldest written version of the poem is from the tenth century and it was first translated into modern English by Benjamin Thorpe in 1842. I did go in search of that translation and I’m happy to say I found it lurking among the other dusty archives of the Internet. There are other translations of course including Ezra Pound’s 1911 adaptation and the 1970 translation by Richard Hamer that Conor McPherson references. These are all fascinating examples of how different and similar translations can make us feel since translations are always a product of their author and time.
The play also deals with some supernatural elements and in an interview on Theatre Talk with Susan Haskins and Michael Riedel from the New York Post first broadcast in 2007 McPherson while talking about the play said, “I think that life can be frightening sometimes, and I suppose I’ve always been fascinated by the supernatural because I always think it opens a door for us into a way of exploring our own darkest fears where we feel at our most loneliest and our most alienated. So, for me, people who are haunted or dealing with something which is coming from the unknown is always very powerfully dramatic. And I’ve always found that audiences tend to really tune in and really become intensely absorbed by stories to do with that. Then when you create characters around that who we care about and who are trying to deal with this stuff it can become quite potent because live theatre is a magical place and it can have an extraordinary effect.”
Paul Gross and Shaun Smyth in Alberta Theatre Projects’ production of The Seafarer. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Props Design by Hanne Loosen. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw. Lighting Design by Anton deGroot.
The story takes place in Dublin on Christmas Eve and revolves around James “Sharky” Harkin and his older brother Richard Harkin, a recently blinded, hard-drinking alcoholic played by Christopher Hunt. Determined to make a new start of things Sharky played by Shaun Smyth has returned home to care for his older brother and at the beginning of the play is two days sober and struggling to remain so.
Adding to the Christmas chaos is Richard’s drinking buddy Ivan Curry played by David Trimble. Ivan got hammered the night before and ended up spending the night at Richard’s place too drunk to go home and too scared to face the wrath of his wife Karen.
Joining this ill-fated trio is Nicky Giblin played by Chirag Naik who Sharky resents because Nicky has managed to woo and is now living with Sharky’s ex Eileen. Nicky who refuses the hard stuff but is never without a beer in his hand has spent the day on a pub crawl with a well-dressed mysterious stranger played by Paul Gross by the name of Mr. Lockhart.
Lockhart and Nicky find themselves spending Christmas Eve along with the others doing some heavy drinking and playing poker. But of course, there’s more to the story and more at stake than what at first meets the eye. Who exactly is this Mr. Lockhart and what exactly does he want?
Christopher Hunt, David Trimble, Shaun Smyth (seated), Chirag Naik and Paul Gross in Alberta Theatre Projects’ production of The Seafarer. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Props Design by Hanne Loosen. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw. Lighting Design by Anton deGroot.
To bring the story to life director Peter Pasyk has assembled a talented cast of actors and a first-rate design team composed of set designer Hanne Loosen, lighting designer Anton deGroot, sound designer Kathryn Smith, and costume designer Ralamy Kneeshaw.
The action of the play takes place in Richard’s rundown basement. The decor is definitely pub-inspired and the room looks like it hasn’t had a coat of paint since Vatican II. There’s a dart board along the back wall and a row of beer coasters decorating the beam that travels nearly the length of the room and a rather steep staircase leading to the basement from the upper floor that proves a challenging and comic obstacle to those who might have had one or two drinks too many.
The lighting and sound are natural feeling but when needed add an extra charge to certain key moments on stage such as when Lockhart reveals to Sharky the reality of his life and the pain he endures in a beautifully written and deeply moving monologue. It’s an entrancing moment and harkens back to the title and poem for which the play is named.
Paul Gross and Shaun Smyth in Alberta Theatre Projects’ production of The Seafarer. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Props Design by Hanne Loosen. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw. Lighting Design by Anton deGroot.
This is a naturalistic play with hints of the supernatural and so the clothing feels well lived in as does the basement and this is the world our ensemble gets to play in. Christopher Hunt is marvellous as the acerbic older brother Richard who is constantly abusing Sharky but when he feels his brother might be in some kind of danger exhibits a sense of concern and brotherly love. Richard’s character drives a lot of the action and speaks a lot of the lines and so you need someone of Hunt’s calibre to carry that weight and drive the action forward.
Shaun Smyth’s Sharky is a deeply haunted man fighting to stay sober and suppress his quick-to-violence temper. Sharky is on edge, and you sense from Smyth’s performance that this is a battle Sharky has fought and lost many times before. There’s a good portion of the second act where Sharky is silent, and his plight can only be conveyed through nonverbal means. The stakes are high and his resolve to stay sober is under siege and you feel the tension and fear in the way Sharky moves about the stage like a trapped animal not yet willing to accept his fate.
David Trimble’s Ivan is adrift and hasn’t been sober a day in the last twenty years, I’m guessing. What makes Trimble’s portrayal so enchanting is a sense that if it wasn’t for the booze this guy would probably be doing okay. He’s not a mean drunk. And I like that. Often in plays the drink brings out the demons but there are those who in real life simply become happier versions of themselves. Unfortunately, the tragedy in Ivan’s case is that he drinks to excess and has become trapped by the bottle.
Christopher Hunt and Shaun Smyth in Alberta Theatre Projects’ production of The Seafarer. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Props Design by Hanne Loosen. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw. Lighting Design by Anton deGroot.
Chirag Naik as Nicky feels like the one who still hasn’t quite fallen as deep into the darkness and maybe even has a chance of escaping the hell these others find themselves in. Naik portrays Nicky with a sense of faint optimism and hope that seems somewhat absent from the others but when he should be home with Eileen, he is instead spending the night playing poker and gambling away all his money and so he too slides further down the slippery slope of addiction and risks turning his entire life into ruins.
Rounding out the cast and headlining the show is the multi-talented actor, director, and producer Paul Gross who last appeared on the Calgary stage forty-two years ago in Theatre Calgary’s production of George Bernard Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession and John Murrell’s Farther West. Tall, lean, and commanding with a mane of long white hair Gross is able to embed his portrayal of Mr. Lockhart with a sense of mystery, danger, and sorrow. Is he the villain and someone we should fear and despise or is he the tragic hero whose fate is undeserved? Or is it that simple? Could he possibly be both? This is clearly a tortured soul, and Gross is able to convey Lockhart’s broken-hearted existence in a rich and compelling performance.
And yet despite the play dealing with dark topics and deeply flawed characters, there’s a great deal of laughter and fun. That’s because director Peter Pasyk has crafted a production where the cast feels so natural in their performances that it really does feel like we’ve simply dropped in and are watching the antics of a group of real-life drinking buddies stumbling through life and celebrating the Christmas season.
Paul Gross and Shaun Smyth in Alberta Theatre Projects’ production of The Seafarer. Photo by Benjamin Laird. Set & Props Design by Hanne Loosen. Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw. Lighting Design by Anton deGroot.
Life as a stormy sea is certainly a relatable concept. We often find ourselves facing difficult times at various points in our lives. The loss of a job. A change in a relationship. And of course, we hurt others and are in return hurt by them. Misunderstandings. Words said in anger. Things done that can’t be taken back. Sometimes when trying to smooth these stormy seas some of us turn to drink. And we use that numbing influence to help us cope with the loneliness and pain of living and our inability to admit that we are often the cause of our own misery and broken lives.
Yeah, sure you can meditate and do yoga to deal with life. That’s a healthy choice, I’ll admit. You can do a detox and take a course on maximizing your life and setting goals and achieving your dreams, but I don’t think that would be of much interest on the stage. I’ll leave the toxic positivity to the self-help gurus and charlatans hawking their supplements and head to the theatre where the entire experience of humanity is laid bare not a false philosophy of only seeing the positive.
The theatre doesn’t just look at the good and the hopeful. It looks at the sinister and at our feelings of despair. Because there are two sides to humanity. Two sides to existence. There is joy and there is sadness. And whether or not we’re spending the evening with estranged brothers Austin and Lee in Sam Shepard’s True West or spending the night with the acerbic Martha and George in Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? or staying up all night with Richard and Sharky and their drinking buddies in Conor McPherson’s The Seafarer there is something deeply satisfying about the experience. These may not be the lives we’re living but as human beings, we see something of ourselves within these tragic figures and must acknowledge that there but for the grace of God go I.
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Alberta Theatre Projects has come through its own rough seas over the last few years and now Artistic Director Haysam Kadri and Executive Director Peita Luti along with their team are at the helm helping to make sure that there is smooth sailing ahead. This Fiftieth Anniversary Season has begun with a deeply satisfying and memorable production of The Seafarer by Conor McPherson that audiences can rest assured indicates a return to quality drama, laugh-out-loud comedies, and a range of plays to satisfy Alberta Theatre Projects patrons and friends.
The Vertigo Theatre Production of The Woman in Black starring Joe Perry and Andy Curtis. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Hannah Fisher, Lighting Design by Narda McCarroll. Photos by Fifth Wall Media
“I’d always known in my heart that that experience would never leave me. That it was woven into the fibers of my being. Ah yes, I had a ghost story. A true story. A story of haunting and evil. Fear and confusion. Horror and tragedy. But it was not a story to be told around the fireplace on Christmas Eve.”
The Woman in Black Adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt
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Vertigo Theatre’s Production of The Woman in Black directed by Jamie Dunsdon and starring Joe Perry and Andy Curtis is a tension-filled journey into fear and terror. Yes, it’s a ghost story but I think it’s more than just an encounter with the supernatural. If the play had nothing more to offer us than a few chills and thrills, I don’t think it would have run for 33 years and racked up 13,232 performances to make it the second longest-running non-musical play in London’s West End.
No, I think the appeal of the play comes from the fact that Arthur Kipps, the main character in the story, through no fault of his own finds himself in a life-and-death struggle with forces beyond his control. That is what makes the story so relatable. In our own lives we all encounter such forces but usually in the form of disease or accident and those encounters can leave us fighting for our survival or can change the trajectory of our lives. So, for me, that’s a key component as to why I enjoyed the play so much. I can identify with Kipps. What man or woman or person hasn’t found themselves in a situation where the forces of nature or the decisions of others whom we have no control over impacts our lives and all we can do is man the lifeboats and ride out the storm.
The Vertigo Theatre Production of The Woman in Black starring Joe Perry and Andy Curtis. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Hannah Fisher, Lighting Design by Narda McCarroll. Photos by Fifth Wall Media
The Woman in Black is based on the 1983 novel by British author Susan Hill and adapted for the stage by Stephen Mallatratt and was first staged in 1987 at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough before premiering in London’s West End in 1989. The play takes place in a Victorian Theatre where Arthur Kipps an older gentleman played by Andy Curtis has hired a younger actor played by Joe Perry to help him tell his story. Kipps is troubled. In agony. Haunted. The telling of his story he hopes will purge his life of the horrible experience he encountered as a young man. The Actor is only too happy to help him stage the story and tackles the telling of it with enthusiasm. To make the telling of the story work the Actor takes on the role of Kipps and Kipps using his memory of those he encountered portrays all the other characters.
The story is a simple one. A reclusive elderly widow by the name of Mrs. Drablow has died and Kipps is sent to the remote town of Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral and sort through her papers and settle her estate. The Estate is the fog-shrouded Eel Marsh House that can only be reached from the mainland at low tide along a narrow causeway. A local man by the name of Keckwick drives Arthur out to the estate in a pony and trap. At the estate, Kipps discovers a locked room, a family graveyard, and personal letters from Jennet Humfrye the sister of Mrs. Drablow that help shed light on the mysterious Woman in Black. I don’t want to say too much more about the plot as I think that would destroy the mystery for those who don’t know the full story and a lot of the fun as an audience member is the slow reveal of who the Woman in Black is and what terrible things have been visited upon the townsfolk of Crythin Gifford.
The Vertigo Theatre Production of The Woman in Black starring Joe Perry. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Hannah Fisher, Lighting Design by Narda McCarroll. Photos by Fifth Wall Media
The sound design by Andrew Blizzard, set design by Scott Reid, and lighting design by Narda McCarroll are blended perfectly in a way that adds to the mystery and tension. Along with these design elements wonderful performances by Joe Perry and Andy Curtis help deliver plenty of spine-tingling chills. In his notes to the play Stephen Mallatratt says, “Darkness is a powerful ally of terror, something glimpsed in a corner is far more frightening than if it’s fully observed. Sets work best when they accommodate this – when things unknown might be in places unseen.” And I’m happy to report that this production of The Woman in Black takes that advice to heart.
Darkness like silence is a tool for creating emotion and engagement. And the fun thing about creating suspense is that done right you invite the audience to use their own imagination as part of the experience. Who hasn’t woken up in the dead of night and glanced to a corner in the bedroom and been seized by the sudden fear that something is lurking in the corner? A good ghost story uses those natural instincts to create a terrifying experience. And more than once during the play audience members screamed and afterwards a nervous wave of laughter washed over the theatre. And that’s because we buy into the story and that indicates just how effective the lighting is at creating mystery and suspense and how the sound sets the scene and how perfectly designed the set is to allow for events to unfold.
The Vertigo Theatre Production of The Woman in Black starring Joe Perry and Andy Curtis. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Hannah Fisher, Lighting Design by Narda McCarroll. Photos by Fifth Wall Media
There’s also a chemistry between Joe Perry and Andy Curtis that makes the play work. Curtis has such a rich and easy voice and he feels so centred on stage that he draws us into the story. Perry captures the enthusiasm of the actor as he dives into his character blissfully unaware of the danger he is putting himself in as he brings the Woman in Black’s story to life. This really is an ensemble production where every choice from the acting to the costumes to the setting to the direction combine in such a way that we are swept into another world where our hero finds himself in a terrifying and life-altering experience.
In our own lives, we may not face malevolent spirits, but we certainly do encounter an unexpected illness or betrayal or financial setback at times in our lives. So even though the play deals with supernatural evil we understand the play because we have encountered such feelings and emotions in our own lives. Joy, failure, fear, hope – emotions are the tapestry of life and director Jamie Dunsdon is a master at creating emotionally compelling theatrical experiences and her production of The Woman in Black provides audiences with a safe way to experience something terrifying and emotionally satisfying because the truth is we go to the theatre as much to experience fear and terror as laughter and joy.
Karen Johnson-Diamond and Griffin Cork in the Rosebud Theatre Production of For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Photo Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre presents the touching and humourous memoir For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again by Michel Tremblay directed by Morris Ertman and starring Karen Johnson-Diamond and Griffin Cork.
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How the story ends and how the story begins are often the most memorable parts of a story. How does Citizen Kane begin and end? If you’ve seen the movie, I guarantee you the opening images and ending images are clear in your mind.
Beginnings are easy. You start out with a mystery. You make a promise. You hook the audience, and the ending is the payoff. It’s where you fulfill the promise and solve the mystery. After all, Hercule Poirot doesn’t solve the Murder on the Orient Express in the middle of the novel, and he doesn’t end the story by going, “Unfortunately, the little grey cells can’t figure this one out. I’m stumped! Anyone else have a solution?” No, we’re satisfied when a story starts well and ends in a satisfying way. The ending brings us a sense of completeness. And so, I’m happy to report that For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again is a touching and humorous memoir filled with plenty of laughs and a few tears that begins well and has a very satisfying and memorable ending.
Karen Johnson-Diamond and Griffin Cork in the Rosebud Theatre Production of For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Photo Lauren Hamm.
“Tonight, no one will rage and cry: ‘My Kingdom for a horse!’ No ghost will come to haunt the battlements of a castle in the kingdom of Denmark where, apparently, something is rotten.” So says our narrator at the beginning of For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. He has a great many more examples and much of the fun in this opening monologue is following the references before he explains that tonight the show is going to be about his mom – Nana. It will be an evening not dedicated to the iconic bigger than life characters of the stage but instead, “What you will see tonight is a very simple woman, a woman who will simply talk…. I almost said, about her life, but the lives of others will be just as important: her husband, her sons, her relatives and neighbours. Perhaps you will recognize her. You’ve often run into her at the theatre, in the audience and on stage, you’ve met her in life, she’s one of you. She has existed throughout the ages and in every culture. She always has been present and always will be. I wanted the pleasure of seeing her again. The pleasure of hearing her. So she could make me laugh and cry. One more time, if I may.”
And that I think is one of the reasons For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again is such a joy to watch. It’s about a simple woman who in her own way is a bigger than life character. I love good solid memorable stories about real people and Rosebud Theatre and Morris Ertman are masters at bringing stories about common people to life. And what makes this production particularly fun and exciting is the fact that real life mother and son, Karen Johnson-Diamond and Griffin Cork are cast in the play. “I auditioned for a show directed by Morris Ertman twenty-six years ago,” says Johnson-Diamond, “and he offered me the role. I ended up turning it down because it was out of town and my son Griffin was only two years old. I’ve regretted that for years. Fast forward to now, and I’m finally performing on the Rosebud stage, I get to act with my son, and I’m being directed by the legendary Morris Ertman. So many bucket list wishes fulfilled.”
Karen Johnson-Diamond and Griffin Cork in the Rosebud Theatre Production of For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Photo Morris Ertman.
Griffin who has become a familiar face on the Rosebud stage having most recently appeared in Rosebud Theatre’s production of Chariots of Fire is also checking off a few bucket list items. “I fell in love with Michel Tremblay’s plays in university when I wrote an extra-credit essay on a few of his works, including For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. I went to my mom after I graduated, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if you know when you’re going to retire, but before you do, we need to do this play.’ Never did I think I would be getting the chance so early in my career, and I’ll be forever grateful to Morris for the opportunity.”
The play is written by celebrated Québécois novelist and playwright Michel Tremblay and translated into English by Linda Gaboriau. The story is broken into a series of scenes between the narrator and his mother Nana. We’re first introduced to Nana when her son is 10 years of age and he’s gotten in trouble with the cops which truthfully was nothing more than a bit of misguided mischief. We soon learn that Nana has a tendency towards exaggeration and melodrama when she tells her son that she will have to live a life of shame brought on her and the family by his criminal behaviour. It is through these vignettes that we learn how Tremblay’s mother instilled in him a love of reading and theatre and story.
Karen Johnson-Diamond and Griffin Cork in the Rosebud Theatre Production of For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. Photo Morris Ertman.
Director Morris Ertman has created a terrific production perfectly paced with rich and memorable performances by Karen Johnson-Diamond and Griffin Cork. The setting is simple being composed of an easy chair on one side of the stage where the narrator spends much of his time as his Nana roams and commands the stage.
As a memoir, the play happily breaks the fourth wall. It’s no secret that we are watching a play. In fact, that’s half the fun. The narrator gives us a wink and the occasional aside while Nana goes off on tangents and exaggerated musings about Aunt Gertrude or is in awe of seeing a live television broadcast of a show featuring French Canadian actress Huguette Oligny. It is during this scene in the play where we learn that our narrator is writing for the stage with his mother’s encouragement and support.
I love this play. I love how it begins, and I love how it ends. In fact, I’d say the ending is perfect, but I won’t reveal the ending because I don’t want to ruin it for you. All I’ll say is that for the next few weeks Michel Trembley’s mother will be alive again. She will be telling her stories and teasing her son. Her fury at his shenanigans will rise up. Her love will shine through. And he will give her the gift of being a part of his world by being a part of a play filled with laughter and tenderness that celebrates the loving relationship between mother and son.
Heather Pattengale in the Rosebud Theatre production of The Fever by Wallace Shawn. Photo by Lauren Hamm
This summer Rosebud Theatre presents The Fever by Wallace Shawn directed by Bronwyn Steinberg and starring Heather Pattengale in a show that dives into the complex thoughts and feelings of one woman as she explores questions of privilege and personal responsibility.
Here to give their thoughts about the play are two of my favourite characters: Monty and Theo.
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THEO: So, what did you think?
MONTY: The roasted Cajun chicken with chipotle BBQ sauce was outstanding. I went back three times.
THEO: I know Chef Mo’s buffet is always delicious, but I want to know what you thought of the play we saw. The Fever.
MONTY: Oh, the play. By Wallace Shawn. The “inconceivable” guy from The Princess Bride.
THEO: That’s right.
MONTY: He co-wrote and starred in the movie My Dinner with Andre.
THEO: He did. Although I don’t know what that has to do with this play.
MONTY: I was just thinking he’d probably love Chef Mo’s buffet.
THEO: Well, who doesn’t love Chef Mo’s buffet?
MONTY: They should do a sequel. My Buffet with Andre.
THEO: Monty, you’re getting off-topic.
MONTY: I’m sorry Theo, my mind does wander. And we did have a terrific and satisfying meal and saw a wonderful production. I loved the play. You know, I got the play out of the library last year and read it. I think it was just after I’d read The Princess Bride. I’d seen The Princess Bride movie but never read the book. So, I read the book. The book and the screenplay are by William Goldman who won an Oscar for writing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
THEO: Monty you’re getting off topic again. Let’s talk about the The Fever. We can chat about William Goldman another time. So, first I agree it was a good show. And a real challenge to bring to the stage. It’s all about this woman who has lived a life of privilege and luxury, and she finds herself on a trip to an unnamed country where an oppressive government is killing and torturing its citizens.
MONTY: Which is a real wake-up call for her because she starts to question her position in the world and begins to wonder what her moral obligations are towards other people who haven’t had her advantages.
THEO: You really need an exceptional talent to bring this type of one-person show to life and I’m happy to say that Heather Pattengale does a terrific job of lifting the words from the page and breathing life into the story.
MONTY: Yes, I agree. It’s not a multiple-character monologue. Everything is first person. The great challenge with this sort of material is making the script feel like these are real memories the character is experiencing. It’s an internal monologue that is shared with the audience. I love this type of theatre when it’s done well. And this was well done.
Heather Pattengale in the Rosebud Theatre production of The Fever by Wallace Shawn. Photo by Morris Ertman.
THEO: What did you think of the staging?
MONTY: In the copy of the play I read there’s really no stage directions or setting described. So, I wasn’t really sure what to expect and I’m happy to say that things have been kept simple. So, there’s a lounge chair and table on one side of the stage and a bathroom area which includes a toilet on the other side of the stage and the middle of the stage is left open. Heather moves between these three locations which represent the hotel where she’s staying or her apartment back home and that adds some variety to the staging and is an easy way to establish location.
THEO: Plus, there’s a painted backdrop that feels like the view from a window of a shantytown that reminds us that the play is looking at the divide between people that have and people that have not.
MONTY: And the play basically talks about her life and how she comes to have a deeper understanding about how much of who we are and what we can accomplish is an accident of birth.
THEO: The lighting and sound design helped to establish mood and emotion and was used sparingly at key moments which I think makes it more effective. Of course, all of this was brought together by Bronwyn Steinberg who directed the show.
MONTY: She’s very talented.
THEO: She is. And a good director is going to guide an actor in such a way that the emotion is genuine and clear so that the audience can relate to the story. Bronwyn and Heather make a good team and it’s hard to know who contributes what to a performance if you’re not in the rehearsal hall but for an audience that doesn’t matter. What matters is that when you experience the show you understand the emotional journey and how experiences the character is going through cause the character to come to a revelation or deeper understanding of themselves and the world.
MONTY: I agree. And let’s not forget Bronwyn just won a Betty Mitchell award for Outstanding Direction of a play for the Lunchbox Theatre Production of The Dark Lady.
THEO: And Heather won a Betty Mitchell award for Outstanding Supporting Performance in a drama for the Theatre Calgary production of Selma Burke that they did in association with Alberta Theatre Projects.
MONTY: It’s always nice to get recognition for the work.
THEO: So, what do you say? Thumbs up?
MONTY: Yes, thumbs up.
THEO: And don’t forget this summer Rosebud Theatre is also running Little Women – The Broadway Musical. I’ve heard good things.
MONTY: Little Women?
THEO: Yes.
MONTY: How little?
THEO: The women aren’t little they’re just young women.
MONTY: Oh, I see. Well, the title is rather misleading then, don’t you think? I was sort of hoping it might be a story about the little people. You know like Darby O’Gill and the Little People. They’re called little people because they’re leprechauns and leprechauns are little so I thought Little Women would be a play about Little Women Leprechauns.
THEO: No, they’re not leprechauns. They’re sisters. It’s based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott. The title is just referencing them as young women. It’s a very popular story.
MONTY: She should have called it I Am Woman – Hear Me Roar. Then there’d be no confusion.
THEO: After the Helen Reddy song. I Am Woman.
MONTY: That would be a showstopper.
Cassia Schmidt, Griffin Kehler, Grace Fedorchuk, Karyssa Komar, Jocelyn Hoover Leiver in the Rosebud Theatre production of Little Women The Broadway Musical. Photo Morris Ertman.
THEO: Well since Little Women was published in 1868 and Helen Reddy didn’t release the song, I Am Woman until 1971 I don’t think Louisa May Alcott would have been familiar with the song or Helen Reddy.
MONTY: Unless Louisa May Alcott is a Time Lord.
THEO: Well, you have me there my dear Monty. But again, the fact she didn’t call it I Am Woman and instead called it Little Women probably means she doesn’t have a Tardis. It’s the Broadway musical and it’s running in the Opera House all summer.
MONTY: And best of all it includes Chef Mo’s delicious – delectable – delightful – buffet!
THEO: True. And running in the Studio all summer is The Fever by Wallace Shawn which doesn’t include the buffet, but you can add the buffet for an additional charge.
MONTY: You know all this talk about Chef Mo’s buffet has me hungry again.
THEO: Me too. I could really go for some Thai shrimp in coconut sauce.
MONTY: Or how about some dessert? There’s nothing better than a slice of pecan pie, some butter tarts, and a big bowl of peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream.
THEO: I couldn’t agree more. Now, say good night Monty.
MONTY: Good night Monty.
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Audiences can catch The Fever by Wallace Shawn until August 31st Wednesday to Saturday at 4:30 pm on the Studio Stage. Tickets for the show are $36 for adults and $25 for children and youth. Recommended for ages 15 and up. Chef Mo’s buffet is not included in the price of the show however reservations for the buffet can be made at an additional cost and are subject to availability in the dining room.
Little Women – The Broadway Musical is running until August 31st with matinee performances Wednesday to Saturday at 1:30 pm with buffet seating anytime after 11:00 am. Evening performances are Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm with buffet seating anytime after 5:30pm. Tickets are $96 for adults $71 for youth (13-18) and $68 for children (4-12). Recommended for ages 8 and up.
To book tickets or for more information about The Fever, Chef Mo’s Buffet, or Little Women – The Broadway Musical visit the Rosebud Theatre Website.
The Writer Speaks is a selection of interviews I’ve come across over the years on YouTube with a variety of writers including Charlie Kaufman, Christopher Durang, and Emma Thompson. There are many more of course but these are ones I’ve enjoyed and I think any writer interested in learning a bit about the creative process will enjoy these conversations as well.
For myself when I began a more serious attempt at putting something down on paper I read On Writing by Stephen King and I found there were a couple of lessons from King that worked well for me. Probably the most important one is not to share the work until you’ve finished the first draft.
In fact, once you’ve finished the first draft you put it in a drawer and leave it. Let some time pass. Then when you come back to it a month later you have fresh eyes and can read the story with a more analytical mind.
The reason you don’t share the story during the writing process is because you don’t want the story to be influenced by the opinions and thoughts of others. This works well for me but I know there are other writers who like to have input and getting feedback as they write is part of their process. I’m not saying you don’t need to share the work and get feedback I’m just saying for myself early feedback usually disrupts my writing process rather than helps it.
The key of course is to find out what works for you. There is no wrong or right. You’re not Stephen King or Margaret Atwood and what works for them may not work for you.
Anyway, I wish you well on your writing journey and I hope you find the interviews below as informative and entertaining as I have.
Selma Hortense Burke with her portrait bust of Booker T. Washington, 1930s. Smithsonian Archive of American Art. Photography by Pinchos Horn.
Selma Burke was an African American sculptor who played a major role in the Harlem Renaissance movement of the 1920s and 30s which was an intellectual and cultural revival of African American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theatre, politics, and scholarship.
Burke used her talent to immortalize such historic figures as author and African-American civil rights leader Booker T. Washington, philanthropist, humanitarian and civil rights activist Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, composer, songwriter, conductor and Jazz musician Duke Ellington, and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. who advanced civil rights for people of colour in the United States through the use of nonviolent resistance and nonviolent civil disobedience.
Among her more famous works is a bas-relief bronze plaque honouring President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Four Freedoms which he outlined in his State of the Union speech to Congress in 1941 as Freedom of speech; Freedom of worship; Freedom from want; and Freedom from fear. Burke’s portrait of FDR is recognized by many as the inspiration behind the design of Roosevelt’s portrait on the American dime, which was something she never received credit for in her lifetime.
Caroline and Maria have written a rich and thought-provoking play about the life of Selma Burke that also explores the meaning of art, the Civil Rights Movement, racism, and censorship. I asked Maria and Caroline what sort of experience they hope audiences are going to have when they come to see the play.
CAROLINE RUSSELL-KING
Our goal is to entertain. Our play is not a lecture on art or a biography, it’s a flight of fancy. Selma lived nearly a century – these are ninety minutes of fun.
MARIA CROOKS
An entertaining, stimulating and very humorous one. We hope the audience will find the use of actors playing statues and other objects to be innovative and clever. We also hope that they enjoy getting to know this feisty, intelligent, gifted artist who deserves to be recognized and remembered as a one-of-a-kind artist and human being.
JAMES HUTCHISON
What was your process like working on the play together and what do you think are the key elements that make for a successful writing partnership?
CAROLINE
I think complementary strengths are important. I’m obviously not from Jamaica like Claude McKay is in the play and Maria is. Maria brings her knowledge of French as I am sadly unilingual. Maria is also a great editor. When I am creating plays in my head form and from can often look the same on the page.
MARIA
It was indeed a very stimulating, interesting process for both of us. We brainstormed together, wrote scenes individually then compared the writing and chose sections that best conveyed what we wished to express. We argued, we laughed, we fought to convince the other person of the merit of our ideas. For me, the most important elements that made for our successful partnership were the respect and trust that I have for Caroline’s extensive knowledge and experience as a playwright. She has written numerous award-winning plays, she is also a dramaturg, a critic, and a playwriting instructor. In fact, she was my playwriting instructor and has done the dramaturgy on all my plays.
JAMES
There’s a note in the script before the play begins where you say, “Selma Burke lived from 1900 to 1995 which is approximately 49,932,000 minutes – here imagined are 90 of them.” I loved that because it’s a humorous observation that illustrates the challenge of trying to tell a life story in the span of a play. So, how do you do that? How do you go about distilling the essence of a person’s life into an evening of theatre?
Selma Hortense Burke with her relief plaque of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. From the Archives of American Art Federal Art Project, Photographic Division Collection.
MARIA
We wanted to demonstrate some very salient points about Selma: how gifted an artist she was, her determination to succeed as a sculptor despite having been born Black, poor, and female in the southern US. The obstacles she faced, and the triumphs and accolades that she garnered, the people she knew, including a veritable Who’s Who of the Harlem Renaissance, presidents, and artist she studied with in Europe, the remarkable events that she witnessed, participated in and chronicled of the tempestuous era that was the 20th century. We wanted to do so dramatically but also with humour.
CAROLINE
It’s all about peaks and valleys. I always tell my playwriting students you want to see characters on their best days and their worst days not a Wednesday.
JAMES
One aspect of the play that works really well that you mentioned is that you have actors on stage being the art – the sculptures – that Selma creates. It’s an effective and theatrical way to bring the art alive and to tell Selma’s story. Tell me about how you came up with that idea and what it adds to the play.
CAROLINE
Having her work come to life is very important. In plays there are three types of conflict – person vs person, person vs environment, and person vs self. In Shakespeare’s time characters had soliloquies to express internal conflict. Today people who speak out loud to themselves are either on the phone with earbuds or mentally unwell. So, her relationship with her art is a mechanism to show internal conflict. Secondly, we so often see plays on the stage that could be screenplays or done in other media like TV – I wanted the play to be theatrical. What theatre does really well – is theatre.
MARIA
Caroline had the brilliant idea to have actors portray the artwork and other inanimate objects. This idea is not only dramatic, but as the audience will see, hilarious at times.
Christopher Clare, Norma Lewis, and Heather Pattengale in the Theatre Calgary – ATP Production of Selma Burke. Photo: Trudie Lee.
JAMES
As you got to know Selma from doing your research and writing your play what sort of person was she do you think and what do you think her hopes would be in regards to her legacy and the art she created during her lifetime?
MARIA
She wanted, I believe, to be remembered as an African American artist who created important works and who wanted to uplift her people though her art.
CAROLINE
I think she had a strong vision for her work and the confidence to pull it off – her art speaks for itself. The language of her art is deep and rich – I’m totally in love with her.
JAMES
A couple of the topics touched on in the play are artistic freedom and censorship. Artistic freedom is defined by the UN as “the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of government censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors.” In Canada the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects artistic expression. And yet in many countries artists are not free to express opinions that differ from those in power and these days there’s the new phenomena of the online mob attacking artists and their work if it doesn’t agree with their particular point of view. The idea isn’t to engage in an exchange and to challenge the art. The idea seems to be to stop the artist and their work. What are your own thoughts about artistic freedom and the kinds of censorship we’re seeing in the world today and what does that mean for the world in which we live? Why is art and artistic freedom important?
CAROLINE
The play is topical because firstly the struggle to create art is always an issue in hard economic times. More importantly the play is about not only those who get to create art but who has the right to destroy it. In Victoria BC two plays have been shut down, one before opening and one mid run. This is outrageous. It used to be the right that censored artist work now it is the left.
MARIA
We both find this trend alarming and offensive. It stymes creativity and will have artists second-guessing their ideas and their work. Unfortunately, today everyone with a computer, cell phone or tablet can disseminate their ideas to a wide audience no matter how unpleasant they may be and find receptive audiences who go along just to be provoking. Unfortunately, both of us have noticed that this kind of behaviour is not limited to right-leaning people or groups, the left, it seems, wants in on it too.
Christopher Hunt and Norma Lewis in the Theatre Calgary – ATP Production of Selma Burke. Photo: Trudie Lee.
JAMES
A script is words on a page. It takes actors to bring the story to life. A director to guide it. A set designer and costume designer and sound designer to build the world of the play. Tell me a little bit about the cast and crew that’s been assembled to tell the story of Selma Burke and what they bring to the story.
MARIA
There are four actors Norma Lewis, Christopher Clare, Heather Pattengale and Christopher Hunt. All very talented Calgarians. Between them they play over 55 characters, art pieces, inanimate objects and even a plaster-of-Paris leg. The director is Delicia Turner Sonnenberg who hails from California and the stage manager is Meredith Johnson. Javier Vilalta is the movement and choreography coordinator. There are of course many other brilliant, artistic crew members who are creating magic in the background to allow this play to shine.
CAROLINE
We are so lucky to have Delicia as our director. Besides a phenomenal cast the designers are great especially Hanne Loosen who has sculped our set and Adejoké Taiwo who sculpted our costumes.
Heather Pattengale, Christopher Hunt, and Norma Lewis in the Theatre Calgary – ATP Production of Selma Burke. Photo: Trudie Lee.
JAMES
Every artist needs their champions. Someone who believes in and loves their work. So, I’m curious to know who has supported you in the making of your art?
MARIA
We have been supported by every artist at Theatre Calgary and especially the Artistic Director of Theatre Calgary Stafford Arima who has taken an artistic risk on this new piece of art.
CAROLINE
No artist is an island. In addition to what Maria said, I think it’s important to recognize the support that we get from friends and family. A play is such an abstract concept before all of the thousands of hours it takes to realize it on the stage. In the early stages it’s very fragile. Every play starts with the thought “Maybe I could write about that….” Every human has the impetus to make art whether it’s a painting, a garden, or a rebuilt motorcycle… it’s the leap into follow-through that’s difficult. I am grateful that my friends and family have supported me for decades through all of the downs, more downs and the occasional up!
JAMES
Having a production on the professional stage is certainly one of those ups and definitely something to celebrate. Who should come to see the play? Is it a play for everyone?
CAROLINE
No, art cannot possibly be for everyone, that’s part of what makes it valuable. Art which is created as mass production is not art. Everyone has their own set of unique tastes in art. This play is for adults who are curious and love to be entertained in the theatre, in the dark with other aficionados. It’s for people who like me get a thrill out of live theatre and love visual art as well.
MARIA
This play is for audiences who enjoy innovative, fascinating theatre with a big dollop of humour mixed in with theatricality.
Lauren Brotman in the Vertigo Theatre Production of The Girl on the Train. Photo Tim Nguyen.
Rachel Watson wakes up one morning from a drunken blackout with a gash across her forehead, her hands covered in blood, and no memory of the night before. Adding to the mystery is the unexplained disappearance of Megan Hipwell a woman whose life Rachel has been obsessing over and observing as she travels by train to and from work every day.
Not content to let the police and Detective Inspector Gaskill handle things Rachel begins her own investigation into the mystery while she desperately tries to remember that night and figure out what happened. Add to the mix Megan’s husband Scott Hipwell and Megan’s therapist Kamal Abdic and then throw in Rachel’s own ex husband Tom Watson and his new wife Anna Watson and there are plenty of secrets to be revealed and several suspects to uncover in this exciting and tension-filled thriller.
Jack Grinhaus Artistic Director Vertigo Theatre Photo by Dahlia Katz
I sat down with Jack Grinhaus the Artistic Director of Vertigo Theatre and the director of The Girl on the Train to talk with him about the show, the importance of trust in the rehearsal hall, and what Vertigo Theatre has planned for their 2024/25 Theatre Season.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, Jack, Vertigo Theatre is producing The Girl on the Train adapted for the stage by Rachel Wagstaff and Duncan Abel based on the best-selling novel by Paula Hawkins and the Dreamworks film which came out in 2016. How did this particular play land a spot in your season?
JACK GRINHAUS
It was a great book that I read and adored a number of years back and the play is written very much in the thriller mode – which I really enjoyed. I love the idea of a strong female lead. I love that there’s a truth about women in the world and how they are perceived. I thought the issues around alcoholism and memory were really intriguing subject matter to deal with. And the play is also highly entertaining and challenging because you’re trying to tell this story that’s flipping through different times and spaces. So, to me, it felt like a story audiences would get behind but it’s also the kind of work I’m interested in which is very much that fast-paced thriller that I think Vertigo’s been moving towards.
JAMES
You talked about the novel and the challenge always is how do you tell the story in a different medium. How does the play convey the story but still manage to capture the essence of the novel?
JACK
The novel takes the view of all three women. So, you have chapters from Anna, Megan, and Rachel and each chapter kind of overlaps. So, you’re seeing all three women through their own interpretation of their experiences whereas the play focuses on Rachel’s story and Megan and Anna’s stories are told through the eyes and the memory of the other people telling their version of events.
So, when Megan is confessing to having an affair to her husband Scott, she’s cruel and vicious and mean about it because of how he remembers it. He remembers it in that way and in this way, Megan becomes more of an enigma. There isn’t one version of Megan. We see four to five different versions of Megan. We see her how her therapist Kamal sees her. How Scott sees her. How Tom sees her. And how Rachel sees her as sort of this fantasy character.
Adaptations are really about finding a way to distill the book’s ethos into the play and finding a way so that the important tenants of the book and the story and characters are retained in a way that makes sure the book’s main thrust is still present and existing but in a format that is contracted and shrunk.
JAMES
The film boasts an outstanding cast including one of my favourite actors Emily Blunt who was up for an Oscar this year for her role in Oppenheimer. Your own cast that you’ve assembled for this production is outstanding with many Vertigo favourites bringing the story to life. You’ve got Lauren Brotman playing Rachel Watson, Filsan Dualeh playing Megan Hipwell, Tyrell Crews as Tom Watson, Stafford Perry as Scott Hipwell, Jamie Konchak as Detective Inspector Gaskill, Mike Tan as Kamal Abdic, and Anna Cummer as Anna Watson. Tell me a little bit about this cast and what qualities each actor brings to their roles.
JACK
Lauren who plays Rachel is my wife and we’ve worked together for a number of years and Lauren has an extraordinary facilitation with emotion. She’s able to capture emotion in multiple ways. She can go from screaming to laughing to crying in the span of a second or two. And she’s able to make the character of Rachel much more affable because the Rachel character if not done well can come across as this irritating self-absorbed narcissist who’s getting involved in something she shouldn’t get into. But because Lauren is capable of giving us a much more authentic and nuanced experience, she brings complexity and truth to Rachel.
When it comes to someone like Ty and Stafford, they’re both well-known in the community and they’re both strong male counterparts to Rachel. And in this story, they have the opportunity to support Rachel but they also both provide a bit of danger. Ty has played the bad guy a lot and he’s the sweetest guy so he can play a sweet guy but then flip that switch.
And Stafford is someone who feels almost like a little boy in a man’s body. And Scott is like that. He’s just this guy who gets thrown into this situation and he says, “You know five minutes ago I was just a guy with a mortgage and a wife and suddenly now I’m a circus attraction.” And he’s not good at that.
Anna Cummer who plays Anna in the play is so wonderfully idiosyncratic in the way that she prepares as a human and as an actor and as an artist. She’s a seasoned actor – a strong actor – who can give us that neurosis, jealousy, and fear that the Anna character has.
Jamie and Mike are just excellent rocks. You know whenever you cast a company of actors you need a couple of rocks in the company who hold down the fort because we have Rachel and Anna and Scott all emotionally up here so the key to an ensemble is to have two people that are emotionally down here.
And then Filsan brings this beautiful youth and enigma. She’s the youngest person in the company. The one with the newer experience in theatre comparative to the other actors who have maybe ten or fifteen years on her. So that innocence is kind of Meghan in a way, right?
So, they each have qualities that are really within the characterization and a lot of that came up in the audition process and right away we went, “Ah, you embody this character in this way as a person naturally.” And then as a group I needed really strong actors because of the nuanced performances necessary for it to be a believable piece of theatre.
JAMES
You mentioned that your wife Lauren is in the show and that you’ve worked with your wife over the years and I’m curious to know how do you enjoy that professional relationship and how do you maintain a successful personal relationship?
JACK
I don’t know how it is for other people, but we’ve just always been very similar on how the art is done. We can battle in the rehearsal hall, and I know that she’s going to try and do the best out of what she can get from the character, and she knows that I’m only going to try and get the best out of her. But at the end of the workday, we go home and leave it alone. And if someone starts talking about the work at home the other will say let’s wait for the rehearsal. And because I think we see art in the same way the end game is always the same and, in that way, it means we’ll never actually fight because we know we’re both trying to reach the same goal.
Filsan Dualeh and Stafford Perry in the Vertigo Theatre Production of The Girl on the Train. Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
From what you’re saying I’m taking that trust is a huge part of your relationship with your wife but let’s expand that out to talk about how important is trust in the rehearsal room and putting on a production.
JACK
It’s critical. I always say as a director I need to win the room in the first five minutes of the first rehearsal. Because if I don’t win the trust of that team – if they don’t believe that I can lead the ship – then I’m going to lose them and once you lose the room it’s very hard to get it back.
And so, I like to come in very well prepared and also come in with a great sensitivity to the understanding of the actor process and let them know that I’m strong and I’m here to support their journey. I’m happy to have discussions about things and if I’m curt or I cut you off it’s only because part of my job is about time management, and I have to keep things moving.
So, I’m very clear upfront about the rules of the game. People know I’m the leader of the team, but it doesn’t mean that your voice is not needed wanted or justified and if there’s time to have conversations we will. So, I’m really clear on my vision and the idea I have for the show so that they can buy in. And the key to building trust in that room is about supporting each other and giving them a place where they feel they can work safely.
JAMES
So, let’s say I have a friend this weekend who says I don’t know what to do and I say there’s Vertigo Theatre’s production The Girl on the Train. What should I tell them? Why should they go see it? What’s the hook?
JACK
I think it’s a gripping, exhilarating, crime thriller experience and we all love that storyline. And because you’re following this journey through the eyes of the unreliable narrator there are red herrings and that’s a bit of a puzzle and it’s also highly theatrical in its presentation. The writing and the acting are naturalistic, but the set and the projections are much more expressionistic and metaphoric, so I think it feels very epic in scope. So, if you want a really great experience, you can come out and have a drink and have a conversation with some of your friends and see something that is not only theatrical it’s cinematic in style and it’s a great thriller with great acting.
Lauren Brotman and Jamie Konchak in the Vertigo Theatre Production of The Girl on the Train. Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
Since you mentioned cinematic a couple of weeks ago the Oscars came out and I’ve seen a few awesome films that were nominated this year like American Fiction which just blew me away and The Holdovers which I loved. And on the weekend, I saw Past Lives and that devastated me. Which totally surprised me. But for me out of the films I’ve seen so far, I think the one I like best is The Holdovers. Did you have a favourite out of the films that you’ve seen and were nominated this year?
JACK
I loved Oppenheimer. I really did. I found myself really drawn to it. I mean I love Christopher Nolan the director and I love the work that he does. The performances weren’t necessarily very deep emotional experiences but I’m a big history buff and I love the storytelling and the way it was shot and even though it was a longer film it didn’t feel like it. It didn’t drag at any point for me. I was in it the whole time. I just wish I’d seen it in the movie theatre and not at home because it feels so epic and I would have loved to have been in the cinema for that one.
JAMES
I saw an interview with Jeffrey Wright who was in American Fiction, and he said when he’s making the work he doesn’t think about awards but afterwards awards bring recognition to the work and if they’re going to hand out awards anyway why not hand them out to him. And that made me laugh. So, I’m curious about your thoughts. We have the Betty’s coming up which are our local theatre awards. What are your thoughts about placing artists in competition with each other and that whole idea of awarding work?
JACK
There are many layers to that question. With film and TV when you win an award it can actually bolster awareness about the film and the work helping it to grow but usually a play is completed by the time it gets an award so I’ve always felt that awards are really valuable for young artists who are coming up and it can give them some stature. It’s kind of like good reviews. Those things can bolster grant writing potential and maybe even opportunities for work and so I’ve always thought awards are really great for young people.
I’m also curious about the idea that does a work of art only become great if it’s publicly lauded or can a work of art still be great even without that? You think of some of the greatest artists in history people hated for years and years and years and then suddenly twenty, thirty, fifty, a hundred years later their works are being lauded.
I think it’s valuable in it’s a way for communities to get together and to at least acknowledge each other and that’s great but we could also just have a big party at the end of the year – a big theatre party and have a nice dinner together and just celebrate each other in a way without necessarily having to say you’re the best of the best you know.
When Connie Chung was interviewing Marlon Brando she said, “You know you’re considered the greatest actor of all time.” And Brando said, “Why do we always have to deal with absolutes? Why does it always have to be somebody is the best? Somebody is the worst. Can’t you just attune yourself to a thing and be one of the people who does that.”
JAMES
So, last year you gave me a little sneak peak about next season, and I was wondering what do you have planned for the 2024/25 theatre season at Vertigo?
JACK
Well, it’s about turning the page and I always build seasons that are feeling the zeitgeist of the day in a way and trying to understand where we are. And I think even though people would argue the pandemic isn’t over we are certainly past the most fearful stage of it where we just didn’t know anything, and we were all just guessing. And I think we’re in a place now where we have a better understanding that helps us reflect on ourselves and look at that time and think about who we are today.
So, for me – turning the page – are stories about people who are doing exactly that. They’re reflecting on the past and figuring out what are we going to do now in the future. And so, all of the plays live in that ethos a bit. And we also want to provide opportunities for audiences to have a great time next year. It’s still a hard time in the real world so why not enjoy the entertainment that we can provide. And we’ve got four premieres this coming year. So, lots of new plays.
We start the season with The Woman in Black which is a ghost story and just closed in the UK after nearly thirty-five years and over 13,000 performances since 1989. And we were the first phone call to say can we have it because they kept it on moratorium for a number of years – not allowing anyone to produce it. And it’s about Arthur Kipps looking back on his past to try and understand what happened to his family. So, starting off with something like that around Halloween is lots of fun.
Then there’s the Canadian premiere of Murder on the Links which is a new version of a Christie Poirot – which everybody loves with six actors playing thirty roles. That’s exciting. It’s nostalgic with the way we love those chestnuts that time of year. It’s the holiday season. People want nostalgia. They want to look back a little bit and see those things and it’s a great story right.
We have the Canadian premiere of Deadly Murder. Deadly Murder is a dark deep psychological thriller. Very uncomfortable. Very cat and mouse. It’s that thing where you lock two or three people in a room and you see what happens. And it’s the old Hitchcock thing. It’s not scary to find out there’s a bomb in the room. It’s scary to find out there’s a bomb in the room that’s going off in five minutes and now what?
Then we have the world premiere of a new play called A Killing at La Cucina which is about a food critic who dies at a restaurant called Fate where one in a thousand people are fed poison and they go there because of that. And we’re introducing this new super detective who might very well be the next Poirot named Lucia Dante who investigates this fast-paced and intense mystery along with her AI colleague Isabella.
And we close the season with the Canadian premiere of The DaVinci Code which you know is nearing a hundred million copies in sale. It’s been about twenty-odd years since the book came out and I don’t think there’s a person who hasn’t at least heard of it. And I think that audiences are looking for things that they can recognize, and I think DaVinci Code is definitely one that is an exciting piece that is adapted by the same people who did The Girl on a Train, so it’s got that fast pace and that excitement in a treasure hunt adventure that goes all across Europe.
How are we going to do that?
We’re not going to have Europe all over the stage but that’s the beauty of theatre we’re going to use the set design and maybe the projections and the sound and the way that the lighting is set to create those environments where the audience goes – Yes you are in a Piazza in Milan. I see it. I see it all. Right. You’re in the Louvre. I totally take it we’re in Paris. So, I think those challenges – you know a big ten-person or eleven-person cast and a big show to crown the season – are the kinds of things Vertigo is excited about moving into.
Morris Ertman Artistic Director of Rosebud Theatre
In the summer of 1973 LaVerne Erickson, a music and visual arts teacher started Rosebud Camp of the Arts as a summer outreach program for Calgary youth. By 1977 the program was developed into Rosebud Fine Arts High School combining academics, arts, and work experience. As part of Rosebud’s centennial in the summer of 1983 the School’s drama department, led by Allan DesNoyers launched the Rosebud Historical Music Theatre. Allen’s play, Commedia Del’ Arte was presented on an outdoor stage along with a country-style buffet and musical entertainment.
From those beginnings Rosebud Theatre now offers five professionally produced shows per year on two stages, in addition to summer concerts and special presentations. The country-style buffet and good old-fashioned Rosebud hospitality has evolved and now includes Chef Mo’s delicious buffet served in the Mercantile building before the show. The shows themselves are performed and produced by a resident company of artists and guest artists and provide apprenticeship opportunities for students from Rosebud School of the Arts, now a post-secondary theatre training school.
Morris Ertman who has been the Artistic Director of Rosebud Theatre for the past twenty years began his career by working extensively in Canada as a director, designer, and playwright. He has been recognized for his work with several nominations and awards including nine Elizabeth Sterling Awards in Edmonton and a Dora Mavor More Award in Toronto. Recent productions for Rosebud Theatre include The Mountain Top, A Christmas Carol, Bright Star, The Trip to Bountiful, The Sound of Music, and All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914. I contacted Morris to talk with him about the early days of his career, his approach to the work, and what makes Rosebud such a special and mystical place where people gather to tell stories are share memories.
LaVerne Erickson who founded Rosebud School of the Arts and Rosebud Theatre.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, I read that you grew up in Millet Alberta. What are some of your memories of your childhood, and I was wondering how do you think family life and growing up in a small town shaped you as a person and an artist.
MORRIS ERTMAN
Oh, boy. Well, lots of things. I actually grew up on the farm outside of Millet Alberta. So, it’s even smaller. Well, my mom loved music and literature and was a theologian in her own right. My dad loved to build things. He would build beautiful furniture. And so, I grew up surrounded by ideas and craft. It was part of the family.
And to this day I still get up between five and five-thirty a.m. because I had to milk the cows every single morning. And so, I guess growing up on the farm taught me a little bit about discipline. It didn’t matter how late you were up the night before. Dad would knock on the door and say, “Time to get up.” And off you went.
And I would credit the absolute freedom of growing up in a rural environment with imaginative freedom. I grew up listening to the radio. Sitting in front of CBC listening to Saturday Afternoon at the Opera and symphony orchestras and imagining stories. I just think that rural environment broke open the imagination, and I met characters growing up that were worthy of a W.O. Mitchell novel. They were fantastical and interesting and nutty and made you curious about who they were.
And, of course, I went to school in small town Alberta and so you know everybody. And lots of people made room for me as a creative when I was a kid. In the church there’d be a play and, “Well, Morris likes to do that. Let’s get him to do it.” And there’s no stakes, right? Nobody’s going to live or die by the play that you do in a church or the play that you do in your high school. And so, I was free to play. Free to figure it out. And if you’re a storyteller, it is not a choice. It’s just the way you think. And you think that way because it’s put in you. It’s innate. And when there’s no stakes you just practice it. You love doing it. I can’t imagine doing anything else.
It’s a Wonderful Life at Rosebud Theatre 2013. Directed by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
Before we talk about the importance of mentorship at Rosebud, I understand that Robin Phillips was one of your mentors. He came from England and was the Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival from 1974 to 1980 and he led the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton between 1990 to 1995. He had a long career including productions on Broadway and in the West End and he was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2005 and in 2010 he received the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement. How did the two of you meet and what sort of role did he and maybe other mentors play in your life and career over the years?
MORRIS
Well, I was a young designer – an Edmonton theatre designer – as well as a director, but I met him as a theatre designer. That’s how he employed me. And I remember Margaret Mooney who basically ran the Citadel and took care of every artistic director that was there called me up one day and she said, “Morris, Robin wants to see you. Don’t screw it up.” And I knew who he was, of course, so I scrambled my portfolio together and I went in to see him and he looked at my work and he went, “Lovely darling.” And then two weeks later he handed me all the biggest shows in the season.
And I found out later that he had seen a couple of things that I had done the year before. So, I wasn’t totally new to him. And he just handed it to me. And then our working relationship grew over a period of about eight years. I designed his first operas for the Canadian Opera Company. He was incredibly generous with the work, and I was known in Edmonton, but I didn’t have a career outside of Edmonton.
And so I credit him with catapulting my career into the national spotlight and getting national work and getting an agent in Toronto and everything else. It was because of Robin. He gave me a leg up. But I also learned by watching him over the years direct shows and watching the magic with which he staged shows and in particular the way he dealt with the chorus in a musical. I probably learned the most about directing by participating in his shows as a designer.
And the other thing about him too was that he was incredibly liberating when it came to creative things. I would go to Margaret’s desk with a white paper model of a set and I’d say, “This is for Robin. It’s a preliminary idea.” I’d come back at the end of the day and there’d be a note. “Lovely, darling.” And off, we went. The biggest discussion we ever had in terms of conceptual discussion around a show was for The Music Man. He walked into the design office and said, “Gingerbread.” And I said, “Clapboard.” And he said, “Lovely, darling.” And that was the longest discussion we had conceptually about any show. And I would deliver the designs and he would jump off of them and make all kinds of magic.
Morris Ertman – Artistic Director of Rosebud Theatre
JAMES
What was the magic he saw in you?
MORRIS
Well, of course, I can’t speak for him, and we never really talked about it, but I am a minimalist. I’m most interested in saying many things with one thing. The brevity of image, the brevity of staging with nothing wasted, I suspect is what we held in common. And that sensibility in terms of design came from another mentor of mine by the name of Brian Currah, who is a West End London designer who actually designed almost all the original Edward Bonds and Harold Pinters in the West End. I didn’t know that at the time.
And I once stood over him watching him draw a design for Harold Pinter’s The Birthday Party. I looked over his shoulder and he’d drawn a beam. And I was in awe. He had succeeded in speaking and telling the whole story of the play in that beam. And I think I was a minimalist already, but those guys helped. They basically confirmed and modelled things that I already had in me and then pushed them further.
And there was W.O. Mitchell. I am going to speak his name too. You know, there’s my musical Tent Meeting, which I co-wrote with Ron Reed, but the very first draft of that play I wrote as a young theatre artist running my own company in Edmonton and I wrote that because I read Who Has Seen the Wind. And that story gave me the permission to put pen to paper. I hadn’t done so before. And since then, I’ve written a lot. Those are some pretty amazing people that lined up.
Tent Meeting with Travis Friesen, Jonathan Bruce, Deborah Buck, Stephen Waldschmidt, Jonathan Bruce, and David Snider. Rosebud Theatre 2007. Directed by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
You know since you mentioned Tent Meeting — it’s a show that you wrote many years ago — I didn’t know it was your first. But I know you’ve done various versions of it and that it’s grown and developed and I wonder what’s it like having a piece of work like that follow you through your career?
MORRIS
It’s a gift. I wrote that first version with a company of actors, some of whom – we still work together, and that was forty years ago. And so, there’s the relationships that were fostered in that development and initial performance process that are enduring. That’s been wonderful.
And then of course, Ron Reed joined me in co-writing the next draft, which is the draft that wound up being the one that was produced in the US and Canada. We just got a lot of productions out of it, and he joined me because he saw the original production and he wanted to do it on the Pacific Theatre stage. And I said, “It’s not good enough. It needs a rewrite. And I don’t have any time to rewrite it.” And Ron said, “Well, I’ll write it with you.” And so, we did. And of course, Ron Reed and I have been colleagues and friends for forty years. So those things – those relational things are part of it.
The other thing is the fact that it is really, really, really a privilege, it’s an honour that something that you penned and pulled out of the ether in one way or another wound up capturing people’s imagination and moving people. You know, it wasn’t just the songs. It was everything. And so somehow a story set in a rural Albertan religious setting made it universal. And I think that’s pretty cool. I think of it as a tribute in lots of ways to the church community I grew up in. I go, this is them. This is their love. These are their songs. So, there are lots of connections.
Morris Ertman Artistic Director of Rosebud Theatre
JAMES
Well, one of the connections is I know it was produced at Rosebud and let’s talk a little bit about that. So, you were having your career and in 1998 I believe you did Cotton Patch Gospel at Rosebud and a couple of other shows and then they offered you the Artistic Directorship in 2001. So, what did you think of Rosebud when you arrived in this little village to direct your first show and here we are now many decades later — what’s it been like to work in Rosebud – to see the growth of the community and the creation of this vibrant theatre season. What sort of journey has that been like?
MORRIS
Well, when I first produced Tent Meeting forty years ago it had its first incarnation in Edmonton and then at the Pumphouse in Calgary. And Allen Desnoyers, who was running Rosebud’s theatre adventures at the time, brought everybody in from Rosebud to see the show at The Pumphouse, and he invited me to come back out to Rosebud and do a workshop on directing.
I did, and while I was there I saw the very first play in the Opera House called When the Sun Meets the Earth, which was his show that he had written. And since, of course, we’ve done many things together. So that was my first introduction to Rosebud. And at that time it was just cool. Great. Wonderful. And after I was onto other things and that was that. But then when they asked me to come and direct Cotton Patch Gospel several things happened.
I met a company of people who were in it. The Rosebud river valley boys were really the core of it. I met a group of people and we would talk late into the night about how theatre mattered and how connecting to an audience mattered. And how having a communal relationship with an audience mattered. And some of those things were new to me because I was a jobber. I was a freelancer. And so, I think those guys woke a hunger in me to be a part of something bigger than just to do a show.
And there was a synergy that we had. And that was cool. And in that show – Cotton Patch Gospel, there was a young student by the name of Nathan Schmidt, who played the fiddle and he had no lines. I built the whole show around him. He didn’t know it. He didn’t have any lines, but I built the whole show around Nathan Schmidt and later on, you know, as we’ve talked about it, he told me he was so mad as a young student that he didn’t have any lines and he had no idea that I saw his magic, right away and I went, “Boy, this guy’s compelling.” And we built the show around him.
So, I guess one of the things I would have to say about Rosebud is that there’s a core company of artists like the core of a band. You know, U2 stuck together for how many years and made music and they were brothers, and in our case we’re brothers and sisters – we’re a band. There’s a shorthand language. We share a lot of the same sort of passions and values. And that’s a privilege to be a part of such a thing.
The Trip to Bountiful with Nathan Schmidt as Ludie, Heather Pattengale as Jessie Mae and Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts. Rosebud Theatre 2023. Directed by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
You know we’re more conscious these days about honouring the Indigenous people who originally made this land their home. And I’ve read things that you’ve written where you’ve spoken about the tradition of storytelling in the valley, and I was wondering how is Rosebud connected to those Indigenous storytellers of the past and how does that legacy of storytelling live on?
MORRIS
It’s more mystical than practical in my mind. I believe the valley is a storied valley. And I’ve always had an admiration for Indigenous culture ever since I was a kid. Growing up on the land like I did, I think I have some understanding of what that means. And I think that in some kind of mystical way when we’re doing plays and telling stories in the Opera House or in the Rosebud Valley – those elders are kind of smiling upon us. Because they were storytellers. And that’s more mystical than it is anything else. And I just feel every which way we can understand our connection to those that came before us makes the work we do richer and more expansive in ways that we probably do not understand.
JAMES
I watched a short documentary about a day in the life of Rosebud by Canadian filmmakers Eric Pauls and Michael Janke. In the film you mention thin places and you mention that’s an idea that comes from Ireland. And you mention also that you love Ireland. So, I’m curious about your connection to Ireland and then how thin places relate to Rosebud and what happens here?
MORRIS
My wife Joanne and I early in our marriage before I was even finished university, we spent some time in England, and of course travelled to Ireland. And we took a fishing boat across to the Aran Islands where Synge had set his play Riders to the Sea. And I was so struck by this windswept rock that I wrote a piece called Sea Liturgy that failed miserably. But it was about the wind and it was about sacred places. And I remember we would go into these ash woods that were sacred druidic woods – and they were so amazing to me – and this is a little mystical because our yard here in Millett where we live is filled with ash trees that we didn’t plant.
And so, Ireland to me wakes magic. And there’s just a belief in the mystical. I think there is an innate understanding of the mystery of life and about being tied to the earth and the sky and everything else that I completely buy into and you get that feeling in Ireland. And so, here’s Rosebud. And the very first time I did Cotton Patch Gospel here it was a really green summer. And I remember looking out over the hills and thinking this feels a lot like Ireland. And then of course I’d read somewhere or heard somebody talk about thin places – that is a place where the membrane between heaven and earth is so thin that you can reach across.
And all of a sudden you feel like you can be in touch with the things that are intangible. I believe that I can be in touch with my parents who have passed on. I believe that the great cloud of witnesses that the apostle Paul talks about is actually true. And I think however we try to articulate it when we live our lives within the context of that mystery, I think that worlds of magic open up to us, worlds of possibility.
The Rosebud Theatre Production of All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 by Peter Rothstein – Ensemble – Kenaniah Love Schnare, Mark Kazakov, Steve Morton, Joel Braun, Tim Dixon, Aaron Krogman, Griffin Cork, Blair Young – Photos by Morris Ertman
JAMES
As a director how do you work with actors and designers and in particular, I’m interested in how you utilize the stage at Rosebud. What’s your process like?
MORRIS
Well, the story is the thing. The actor carries the story. Those are really fundamental things for me, and I never want it to be different than that. I think human beings embodying the story is the most compelling thing on God’s green earth. And everything else that we try is not nearly as compelling as a human being spinning out the story. So, the actor is central to the aesthetic.
And I am informed by the movies. I do not know when I clued into this but you know when you watch a movie you never stop the action to change the scene. Why? Because the whole language of it is all about staying with the emotional journey of the central characters. You never drop the feeling in a good movie. So, there’s nothing extraneous. And I think I’ve spent the better part of my career trying to apply that to the stage. What is the essence of the moment that is happening in front of our eyes and how does it multiply with each beat in the story?
And in my rehearsal halls, I put a lot of emphasis with actors on the fact that everything is real. And that you can’t compartmentalize it. What just happened in the scene before – the residue of that must inform the next scene. And we don’t know where the story is going. We don’t actually know what the play is about. We just know how to begin. And of course, that beginning happens way back early on when a person is talking to designers. And I tend to choose people with an aesthetic that is evocative and simple. And my charge to designers always is – nothing can get in the way of the action of the play. We can never stop it.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
MORRIS (CONT’D)
So, in The Sound of Music all of a sudden, we’re changing Maria’s clothes on stage, and we turn that into story, and it winds up spinning itself out into two changes and finally her changing von Trapp’s tie on stage just before they go off to the concert. And I didn’t know that was going to happen when we began but you enter the thing and then you’re sculpting.
And when I was a designer predominantly, I would go into an art store and I would just walk up and down the aisles. I’d buy handmade papers and things that were just beautiful. And when I think about casting, I’m assembling the most beautiful group of human beings, and I want to find out how they embody the play and how the play is embodied in them. And then I think it just goes deeper.
JAMES
I can attest to watching your shows that they flow, and that the transitions between scenes feels more like a dissolve and don’t interrupt the action. And I think that certainly influences the impact that the story and play has on the audience.
MORRIS
I think so too because the audience is tracking those characters. They’re falling in love with those human beings. They want to know with every emphatic bone in their bodies what’s happening next with those human beings. So, nothing can get in the way of that. And when we’re lucky, when it really, really, really works, the scenery becomes a metaphor, and the scenery just somehow emotionally heightens what is going on in the story.
Rosebud School of the Arts 2023 Production of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams featuring Judite Vold as Laura.
JAMES
So, you’re educating the next group of storytellers and artists and designers and actors. How does mentorship play a role in the development of young artists here in Rosebud?
MORRIS
Well, I think it’s everything. It’s not lost on me that every electrician has to apprentice. Every mechanic has to apprentice. Every guy that takes over his parent’s farm, in a sense, has apprenticed. And so, it just makes sense that you learn the craft from the people who come before you. Of course, that was Rosebud’s philosophy right from the very beginning and I just stepped into it.
And it makes all kinds of sense. It makes sense to me that for the student when a mentor says, “Yeah, you’re on. You’ve got the goods.” Well, that’s a kind of naming. And if I look back on my own career there were many namings that happened. And those namings help you stand in this business.
And so, I think that all those namings that happen with those students when they’re working with Nathan as their acting coach or Paul Muir as an acting coach or Cassia Schramm as a voice coach or working in one of my productions, I think every single one of those namings, those challenges offered and met are what make Rosebud’s training great. And I think it’s what makes confident young people confident enough to step out there and do their thing. They are not just doing it because they made a grade, they’re doing it because people believed in them and not just people but people with credibility believed in them. You know, all of our moms and dads believe in us but in my life it took Robin and others to actually help me stand tall in the work that I do.
Ray Strachan as Martin Luther King Jr. in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Mountaintop. Directed by Morris Ertman.
Ray Strachan and Patricia Cerra in Rosebud Theatre’s The Mountaintop.
Ray Strachan and Patricia Cerra in Rosebud Theatre’s The Mountaintop.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Rosebud Theatre 2022. Directed by Morris Ertman.
Stones In His Pockets – Rosebud Theatre – 2022
Cassia Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Cassia Schmidt and Ian Farthing in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Fiddler on the Roof – Rosebud Theatre – 2008. Directed by Morris Ertman.
Katharine Venour in The Syringa Tree at Rosebud Theatre. Directed by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of Tent Meeting
Rosebud Theatre Production of Tent Meeting
The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain. Adapted for the stage by Heather Pattengale and Morris Ertman.
The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain. Adapted for the stage by Heather Pattengale and Morris Ertman.
The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain. Adapted for the stage by Heather Pattengale and Morris Ertman.
Executive Director Paul Muir and Morris Ertman Artistic Director of Rosebud Theatre
JAMES
I’m wondering when people come out to Rosebud and they’ve enjoyed a meal – they’ve seen a show – they’ve shared in that community experience what is it you hope audiences take away with them when they’ve experienced as you have put it – “good old fashioned emotional storytelling.”
MORRIS
Well, number one, I hope they are emotionally impacted. Either they are bawling, or they can’t stop giggling, or they can’t stop thinking about a moment in the play. We win if they can drive home and not dismiss the thing as ho-hum. Then we win. We win and when I say we I mean the audience and us win. And when an audience watches Nathan Schmidt grow from a student into a fine accomplished actor and it happens in front of their eyes – they know him – they know Cassia – they know Glenda – they know these people – I think that is invaluable. And the richer that relationship can be, the more it feels like family when people come into the valley and when they leave.
And man, there’s no greater pleasure than somebody coming up to me and saying you know when you did that play or that show and there was a moment where this happened and I just can’t forget about it – that’s it – that’s the reason for being right there. Because ultimately, I believe that when people are opened up emotionally, it’s a doorway to the mystic. I think when people are impacted by a story that actually reaches deep and by the way, it can reach deep by making you laugh your silly head off, but when it reaches deep into you and elicits a response, I actually think it changes your nature. Just like any dramatic experience in life does. And all we’re doing is we’re creating artificial experiences – stories that hopefully go as deep and as rich as life itself.
On September 16th, 2023, friends, family, and members of the Alberta arts community gathered in Medicine Hat to celebrate this year’s recipients of The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards. This year’s recipients include playwright and theatre artist Mieko Ouchi, film and theatre performer Michelle Thrush, and film animators Wendy Tilby & Amanda Forbis.
Chair of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Arlene Strom said, “Albertans can be proud of the contributions of these Distinguished Artists who have pushed the boundaries of art to reflect indigenous identity and expression, present a more inclusive and diverse view of Alberta’s history, and highlight the art of film animation in Alberta and worldwide. Each has contributed immeasurably to the development of the province’s artists, arts communities and expanding art disciplines.”
L to R: Wendy Tilby, Amanda Forbis, Her Honour Salma Lakhani, Mieko Ouchi, Michelle Thrush, Photo Credit Randy Feere
Her Honour, the Honourable Salma Lakhani, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta said, “The women receiving the Distinguished Artist Award this year have offered important contributions to the arts in Canada. We have all been granted the opportunity, through their work, to learn and grow in our understanding of the human condition. Artists such as these are essential to the lifeblood of our communities, and we are truly fortunate to have them as cultural leaders in their respective disciplines, in our province and our country as a whole.”
I contacted Michelle Thrush as well as Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis to talk with them about their work and creative process. You can read those interviews by following the links above. I also spoke with Mieko Ouchi who is a theatre and film director, screenwriter, dramaturg, playwright and a passionate champion for new play development. She is also a fierce advocate for accessibility, inclusivity, diversity and equity across all ranges of artistic output. In our conversation we talked about her approach to storytelling, how she works as a dramaturge to help other artists bring their work to the stage, and what it means to be recognized for her work by receiving The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award.
JAMES HUTCHISON
You have a big body of work now and I wonder when you look back at that has your approach to telling stories grown and changed over the years?
MIEKO OUCHI
I think as an artist you do grow and change as you write more, and you create more, but I also feel like there’s a heart that always remains the same. And maybe this was best illustrated quite a few years ago when Red Deer College commissioned me to write a play for a group of students. I pitched a couple of new ideas and then I said, “There’s this play that I started writing in grade eleven about the DaDa Art movement and I did some workshops with some professional theatres, but it was never finished, and I’d love to go back and finish that play as an adult.” And that was the project they chose.
And I went back and read this draft of the play that I’d written when I was seventeen and the wild thing is there were lots of things obviously, I had to change and fix but there was a way of writing – of turning a phrase – an approach to text – that remains to this day – and I recognized my voice in that script.
And right now the thing I feel like I’m growing in most is learning to build empathy for all my characters, and I think my goal is continually to make them more than 2D characters and to make them very complex people that actors will have to really dig into and figure out and audiences will too. Because to me those are the most interesting characters for myself as an audience member.
The Citadel Theatre’s production of The Silver Arrow (2018) written by Mieko Ouchi and featuring Natasha Mumba, April Banigan and Lara Arabian. Photo by David Cooper
JAMES
I think those types of characters are the most relatable because they are the most human because we are so complex and grey. And how often have we done something and then said to ourselves, “That’s so unlike me. Why did I do that?”
MIEKO
That’s right. We recognize that people don’t fit neatly into boxes – that they do things impulsively. They do things against their better judgment or in spite of themselves all the time. And I think theatre is such a beautiful place to explore those impulses.
JAMES
As a playwright you bring new works to life, but you also work as a dramaturge and director assisting other artists to bring their work to the stage. What are some of the important elements you feel are needed to help workshop and develop a new play?
MIEKO
I really see my job in those roles as being like a doula or a midwife. So, you’re in the room. You’re highly connected to the event – to the people – but you’re also a little bit separate and you’re there to help, encourage, and support the person who is giving birth to the new play.
So, I feel like I’m there as an encourager. I’m there as someone with a lot of experience to say, “Here are some things I’ve noticed in the past when we’ve made these kinds of theatrical decisions.” You know someone who knows a little bit more about technical theatre and how theatre is put together and can help playwrights who might not have a background in that. I’m really kind of a sounding board and another set of eyes to say, “I really noticed this. Did you notice that?” Or “This really landed on me this way today.” Just some information for the playwright to take in.
Playwright/performer Mieko Ouchi in a reading of Hiro Kanagawa’s ‘Forgiveness’ at the 2019 Banff Playwrights Lab. Photo by Jessica Wittman.
I always think it’s not up to me to fix the play. I hate the word fixing plays because the play’s not broken. We’re just continually digging out new layers and things that we want to explore. And it’s not for me to write the play. I’m there to help the playwright find the best form of the play that they can find and that they can write.
And also, in that sense of a doula I want the experience to be a positive one. So, I think I’m also there to make sure the process is a safe and comfortable and a pleasurable experience to go through because it can be stressful. Just like birth. You’re there to make it be the best and most happy place it can be.
JAMES
You mentioned creating a safe space and I understand that but sometimes we’re dealing with plays that are asking difficult and complex questions and so we have to be open to uncomfortable discussions and exploring possibilities. How do you create a room that is open to discussion and yet is respectful and safe?
MIEKO
I think transparency is really helpful. Just being very transparent about those things and talking about them in advance and to say, “You know we’re coming up on this scene that’s really challenging and there’s a lot of content in there that might challenge us in personal ways.” So, you just give people a heads up and say, “If this brings up feelings and thoughts that are unexpected or that take over in a way that you weren’t hoping they would – just come and let me know and we can take a break.” Everyone has a heads up and there’s an open conversation.
And I think there are other artists now that we can invite into the room. There are fight choreographers. There are intimacy co-ordinators. And there are other people we can bring in who have the tools to help us. So, I think that’s been a really great evolution and it has made those things less like – let’s wing it and hope for the best to having a bit more structure and having conversations around it. I find when people have that space then things stay nice and calm, and we figure it out step by step, and everybody feels more comfortable.
JAMES
You’ve talked about your play The Red Priest and you’ve called it a very transformational experience. And I understand that it came into being because of Catalyst Theatre and they had commissioned some writers – you among them – to write short six-minute pieces. And you wrote something called Eight Ways to Say Goodbye. And afterwards you started working on expanding it because it had a great response.
And then Ron Jenkins made you playwright in residence – even though you’d never actually written a finished play – because he believed in you. And you ended up finishing the play, and it was nominated for a Governor General Award, and it won the Carol Bolt Award for Drama from The Playwrights Guild of Canada, and if you’re going to write a first play that’s a pretty auspicious beginning. So how did writing that play, winning that recognition, and having people believe in you transform your view of yourself as an artist?
Ashley Wright and Jamie Konchak in the ATP 2014 Production of The Red Priest (Eight Ways to Say Goodbye) by Mieko Ouchi. Photo Leah Hennel Calgary Herald
MIEKO
Well, I think one of the key things is I was so extraordinarily lucky to have Ron recognize me so early as a writer and to encourage me before I had that belief in myself. He believed in me before I believed in me. And there was something about the passion that he brought by saying, “I know you can do this. You have a voice. You just have to be brave enough to let it out,” that got me over the finish line.
He encouraged me to take a risk because it was a very personal story. From the outside you won’t know that. But I’d just gone through a really really heartbreaking relationship breakup in my life and that is very much imbued in the play even though the play’s not in any way autobiographical. A lot of the emotional feelings of what happened are in that play. He encouraged me to let that be there. And I think the lesson that I learned from that play with the recognition that it received was that the moments that people all brought to me afterwards – like audience members would say, “Oh, this moment is the moment that meant the most to me,” were all things that were true. They were emotionally true. There was a core of it that had happened to me, and I was revealing something very very honest. And I think to learn that lesson that early as a writer was an incredible gift because it taught me that when I was truthful people connected.
JAMES
How much do you think drama then is exploring our emotional response to the world?
MIEKO
I think it’s everything. I think that’s exactly what it is. Theatre just gives us this incredible chance to explore feelings that you might not have fully explored in real life where we don’t have a chance to say that to our parent or to our partner or to our child, but on stage we can kind of enact that.
Augusto Boal said, “Theatre is a rehearsal for change.” And I believe that too. It’s a chance to try out things that haven’t happened yet or to say, “What would happen if I put this scenario into a play?” So, for me, it’s been an incredible chance to explore not necessarily autobiographical things but emotionally things that I’ve been through or are thinking about.
JAMES
And then people who have experienced that same emotion even though the context might be different can relate to it.
MIEKO
Yeah.
JAMES
I’ve heard other artists talk about the more specific you make it the more universal it becomes.
MIEKO
One hundred percent. I’ve felt that totally. I really did feel that. And it was very exciting because at the same time that I was having this experience I was also working as a filmmaker and making documentaries. Initially, they were about my family and very biographical and even autobiographical types of projects. And so, I think I was in a world where I was trying to find truth. Whatever, that meant to me and to bring that forward. And that recognition really said, “You’re on the right track. Be brave. You’re onto something. Just keep going.”
The Citadel Theatre’s production of The Silver Arrow (2018) written by Mieko Ouchi. Photo by David Cooper
JAMES
You mentioned you went back to a play you wrote when you were seventeen and it seems to me all the writers I know have a drawer full of unfinished work. Sometimes we hit a wall and other projects become priorities and I’m curious about those unfinished projects. Do they go quietly into the drawer? Do they protest? Do they whisper to you? Do they remain dormant? When do you open that drawer and take them out and look at them again and work on them?
MIEKO
Those dormant plays – they’re just kind of asleep right now. They’re having a long nap – at the moment. Yeah, I have a couple. And I think they have to find their right time where I feel mentally ready to go back and explore them.
Meilie Ng as Lily in the 2011 ATP Production of Nisei Blue by Miecho Ouchi.
I have a project that premiered at ATP called Nisei Blue which was a noir detective story. And I felt like I didn’t quite get to the heart of it by the end of that production. It was a very fraught time because my father had just passed away before we started rehearsals. And my mind wasn’t fully hitting on all cylinders, and I wasn’t able to get to the heart of it because of everything going on in my life. So, now I’ve actually started a process of adapting that play into a novel and I feel like I am very slowly archaeologically getting there through a different medium. Sometimes it’s about digging into a play at a different time theatrically or maybe it’s approaching it through a different entry point.
JAMES
So now you’re exploring writing a novel — how is that? Fun? Exciting? What have you learned? Where are you at with that?
MIEKO
Oh, my gosh. So, when I started it was terrifying but also it was weirdly exciting because I thought, “I don’t know anything about this. So, who cares? Throw all the rules out the window. I don’t feel beholden to any rules or any lessons because I haven’t had any yet other than being an avid reader and knowing what I like to read. I don’t know any of the things that we’re supposed to know as a novelist. So, I’m just going to start writing the story from my heart — the way I kind of wrote The Red Priest” And there’s just something exciting to be at the very beginning of a learning process. To be at the bottom of this giant mountain looking up at the peaks and the great writers.
And I’m really intrigued by the interior voice. That’s something this novel has let me dig into with this character that I was never able to share with the audience in a stage production. I think my main character in Nisei Blue is a character with a really rich interior world and so writing a novel has really opened up the story for me because I’m able to share what’s running through his mind. And that’s been exciting. That’s been a totally fresh take on it. And it feels right. It feels like a good way to tell the story.
The Citadel Theatre’s production of Pride and Prejudice (2023), directed by Mieko Ouchi and featuring Morgan Yamada, Nadien Chu, Ben Elliott, Beth Graham and Gianna Vacirca. Photo by Nanc Price.
JAMES
This year there’s been a lot of chat about artificial intelligence, and I believe we’re on the edge of a really big disruption in science, business, and technology. And I don’t know what that looks like, and I don’t know if anyone really does but as an artist I was curious about your thoughts about AI and what sort of impact you think – positive or negative – it might have on the arts and the work you create.
MIEKO
Well, I think as a writer there’s a part of it where my heart just sinks at the thought of it. Because I believe in that human journey of struggling to find the path through writing and to find the path to expression. And to allow a computer-generated draft to be hacked out kind of hurts my soul a little bit as a writer, to be honest. But I suppose there might be some places where it is useful. There’s just something to me about the struggle to figure out the path of the story or the play that’s essential to its final shape and its humanity. And I know that some of the things that I’ve seen that have been AI generated that have been in the voice of Chekov or Shakespeare are kind of like gobbledegook.
As writers, we sometimes have this filler dialogue when we’re struggling and you have one person say, “Hello.” And the other person says, “Hi. Why are you looking at me that way?” And they say, “I don’t know. Why are you looking at me that way?” And nothing’s actually happening. We’re just going back and forth. It’s like we’re getting the rusty water out through the pipes until the clear water comes through and you get to the heart of a scene. And I sometimes feel that AI writing is a bit like that rusty water. It’s filler. It doesn’t really have that human drive and that soul that we need for writing to be compelling.
JAMES
There you go. Art is the exploration of the human soul.
MIEKO
That’s great. I love that.
Medal Presentation L to R: Arlene Strom, Chair Lg Arts Awards Foundation Board, Distinguished Artist Mieko Ouchi, Her Honour Salma Lakhani, Photo Credit Randy Feere
JAMES
So, my last question is about you receiving the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award and I was wondering what the actual evening was like for you where everyone gathered to honour the recipients and what does it mean to you as an artist to be recognized for your work and receive a Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award?
MIEKO
Well, it was such a surprise to find out I was receiving the award. It was really just a kind of a heart-stopping moment to hear Kathy Classen on the other end of the phone when she called and told me. I couldn’t quite believe it. And going to Medicine Hat was a wonderful experience.
All of the recipients were able to bring friends and family members along and it really felt like a family kind of weekend. And they rolled out the red carpet for us. They put on this beautiful art festival at the centre with kids doing art. We had our event and then we had a street party with a concert headed up by none other than Hawksley Workman who I worked with on a production of my play The Silver Arrow. He wrote the music for it at the Citadel. They didn’t know that when they set it up but to have Hawksley there was like the cherry on top of the cake.
That night felt like such a beautiful recognition of Alberta and all the people who have supported these distinguished artists to help them get to where they are. So many people talked about the mentors they had along the way. The people who supported them. Fellow artists. Community members. Teachers. Family members. So, it really did feel like a celebration of all that it is to be an Alberta artist and to be someone that has chosen to come here and work or to remain here and work and there’s just something so beautiful about having that connection to Alberta.
L to R: Clint Lawrence, Mieko Ouchi, Michelle Thrush, Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby, Photo Credit Randy Feere
And everybody spoke about that and I think back to my earliest days being a student at Artstrek and having my first tiny little play workshopped at ATP and having Ronnie Burkett as my set designer and Kathy Eberle my high school drama teacher helping me submit my play for that program. And you know Marilyn Potts has been a supporter since way back and then you know Bob White and Dianne Goodman – and all the folks at ATP – John Murrell and so many other folks in this province.
And then all the folks when I came to Edmonton who supported me. You know Stephen Heatley gave me my first summer job at Theatre Network as a summer student. Ron Jenkins supporting me as a first-time playwright and as a playwright in residence. And then all the way up to now working here at the Citadel with Daryl Cloran as his Associate Artistic Director and his support of me and my writing but also my directing on A-House stages.
He gave me my first A-House directing job and he gave me my first commission for an A-House play with Silver Arrow. You really need those folks encouraging you and, in your corner, making opportunities for you to help you find your path.
And so now I get to have that reversed a little bit and in my job at the Citadel I get to support emerging artists and help them get their first assistant directing job or be a part of the playwright’s lab and help them work on their new plays, and I’m really enjoying being able to pass it along and being an opportunity maker for other artists.
On September 16th, 2023, friends, family, and members of the Alberta arts community gathered in Medicine Hat to celebrate this year’s recipients of The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards. This year’s recipients include playwright and theatre artist Mieko Ouchi, film and theatre performer Michelle Thrush and film animators Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby.
Chair of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Arlene Strom said, “Albertans can be proud of the contributions of these Distinguished Artists who have pushed the boundaries of art to reflect indigenous identity and expression, present a more inclusive and diverse view of Alberta’s history, and highlight the art of film animation in Alberta and worldwide. Each has contributed immeasurably to the development of the province’s artists, arts communities and expanding art disciplines.”
L to R: Clint Lawrence, Mieko Ouchi, Michelle Thrush, Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby, Photo Credit Randy Feere
Her Honour, the Honourable Salma Lakhani, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta said, “The women receiving the Distinguished Artist Award this year have offered important contributions to the arts in Canada. We have all been granted the opportunity, through their work, to learn and grow in our understanding of the human condition. Artists such as these are essential to the lifeblood of our communities, and we are truly fortunate to have them as cultural leaders in their respective disciplines, in our province and our country as a whole.”
I contacted Michelle Thrush and Mieko Ouchi to talk with them about their work and creative process. You can read those interviews by following the links above. I also spoke with Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis who are celebrated Oscar nominated and award-winning contributors to the art of film animation. Their unique visual style has captured the hearts and imaginations of audiences worldwide in ground-breaking short films that explore themes of human connection, environmentalism, and the fragility of life. In our conversation we talked about how their work has evolved over the years, the relationship between the artist and the audience, and what it means to be recognized for their work by receiving The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award.
JAMES HUTCHISON
After thirty-plus years you have created a body of work including the three films you’ve produced together and those are:
When the Day Breaks nominated for an Oscar in 1999 and is a story about a pig living in a large city who witnesses the accidental death of a stranger.
Wild Life which was nominated for an Oscar in 2012 and tells the story about a young remittance man sent from England to Alberta to try ranching in 1909 and who is not in any way prepared for the harsh conditions of prairie life he encounters.
And The Flying Sailor which was up for an Oscar this year and is inspired by the true story of Charles Mayers a sailor who was blown two kilometres through the air and landed naked but alive after the Halifax explosion on December 6, 1917.
So, I’m wondering how have the types of stories and themes you’re interested in evolved over the years. What kind of stories did you tell when you began your careers and what type of stories are you telling now, and do you see any sort of path from that early work to the work you’re doing now?
WENDY TILBY
Well, it’s funny, having completed our third film together we’re only now realizing that they’re really all the same. They have similar themes. Preoccupations. When we’re coming up with an idea we’re not thinking, “Oh, yes – let’s do something along the same lines of the previous one.” In fact, we actually specifically don’t do that. But we have noted, and other people point out, that there is a kind of a common thread that I suppose could be described as connectedness. That’s one theme that keeps emerging. And we do seem to touch on death a lot. We’re not obsessed with death, but death is an element of each of the three films and it seems to be a way to talk about life, or aspects of life. If you look at When the Day Breaks, Wildlife, and The Flying Sailor that idea has just become a little more distilled over the years.
When the Day Breaks Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby
AMANDA FORBIS
I think death is a part of every one of them. In The Day Breaks it was primarily about the unseen and often unappreciated ways in which we’re connected to others. In Wild Life it was more about what happens when that connection is severed. And in The Flying Sailor he seems to me to be going solo. He may be reviewing his life and reviewing his connections but he’s on his own and I’m reminded of the line, “You’re born alone, you live alone, and you die alone.” It’s a very bleak statement but we hope that The Sailor isn’t as bleak as that.
WENDY
The explosion and the near-death experience of the sailor is a way for us to explore, in a nutshell, who he was – which is what often happens in near-death experiences. There is a review of life that many people have written about and so we wanted to get at that question – what is life? Is it our physical selves? We’re made up of bones and cells and vessels, but really what our lives are is a collection of experiences and connections and relationships and memories, all encapsulated in this bag of flesh.
The Flying Sailor Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby
JAMES
You’re talking about connections and earlier today I was thinking about how social media has changed the way we connect to the world just as an individual experience. Have you been pondering social media and these connections between people and has that interested you in any way as something you want to explore in your work?
AMANDA
It certainly interests us on a personal level and on how you navigate it because it changes all the ground rules. I’ll just speak for myself. I sometimes say extremely rude things about other drivers from the safety of my own car, and what social media does is it provides us all with our own cars and everybody feels free to say horrible things to other people.
WENDY
Yes, the trolls come out.
AMANDA
But on the other hand, it is a fantastic connection tool. Even at my darkest moments on Facebook I still like seeing my cousin Barbara on her recumbent cycling trips in Oregon. And so just like every single human endeavour it’s a huge mixed bag. But as to whether that will filter its way into our work remains to be seen.
WENDY
Obviously, we contemplate it in a way that everybody does. We marvel at it and how we are able to connect with people virtually. In our film When the Day Breaks – which was made in the late 90s – connectedness is illustrated by way of the plumbing and wires, the telephone and subway – the vessels that literally connect us in cities. That all looks very quaint now.
When the Day Breaks Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby
AMANDA
I never thought of that but it’s true. It looks totally quaint.
WENDY
How much has changed in a couple of decades is remarkable.
JAMES
I think about the telephone a lot because I remember the family phone. And so the family phone was in the kitchen, and people would call the family. So, I would end up talking to my aunts and my parent’s friends, and when my friends would call my parents would end up talking to my friends. It was more of a community and you touched base with many different people involved with the family because it was a family phone. And that has gone away. Now we have our individual phones and I’ve lost all those unexpected connections to people that just don’t happen anymore.
WENDY
We even had a party line for a while.
AMANDA
Yeah, a party line. That’s a connection you don’t want. It is weird how we’re simultaneously much more disconnected to people and much more connected to them.
The Flying Sailor Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby
JAMES
My next question was about how people access your work now. We have YouTube we have Vimeo we have all these ways for me to access stuff through the internet on my desktop on my home TV. Not that long ago about the only way to see your work was if they ran it before a movie or you sought out the NFB library. Do you think that connection has changed the relationship between the filmmaker, the product, and the audience?
AMANDA
Well, yes. Short NFB films used to seem more precious. Now content feels really disposable. How much do they upload on YouTube every day — it’s astonishing. When we started out you could work in the short-animated film area and if you made a good film it would have a shelf life of at least forty years, and it would be in the pantheon of NFB films, and I’m not even sure that pantheon really exists anymore. So that’s one way in which it’s changed.
And people used to ask, “How do we see your work?” And we’d say, “You can go to the library or you can go to the NFB library or if you’re really lucky you might be able to see it at a theatre or on TV.” And so, it’s really lovely to be able to just direct people straight to your work. And also to have our film, The Flying Sailor, on The New Yorker site brought us a massive audience we hadn’t had before.
So, there are tremendous advantages like that, but then there’s the horrible prospect of people watching the film on their phone. I don’t think there’s any filmmaker that likes to see that happen. A couple of times we’ve had people say. “Oh yeah, I watched it on my phone.” And they don’t say much about it – and then if they happen to see it in a big theatre they’re much more profoundly affected. It’s a totally different experience.
The Flying Sailor Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby
WENDY
And we really struggled with that, particularly with The Flying Sailor, because the sound was mixed in a new technology called Atmos, which is a souped-up Dolby with a lot of speakers. We’re not really fans of a lot of the gimmicks with sound but in this case when you experienced the film in a theatre with Atmos in just the right circumstances, it was fantastic. You felt the sound of the explosion viscerally and not in a gimmicky way. We’ve had to accept that very few people are going to see it that way.
JAMES
So, in theatre ten-minute plays are very popular. And I think ten minutes as a platform lets you break some conventions and look at stories in different ways and I’m wondering in what ways do you think the short film format allows you to explore things differently – to look at different subjects – and topics and to examine story.
WENDY
I think the length is appealing to us as animators because of the way we work. We’re like a little cottage industry. We like to do everything ourselves and there’s a handcrafted quality to what we do. The more people you get involved the more diluted that process is and it’s hard to find ten people to paint the way we paint or to draw the way we draw. And if more people are involved it becomes an assembly line. Animation, no matter how you do it, is onerous – it’s tedious – and it’s going to require a lot of hands the longer it gets. So, feature length animation always looks a little watered down in terms of the technique.
AMANDA
Well not always. It depends on who’s doing it.
WENDY
Well, they’re less idiosyncratic because it’s an assembly line. And also the budgets are such that to get the money needed to make a feature it has to be a money-maker. And what we do at the Film Board is not reliant on it making money. We’re making films as art and there’s no expectation it’s going to turn a profit. And so as a filmmaker and as an artist that’s a…
AMANDA
…gift…
WENDY
… and greatly appealing. So, nobody’s going to be after us about it being popular in that sense. And we like the concision. It’s like a poem or a short story. Everything we put in there is in there is there for a reason because it’s so much work. We wouldn’t put it in there if it wasn’t furthering our story. We’re striving to convey character in as few strokes as possible and that’s challenging and that’s interesting to us.
Wild Life Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby
AMANDA
You come up with an idea for a shot and it has to convey a number of things. You’re trying to pack as much into every shot as you can and then you tweak it so it goes in a slightly different direction and it says more. And then you throw it out. Then you put it back in again. It’s a bit of a puzzle. A creative puzzle. And it’s a lot of fun and that’s something that I don’t think the long form does in the same way.
And as you say it frees you up from conventional dramatic structure. You don’t necessarily have to have a dramatic arc and a climax three-quarters of the way through and then have the character be changed and be a new person at the end of the story. You don’t have to follow those conventional structures because you’re not holding the audience that long, so we’re big fans of the short structure.
WENDY
Short animation is also is also a very rich form of expression. If you go to an animation festival and you see an evening of animation with one film after another it’s almost too much. It’s like too many candies at once because each one is so rich.
Wild Life Amanda Forbis & Wendy Tilby
JAMES
I’m curious about your thoughts right now in regard to artificial intelligence. We’re just on the cusp of something changing and I’m not looking for any definite answers. But in the six months, it’s just been in the conversation. There are good things and bad things about it just like you mentioned before with social media. What are some of your general thoughts about AI and how do you feel it’s going to influence your work and the future of creation?
WENDY
A friend of ours, Jay Ingram, just published a book called The Future of Us. He was writing about AI just as ChatGPT was coming out – along with other major developments – and he kept having to update it. It was frustrating because even by the publication date the landscape was still changing. And so, it’s one of those things that’s almost impossible to talk about because the ground is shifting beneath our feet.
In our field people are nervous about it. And I think it’s actually more nerve-wracking when you think about it in the context of news and people imitating other people’s likeness or voice. And we work in advertising too and that’s a whole other ball game. I think in advertising it’s going to put a lot of people out of work, particularly in storyboarding or visualizing.
It’s actually a helpful tool because you can ask it to visualize a scene in three dimensions which is helpful for storyboarding and blocking the action. Whether it will replace what we’re doing remains to be seen, but what we’re doing is so specifically aimed at something that’s not AI that I hope that distinction will continue to be appreciated. But I don’t know. It is a little bit frightening and intriguing at the same time.
AMANDA
I think one of the things that bothers me is that since 1830 or whatever we’ve been looking at the extinction of craft. People who craft. Craftsmen. And what Wendy was saying is the people who storyboard and who do previsualization – these people who are deeply committed to that part of filmmaking – they’re out of a job. And that’s regrettable because humans are built to craft, and craftspeople always bring a depth to what they’re doing that cannot be imitated – in the same way that a handmade box is a completely different thing than a box that’s slammed together in a factory.
And then if you consider that we don’t even really understand how AI learns at this point and how it’s producing what it does we can’t really know where it’s going to end or if it’s going to end. And that’s pretty alarming.
So, the thing I have to lean on as an artist and I’m talking about the realm of really great art – that I’m not going to lay claim to – but a really great piece of art takes you somewhere that you didn’t see coming, or makes a point to you that you understand but it comes from way back in the depths of your brain and you recognize the truth of it. I would like to believe that’s beyond AI.
So, I trotted that thought out to our friend Jay and Jay said, “Oh, bullshit.” (laughs) He said, “It’ll get there.” And then I thought, “Well he’s not an artist. I don’t know if he necessarily feels that in the same way as I do.”
WENDY
Well, it brings up so many bigger questions about consciousness and what it is to be human and the big question of whether or not machines will ever get there. We’ve played a little bit with Midjourney and it’s a program where you can tell it to give you an image of a man running down a hallway…
AMANDA
…in the style of Picasso…
WENDY
…carrying a briefcase and see what comes up. And it’s very good at ultra-realism and it’s astonishing really what it does but it’s quite boring. A lot of people would be seduced by it and enraptured by the images that it gives you. We didn’t really like them but we were impressed by it that’s for sure.
L to R: Arlene Strom, Chair Lg Arts Awards Foundation Board, Distinguished Artists Amanda Forbis, Wendy Tilby, Her Honour Salma Lakhani, Photo Credit Randy Feere
JAMES
You’re one of this year’s recipients of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards and so what was that evening like – you know – where everyone gathered to honour the recipients? What sort of weekend was it like and what does it mean to be recognized for your work by receiving that award?
AMANDA
The evening itself was – what’s the right word – it was elegant. It was really a wonderful event, and everybody involved with it did such a great job, and Salma Lakhani was fantastic. I don’t know how to get past saying all these effusive things, but it was a beautiful evening, and it was actually a genuine honour to be there. The whole weekend was really fun.
WENDY
And two dear friends of ours were also there. Part of the award is you are able to honour one other artist. We actually sneaked in with two because there are two of us after all. And they were there and that made it especially fun. It was more fun than the Oscars.
AMANDA
It was more meaningful than the Oscars.
WENDY
And much less stress.
AMANDA
And I don’t think we’ve necessarily been on Alberta’s radar (if I can even say a strange thing like that) so to get that honour at a provincial level and to be declared someone of note in the Alberta Arts scene felt pretty great. Of course, at the Oscars, you talk to lots of people who have interesting things to say about your work and care very deeply about animation, but really that kind of all gets swept aside for the grand pageant and the promotion. But to be nominated for the LG award by somebody in the Arts community and then have it juried by the Arts community is very meaningful. It’s much more meaningful than measuring success by whether or not our film was on a billboard on Sunset Boulevard.
On September 16th, 2023, friends, family, and members of the Alberta arts community gathered in Medicine Hat to celebrate this year’s recipients of The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Distinguished Artist Awards. This year’s recipients include playwright and theatre artist Mieko Ouchi, film and theatre performer Michelle Thrush and film animators Wendy Tilby & Amanda Forbis.
Chair of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards Arlene Strom said, “Albertans can be proud of the contributions of these Distinguished Artists who have pushed the boundaries of art to reflect Indigenous identity and expression, present a more inclusive and diverse view of Alberta’s history, and highlight the art of film animation in Alberta and worldwide. Each has contributed immeasurably to the development of the province’s artists, arts communities and expanding art disciplines.”
L to R, Arlene Strom, Chair LG Arts Awards Foundation Board, Wendy Tilby, Amanda Forbes, Her Honour Salma Lakhani, Mieko Ouchi, Michelle Thrush, Photo credit Randy Feere
Her Honour, the Honourable Salma Lakhani, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta said, “The women receiving the Distinguished Artist Award this year have offered important contributions to the arts in Canada. We have all been granted the opportunity, through their work, to learn and grow in our understanding of the human condition. Artists such as these are essential to the lifeblood of our communities, and we are truly fortunate to have them as cultural leaders in their respective disciplines, in our province and our country as a whole.”
I contacted Mieko Ouchi as well as Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis to talk with them about their work and creative process. You can read those interviews by following the links above. I also spoke with Nehiyaw performing artist Michelle Thrush a multiple award-winning actor whose acting credits include Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, North of 60, Blackstone, Prey, and Bones of Crows. She is also a director, producer, community builder, and one of the founding members and current Artistic Director of the ground-breaking Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society. In our conversation we talked about her career, about her one-woman show Inner Elder, and what it means to be recognized for her work by receiving The Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Award.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Michelle, when you look back over the course of your career and the body of your work as an artist in what ways has it been an intentional journey and in what ways has it been more a road of discovery?
MICHELLE THRUSH
That’s an interesting question because back when I was a kid there were not Indigenous people on television or anywhere really. We weren’t a part of the shows I watched like Little House on the Prairie when I was a kid or if we were it was Italians playing us. It was something that wasn’t in our psyche and so in my little brown girl brain I never thought that I could be an actress or work in the arts.
But I grew up loving pretending and loving imagination and I was always trying to get my friends together and direct shows and put on plays. And then when I was sixteen or seventeen, I met a man named Gordon Tootoosis who along with Tantoo Cardinal, Gary Farmer, Grahame Greene, Augee Schellenberg, Margo Kane, and of course Chief Dan George were all doing little bit roles here and there on film and that was the beginning for Indigenous people. I’d see them and think whoa there’s a real native person and they’d have a line in a movie like Running Brave where Robbie Benson who is Jewish played the actual star of Running Brave who was a Lakota.
And Gordon who was just a beautiful indigenous actor really encouraged me to follow my dreams and he said, “Michelle it’s important that we tell our stories from a place of honesty.” My big goal in life at that time was to be a social worker. And I ended up throwing that aside and just going, “Okay, I’m going to move to Vancouver from Calgary at nineteen and I’m going to try and get an agent and I’m just going to hope and pray that auditions come up.”
So, I did all that. Moved to Vancouver. And it took a few years of working in restaurants before I started to get a few little auditions. And I often say in 1992 Dances With Wolves came out and that’s when things began to open up for us as actors, and I ended up getting into a TV series called North of Sixty, and that was the beginning. And things just kind of fell into place after that.
It’s interesting you mentioned you were looking at being a social worker and I wonder if there are connections between that career and acting. Because social work and sociology look at relationships between people and between people and society and I think an actor has to sensitive towards those kinds of things.
MICHELLE
I think the connection for me was I grew up with two chronic alcoholic parents. And I didn’t realize the trauma that my family had been through because as a kid – and it’s really hard for me to talk about this – but as a child I had so much shame when it came to being an Indigenous person because I related it to the pain and the trauma of my parents and of my grandparents and of my aunts and uncles and everybody else in my family who was alcoholic. And as a child that imagination part for me was about creating these other scenarios that didn’t include violence and all that stuff that comes along with trauma which is a big part of my one-woman show Inner Elder.
Michelle Thrush in her One-Woman Show Inner Elder, Photo Ben Laird
So, when I was a kid, I knew it wasn’t proper that my parents didn’t know how to be parents. I knew it wasn’t proper that they would drink for days and us kids would fend for ourselves. In my brain, I thought if I become a social worker I can create change in this world for children. I can do something that’s going to make sure other Indigenous children don’t have to go through what I went through.
And then I realized through meeting Gordon and getting involved in acting that the power we have as artists can change the world and we wouldn’t have to deal with all the red tape it would take to be a social worker. It was like fast-tracking the ability to create a shift in people’s thinking.
Back then, of course, we didn’t have Truth and Reconciliation. We didn’t realize our families were suffering from this huge history. I just thought that my parents were messed up and I felt a lot of shame because I swore to God that every white kid at my school went home, and their moms would hand them cookies as they walked through the front door, and they had these perfect homes and alcohol didn’t touch white people. That’s how I thought when I was a kid. I thought it was something that was part of who we were as Indigenous people. But then you know obviously I learned that alcoholism touches everybody.
So, that connection between acting and social work was a very strong connection because there was the ability to really affect people’s lives using the arts as opposed to going in and trying to work with the family of Indigenous children. And almost all my work still leans in that direction, you know, trying to create healing. And I always say, “We aren’t in it for Shakespeare. We don’t do what we do to recite Shakespeare. We do what we do to create healing and to contribute to the goodness of our communities and our children.”
Eric Schweig, Darla Contois and Michelle Thrush in the Canadian Drama Television Series Little Bird
JAMES
You mentioned healing and change and you’re one of the founding members and the current Artistic Director of Making Treaty 7 Cultural Society and on your website, it says – “Making Treaty 7 is dedicated to Indigenous artistic expression and the transfer of Indigenous knowledge through story.” So, what are some of the things you feel you’ve accomplished so far and what are some of the plans, goals, and hopes for the future?
MICHELLE
Making Treaty 7 has had this really long history and I’ll just explain a bit of the history about how we began. Michael Greene who was one of the founding members of One Yellow Rabbit and is a beautiful Icon in theatre here in Calgary was a good friend of mine for many years and a huge supporter of the work I did in theatre with Indigenous story. And he was always trying to figure out ways to bring more Indigenous presence into the High Performance Rodeo and whatever else was going on in Calgary.
So, back in 2012 he became the curator of something called Calgary 2012 which was when Calgary became the artistic capital of Canada for a year. He ran that and we put together a committee of about ten of us – Indigenous and non-Indigenous – so we could have an Indigenous presence and we ended up forming a template for what we wanted to do. Part of that was exploring the land and the history here in Southern Alberta and how the land connects us to story. And not a lot of people including us – I’m Cree – my family is from Maple Creek Saskatchewan Treaty 4 but I grew up here in Treaty 7 and I have family who are married into the Blackfoot Confederacy, but we didn’t know much about the treaty.
The Making Treaty 7 production of O’kosi with Garret C. Smith, Mary Rose Cohen, Michelle Thrush, Janine Owlchild, and Dustin Frank. PHOTO: Hidden Story Productions.
So, I didn’t know anything about the treaty and the Blackfoot artists that we brought in didn’t know a lot about the treaty which was signed in September 1877 in Siksika. So, it was a huge learning journey for us, and Micheal ended up writing these big grants and bringing together over a hundred elders from Southern Alberta. And we asked what do you know about Treaty 7? And a lot of their parents and their grandparents were at the Treaty signing and so they opened up this huge vessel for us. And as artists we spent the whole weekend just listening to all these elders talk about the Treaty and the true intention of Treaty 7. And they talked about what life was like leading up to the signing, what life was like on those ten days, and what life was like after the Treaty was signed. What were the repercussions? What happened with the Indian Act. All these things.
And they just filled us up with all this incredible knowledge and we went out to Banff Centre for two weeks. And Micheal asked myself and Blake Brooker to be the directors of the show and I was an actor and a writer on it as well. And we came up with the very first Making Treaty 7 and we had to perform it for the Elders first and get their permission which we did. And it became this huge spectacle of incredible entertainment which brought in all the voices that call Southern Alberta home but was an Indigenously led process.
And since then we’ve been expanding on that and as the Artistic Director my goal is to wake up the stories that belong here. That are a part of this land. And to decolonize theatre and create a safe space for Indigenous people to tell stories of the land and I’m very proud because Making Treaty 7 is doing some really beautiful work.
Bernard Starlight and Quelemia Sparrow in The Making Treaty 7 production of Tara Began’s The Ministry of Grace. Photo Alanna Bluebird
JAMES
You mentioned your own show. You touched on it and I wanted to ask you a little bit about that. It’s called Inner Elder. I saw it when you did it at Lunchbox Theatre and really enjoyed it and thought it was an amazing piece of theatre. And in it you transform into an Elder in the play and it’s moving. It’s funny. What was the genesis of the story and what are some of the highlights of performing that piece?
MICHELLE
So, more than thirty years ago this character started coming through me and she was an old woman and she loved comedy. Her name is Kookum Martha and she was very much a clown in a lot of ways. And so I started to do comedy and she started to be known as an MC of various Indigenous conferences and concerts in Canada. And I hosted the Inspire Awards on CBC a few years back and we did some things with Kookum on there. And in 2018 Ann Connors was the curator of the High Performance Rodeo and she had seen my Kookum character and Anne’s like, “Why don’t you create a big show and we’ll fund you and we’ll present you for the Rodeo.”
Michelle Thrush as Kookum Martha in Inner Elder at the High Performance Rodeo Photo Elyse Bouvier
And so, I was like how can I do a show in a way that honours the clown of Kookum as well as telling my own story in a way that doesn’t make me a victim. That allows me to sort of flip the script on what it means to grow up in an alcoholic environment and then winning the Gemini for playing a chronic alcoholic on Blackstone which is a show I starred on for many years. And I created a show about learning how to take what’s given to us in life and then turning it into something that works for us.
And when I get into the zone with Kookum she can get wild on stage and I’m like, “Oh my God, did I just hear her say that?” And I tell people when they hire me to do my comedy with Kookum I am not responsible for any marriages that break up because she goes after the white guys all the time. She picks on them and they fall in love with her. It’s a fun character. And I’m a true believer that as artists we channel our energy through us and it’s not about us – it’s about being vulnerable enough to bring that energy through us.
JAMES
That’s part of the magic of theatre I suppose that moment that you’re so fully in the story and the performance that it’s almost not really you.
MICHELLE
Yeah, it’s magic. And it happens in film too. I swear to God on that episode of Blackstone I did where I won the Gemini I stood there on my mark before I heard action and I prayed and called in my grandmothers, and they took over my body and I felt like I was allowing them to work me through that scene. And low and behold I won a Gemini and a whole bunch of other awards but it’s that trust to be able to really zone in taking the focus off of yourself and putting it on the story and then just allowing that energy to come through you. It’s about being vulnerable to the moment of creation.
Tantoo Cardinal as Wilma Stoney and Michelle Thrush as Gail Stoney in Blackstone
JAMES
You know one of the things art can do is help us understand our place in the universe but I’m sort of curious as an artist do you think art provides actual answers or do you think art operates more to provoke us to come up with answers and ask questions.
MICHELLE
I think both. I often say as Indigenous artists that we’re frontline workers. We shine light into places that are dark. And the work that we do is not just about a love story or whatever. The work we do whether it’s in film or in theatre is tough and it sometimes creates huge amounts of triggers for people because what we focus on is bringing to light things that people don’t want to talk about.
And the work that I’ve done through the years and all of us as Indigenous Artists have done through the years is really truly groundbreaking work I think because that’s how you bring healing. I often say if you have a wound and you just continue to cover it all the time with Band-Aids it will never heal. You have to be able to bring the light to allow that wound to heal and I feel that’s what we do as artists – we bring light.
Bones of Crows, Day 2
Ayasew Ooskana Pictures
JAMES
And I think you need multiple stories right? You need many stories. Like you mentioned initially Indigenous actors were getting little bit parts and now we’re seeing shows like Bones of Crows. That’s an epic story. I watched that and I thought it really is an outline for a five-season series. Because it’s massive. Each episode could be ten episodes. But having that story now expands what you can tell in the future, I think.
MICHELLE
Exactly because again, it brought light to something that previously wasn’t lit up. Like that whole history most Canadians don’t understand any of it. Our own people are just beginning to understand what happened in reality and when you do bring light you bring life and then you’re right it just spreads out and it creates more conversations and it gives people permission to be able to discuss those things that were taboo twenty years ago. It’s about expanding consciousness really you know as artists.
I was proud of Bones of Crows. Marie Clements is a dear, dear, friend of mine from years ago. I’ve worked on many of her things and it took her five years to get Bones of Crows to camera. It took a huge team to convince CBC and to get all the funding and it’s a fully Indigenously created, directed, written, acted, performance.
JAMES
So, Artificial Intelligence has exploded onto the scene this year and it’s going to be disruptive in science and art and everything and I am just sitting here going well – this is good – this is bad – so I’ve been asking a few artists and a few friends what are their thoughts about AI. What sort of an impact do you think it’s going to have?
MICHELLE
I don’t know. I feel like I’ve got my head in the sand and I’m trying to avoid talking about AI because it really bugs me. I have so many friends that are all pro AI and how it’s going to change everything and I’m just like, “No, I just want real humans. I have a hard enough time checking out at Safeway with computers” I’m so old school in that way and so I’m sort of in denial about AI and I don’t have a lot to say about it.
JAMES
It’s hard to know what the impacts are going to be.
MICHELLE
It is. Even the SAG strike had a lot to do with AI. And who knows man. They can do a video now of you and change what you’re saying and that scares me.
JAMES
It’s getting difficult to be able to distinguish between the fake and the real. And that can be scary. So, I guess we’ll have to talk about this in five years?
MICHELLE
Exactly.
2023 Distinguished Artist Michelle Thrush with family and friends, Photo credit Randy Feere
JAMES
So, you’re one of the recipients this year of the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Arts Awards and I was wondering what was that evening like for you where everyone gathered to honour the recipients. What sort of evening was it and what does it mean to you to be recognized for the award?
MICHELLE
It was a fun weekend. It was a whole weekend it wasn’t just one evening. The funnest part of it was they did it in Medicine Hat this year and my family comes from Maple Creek which is just forty-five minutes down the number one highway on the Saskatchewan side. So, when I found out I was receiving this amazing award and that it was in Medicine Hat I called everybody – “Everybody’s got to come to this.” So, the highlight of receiving that award was having two or three rows of my family – Indigenous faces out there with all these government officials. And it’s not often that we feel comfortable or welcomed into these types of spaces, right?
JAMES
Right.
MICHELLE
Even just in theatre alone and that’s a big part of my whole agenda is trying to find ways to make sure that Indigenous people feel comfortable in the theatre. It’s the same thing for these types of awards. My cousin got the Chief to come and they did a ceremony with me when I went up on the stage. It’s a beautiful ceremony where they come up to you on both sides and they just wrap you in this blanket. And they did that with a star quilt which is a beautiful handmade style of blanket. And to me that was such a beautiful gesture of honour. I’m glad obviously I got the Lieutenant Governor Award and the gold pin and all that wonderful stuff but to have my family there and to be recognized in that way was also an honour.
L to R: Lori Davis, Michelle Thrush, Chief Rossa Wahobin, Nakaneet First Nation, Chief Rossa Wahobin presented Michelle with a Star Quilt in recognition of her achievements, Photo credit Randy Feere
JAMES
How does it feel to be offering that mentorship now to others because Indigenous artists and young people today can look to you and see somebody who has a successful career?
MICHELLE
I try to stay away from this whole role model thing with Indigenous people. I don’t believe in putting anybody on a pedestal no matter who they are. I think we are all amazing contributors to each others light. But I do understand because when Blackstone came out my whole life shifted. I felt like a lot of my privacy was shifted with my own people because going to Pow Wows and stuff people are always coming up and they’re like, “Oh, my gosh, your character on that show was my mom or my auntie or my grandmother and then they would tell me this whole story of you know alcoholism in their family and how my character gave them permission to be able to discuss that.” And so again as an artist, it’s shining that light onto previous taboo topics and giving people permission to speak about it without shame and to share that load.
JAMES
How do you stay resilient then? Because that sounds like sometimes a heavy burden.
MICHELLE
I don’t know if it’s a burden at all. I think it’s just really a part of our development in this world. There are so many amazing beautiful things happening for Indigenous people right now. Like Reservation Dogs is on and we’ve got people in the NHL. And I remember I was on George Stroumboulopoulos back in the day – The Strombo Show – and I remember mentioning Wab Kinew who was rising up in the political scene and saying you know this is a young man who inspires me and now he’s Premier of Manitoba. And it’s just expanding continuously, and I get hope from seeing our young people. There are so many young people right now that are so resilient, and they are pushing boundaries that I never thought about when I was a teenager or when I was in my early twenties. I see these young people resurrecting language and being proud of who they are and that’s what keeps me going really is just knowing that we’ve got so many incredible young people.
The Rosebud Theatre Production of All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 by Peter Rothstein – Ensemble – Kenaniah Love Schnare, Mark Kazakov, Steve Morton, Joel Braun, Tim Dixon, Aaron Krogman, Griffin Cork, Blair Young – Photos by Morris Ertman
The voices of the past whisper to us.
They have stories to tell.
All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 at Rosebud Theatre is a deeply moving and memorable production. The story is brought to life by a wonderful ensemble and is partly told through the use of letters home from the soldiers who found themselves spending that first Christmas in the trenches. Many of those soldiers thought the war would be over by Christmas but tragically the war continued for another four years and didn’t end until November 11, 1918.
In addition to the letters home much of the play consists of songs including classic Christmas Carols like We Wish You a Merry Christmas and The First Noel along with many contemporary songs of the day including It’s a Long Way to Tipperary and Keep the Homefires Burning. Playwright Peter Rothstein has weaved together the music and the words of these soldiers in a way that from the first moments of the play to the final scene keeps us fully immersed in this tragic but humanizing war story.
All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 tells the story of a brief pause in the fighting during World War I. The Germans and the English sang carols and songs to each other and on Christmas day the soldiers feeling a sense of connection eventually left their trenches and met in no man’s land – the killing field between the trenches. On that first Christmas, they sang songs. They exchanged gifts. They played soccer. They buried their dead. And they wondered what the hell were they doing there trying to kill each other. Of course, the truce ended, and the war continued, and millions would die. But for a moment — there was hope.
Morris Ertman’s direction is flawless as the soldiers interact and tell their stories and there are moments of laughter, moments of faith, moments of grief, and moments of hope. It shows how powerful theatre can be. That’s one of the reasons why we go to the theatre – to experience the emotion of the story. To identify with the characters and understand something more about life and hopefully, we come away feeling a little more connected to our shared humanity.
In no small measure the costumes and setting also add to the experience but what I found particularly moving and worth noting is the musical direction by Bill Hamm because it’s the harmonies of this extraordinary cast that conveys so much of the story. Since the play is giving voice to the words and thoughts of those soldiers long dead having the music performed a cappella really draws us in and connects us to those men whose words are being brought back to life.
So, did I like it? I loved it and not just the play, but I loved the whole experience of going out to Rosebud to see the show. Rosebud has become a favourite destination and a place where good memories are made. A big part of going to the theatre is about who you share the play with – the person sitting beside you – that’s the real joy of seeing a show together. The shared experience with someone you care about and who cares about you. Yes, a live audience adds to the experience but when I think of theatre now it’s all about who I see the show with, and I was fortunate enough to see All Is Calm with my son Graham who also enjoyed the show and the meal very much.
You see Rosebud includes the drive out and the meal and then the show and the drive home. It’s a chance to step away from your routine and to make a good memory and enjoy some of that good old-fashioned Rosebud hospitality which includes Chef Mo’s absolutely delicious buffet. It’s really about taking some time to share a meaningful experience and enjoy each other’s company and to connect and when you see a show as meaningful and memorable as All is Calm it just makes the experience all the more special.
All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 runs until Saturday, December 23rd. Tickets are available at RosebudTheartre.com or by calling the box office at 1-800-267-7553. The show runs for approximately 70 minutes without intermission.
All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 Written by Peter Rothstein Vocal Arrangements by Erick Lichte & Timothy C. Takach
Ensemble Joel Braun Griffin Cork Tim Dixon Mark Kazakov Aaron Krogman Steve Morton Kenaniah Love Schnare Blair Young
Understudies Taylor Fawcett Caleb Gordon Dan Hall Bill Hamm
Artistic Personnel Director: Morris Ertman Musical Director: Bill Hamm Original Scenic/Costume Designer: Carolyn Rapanos Lighting Designer: Becky Halterman Stage Manager: Samantha Showalter Assistant Stage Manager: Christopher Allan Rehearsal Pianist: Terrah Harper
Production Personnel Production Manager/Technical Director: Mark Lewandowski Production Stage Manager: Brad G. Graham Head of Wardrobe: Amy Castro Hair: Tracy’s Place Salon Studio Scenic Carpenter: Wojtek Kozlinski Scenic Artist: Cheryl Daugherty Props Builder/Buyer: Brad G. Graham Load-in/Lighting Crew: Cory Eliuk, Josie Kaip, Kalena Lewandowski, John McIver Student/Volunteer Crew: Katie Corrigan, Connor Dixon, Joshua Erhardt, Immaneul Halterman, Jack Loney, Kaila Martin
Cambrian Players Present ‘A Christmas Carol’. Directed by Thomas McDonald and starring Gabe Ferrazzo as Ebenezer Scrooge.
The spirit of Christmas is alive and well in Thunder Bay Ontario as the Cambrian Players present my adaptation of A Christmas Carol directed by Thomas McDonald and starring Gabe Ferrazzo as Ebenezer Scrooge. The production runs from November 29th to December 2nd and December 6th to 9th, with a special Matinee Performance and Tea on Sunday, December 3rd at 2 p.m. and a live-streamed performance on December 8th. There’s also a “pay what you may performance” on Thursday, November 30th. Tickets start at just $22.63 and are available online by following this link: The Cambrian Players present A Christmas Carol: Every man has the power to do good.
I contacted Thomas McDonald to talk with him about the Cambrian Players, his love of theatre, and this year’s production of A Christmas Carol.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, who are the Cambrian Players and what’s their history? Tell me a little bit about the company and its vision and plans for the future.
THOMAS MCDONALD
Cambrian Players is Thunder Bay’s longest-running community theatre group and has been completely volunteer-run since 1949. It’s truly Theatre For the Love of It! Over the past seventy-plus years, Cambrian Players has presented over 200 mainstage plays, numerous Improv shows, and has recently added a Green Room semi-staged play reading series to its offerings. This season we’re producing on our mainstage, your version of A Christmas Carol ~ Every Man Has The Power To Do Good, as well as Charles Way’s adaptation of The Snow Queen, and Anthony Shaffer’s Sleuth.
Cambrian Players is an inclusive volunteer-led, non-profit community theatre organization fostering an appreciation of theatre by producing diverse amateur theatrical productions of the highest quality. We provide training in all aspects of theatrical production both on and offstage; recreational and volunteer opportunities; and affordable entertainment for our members and the community.
Cambrian Players strives to be accessible and a leader in community theatre. Cambrian Players purchased their first home in 2017, a historic building – formerly the Polish Hall on Spring Street. While the building is an incredible new home, it requires retrofitting to be accessible for all our wonderful patrons and volunteers. In advance of our 75th year, we are raising funds to renovate the theatre through a new capital campaign we call Spotlight On Inclusivity, which we hope will make our space physically accessible for all of our patrons.
JAMES
What is it you personally love about theatre? Why do it? What does it provide? What have been some of the magical moments for you as either a director or an actor or as an audience member?
THOMAS
I have been in love with theatre since I was a kid. The first professional show I ever saw was the touring company of Anne of Green Gables from Charlottetown – I know, how Canadian, eh? – and my heart was gone. The idea of escaping to a different world struck me, and I was hooked, and frankly, I still am. As my hubby will tell you, I do a lot of theatre with Cambrian, the College Performing Arts Club, Applauze Productions, and in the past the 10×10 Short Play Festival and during Covid-19 with Come Play With Me Digital Theatre and that love of theatre has never waned.
I work with a lot of amateur performers and people who are new to theatre both on and offstage and I love seeing them come alive and fall in love with the process and ultimately the product. There’s something about seeing their eyes light up and their confidence grow when they get a laugh, or meaningful silence or hear applause just for them the very first time. It provides a home and a chosen family for a lot of folks who, like me, were misfit kids.
As far as magical moments go, I love being surprised in the theatre, seeing a performance that is unexpected, or listening to an actor and realizing you are so caught up in their words that you’re holding your breath. Or feeling tears come to your eyes as you relate to what is happening, or it touches your spirit in a way that you weren’t expecting. However, I still hold on to seeing Anne of Green Gables that first time, and as they sang Ice Cream looking over and seeing my Grandma smile back at me, and knowing we were experiencing that joy together.
Cambrian Players Present ‘A Christmas Carol’. Directed by Thomas McDonald and starring Gabe Ferrazzo as Ebenezer Scrooge.
JAMES
This year you’re producing A Christmas Carol. So, why do you think we keep telling this story? The story of Scrooge. The story of the spirits? Why does it still resonate today?
THOMAS
The story turns 180 this year and still it speaks just as loudly. It’s a redemption story, and who doesn’t love a redemption story? The way you’ve given us Scrooge in this adaptation is very human. He is committed to the life he has chosen, in his mind for all the right reasons. He is “a good man of business”; but not in fact a “good man”. The chances the spirits give him – are to a point – like the choices we make every day. The ways we can do good, but are too busy, too self-involved, too single-minded to see them as what they are – opportunities to better the world we live in. Our Scrooge, Gabe Ferrazzo, says that of all the roles he’s played – Prospero, Shylock, Julius Caesar and more – no role has affected him more personally than Scrooge. A man reflecting on the years behind him, knowing there are fewer years ahead.
Not only the way you have written Scrooge but also the way you’ve written Marley and Scrooge together has given us Marley with more to be redeemed from. The way he isolates Scrooge from all he loves and rewards him for following in his footsteps. The father figures in this version of the story speak to people, Scrooge’s clear struggle with his own father, then being mentored by Fezziwig, then having his head turned by Marley, and then ultimately Scrooge’s relationship with his nephew Fred, and Scrooge’s desire to toughen him for the world are poignant. It’s universal. It’s human. It’s a story for all of us.
JAMES
Every theatre company brings their own vision to telling the story. Tell me a little bit about the vision for this year’s production and the cast you’ve assembled to bring the story to the stage and what magical elements can people look forward to experiencing when they come to see the show.
THOMAS
We are so very blessed to have assembled this talented multi-generational cast. Twenty-five actors play thirty-nine roles – which is a lot for our very small theatre! – ranging in age from 11 to 70+, and ranging in experience have come together to bring your story to life and also provide mentoring and learning opportunities which Cambrian Players sees as the heart of what we do. With so large a cast, we have had to be creative and use all the available space making it a semi-immersive production. We have turned our stage into a world frozen in time, anchored by a huge clock face and a flurry of letters and ledger pages frozen in time.
The idea of Scrooge as a stuck clock came into our minds as we plotted the show and began considering the way Scrooge moves through his world, in straight lines focused on his goals, and it’s not until the spirits intervene that we get circular movement as the clock – or Scrooge’s heart – begins ticking again. We have approached the spirits in an interesting way, but you’ll have to come and see the show or tune in for our virtual production to see it for yourself. There is a real humanity to the show which has been the core of our approach, with period-appropriate costumes, nuanced performances and finding the humour and pathos in the play, we hope to do your play justice and make it something magical for everyone.
Prior to each performance a musical community member will be busking in support of our Spotlight on Inclusivity Campaign and our matinee tea will support the same. We will be doing a relaxed performance in partnership with our friends from Autism Ontario, to present the show in a way that will be safe and welcoming for their members to attend and experience the magic of A Christmas Carol first hand!
JAMES
So, Tom, every year the King gives his Christmas message, and the Prime Minister gives his, the Pope chimes in as well. Politicians, artists, and religious leaders all have their own Christmas messages. What is your Christmas message to your friends and family and the world this holiday season?
THOMAS
I hope that you all find light, love, and strength this holiday season. I hope that you are with those who love you, whether blood or chosen family. I hope that you have an outlet for creativity in your life. I hope that you feel community, and can give back to it. I hope that your heart is light, and you can make peace with that with which you struggle. I hope that you are safe and sheltered, warm and full, cared for and have those to care for. Merry Christmas from Thunder Bay, and from Cambrian Players!
***
A Christmas Carol directed by Thomas McDonald and starring Gabe Ferrazzo as Ebenezer Scrooge runs from November 29th to December 2nd and December 6th to 9th, with a special Matinee Performance and Tea on Sunday, December 3rd at 2pm and a live-streamed performance on December 8th. There’s also a “pay what you may performance” on Thursday, November 30th. Tickets start at just $22.63 and are available online by following this link: The Cambrian Players present A Christmas Carol: Every man has the power to do good.
Cambrian Players Present ‘A Christmas Carol – Every Man has the Power to do Good’ By Charles Dickens Adapted for the stage by James Hutchison Directed by Thomas McDonald.
Our cast features 25 talented local performers both new and familiar to our audiences: Gabe Ferrazzo as Ebenezer Scrooge with Adam Wayne Lyew-Sang, Alex Jecchinis, Andrea Jacobsen, Ariana McLean, Ben Albert, Caden Lear, Chris Jason, Emily Upper, Janis Swanson, Jarin Brown, Jerry Silen, Joelle Krupa, Joshua Mulzer, Joy Haessler, Kenzie Dillon, Matthew Henry, Matthew Jollineau, Pauline Krupa, Penelope Upper-Smith, Richard Pepper, Ruth Currie, Shawna Marshall, Taylor Onski, Wyatt Krupa
Joe Perry in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Photo Fifth Wall Media
The Vertigo Theatre production of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde promises love – betrayal – and murder – and it delivers all three in a highly theatrical production all brought to life by a terrific cast under the artful direction of Javier Vilalta.
Joe Perry takes on the role of the tortured genius in a physically demanding and nightmare-filled performance. Daniel Fong is the voice of reason as Dr. Jekyll’s friend Hastings Lanyon. Grant Tilly plays Gabriel Utterson whose investigations eventually reveal the true relationship between Hyde and Jekyll. And Allison Lynch plays Eleanor Lanyon a smart complex woman who finds herself being drawn towards darkness and obsession.
This is a story of mystery and horror and the lighting, costumes, live music performed by the actors, the towering brick walls, and intermittent fog all add to the growing sense of dread and doom. Nick Lane’s script is faithful to the original story while providing some new and exciting elements. The play works best when there are big bold moments as we follow Jekyll – a man whose desire to provide the world with scientific knowledge – is thwarted by the monstrous pleasure-driven animalistic side of his own humanity.
I contacted Joe Perry to talk with him about the production and the process of bringing this classic tale to the Vertigo stage.
JAMES HUTCHISON
What does Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde say about the light and the darkness that dwells in all of us?
JOE PERRY
It’s really looking at that duality and what happens when desperation and unintended consequences put you in a situation where you have to reconcile your own morals. Dr. Jekyll starts out doing his research looking to leave his mark on humanity but there is this unintended consequence. He feels released physically. Because as Dr. Jekyll he’s trapped in this physically ill body and when he becomes Hyde he’s free. But that freedom has consequences. And now he has to make a choice. Does he move towards that freedom that he gets with Hyde, or does he continue his work with the integrity that he originally intended?
And I also think part of the exploration is that we all have thoughts that are not something we’re proud of or something that we would say out loud, but the repression of that – of its very existence – is not going to make them go away. It’s just going to bottle them up and then they’ll explode out in an animalistic way. I think possibly that’s a bit of what people are afraid of in themselves. And being Hyde gives him this freedom and this release but at a cost to everyone around him and at the cost of his own sanity and at the cost of people’s lives and safety. And yet he can’t not do it because that freedom is so tantalizing.
Daniel Fong, Grant Tilly, and Allison Lynch in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Photo Fifth Wall Media
JAMES
Besides yourself, this production features three other well-known actors to Calgary audiences. There’s Daniel Fong, Allison Lynch, and Grant Tilly. They’re all playing multiple characters in this version of the story. What was the rehearsal process like? What sort of discussions amongst yourselves did you have about Jekyll and Hyde as you brought the story to life?
JOE
Well, our director Javier really challenged us, and we had some conversations about those moral questions that the play was bringing up. And it was a really free and interesting room to be in. I’ve never been in a rehearsal hall like this because Javier works so visually. He has these beautiful stage pictures in his head that he’s putting together. And he sees all these design elements and the four of us are kind of like in this playground made of that but we’re not necessarily seeing all of the elements as he’s seeing them. So, we were able to play and extend in a way that you don’t get to do in a lot of plays.
And I think you see that in a lot of the characters. I think Grant, Allison, and Daniel have transformations as actors on stage as profound as the Jekyll and Hyde transformations. And their characters are just so wonderfully crafted by each of them that it’s really an honour to share the stage with them. They’re people that I have worked with before or I have watched on stage and I have nothing but the utmost respect for them. So, I am just sitting here in full gratitude every day to be able to share the stage with them.
Joe Perry and Daniel Fong in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Photo Fifth Wall Media
Grant Tilly and Joe Perry in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Photo Fifth Wall Media
Grant Tilly, Allison Lynch, Joe Perry and Daniel Fong The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Photo Fifth Wall Media
Daniel Fong and Joe Perry in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Photo Fifth Wall Media
Joe Perry in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Photo Fifth Wall Media
Allison Lynch and Joe Perry in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Photo Fifth Wall Media
Joe Perry and Daniel Fong in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Photo Fifth Wall Media
JAMES
You mentioned that Javier uses a lot of physicality. And the play contains theatrical moments – moments that stick with you – and it’s exciting to see a production embrace that. How did some of those key moments evolve?
JOE
There’s a fight in the play that Javier had seen in his head and we kind of choreographed that together. He knew when he wanted it to go in slow motion and when he wanted it to be an extended, brutal, very theatrical sort of fight sequence. So that was sort of starting from the design first and then putting the movements into what he wanted to do.
But then with something like the first transformation from Jekyll to Hyde, he gave me a framework of where the lights would be and then he let me sort of free flow into it and he’d say, “More. You can go more.”
My favourite bit as an actor and something that I haven’t had the opportunity to do since theatre school is the final shattering of Hyde where it gets really expressionistic in the physicality. That was another bit where Javier told me to, “Just surrender to the physicality. This is not a moment of realism. This is a moment of extension. This is a shattering of the psyche and just surrender to it.”
And being able to do that as an actor is cathartic because you get to extend beyond what you would see in a naturalistic play, or what you would be able to experience in a naturalistic play. So that catharsis was really fun. And Javi had real specific ideas of what these characters would look like and then when he put them over into our hands he was really open to seeing where we were going with them and there was a real give and take and support.
JAMES
How is it to be back on stage and in particular the Vertigo Stage?
JOE
Honestly, it’s just an absolute joy. I was lucky enough to do The Extractionist by Michaela Jeffery here last year. That was the first play I’d done in four years. I mean, it’s my lifeblood. I missed it. I’ve missed it through the pandemic. Stepping away from the stage for that long was never the intention. And the Vertigo audiences are generous and committed. And it’s just a pleasure being able to play these characters on stage. I can’t even really begin to express my gratitude.
JAMES
Jekyll and Hyde are pretty iconic characters in the Western Cannon. They’re pretty well known and played by all sorts of actors in all sorts of adaptions including Spencer Tracey and Lon Chaney during the silent movie era.
JOE
That was one of the first ones I watched.
JAMES
What did you think?
JOE
It was great. Interesting and totally different themes.
JAMES
Yeah, totally. And that’s the neat thing. Do you think maybe part of what makes something a classic is its ability to be flexible in its interpretation?
JOE
Yes. The short answer is yes. The long answer is that this narrative is in almost everything that we watch. It’s Fight Club. It’s The Hulk. Jekyll and Hyde is in almost every movie. It’s in almost every play. Everybody knows Jekyll and Hyde on the macro scale. They know – take a potion and become someone else. It’s The Nutty Professor. And you can explore so many different themes. Nick Lane’s adaptation explores some very specific experiences in his life. Javier’s interpretation of Nick’s adaptation is Javier exploring his own things. And then my acting of Jekyll and Hyde is exploring my own thing. It’s just such a wonderful and rich conduit to explore the human condition because essentially, it’s about the duality of man, which I think is a pretty age-old question in philosophy and art.
Allison Lynch in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Photo Fifth Wall Media
JAMES
There’s a female character Eleanor Lanyon who is new to the story in this adaptation and she seems to have a dual nature in many ways too.
JOE
Yeah, she’s a rich and complex character as well. And the way that Allison portrays Eleanor is super rich and complex. She’s dealing with more than just the potion and the science. She’s dealing with the constraints of a marriage that isn’t fulfilling. She’s dealing with the constraints of the time in society. And this is totally just my own look at that character. But I think she is really struggling with so many different constraints that the men in the play aren’t. We’re doing things for our hubris and honour. She’s doing things for her freedom and her autonomy.
JAMES
So, you got to play Jekyll and Hyde and there are other iconic characters like Hamlet, Poirot, and Sherlock Holmes in the Western canon. Are there other characters – well-known or not – that hold a particular fascination for you that you would like to play?
JOE
I mean, Hamlet is an easy answer. But if we’re going with Shakespeare Prince Hal has had a special part in my heart for a long time. Just an interesting character to me. And I’ve always wanted to do Sam Shepard’s True West with my brother Stafford. But to be honest my passion lies in playing new characters. I love new work. I love working on new plays. I love incepting new characters.
JAMES
What is it that fascinates you about the creation of new work?
JOE
It’s alive. Reprising old work is alive too. You can always look at something through a new lens. But having the ability to take new interesting voices from our communities that are speaking about current contexts and being able to explore that in a way where it’s not going up against an existing benchmark that’s already there or trying to contextualize something from another time into this time I find really exciting. I think there are so many unique interesting Canadian – Calgarian – Albertan voices. And every time I see these new works at any festival or on the larger stages I find it thrilling. Workshopping or acting in a new play in any sort of capacity or a new movie is my passion for sure.
JAMES
That’s where your heart lies, does it?
JOE
Part of it. But it’s always fun to go and see iconic characters. Everybody knows Jekyll and Hyde or Hamlet and the question is how can I authentically bring myself to this role? How can I make it something that’s current and something that’s interesting and something that says something that nobody else could have because so many people have said their own thing with it already? So that’s been a lovely challenge and something I always welcome. And I’m really proud of the work, and I’m really proud of the room, and I’m really proud of all of the people that are involved in this production.
***
VERTIGO THEATRE presents
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde By Robert Louis Stevenson. Adapted by Nick Lane Four actors bring Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic horror to life.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde features Joe Perry as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, Daniel Fong as Hastings Lanyon, Allison Lynch as Eleanor Lanyon, and Grant Tilly as Gabriel Utterson with Bernardo Pacheco and Tiffany Thomas as Understudies.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is written by Robert Louis Stevenson and adapted by Nick Lane. Directed by Javier Vilalta, Set Design by Lauren Acheson, Costume Design by Ralamy Kneeshaw, Lighting Design by John Webber, Sound Design, Composition and Musical Direction by Kristin Eveleigh, Dialect Coaching by Laurann Brown, Fight & Intimacy Direction by Brianna Johnston, Stage Management by Laurel Oneil, Ashley Rees and Caaryn Sadoway.
Nathan Schmidt as W.O. Mitchell in the Rosebud Theatre production of Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell.
Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell is a joyful, fun, and feel-good night at the theatre all brought to life on the Rosebud Theatre’s Opera House stage in a brilliant performance by Nathan Schmidt.
Based on the works of W.O. Mitchell and penned by his son and daughter-in-law, Orm Mitchell and his wife Barbara, the play weaves together an entertaining and insightful script that travels between Mitchell’s fiction and the story of his life.
Mitchell was a writer, performer, and teacher who is best known for his 1947 novel Who Has Seen the Wind. The novel beautifully captures small-town life and the world as seen through the eyes of a young Brian O’Connal growing up on the Saskatchewan prairie. Mitchell is also known for his Jake and the Kid stories which were popular radio plays during the 1950s. No stranger to the stage himself W.O. Mitchell was a storyteller who performed his one-man shows across Canada and penned several plays for the stage including The Kite, The Devil’s Instrument, and The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon.
I contacted Nathan Schmidt to talk with him about the production and the challenges of performing a one-man show. You can read that interview by following the link above. I also spoke with Orm Mitchell to talk with him about his father’s work and the journey Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell took to reach the stage.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Orm, every literary work takes a journey from idea to finished work. Tell me a little bit about the journey that Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell took to reach the stage.
ORM MITCHELL
Well, it’s a journey that took close to twenty-six years. My father had prostate cancer so his last three or four years were not pleasant. He was in a hospital bed in the family room on the first floor of the house in Calgary and he was withdrawing more and more. And Barb and I wanted to keep him engaged. So, we suggested, why don’t you do a collection of your performance pieces that you’ve done over the years in your one-man shows? And he loved the idea. So that came together in a book called An Evening with W. O. Mitchell.
And as soon as that came out, two people came to us who wanted to use that book and turn some of the pieces into a one-man stage show, but Eric Peterson who they wanted to do the piece said he felt uneasy about doing this while a living author is still around and especially an author who has really put his distinctive stamp on the pieces.
There were other people who came to us over the years, and we were always in the role of acting as script consultants. And it never really got off the ground. So about 2008, Barb and I decided we’re going to write this ourselves. We did a really thorough rewrite and we sent it out to Theater Calgary and a few other places, but no one bit. So, we put it in a drawer and forgot about it.
Then during COVID, we realized that theatres were going through a very rough time. They couldn’t have an audience. There was no money coming in. And we’ve been really fond of Rosebud Theatre because they’ve produced W.O. Mitchell’s plays. They did Jake and the Kid, and they did The Kite twice, and we’d heard how wonderful Nathan Schmidt was playing Daddy Sherry in The Kite.
And so, I wrote to Morris Ertman the artistic director of Rosebud and said, “Look, Barb and I were thinking of making a donation to you guys because we know all theatres are struggling and we came up with what might be a better idea. Why don’t you do this one-man show and use Nathan Schmidt because we hear he’s been wonderful. And it’s inexpensive. It’s one person. You can stream it. And you might be able to get some income from streaming it during the COVID years.”
And I never heard back from Morris until about a year ago, July. And he said, “Orm, could you send me that script? I seem to have lost it.” And so, I sent it to him, and we saw him last November and he said, “I have decided to do this show and to use Nathan Schmidt.” It was close to twenty-six years from when the idea first came up to finally getting it on the stage.
Nathan Schmidt as W.O. Mitchell in the Rosebud Theatre production of Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell.
Nathan Schmidt as W.O. Mitchell in the Rosebud Theatre production of Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell.
Nathan Schmidt as W.O. Mitchell in the Rosebud Theatre production of Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell.
Nathan Schmidt as W.O. Mitchell in the Rosebud Theatre production of Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell.
Nathan Schmidt as W.O. Mitchell in the Rosebud Theatre production of Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell.
JAMES
You call the play Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell and I’m curious about the choice of title. Why did you choose Magic Lies? What’s the significance behind that?
ORM
That’s one of his favourite phrases. And he always used to say when people asked him about his creative process and his stories that every bit is the truth. What he meant by that was that he was a very observant watcher of the world, and he would pick up bits and pieces of people or details of landscape.
And I remember he used to tell his writers in his writing groups that you have to draw on your own autobiographical experience and find images, bits and pieces of sensuous detail, and you have to appeal to your reader’s sense of smell, taste, and touch. You’ve got to make them see something that you are describing. You’ve got to make your reader smell what it is that you are describing. All of those sensuous details that he collects and puts together to form and create that illusion of reality draw the reader into the story. So, every bit is the truth, but the whole thing is a lie. A magic lie. It’s a magic lie because it’s the catalyst that helps a reader explore consciously and unconsciously various universal human truths.
Morris Ertman and Orm Mitchell Opening Weekend Talk Back of Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell
W.O. Mitchell with Orm Mitchell at Trent University – Honorary Degree – 1985
W.O. Mitchell and Merna at Mabel Lake Cottage 1984
Mitchell Family Vacation
W.O. Mitchell reading at Trent University
Orm and Barb Mitchell celebrating the publication of their W.O. biography with his mother’s favourite champagne, Piper Heidsieck’s.
Orm and Barb Mitchell at Chapters Book Signing
Orm Mitchell fishing the Highwood River in 2018
Barbara and Orm Mitchell
Barbara and Orm Mitchell
W.O. Mitchell
JAMES
What do you think your father’s reactions and musings would be if he was able to see himself portrayed on stage?
ORM
My father was a master at timing, and he really admired an actor who had that sense of timing. You know someone who pauses in the right places and lets the audience into the story with those pauses. He was once told by someone when he was doing an acting role, “Bill, you’re overdoing it. It’s like an orange. Don’t squeeze all the juice out of the orange. Leave some there for the audience.” It’s a lovely metaphor for an actor who knows not to overdo it. And Nathan was just so good at that, and my father would have admired that.
JAMES
It takes a lot of discipline to put in the pause.
ORM
It’s a wonderful storytelling technique. And Nathan did this beautifully. In the story in which the boys blow up Melvin’s Grandpa in the back house when the dynamite goes off Nathan as W. O. stops and looks at the audience and takes out his snuffbox and he takes a piece of snuff and the audience is hanging there. Okay, the dynamite has gone off. The old man is in the back house. What happens next? And it is a lovely long pause, and then Nathan as W.O. looks at the audience and says, “Let me tell you something about dynamite.” And the audience just loved it.
The other thing my father would have admired was Nathan the actor has to make the role his own. He can’t just mimic my father. He uses bits and pieces of W.O. but at the same time the storytelling if it’s going to be effective – if it’s really going to zing with the audience – Nathan has to make it his own. By opening night he had made it his own and as the show goes on that role will more and more become his, and I think my father would have recognized that and would have admired that very much.
75th Anniversary Edition of Who Has Seen the Wind by W.O. Mitchell. Illustrated by William Kurelek. Available from Freehand Books.
JAMES
Let’s talk a little bit about Who Has Seen the Wind your father’s best-known work. It was published in 1947 and was an immediate success. And at the time the Montreal Gazette said, “When a star is born in any field of Canadian fiction it is an exciting event…Here in this deeply moving story of a Western Canadian boy, his folk and his country, emerges a writer whose insight, humanity and technical skill have given the simple elements of birth and death, of the inconspicuous lives of common man etched against the bleak western landscape, the imprint of significance and value.” Why do you think this book and this story resonate so deeply with its readers?
ORM
Here you have a book that is set in the prairies during the dirty thirties. It’s very specific. One of the things that critics in Canada used to say was, “Who cares about Canada? Who cares about a story where Bill and Molly meet in Winnipeg and fall in love?” W.O. was one of the first, if not the first writer, to put the Saskatchewan Prairie and the Alberta foothills on the literary map.
But then the corollary to that is you want people whether they are in London England, or Australia, or China or wherever they are to read that story, and you want that story to come alive for them. It’s what Alistair MacLeod used to say, “When you write your stories about a specific place and characters you want to make them travel.” I love that line. You want to make them travel. Who Has Seen the Wind sure as hell travelled. It has been translated into Chinese. And it has been translated into South Korean. It has sold over a million copies in Canada, and I think it will continue to travel.
One of the reasons why I think it travelled is that my father was wonderful in understanding the child’s world. He was really good with kids, and he managed in Who Has Seen the Wind to get inside the head of a kid in a way that has rarely been done. He manages to dramatize how Brian a four – five – six – seven – up to eleven-year-old looks at the world – and that’s universal. He managed to create characters and in particular Brian looking at the world in a way that resonates with readers all over the world.
Saint Sammy and Brian: Saint Sammy calling down the wrath of the Lord to smite Bent Candy’s new red barn. Illustration by William Kurelek from the 75th Anniversary Edition of Who Has Seen the Wind. Available from Freehand Books.
JAMES
So, I got the 75th-anniversary edition of Who Has Seen the Wind out of the Calgary library and it’s a very beautiful book. It came out last year. Has beautiful illustrations. The typeset. The cover. The paper that you use. It’s really just a work of art. And I came across a passage early in the book where he’s describing Brian lying in his bed trying to fall asleep.
“For a long time he had lain listening to the night noises that stole out of the dark to him. Distant he had heard the sound of grown up voices casual in the silence, welling up to almost spilling over, then subsiding. The cuckoo clock had poked the stillness nine times; the house cracked its knuckles, the night wind stirring through the leaves of the poplar just outside his room on the third floor strengthening in its intensity until it was wild at his screen.”
And that’s just beautiful and that reminded me of my own childhood and being in bed listening to the sounds of the house before falling asleep, and I know this is probably an impossible task, but do you have a favourite passage? Is there a passage you could select from your father’s writing that is for you perfect?
ORM
There are so many. I was thinking about Who Has Seen the Wind and the last three pages of Who Has Seen the Wind – is a wonderful prose poem. And in fact, when he was writing that he had his Bible open at Ecclesiastes and he was trying to catch the rhythms and pauses and repetitions of Ecclesiastics. It’s a very significant passage for me because I can remember standing in the High River Cemetery when we buried my father and that was the passage that I read from as part of our family ceremony.
But there’s one passage from How I Spent My Summer Holidays which is kind of a companion novel to Who Has Seen the Wind. You can imagine Brian, now grown up and going into adolescence. How I Spent My Summer Holidays at the human level is a much darker book than Who Has Seen the Wind. But there’s a scene right at the beginning where Hugh the narrator, who’s in his 70s, has gone back to his prairie town roots and he says,
“As I walked from Government Road toward the Little Souris, the wind and the grasshoppers and the very smell of the prairie itself – grass cured under the August Sun, with the subtle menthol of sage – worked nostalgic magic on me. These were the same bannering gophers suddenly stopping up into tent-pegs, the same stilting killdeer dragging her wing ahead of me to lure me away from her young; this was the same sun fierce on my vulnerable and mortal head. Now and as a child I walked out here to ultimate emptiness, and gazed to no sight destination at all. Here was the melodramatic part of the earth’s skin that had stained me during my litmus years, fixing my inner and outer perspective, dictating the terms of the fragile identity contract I would have with my self for the rest of my life.”
And I just love that prose that is so rich in detail. And my sense of the three most significant novels that he wrote are Who Has Seen the Wind his first novel, The Vanishing Point, and How I Spent My Summer Holidays. Those are books that will last, I think.
W.O. Mitchell
JAMES
I know it’s hard to sum up the life of a man in a short interview, after all, you and Barb have written a two-volume biography about your father. But how would you describe your father, the writer, the public person? And then how would you describe W.O. Mitchell, the man – your father?
ORM
The main thing he wanted to write was a story set in the real world and to create characters that interact in a very realistic way in order to explore larger human truths. But he wasn’t just a writer who typed stories that would appear in print. He also was an oral storyteller, and he gave his one-man shows – and he always used to call them one-man shows – because he didn’t give the usual literary readings where someone is introduced and then he reads a passage and takes questions from the audience. He gave one-man shows where he went on stage and he performed. And even something like his Jake and the Kid series on CBC – those are oral narratives. He really drew on the oral storytelling traditions of Western Canada.
Hugh, Willa, and Orm along with their mother Merna, Demi Tasse their minature poodle, and Beau their Chesapeake Bay Retriever listen to W.O. tell a story. High River 1956
And I suppose that’s one of the reasons why both Barb and I have this feeling – not an obligation – but this feeling that we want to continue that legacy of my father’s writing, but also both Barb and I were very moved on opening night because we felt we had achieved the goal of continuing his legacy as a storyteller on the stage as well.
As a private person, as a father, he really knew the child’s world. Not only did he know how to write about children, but he also knew how to react with them, and how to interact with them. And my brother Hugh and my sister Willa and I were blessed with a father who was sympathetic and who knew that child’s world, and he played with us, and he was really a wonderful parent to have and to grow up with.
Nathan Schmidt as W.O. Mitchell in the Rosebud Theatre production of Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell.
Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell is a joyful, fun, and feel-good night at the theatre all brought to life on the Rosebud Theatre’s Opera House stage in a brilliant performance by Nathan Schmidt.
Based on the works of W.O. Mitchell and penned by his son and daughter-in-law, Orm and Barbara Mitchell, the play weaves together an entertaining and insightful script that travels between Mitchell’s fiction and the story of his life.
Mitchell was a writer, performer, and teacher who is best known for his 1947 novel Who Has Seen the Wind. The novel beautifully captures small-town life and the world as seen through the eyes of a young Brian O’Connal growing up on the Saskatchewan prairie. Mitchell is also known for his Jake and the Kid stories which were popular radio plays during the 1950s. No stranger to the stage himself W.O. Mitchell was a storyteller who performed his one-man shows across Canada and penned several plays for the stage including The Kite, The Devil’s Instrument, and The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon.
I contacted Orm Mitchell to talk with him about his father’s work and the journey Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell took to reach the stage. You can read that interview by following the link above. I also spoke with Nathan Schmidt to talk with him about the production and the challenges of performing a one-man show.
JAMES HUTCHISON
What was your reaction when you first read the script and knew you were going to be playing W.O. Mitchell?
NATHAN SCHMIDT
I’ve done a couple of W.O. Mitchell shows. I’ve been in Jake and the Kid, and I’ve done The Kite twice, so lots about the script felt familiar, and I had experienced W.O.’s writing. So, I knew that he was funny, but the scarier thing was I thought, “Oh, man, I’ve got to play this real person who people know.” Whereas Daddy Sherry or Jake – those are characters. Those live in the imagination. It’s a different thing when somebody lives in the real world. And Morris Ertman our Artistic Director would say “When we open Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell all the family is going to come and watch the show.” And I was like, “Oh, my gosh. I’m going to have to play the father or the grandparent of these people in the audience.” So that was the most intimidating thing.
Morris Ertman and Orm Mitchell Opening Weekend Talk Back of Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell
Barbara and Orm Mitchell
Orm and Barbara Mitchell at Chapters Book Signing
75th Anniversary Edition of Who Has Seen the Wind by W.O. Mitchell. Illustrated by William Kurelek. Available from Freehand Books.
W.O. Mitchell
JAMES
Even a one-man show needs a director. For this show, it was Karen Johnson-Diamond. How did the two of you work on the play? What was that process like?
NATHAN
As an actor, Karen has done a number of W.O. Mitchell plays. I think she had been in Who Has Seen the Wind and Jake the Kid and she had a love of W.O. Mitchell as well. So, she came in with a lot of love for the stories and a lot of knowledge about W.O. Mitchell. But she’s also just a wonderfully comedic actor and performer, and so her sense of comedy and her sense of how this thing would play was really just spot on. And all of the direction that she offered to me was really helpful to clarify the joke and to clarify how the show moves forward.
What she really loved about the structure of the play is how it follows him through his life from like six to seven when he loses his father – to ten to eleven – to high school – all the way through to Daddy Sherry and misses a bit of the middle, because as W.O. Mitchell says in the story – he’s kind of focused on the first part of life and the end part of life. Those are the concentrated bits that it seemed his imagination was drawn to.
So, we would do a lot of work with linking. Linking how this story moved to this story and then to this story. And W.O Mitchell had a way of making it feel like it was all sort of off the cuff, but in the end, it was all very planned, and he was coming back to stuff he’d set up earlier and he had really worked out how the punchlines worked and how the ideas and stories came around. So, we did a lot of work like that to try and get into the head of the writer and the storyteller. It was a great process. She was wonderful.
The Kite – Rosebud Theatre – 2019
The Sunset Limited – Rosebud Theatre – 2016
Freud’s Last Session – Rosebud Theatre – 2014
Doubt, A Parable – Rosebud Theatre – 2014
Fiddler on the Roof – Rosebud Theatre – 2008
Man of La Mancha – Rosebud Theatre – 2009
The Spitfire Grill – Rosebud Theatre – 2017
A Christmas Carol – Rosebud Theatre – 2020 & 2021
The Diary of Adam & Eve – Rosebud Theatre – 2011
Oliver! – Rosebud Theatre – 2010
Damien – Rosebud Theatre – 2018
The Drawer Boy – Rosebud Theatre – 2006
May & Joe – Rosebud Theatre – 2011
The Secret Garden – Rosebud Theatre – 2010
Jake and the Kid: Prairie Seasons – Rosebud Theatre – 2011
Underneath the Lintel – Rosebud Theatre Production – 2013
The Kite – Rosebud Theatre – 2005
The Lion, The Witch And the Wardrobe – Rosebud Theatre – 2014
An Inspector Calls – Rosebud Theatre – 2016
Stones In His Pockets – Rosebud Theatre – 2022
The Trip to Bountiful – Rosebud Theatre – 2023
Cotton Patch Gospell – Rosebud Theatre – 2013
It’s a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play – Rosebud Theatre – 2013
Nathan Schmidt as W.O. Mitchell in the Rosebud Theatre production of Magic Lies: An Evening with W.O. Mitchell.
JAMES
This is your 50th performance on the Rosebud stage and so I’m wondering when you look back on all the parts you’ve played do some of those characters have a lasting influence on you in any way?
NATHAN
Yeah, there’s a couple that really stick – that I learned a lot about myself from and sometimes that’s uncomfortable. I was in Doubt by John Patrick Shanley and that was a really uncomfortable play for me to be in. It taught me a lot about who I am when I’m helpless and so those things kind of stick. The character teaches you something about who you really are because your instincts as a person are either in conflict with the character or line up with the character in ways that are surprising. That was a big one. I did a Cormac McCarthy play called The Sunset Limited and that was also another hard one.
As W.O. Mitchell says, those characters marked me. And I think the thing I love most is the relationship that characters create with the audience. One of my favourite things I ever got to do was The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey. I was playing one of the farmers. In The Drawer Boy, this young kid comes to hang out at the farm and find out about these two old guys. It was an older character, and I was younger, and I was really worried because it didn’t feel real. I didn’t feel in it, and I was really up in my head about it and nervous, you know, that I was a fraud or I was going to fail, and then one of the things that actually cinched me into it was – I don’t remember how it came about – but maybe it was offered by Morris and he said, “Here’s a toothpick. Just chew on the toothpick for the whole show.”
And so, I would have these toothpicks in the show, and I just chewed on this toothpick the whole time, and it helped me feel like that cranky grumpy guy in that story. Well, you know, a bit later – after the run, I got a little blue index card in the mail and on it was glued a toothpick, and on the backside, this person had written, “We attended the show and your Morgan was like seeing my grandfather alive again, and he passed away in 80 whatever.” She was so clear that she had an experience of seeing her grandpa that day, and I was able to offer her unbeknownst to me an experience like that. And so, you know that play holds a special place for me too because of that story. It’s quite a lovely play.
W.O. Mitchell reading at Trent University
JAMES
W.O. Mitchell perfected the technique of appearing not to be performing. To be spontaneous and to appear as if he was telling the story for the first time. So, he’d draw his audience in through deliberate mistakes or confusion, he’d say, “Oh, did I tell you? Or I forgot to mention.” And in your performance, you totally capture that sense of spontaneous and unrehearsed storytelling. So much so that my son heard a couple of ladies leaving the theatre and they enjoyed the show, but they remarked that they were surprised that you seemed to lose your place and had to go back. Which means to them it was completely natural. So, to me you’re one of those actors who really achieves a feeling of reality in your performance no matter what part you’re playing. That’s a long speil just to ask, how do you do that?
NATHAN
Morris said this the other day and I think it’s true. I think when we get curious about people then we kind of fall in love with them. And I think it’s true of the characters we play, and I think in the rehearsal there is something about just falling in love with the reality of whoever they are and whatever drives them. You’ve heard it said that one of the actor’s adages is don’t judge the character even if you’re a villain. Villains are motivated by what they believe to be true or good or at least by what is in their best interests.
And I think the actor’s job overall – and W.O. Mitchell did this in spades too – is to collect people. To watch people and to observe what they do and why they do it without judgment and to allow them to steep into you and to become part of you and the energy of being them and how they participate in the world. It’s partly that and it’s partly just having fun. It’s just fun to try and make it as real as possible.
Saint Sammy and Brian: Saint Sammy calling down the wrath of the Lord to smite Bent Candy’s new red barn. Illustration by William Kurelek from the 75th Anniversary Edition of Who Has Seen the Wind. Available from Freehand Books.
JAMES
You know, it’s interesting that you mentioned fun, and I think W.O. Mitchell is able to capture the feeling of childhood and play and imagination and curiosity. What are your thoughts about the child within you in terms of that living in you as an actor?
NATHAN
I have three kids now and when I watch the four-year-old and two-year-old play for them every game is real. They just believe it. My little guy just thinks he’s the Flash. He thinks he’s the fastest thing going and so he’ll be like, “Watch this Dad.” And he will just run through and he’s like, “You didn’t even see me, did you.” And I remember as a kid wearing my North Star Velcro runners and those are the fastest shoes, and I can run so fast in my North Star shoes because they’ve got shooting stars on them and that makes my feet fast. And I believed it to be true.
Our adult logic brains know it’s not true, but it could be in your imagination. And the audience does the same thing. They all know they’re not seeing W.O. Mitchell. Karen said, “Nobody’s coming to see the actual W.O. Mitchell. They’re coming to have an experience of W.O. Mitchell and if we deliver it in a way that doesn’t give them any reason to doubt too much – then the audience will let their imagination see me as him.” And so, you know, I think our imagination is a remarkable and amazing gift, and I think as creatives we may access it a little bit more at times, but it’s there for everyone. They just have to access it.
JAMES
This is storytelling at its simplest and best. One actor. Minimal set. What is it like for you as a performer doing a one-man show? How do you create that connection with your audience?
NATHAN
I’ve done a number of one-person shows now and it gets to be a lonely room as opposed to having one or two other people or a group of actors to hang out with. It can be lonely in that way, but the audience really becomes the best friend of the show. And especially in something like this where it’s such a direct address. The whole point of the show is the relationship of the storyteller to the audience. At the end of the play, W.O. says that this is the thing – the energy of a live audience responding to a story – that’s where it’s at.
And for me, that is where it’s at. I love that relationship. I’m always curious about it and excited about it. Sometimes puzzled by it, you know, sometimes it lands really well, and people just explode with laughter and sometimes they don’t, and you can’t put together all of why that is, but people get to be who they are and so it’s a really lovely sort of bond that I’ve come to love about performing. And that’s the amazing thing about storytelling in theatre. And at the end of the play he says,
“You know…the energy of death lies behind everything I’ve written—it’s death and solitude that justify story telling. Telling stories draws us human aliens together in the mortal family, uniting us against the heart of darkness, defending us against the terror of being human. Writing’s a lonely act—like playing a dart game with the lights out. You have no idea whether your darts are coming anywhere near the bull’s-eye. But this (open handed gesture to audience)…this dilutes the darkness, gives me what all stage performers love—that immediate thrust of a live audience responding to story magic. (Looking out to audience, grins). We were flying tonight!”
Deidra Michel as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Last year I started my theatre season by seeing a production of Misery at Vertigo Theatre starring Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes and Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon. The production was directed by Jamie Dunsdon and it was so good I saw it twice. And this year I had a chance to start my theatre season with another Stephen King story by sitting in on the dress rehearsal for the Front Row Centre Players production of Carrie: The Musical.
Stephen King – Photo by Shane Leonard
Stephen King’s writing career or as I like to call it – his Decades-Long Reign of Terror – could conceivably be traced back to the publication of his first novel Carrie in 1974. That novel changed King’s life. In fact, he threw his first few pages of Carrie into the garbage and wasn’t going to spend any more time working on the story until – his wife Tabatha fished it out of the garbage and read it and said it was good and he should finish it.
So, he did. And when the publisher sold the paperback rights for $400,000 half of which went to King, he was able to quit his teaching job and begin writing full time. And I suppose there is an alternate universe where he threw away the story and his wife tossed it out with the garbage and Stephen King remained a teacher of high school students and retired after 40 years of public service and at the age of sixty-five moved to Florida where he enjoys lawn bowling and dining out at the all you can eat Crazy Buffet. Now there’s a horror story. If you want to hear King tell the story of how Carrie came to be check out the link at the bottom of this post where he tells the story in his own words.
Carrie started as a novel in 1974 and became a successful movie in 1976 that starred Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, Piper Laurie, and Nancy Allen. In 1988 Carrie was slated for a Broadway run as a musical. And why not? There are plenty of successful horror musicals such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Evil Dead The Musical, and Little Shop of Horrors. Carrie with its supernatural elements and high school drama seems like the perfect story to adapt into a musical. Unfortunately, the original Broadway Production shut down after only 16 previews and five performances and a loss of seven million dollars, but it was far from dead.
Deidra Michel as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
There was an Off-Broadway revival in 2012 where the score and book were revised by the original composers Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford, and writer Lawrence D. Cohen and several of the original songs were replaced with new compositions. Our own Calgary connection to the story is that the current artistic director of Theatre Calgary Stafford Armia was involved in the readings and workshops that lead to the 2012 revival. This led to an Off-West End production in 2015 that opened to mostly positive reviews.* And when I checked Concord Theatricals which controls the performance rights for the show they had over 50 scheduled productions listed. So, I’d say Carrie has finally found its audience.
And that’s partly because one of the things that makes King such a successful writer is that he writes sympathetic and relatable characters that find themselves in unusual or supernatural circumstances. Life is often cruel and unfair in his stories and that’s one of the reasons we find them so compelling. – who doesn’t like to cheer for the underdog? In The Shining Jack Torrence isn’t simply a mallet-wielding psychopath. No, he’s a man trying to stay sober and be a good father while fighting the supernatural forces that are leading him toward a murderous path. And in The Shawshank Redemption who doesn’t cheer for the innocent Andy Dufresne wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife and sent to prison where his efforts to prove his innocence are thwarted by a corrupt warden and prison system? And who doesn’t travel back to their own long summer days of childhood while watching Stand by Me because it’s a story about friendship, doing the right thing, and being a kid on summer vacation.
Deidra Michel as Carrie White, Becky Salmond as Miss Gardner and Willow Martens as Chris Hargensen in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Deidra Michel as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Deidra Michel as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Alexa Jobs as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Lyndsey Paterson as Margaret White & Alexa Jobs as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Lyndsey Paterson as Margaret White & Deidra Michel as Carrie White in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Russell Bishop as Mr. Stephens and Alexa Jobs as Carrie in the FRC Production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Kianna King as Sue Snell in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Kianna King as Sue Snell and Nolan Brown as Tommy Ross in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Willow Martens as Chris Hargensen in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Deidra Michel as Carrie White and Becky Salmond as Miss Gardner in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Deidra Michel as Carrie White and Selwyn Halabi as Billy Nolan in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Willow Martens as Chris Hargensen in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Dwaigne Quierra as Freddy in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Becky Salmond as Miss Gardner, Deidra Michel as Carrie White, and Nolan Brown as Tommy Ross in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Deidra Michel as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Nolan Brown as Tommy Ross & Alexa Jobs as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Lyndsey Paterson as Margaret White & Alexa Jobs as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Alexa Jobs as Carrie and Kianna King as Sue Snell in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Alexa Jobs as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Deidra Michel as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
In Carrie, the plot follows Carrie White a shy girl who lives on the edge of the high school community and when not fading into the background at school she spends her time at home with her fanatical Christian mother Margaret White who practices a particularly toxic religious faith. Margaret has kept Carrie in the dark about the facts of life and so when her daughter experiences her first period in the girl’s locker room shower, Carrie reacts with horror and panic. Rather than helping Carrie the rest of the class, being typical high school kids, make her an object of ridicule as they taunt and bully her. It isn’t until the gym teacher, Miss Gardner, steps in that the girls back off and are asked to apologize. When Chris Hargensen refuses to apologize and instead tells Carrie to “eat sh*t” Rita bans Chris from attending the prom.
Sue Snell one of the popular girls who participated in the taunting feels particularly guilty about her treatment of Carrie and convinces her boyfriend Tommy Ross to take Carrie to the prom instead of her. At first reluctant he finally agrees to ask Carrie to the prom, and she accepts. Meanwhile outraged over missing the prom and blaming Carrie for her troubles Chris along with her boyfriend Billy Noland plot their revenge. While all this is going on Carrie discovers that she has telekinetic powers and in the days leading up to the prom she practices her abilities at home by moving and levitating objects. Needless to say, while the prom goes well initially for Carrie this is Stephen King and you know things aren’t going to end well.
Nolan Brown as Tommy Ross & Deidra Michel as Carrie in the FRC production of Carrie: The Musical. Photo Brittany Doucet-Lewis
Director Kristine Astop has assembled a talented group of young actors with the lead role being split between Deidra Michel and Alexa Jobs who play Carrie on alternating performances. On the night I saw the show Deidra Michel was playing Carrie and gave a heartfelt performance as Carrie navigates her dismal existence between her life as an outcast at school and her abusive life at home with her mother. Lyndsey Paterson as Carrie’s salvation-obsessed mother can be loving but also savage and terrifying in her zeal to wage war against the world and rid it of sin. Kianna King does a terrific job of playing the guilt-ridden Sue Snell who only wants to make amends for how she treated Carrie. Nolan Brown gives a sympathetic performance as Sue’s boyfriend Tommy Ross the jock with a poet’s heart. Willow Martens is perfect as the self-absorbed and popular mean girl Chris Hargenson who takes things too far, and Selwyn Halabi has the right mix of cocky smart-ass attitude to play Billy Nolan, Chris’ boyfriend, and partner in crime.
The set designed by Jamie Eastgaard-Ross features a multi-leveled platform across the back of the stage that effectively creates different acting spaces that represent the school, Carrie’s home, and the gym on prom night. There’s also live music which is always a bonus when it comes to musicals. A live band can respond to the subtle differences that happen during a performance from night to night and add to the energy of the production.
As far as the actual music goes it sets the scene and moves the narrative along with the most powerful numbers being given to Carrie’s mother Margaret. And perhaps that’s because she’s the most extreme character. She’s the one who is going to save her daughter from damnation and will do anything in order to achieve that. But what I think Carrie: The Musical seems to be missing is a few hit songs – songs that go beyond the stage and make their way into pop culture. Songs like “The Time Warp” from The Rocky Horror Picture Show or “The Music of the Night” from The Phantom of the Opera – songs that a lot of people know even if they haven’t seen the musical.
Even so, I enjoyed the show and I think what makes Carrie work today is the fact that all the behaviour we see on stage is certainly reflected in the worst aspects of social media and how we treat each other online. In fact, you could simply argue that social media is just a tool for behaviours that have already been a part of our tribal repertoire for generations. And that undercurrent of hate and anger and mob behaviour creates a sinister feeling to the events that unfold on stage and that’s the perfect subject matter for a musical, don’t you think?
FURTHER READING
How Carrie changed Stephen King’s life and began a generation of horror: Writers and readers recall the shock of reading the debut novel about a high-school outcast who discovers paranormal powers and reflects on its huge influence. by Alison Flood. The Guardian. April 4, 2014
* Carrie: The Musical: Originally premiering in the U.K. in 1988, Carrie opened on Broadway at the Virginia Theatre the same year, but closed after 16 previews and five regular performances.
Talking Volumes: Stephen King on “Carrie” Author Stephen King talks about his first published novel, “Carrie,” during the Talking Volumes series at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. Kerri Miller hosted the live event on November 18, 2009. He tells the story about how his wife Tabatha fished Carrie out of the trash after King had thrown the first few pages away and decided not to finish it.
Bronwyn Steinberg Artistic Director of Lunchbox Theatre – Photo by David Leyes
Bronwyn Steinberg the Artistic Director of Lunchbox Theatre is a passionate community builder focused on making theatre an inclusive gathering space where stories are shared that celebrate the diversity of human experience.
“The thing is humans are storytellers and stories are the best way I know to help people understand different people’s perspectives, and if you do understand different perspectives that will – at least in my dreams and in my hopes – help lead to more equity and egalitarian workings in the world and something that is less dominated by money and power.”
I sat down with Bronwyn a few weeks ago to talk with her about Bertolt Brecht, the exciting new season at Lunchbox, and her passion for theatre.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Since you were six years of age, you’ve been sitting in on rehearsals because your mother was a drama teacher at the time and she’s now a professor at the University of Calgary. Tell me a little bit about growing up in the rehearsal hall, and how you think that relates to your life’s path.
BRONWYN STEINBERG
Some of my earliest memories are of going with my mom to the rehearsal hall, and I remember she was directing Grease, the musical. And she was very serious about her rehearsal hall. The kids had to be in character all the time. Even if they weren’t on stage. And I just thought it was fun. I just thought it was normal that you grew up and you did plays. And it wasn’t just seeing my mom in rehearsal. She also took me to plays my whole life, and as soon as I had opportunities to do after-school plays I always did them, and so the magic of theatre was always there, and I got to see so many shows, and I just always knew it was something I wanted to do.
The Great Canadian Theatre Company’s 2018 production of Drowning Girls. Directed by Bronwyn Steinberg.
The Great Canadian Theatre Company’s 2018 production of Drowning Girls. Directed by Bronwyn Steinberg.
Bronwyn Steinberg embarking on a life in the theatre.
Bronwyn Steinberg rehearsing Pirate Jenny’s Circus for the 2009 Ottawa Fringe. Devised creation based on the works of Bertolt Brecht.
Bronwyn Steinberg rehearsing Pirate Jenny’s Circus for the 2009 Ottawa Fringe. Devised creation based on the works of Bertolt Brecht.
Breath of Kings: Rebellion at Stratford. Directed by Weyni Mengesha with Assistant Director Bronwyn Steinberg
JAMES
Would you attribute any of your style of directing to having spent those early years watching your mother direct?
BRONWYN
I don’t know if I can pinpoint anything. I have certainly learned a lot from my mom both from just watching the way that she works and the way she is in the world and the way she is as my mom because she’s an incredibly powerful personality and super smart and very strong. I’ve learned how to step into a leadership role when needed, but also I’ve learned how to let someone else lead. And I think that serves me as a director. So, when I need to really take charge in the room I can, but I’m also really good at stepping back and empowering other folks to also have leadership within the space.
JAMES
I was doing some research and I came across a couple of past interviews where you mentioned you studied Bertolt Brecht.1 Brecht was an innovative voice in the theatre, and he was very unconventional in his thinking and approach. He believed theatre should challenge an audience and their view of the world not simply be entertainment. So, what is it about Brecht’s approach to theatre that you find exciting, and what influence has it had on your own work?
BRONWYN
It comes back to my folks and my background and who I am in the world, thanks to my family. My parents Shirley and Joe were always very politically engaged and very much on the left end of the spectrum. And their approach to education was deeply influenced by Paulo Freire2 and critical pedagogy. I am not a Freire scholar, nor would I call myself a Brecht scholar either but what’s interesting is both Freire and Brecht are coming out of similar times even though they are in very different places in the world. They’re coming out of a need to speak against powerful regimes and speak up for the common person. And there was always a feeling observing my parents growing up that felt like whatever I did, whether it was in theatre or otherwise, I had to have a sense of social justice and doing good in the world, and speaking up for people or finding a way to help empower people whose voices haven’t been heard.
And so, when I started learning about Brecht, I found he was one of those theatre creators who took a political philosophy that kind of inherently made sense to me and figured out a way to play with it on stage in his practice. The thing is humans are storytellers and stories are the best way I know to help people understand different people’s perspectives, and if you do understand different perspectives that will – at least in my dreams and in my hopes – help lead to more equity and egalitarian workings in the world and something that is less dominated by money and power.
Lincoln Centre Theatre 2018 Directors Lab. Photograph Joan Marcus
JAMES
So, you’ve gotten experience early in your career at the Lincoln Center in New York and at the Stratford Festival here in Canada. I’m wondering how those particular experiences were a value to both your artistic practice and the development of your career.
BRONWYN
The Lincoln Center was an opportunity to be part of the Directors Lab, so it wasn’t part of their regular programming. I didn’t work on any shows but for three weeks in two summers, I got to be part of a seventy-person lab of people from all over the world talking about directing and engaging with ideas about why we make theatre and how we do it. There was about a third from the New York region and then another third from across the US and then the other third was from all over the world. And at Lincoln Center and at Stratford part of what was so important to my development, both as an artist and within the structure of my career was meeting people. It’s all about the people you meet and the different ideas that are sparked in random conversations over lunch or sitting under a tree or in the rehearsal hall.
It was really powerful for me to learn at Stratford that yes, I was surrounded by some of Canada’s most talented and experienced theatre artists, but they’re also humans and everybody making a play kind of does some of the same things. We all go into rehearsal and put a thing on stage, and we speak the same language even though our approaches are really different. But we’re all just trying to tell a good story and reach an audience and make it clear and make it compelling and make it entertaining and make it meaningful. And both of those experiences, I think, really helped me accept myself as an artist.
Stratford Langhamites – a group photo of participants from the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction after a masterclass with Mary Zimmerman
JAMES
You lived in Ottawa for twelve years. You got your MFA there and you made it home and you became a vital part of the local arts community. In 2013, you formed Theater Artists Cooperative: the Independent Collective Series, which is known by its acronym TACTICS.
TACTICS was designed to give independent artists an opportunity to stage larger-scale works beyond the production limitations of things like the Fringe and to let artists have larger casts and more sophisticated design elements.
And now we’re ten years later; TACTICS has been a huge success. You’ve staged multiple shows. You have a main stage series as well as a number of play development opportunities and though you are no longer in Ottawa as the artistic producer, you are still on the board.
So big congratulations. You started something and not everything that people start succeeds, you succeeded, and it must have taken a lot of drive, determination, and long hours. What was the process like? How did you stay motivated? And what sort of future do you envision for the festival?
BRONWYN
I’m really delighted that I was able to create something that didn’t just end when I left, which is so often what happens to a passion project, and it doesn’t mean the passion project isn’t valuable. It just means that it’s hard to sustain. And so, I’m really glad to see that the Ottawa community has embraced TACTICS and felt like it’s really a necessary thing.
Back in the beginning, I was slow to incorporate the organization. Slow to bring on a board of directors and slow to try to switch from project funding to operating funding because one of the things I really wanted to be sure of was, does Ottawa even need this? Or does Bronwyn need this?
And it was clear that I felt I needed something. I knew I wanted to be an artistic director and I didn’t know how to get a company to take me seriously if I didn’t have any experience. So, I thought, “Well, I’ll create something and be the artistic director of it, and I’ll learn a bunch and that will be a great stepping stone in my career, and hopefully it will make a contribution to the community.” But I wanted to see what contribution it was making in the community before I tried to put all the things in place so that it could sustain a transition.
And it was always a labour of love and always a passion project and I don’t ever want to try to consider how many hours I put into it and what money I actually got paid out of it because there was a lot of unpaid labour as I was building it. That’s not necessarily a good model to start an organization, but that’s the world we live in. If you’re some sort of entrepreneur, you kind of have to build it and hope that they come and then pass it on to new leadership.
I’m so deeply proud of it, and I’m so excited about the new leadership and the growth that is continuing to happen there. Micah Jondel DeShazer is now the Artistic Director, and Lydia Talajic is the General Manager. They’re the staff and now they actually do get to invoice all the hours that they work and have a salary.
TACTICS 2019 – Swedish Furniture by Matt Hertendy
TACTICS 2017 – girls! girls! girls! by Greg MacArthur, produced by Cart Before the Horse
TACTICS 2019 – Albumen by Mishka Lavigne
TACTICS 2018 workshop of Mad Margaret adapted by Bronwyn Steinberg from Shakespeare’s history plays
TACTICS 2019 – The Omnibus Bill by Darrah Teitel, directed by Esther Jun. Behind the Scenes.
TACTICS 2017 – The Hottentot Venus Untold by Jacqui du Toit
JAMES
You did an interview a couple of years ago where you said, Lunchbox is the right job of all the artistic director jobs you’d applied for. You said, “It’s the best fit, but it is also the best timing.” So, what made it the best fit? Why was it the best timing? And now that you’ve been in the job for a couple of years, how is it working out?
BRONWYN
I love Ottawa, but it’s a smaller city and I was ready for new opportunities. So, the timing was really good because we had incorporated TACTICS and had already started to think about a succession plan. But it was also late 2020 and my independent artist career was kind of like staring into a terrifying void like so many of us because everything had been cancelled. And I thought, “Oh, my God. What am I even going to do?” And I felt like I’d won the lottery getting an actual salary and a job at a time when no one knew when theatres were going to open again.
And I also think everything kind of happens for a reason because I did end up at the right place. I think Lunchbox’s emphasis on new works and new Canadian works is really something that is just very beloved by me. With TACTICS I did a lot of new play development and a lot of working with emerging artists. And Lunchbox has quite a history of being a place where emerging artists get their first professional gig or where more established artists get to try something new and actors get to become directors and a lot of what I was doing at TACTICS was creating opportunities for folks to work on a scale they hadn’t before.
And so, it just felt like such a natural fit in those ways. And the programming over the years has kind of a tradition of it’s at lunchtime and you want to have a good time at the theatre. And as much as I talk about socially relevant and political and meaningful work, I still always want to have a good time at the theatre. And even if I am doing something that could have quite heavy themes, I want people to leave feeling uplifted, and as I looked at the history of Lunchbox shows I could see that type of programming. So artistically it felt like a really good fit as well.
Garret Smith and Barbara Gates Wilson in Cottagers and Indians at LBT. Photo Benjamin Laird.
Chris Enright, Trevor Schmidt and Jake Tcaczyk in Flora and Fawna Have Beaver Fever (and so does Fleurette!) at LBT. Photo Benjamin Laird.
Kim Kilpatrick and Ginger in Raising Stanley / Life with Tulia at LBT. Photo Benjamin Laird
Raising Stanley / Life with Tulia by Kim Kilpatrick, Karen Bailey and Bronwyn Steinberg at LBT. Photo Benjamin Laird.
Jameela McNeil and Christopher Clare in Heaven at LBT. Photo Benjamin Laird.
Emily Dallas, Valerie Pearson, Eric Wigston, Sepidar Yeganeh Farid in Home for the Holidays at LBT. Photo Benjamin Laird.
LBT Stage Two workshop of These Moments of Shine by Camille Pavlenko.
Tiffany Thomas and Anna Dalgleish in Countries Shaped Like Stars at LBT. Photo Benjamin Laird.
Maezy Reign and Robert Klein in Shark Bite at LBT. Photo Tim Nguyen.
Kit Benz, Ali DeRegt and Jamie Konchak in All I Want for Christmas at LBT. Photo Benjamin Laird.
Kit Benz, Ali DeRegt and Jamie Konchak in All I Want for Christmas by LBT. Photo Benjamin Laird.
Lunchbox Theatre 2023/24 Season Graphics by Maezy Reign
Lunchbox Theatre 2023/24 Season Grapics by Maezy Reign
Lunchbox Theatre 2023/24 Season Graphics by Maezy Reign
Lunchbox Theatre 2023/24 Season Graphics by Maezy Reign
JAMES
Well, then why don’t we talk about how your current season of plays feeds into that and reflects Lunchbox in the Calgary theatre community and maybe in the Canadian theatre community?
BRONWYN
I don’t usually think of programming around a theme, but as I look at these four pieces, I have realized that all four of them depict moments in people’s lives where another person really changes who they are and changes who they are in the world, which is I hope what theatre does for everyone.
In The Dark Lady there’s this imagined relationship between William Shakespeare and Emilia Bassano that if it happened, it actually transformed the world for all of us because it transformed Shakespearean literature. With Bells On is about this unlikely pair that gets stuck in an elevator together, and it totally opens each of their eyes to different experiences of the world. Kisapmata is a beautiful love story between a visitor to Canada and a Canadian resident who is part of her diaspora. And then The Ballad of Georges Boivin is about this guy who after his wife of fifty years dies decides to go on a road trip from Quebec to Vancouver with his friends to see if his first love is still in Vancouver. He’s not trying to get back together with her he just wants to know if someone who meant something to him fifty years ago is still there.
When I look at these four plays, they really go together in that theme while also being wildly different styles and different kinds of playwrights. Kisapmata is a new play by emerging Calgary artist Bianca Miranda, so it’s very local. With Bells On was developed at Lunchbox about ten or fifteen years ago by Darrin Hagen. The Ballad of Georges Boivin is a translation from Quebec playwright Martin Bellemare. And The Dark Lady by Jessica B. Hill just premiered this summer at Shakespeare in the Ruins in Winnipeg and at Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. So, this season is a neat mix of things from – right here, right now; right here, ten years ago; and from other places across the country.
JAMES
In a time of infinite entertainment, we have YouTube, TikTok streaming services like Netflix and Disney+. There are all sorts of amazing shows out there, Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Flea Bag, and The Good Place. There are interactive games – Red Dead Redemption, The Last of Us and The Last of Us crossed over and made an amazing mini-series. And you still find good old-fashioned radio, books, and music. So, where in this massive, modern, mix of art, storytelling, and entertainment do you think theatre fits. What does it offer that makes it unique or special?
BRONWYN
I think it offers what it always offered, which is a chance to be in community while you hear a story. And I think that all the amazing entertainment that is out there and the different media that is out there is really exciting. I love it. I consume all kinds of different things as a watcher and sometimes player but that doesn’t replace the need to actually share in the live theatrical experience. It’s similar to watching the game on TV or going to the game. Going to the concert or listening to the recording. Even going to the movies versus watching it at home on Netflix. Humans are social and we understand something differently when we do it with other people.
This amazing thing always happens when the first audience arrives for a show. Suddenly as a director I see the play differently. The whole time I have been rehearsing the show I’m trying to think what will audiences not understand? What will they find funny. And all that stuff? And then when I have someone sitting next to me, and they don’t have to do anything. They don’t have to laugh. They don’t have to ask me a question. They don’t have to give me feedback. The fact of them sitting there while we watch the same thing together in the room – boom – makes me see it differently. The way we observe something is different in company.
And I think that theatre will always have an important place in our storytelling and in that human need for storytelling because of what it offers by doing it live. You feel it as an audience member and you certainly feel it as a performer or theatre maker and it’s like, okay, we have this moment together. We’re here. You’re watching me. I am watching you and we are sharing in this creation of this idea about this story or character. And it is something we do together.
Maezy Reign and Robert Klein in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry, directed by Chantelle Han. Set and Costumes by Bianca Guimarães, Sound by Kathryn Smith, Lighting by Ajay Bodoni. Photograph by Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
I noticed when I was doing some research for this interview that back in 2012 you did a production of The Hobbit at a prison. The only reason I mentioned it is because some years ago, I had an adaptation of my version of A Christmas Carol produced at a prison down in the US and I wrote a blog post about it. What was it like to do that show?
BRONWYN
Getting to do that show in the prison was a really special experience. It really taught me a lot about how important what we do is and how transformative it can be for people. And I got to attend a really neat conference presentation about prison theatre at an international theatre conference and they do a lot of theatre in prison in Italy. And it was an Italian director talking about it and everything he presented was amazing to me, but also completely unsurprising after my experience. They have found that in their prisons before the theatre program it was 60% of people that would re-offend or something like that and with inmates that had gone through their theatre program the rate was 6% and it was like this wild reduction.3
There is something really powerful about being a part of something like a theatre experience. It takes a person completely out of their day-to-day in the prison and gets them to be part of serving a greater purpose, which is the story and offering it to someone else, which is the audience. And I think we don’t realize how important it is for people to feel valued in the world and that they matter, and theatre is such a simple way to do that and it’s incredibly powerful. And actually, A Christmas Carol is kind of a great parallel because I think so much of Scrooge’s journey parallels what the guys that I worked with in prison were learning about being a part of something bigger and being a part of society in a way that a lot of them were never told they could.
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To purchase individual tickets to any Lunchbox show or play passes for the season visit the Lunchbox Theatre Box Office online or call 403-221-3708.
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1Bertolt Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956) was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. He developed the theory and practice of Epic Theatre. Epic Theatre proposes that a play should not cause the spectator to identify emotionally with the characters or action before him or her. Instead, theatre should provoke rational self-reflection and a critical view of the action on the stage. Brecht wanted audiences to have a critical perspective in order for them to recognize social injustice and exploitation and to be moved in order to go from the theatre and effect change in the outside world.
2Paulo Freire (19 September 1921 – 2 May 1997) was a Brazilian educator and philosopher who was a leading advocate of critical pedagogy. Critical pedagogy insists that issues of social justice and democracy are not distinct from acts of teaching and learning. The goal of critical pedagogy is emancipation from oppression through an awakening of the critical consciousness. When achieved, critical consciousness encourages individuals to effect change in their world through social critique and political action in order to self-actualize. His influential work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, is considered one of the foundational texts of the critical pedagogy movement.
INTiP – International Network of Theatre in Prison The INTiP intends to support theatre projects for planning, relationship-building, debate and qualification in prison institutions around the world. INTiP presents itself as an instrument, a reference to the many operators of this growing field in the context of a phenomenon that originated internationally over 60 years ago.
The 1000 Monkeys Project featuring five Calgary playwrights is just one of the many shows you can see during the unrestricted, unexpected, unforgettable 17th Annual Calgary Fringe Festival running in Inglewood from Friday, August 4th to Saturday, August 12th.
Other shows include:
Mail Ordered by Shanice Stanislaus – a “Pick of the Fringe” at last year’s Vancouver Fringe Festival that has been described as “Wildly Funny” and “Delightfully Interactive.”
Date Night by the Sunflower Collective Theatre – an interactive, semi-improvised play about dating, caring, and mental illness in today’s world where audiences navigate the awkwardness and joy of second dates and the intimacy of telling someone who you really are behind the dating profile.
Underbelly by Ragmop Theatre – a one-woman surrealist physical comedy featuring monsters, dismemberment, shower opera, inconceivable truths, and a hot date.
For complete details about all the shows in this year’s festival and to purchase tickets for in-person shows or on-demand shows visit the Calgary Fringe Festival Website or drop by the Fringe Festival Box Office at Festival Hall and pick up a program. Regular tickets are just $20 bucks with several shows offering multiple pay-what-you-want performances.
My own ten-minute comedy Happy Birthday Theo about two old friends who have fallen on hard times and now live in a junk heap is a part of the 1000 Monkeys Project and is presented by the Alberta Playwrights’ Network. I contacted Trevor Rueger the Executive Director of APN by e-mail to ask him a few questions about the Fringe and what exactly the 1000 Monkeys Project is all about.
TREVOR RUEGER
The two previous years we partnered with the Calgary Fringe and invited playwrights to spend 24 continuous hours writing a piece for presentation at the end of the 24 hours. We housed, fed, and watered the playwrights at Festival Hall the first weekend of the Fringe. When the 24 hours were up, the writers would go home and sleep, while we would read and rehearse the plays and then present them to an audience that evening.
Because the Fringe is getting back to pre-COVID levels for the amount of work they present (which is a great thing), our presentation time was limited. So, this year we decided to model the 1000 Monkeys Project on an event we produce in Edmonton called EDMONten. We invited Calgary and area playwrights to submit complete 10-minute plays. We had 23 entries, and a jury selected the 5 works that are being presented at this year’s Festival. So, we are considering ourselves the best value for money at the Calgary Fringe – you’re going to get 5 plays for the price of 1.
JAMES HUTCHISON
I like the ten-minute format. In fact, I think you can cover a lot in ten minutes. What are the things you think make for a great ten-minute play and just how big a story can you tell in that time?
TREVOR
I love 10-minute plays, not just because I have a short attention span… (stops writing because he gets a Twitter notification) …sorry where was I? I love 10–minute plays because as a writer you have to get to the crux of the story immediately. You don’t have a lot of time to linger in exposition, specifically about the time and setting.
This means that as a writer you are kind of forced to create a situation that is immediately recognizable to an audience and is universal in its theme. You are also forced as a writer to make the action immediate. If Hamlet was a ten-minute play, you would have the ghost of Hamlet’s father show up and say he was murdered by Claudius. “Ghost: Revenge my untimely murder. / Hamlet: I’m on it pops!” The plays this year are a variety of big themes and events, and small snapshots of human interaction.
JAMES
So, tell me a little about the plays we’re going to see. Are they comedies? Dramas? Rants about corporate greed or diatribes about pineapple on pizza? Are they stories of love? Ambition? Hope? Despair? What are we going to see?
TREVOR
You’re going to see a beautiful mix of plays – an absurdist look at corporate culture, a drama about the restaurant industry, a Beckett-esque search for the meaning of life, a scene from a mysterious waiting room, and a memory play. Each play is wildly different from the next, but what makes them fantastic is the well-crafted characters in a variety of situations dealing with a myriad of crises.
JAMES
Alright, you can’t have a reading without actors. Who are some of the actors you’ve lined up for the show?
TREVOR
Casting a number of plays for one presentation always presents a challenge. We can’t afford to hire the perfect actor for each character. So we cast an ensemble of really talented character actors who are able to make big, strong, and quick choices. What we tell the audience before we start the presentation is that “not every character will be portrayed exactly as written in terms of age, race, or gender, so we ask you to use your imagination.”
In the cast, this year is Elinor Holt who was most recently seen in the Stage West production of 9 to 5: The Musical, for which she received a Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Performance, Lara Schmitz an incredibly talented actor and writer, Eric Wigston who audiences will have seen on stages all over the city, and myself reading stage directions and taking on a couple of roles.
JAMES
This is the 17th year for the Calgary Fringe. We have Fringe Festivals all across Canada including some big ones in Edmonton and Winnipeg. There are lots of festivals in the U.S. and of course the big one in Edinburgh. I’m curious about a couple of things. First, what do you think the Fringe offers artists and second, what do you think audiences get out of Fringe Festivals?
TREVOR
What the Fringe offers artists is an opportunity to create and present without limits. It provides an artist, or collective of artists an opportunity to experiment, develop, and test-drive their material in front of a live breathing audience. What audiences get are the fruits of those labours. The Fringe offers both the artist and the audience an opportunity to take risks. As an artist you might discover that your work has the opportunity for a bigger life after the Fringe, and for an audience you might be seeing the first version of a play that makes it big!
JAMES
I’ve seen some great shows at the Fringe including Six Guitars and Nashville Hurricane by Chase Padgett, God is a Scottish Drag Queen by Mike Delamont, and Clarence Darrow with Brian Jensen playing the legendary lawyer. What has been a great show or two you’ve seen at the Fringe and why and what has it been that has made them so memorable or inventive?
TREVOR
My very first Fringe (Edmonton) as an artist, in 1990 I saw a production of Macbeth by a company called English Theatre In A Suitcase – 5 actors, 90 minutes, 7-minute two-handed broadsword fight at the end. It blew my mind. The only thing that wasn’t created on the stage by the actors was the lighting. It was so simple and dynamic at the same time.
Two of the other memorable shows were made memorable by the fact that they were one-person shows by people who were not actors. They were people who had overcome something major in their lives and shared their very personal experiences. What made them both great was that what they shared was not for the benefit of their own personal healing, but was for the audience to examine themselves and their own situations and hardships. What makes a Fringe show great to me, is the same thing that makes theatre great – the sharing a story with an audience, not the indulging in a story for the artist’s ego.
Katharine Venour in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien. Directed by Morris Ertman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
The stage lets us travel to other times and places and this summer Rosebud Theatre is taking audiences on a journey to South Africa during the time of Apartheid in Pamela Gien’s 2001 Obie Award-winning play The Syringa Tree. Apartheid was an institutionalized system of legalized racial segregation between South Africa’s white minority and nonwhite majority that existed from 1948 until the early 1990s.
Katharine Venour plays twenty-two different characters in a one-woman show that tells a story about two families – one white and one black – caught in the grips of a system where the colour of your skin determines your place and opportunities in South African society. The primary narrator of the story is Elizabeth the six-year-old white daughter of Isaac her Jewish father and Eugenie her Catholic mother. In the play her nanny Salamina secretly gives birth to a daughter she names Moliseng. Elizabeth’s family and Salamina’s family are forced to hide and protect Moliseng from the authorities and other members of the community. Although the story contains tragic events the play ultimately delivers a message of love and hope.
The Syringa Tree is a powerful story told on an intimate stage in a brilliantly directed production by Morris Ertman that mixes a simple set with sound and lights to create a world where Katharine Venour delivers a compelling and deeply moving performance. I contacted Katharine after seeing the show to ask her some questions about her approach to acting as well as questions about the play including how seeing the story through the eyes of a child impacts how the story is told.
JAMES HUTCHISON
What do we mean when we say that an actor’s job is to serve the story?
KATHARINE VENOUR
I think the story is the most important part of the theatre experience. The story is everything. And the actor’s job is to speak the story, speak the words as truthfully and powerfully and clearly as possible and to bring that story to life for an audience.
Most professional actors go through a 4-year training program – either at a university or an acting school – to train their bodies, voices, hearts, and minds to become good instruments in the telling of story. As an actor, my goal is to be the best storyteller that I can be.
I believe that an actor is engaged in an act of service when she takes on a role. You are serving something bigger than you. Your job is to lift up and embody the words and character and vision that the playwright has created for you on the page. The playwright has woven a world, and as an actor I need to figure how I fit into the world and vision of the playwright.
Words are at the heart of the theatre and they can be the conveyors of truth and beauty. I want to speak those words in a truthful and compelling way for an audience, and that takes technique and imagination and inspiration. These are tools that an actor learns and hones in an acting program and throughout one’s career.
Many actors continue to take workshops with master teachers throughout their careers to continue to grow and improve as artists. It’s a life-long craft and process that requires humility and courage. For me, the best way I take it on is to know that it’s bigger than me. That makes the work meaningful.
Katharine Venour in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien. Directed by Morris Ertman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
How much do you think an actor’s performance is based on analysis and reason and how much do you think is based on instinct? Or maybe how do those two things mix when you’re working on a part?
KATHARINE
Yes, this is a great question. I think critical analytical skills in reading a play as well as instinct and gut response are all valuable and crucial for me as an actor.
During my acting training at the University of Calgary, acting students were required to take courses on theatre history where we read three plays a week and analyzed them. I think this was great for me as an actor – and also coincided with my love for literature which I continued in my graduate literature studies at UBC – so I loved it.
I think learning about themes, imagery, character relationships, conflict and the overall structure of a play – as varied as that can be – is so helpful to me as an actor and fires up my imagination and helps me to understand the vision of a playwright and then the director and how I can bring the character I play to life.
But instinct and that gut reaction and the way a play calls to you as an actor are also powerful tools for the actor. For me, I have to feel a heart connection to a story. And I don’t really know how to explain that except that I feel like I want to be part of the story. I want to be a part of speaking it into the world because it is meaningful to me and I connect emotionally or spiritually to it. And in the acting moment on stage, you learn as an actor how to follow your instincts for playing a scene or a moment. For me, the physicality of the character and the voice are significant places where I start and where I really live as an actor onstage.
I think this is why I’m so drawn to and fascinated by athletes. I think acting is about action – doing – and figuring how the body communicates. You want to embody a character and that requires attention and figuring out what the physical life is for the character moment by moment. Once you figure that out, acting is very, very liberating and free.
Katharine Venour in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien. Directed by Morris Ertman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
Let’s talk a little bit about the play you’re currently in – The Syringa Tree. The play starts in 1963 and is told for a large part by Elizabeth a young child living with her parents in South Africa during Apartheid. It’s always an interesting choice to have a story told from a child’s perspective and I’m curious what you think having that viewpoint brings to the telling of the story.
KATHARINE
Well to begin with, the play is based on the playwright, Pamela Gien’s, experience as a child growing up in South Africa. Though most of the characters are fictional, they are shaped and informed by her life as a child. So, there is that somewhat autobiographical element to the choice of speaking the story through a child as Gien herself was a child growing up in South Africa during apartheid, and this is her story.
Also, the choice of telling this story through a child is a powerful way for an audience to connect to and empathize with the main character of the play, who is an innocent. Her naivety leads her to report what she sees, and she doesn’t judge or have the skills of an adult to fully process them. We see her experience and begin to work things out.
Lizzy is also an imaginative and emotionally open child, and so it’s fascinating to see into her world. We see her powerful love for her black nanny, Salamina, and Salamina’s child, Moliseng. And that relationship is at the very heart of the play.
The play is, in part, about family – two families who cross racial divides to bond with one another. Two mothers. Two children. And we see how their lives are intertwined even when living in a brutally divisive and dangerous apartheid society that actively and in the most authoritarian way seeks to divide them. In the telling of her story, Lizzy conjures up, as an imaginative child would do, the people who had a profound impact on her.
Having the main character as a child, also allows the play to gesture towards the invisible world of imagination, and then also to the invisible world of faith or the miraculous as moments of grace subtly break through into the characters’ lives at different moments in the story. The things we cannot see are given a part to play in this story.
Katharine Venour in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien. Directed by Morris Ertman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
You’ve worked with Morris Ertman the director of the show many times before but this is your first time working out here in Rosebud. And in The Syringa Tree, you’re portraying over twenty different characters. So, I’m curious about a couple of things. First, how would you describe your working relationship with Morris and second, what was the process like as the two of you lifted this story from the page to the stage and brought it to life?
KATHARINE
It is always a gift for an actor to work with a director you know really well. Morris is just brilliant at so many aspects of directing. He understands narrative and identifies the heart of a story. He communicates very well with me and he understands me as an actor. He knows sometimes I just need to work out a moment and he gives me the space and time to do that.
He is rigorous and clear about keeping the acting “grounded” – that means finding the psychological and emotional and physical reality of a moment or scene and that it is a real gift to an actor when a director can articulate that so clearly and in a way that inspires. He is specific and he is very generous in filling out the thoughts and feelings of a moment so that it makes sense for the actor.
He can see when something isn’t clear and he was particularly insightful in this process at bringing a clarity to my flips between characters in an elegant way that also allows the story to spill out and gives the blocking – the movement of the piece – a real natural flow that one can follow and understand.
Morris is passionate about the telling of story in a way that is authentic and true to life, rewarding for an audience, and he does this with great kindness to his actor. And besides his deep understanding of the acting process, he also knows how to weave sound and lights within the acting moments so beautifully. That has been particularly powerful in this production where the sound and lights create a world that we can imagine and feel.
Morris also has a great sense of humour so we have good laughs too, and the rehearsal hall is a place where the rigour of our work gets done in a joyful way.
Katharine Venour in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien. Directed by Morris Ertman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
I love small intimate theatre spaces like the Rosebud Studio Stage because I find these types of spaces are particularly compelling for telling stories. Small gestures and a change in voice or a moment of silence seem to have a bigger emotional impact since you’re not trying to reach the second balcony as you would in a large theatre space. How do you think the Studio Stage – lends itself to the telling of this story and this production of The Syringa Tree?
KATHARINE
Yes, I love intimate theatre spaces too – as an actor and an audience member. It allows for an intimacy between performer and audience member and that really serves this story. The smaller space gives the audience that wonderful experience of being very close to the performer and seeing every nuance – like a close-up in a movie. I’ve worked a lot on “alley staging” which is the stage formation for our production and where the audience sits on both sides of the playing space. I really like alley staging as it feels natural to me and allows me to use the whole space for movement as I’m working every side of the stage. It’s great for a one-person show as well as it provides a lot of visual variety for the audience.
JAMES
When we look at the story and its depiction of Apartheid, I think it not only shines a light on South Africa and its racial policies at the time but it makes us reflect in a bigger sense on Man’s tendency to oppress and divide throughout history. Every nation including our own has examples of these kinds of attitudes and behaviour. What do you think the story has to say about those aspects of humanity?
KATHARINE
Yes, humans dominating humans has certainly been a part of the history for many nations and it is good and healthy, though difficult, to reflect on that. But there are also examples throughout human history of moral frameworks which challenge bigotry, discrimination, and the will to dominate and instead encourage us to see all humans as integrally connected and valuable.
Christian scriptures, for example, teach that all humans are created in the ‘image of God’ and every human being has an inherent, intrinsic value that should be cherished and honoured. One of the commandments Jesus gave was to love one’s neighbour as oneself. The ancient South African philosophy of Ubuntu also shares this view of the interconnectedness of all human beings. According to Ubuntu philosophy, if a person hurts another person, they also hurt themselves. Systems like apartheid create a twisted and disturbed society that does not reflect what I see to be the fundamental human spiritual impulse towards love and connection – that ‘image of God’ planted in us.
The play reveals characters who struggle against division and oppression and towards loving relationships across racial lines. In that, it expresses something very deep and true about who we really are as humans and what we really long for in life, while not shying away from or minimizing the evil that we are capable of. The human spirit is strong, and I believe that when we acknowledge a power greater than ourselves – that is God – we can really live into our true calling by helping and loving others. And that way of being human aligns with the ‘image of God’ in us. For me, the play reveals that divine calling for humanity and in a haunting and beautifully subtle way gestures towards moments of grace and the invisible realm of the miraculous, as well as portraying the strength and perseverance of the human heart to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
Katharine Venour in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien. Directed by Morris Ertman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
You make your home in Vancouver now but you grew up in Calgary and lived in Priddis and went to the University of Calgary where you studied with Grant Reddick a well-known actor and teacher in the Calgary theatre community and so you have a history here – this was once home and so I’m wondering what’s it like to get a chance to perform on the Rosebud stage and share this story?
KATHARINE
It’s so lovely to be staying in Rosebud and performing in this beautiful play on their Studio Stage. It’s a one-woman show, but really I feel like the whole creative team is up there onstage with me. Luke Ertman has created an exquisite sound design and Brad Graham a beautiful lighting design and those elements of sound and lights feel like acting partners to me as they are so beautifully woven into the story by my director, Morris Ertman.
My costume is designed by Amy Castro and I love it as it moves with me through the portrayal of 22 different characters. The set I play on was built by Mark Lewandowski and scenic painter Cheryl Daugherty, creating an intimate space for me and the audience to explore the life of this play. My stage manager, Shannon Klassen, is the only other human who accompanies me on this journey, besides every member of the audience, and I am so grateful for her diligent and exacting work.
Katharine Venour
And then, of course, there is the playwright Pamela Gien whose words and wondrous story I am given to embody when I walk on stage. Theatre is always a collaboration of many artists, regardless of how many actors appear onstage, and I am so grateful to be surrounded by such gifted designers and artists here at Rosebud. The people of Rosebud are kind and hospitable, and it is also such a delight to be surrounded by the natural beauty of the land every day I walk to the theatre.
Vancouver has been home for me for 30 years now, and I have had beautiful professional opportunities there and great friendships. It is really wonderful to see my friends from Vancouver travel out to Rosebud to see the show – like two worlds – two homes – coming together.
And Alberta will always feel like home to me too. My husband and I and my two boys have travelled to Alberta every summer for the past 23 years to visit family. My parents spent 60 years of married life in Alberta. Both have died now – my Dad last Spring – so performing in Alberta this summer has a poignancy to it. I know my parents would be delighted that I am here on stage as they always supported my acting dreams and career. I have an enduring connection to Alberta.
I am forever grateful to my acting teacher and mentor, Grant Reddick, for his friendship and giving me such a strong and powerful foundation for acting when he taught me at the Theatre Department at the University of Calgary. He has been one of those people who has profoundly formed me.
This play is about home, as well as the deep bonds and influences that certain people have in one’s life and growth, so I resonate with that as I certainly feel the deep and loving influences of my parents, my family, my friends, my colleagues, and my teacher, Grant, in my life. The play also speaks to one’s connection to the land, and I feel that in Alberta. The prairies and the people of this province will always be a part of me.
This summer you can travel to Rosebud and enjoy a family-friendly and thoroughly entertaining production of the Rogers and Hammerstein much beloved musical The Sound of Music. The story is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers and contains many popular songs including “Do-Re-Mi”, “My Favorite Things”, “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, “Edelweiss”, “Climb Every Mountain”, “So Long, Farewell”, and the title song, “The Sound of Music”.
The original Broadway production won five Tony Awards including Best Musical and the play was adapted into the 1965 film starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer and went on to win five Academy Awards including Best Picture.
The story is set in 1938 Austria in the dark days leading up to the start of World War II and shortly before Germany annexed The Federal State of Austria into the German Reich. Against this backdrop we meet Maria who has taken a job as governess to the seven von Trapp children while she decides whether or not to become a nun.
Maria soon finds herself bonding with the children and eventually falling in love with their widowed father Captain von Trapp. Once Germany marches into Austria the Captain is ordered to report to the German navy but because of his opposition to the Nazis he and Maria devise a plan to flee Austria with the children.
In the Rosebud Theatre production, Cassia Schmidt as Maria and Ian Farthing as Captain von Trapp lead a talented cast that captures the joyful spirit of the show in a terrific production that will have you humming along to all your favourite tunes.
Cassia Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES HUTCHISON
The Sound of Music was a huge hit when it came out and it has remained a much beloved musical and I was wondering what you think are the qualities that make it so popular.
CASSIA SCHMIDT
It’s a love story. Two love stories actually. It’s a story about someone that doesn’t belong, which is always good fun for a musical. And she finds a place where she belongs. And then the story is set in World War II which is such a dramatic time in our history, and it’s based on a true story. And I think at the heart of it we love Maria, and we’re rooting for her, and we want this family to win. At the core, I think we want people to find each other and find a place where they belong.
JAMES
You say we want people to find each other and in the story, Maria falls in love with the Captain and he her. Why do you think they fall in love?
CASSIA
I think it’s the same reason anyone falls in love. It just works for them for some reason. They shouldn’t fall in love because they’re from different classes and there’s an age difference between them and they’ve lived completely different lives. But for them, it just worked. There’s a kind of magic to falling in love. And it’s so personal, too, right? This is the big question, James. How do people fall in love?
Katelyn Morishita and Cassia Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
I read in an interview you gave to Louis Hobson in the Herald that there are parallels between your own story and Maria’s story. Maria is uncertain about whether or not she should devote her life to God or follow a different path. And you said you’d had a similar struggle. What was that journey like for you and how did you go about choosing a life of music and family and performance?
CASSIA
My biggest kind of discerning time was in my teenage years. I really felt a call and I was really attracted to the cloister. It’s a really romantic kind of idea to be contemplative and to be in community and to be separate from the world and married to God. But all these orders that I looked at never quite felt like the right place for me and I never quite got as far down the road as Maria does as actually entering a convent. I have stayed in some convents through travel and through friends and I loved staying with the sisters and there’s just something magic about a holy place. And I was really attracted to that.
And then I just thought I don’t think that’s quite where I’m called so where do I go now? And that’s when I ended up coming to Rosebud. I came here as a student. I did the program here. And the first mainstage show I did was Man of La Mancha. And we did something like ninety shows that summer. Ninety performances. And I remember about twenty shows in thinking this is awesome. If we close tomorrow, I would feel like I had a good experience. And then in my next thought, I realized that there are seventy more shows and I felt this calling because I realized this show isn’t about me it’s about what I get to offer to each new audience that comes to see it whether I feel like it or not on that particular day.
And I think there’s something about the self-sacrifice that the theatre asks for, as well as we’re in community together doing this show hoping to change hearts and hoping to inspire people. And, you know, a theatre does feel like a holy place a lot of the time. So, it was coming here that really affirmed for me that the theatre is the church I’m called to. And then I found someone that I love, and we have a family, and it didn’t feel like a big “Aha!” decision. Instead, it felt like I pieced it together and I followed a thread until it became so clear that this is where I belong.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Ian Farthing and Glenda Warkentin in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music. Directed by Morris Ertman.
Lacey Cornelsen and Cassia Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Lacey Cornelsen and Travis Edwards in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Lacey Cornelsen and Travis Edwards in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Cassia Schmidt and Logan Hope in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
Cassia Schmidt and Ian Farthing in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
The play has several young performers playing the von Trapp children, and so it provides an opportunity to pass on musical knowledge and mentor up-and-coming theatre artists. In what ways do you think mentorship is important for helping young people navigate their own professional development and life’s journey?
CASSIA
I’ve benefited from it. It’s such an integral part of what we do here in Rosebud. We call our training the Mentorship Program. So, we really believe in it. It’s like the good old 4-H club I was in when I was a kid. The 4-H model is – learn to do by doing.
You can go to a lot of classes, and you can read a lot about how to be an actor but standing on stage with an audience who will never lie to you because the audience is very clear about what they like and what they don’t like is indispensable. And you have a group of actors to support you and to be with you. And I think theatre can offer you a sense that you have value, and it builds confidence and it builds a sense of body and voice. And you don’t have to be the Gretel from the movie, you yourself are the perfect Gretel, and you yourself have so much to offer.
JAMES
Tell me what audiences can look forward to experiencing when they see the show.
CASSIA
I think this show is so beautifully cast and everybody is so well suited to their role. And what I’ve been seeing from our audience is a nostalgia in a way that no other show I’ve done before has had. I’ve done Anne of Green Gables – I’ve done Oliver! – and I’ve done some other musicals where people know them pretty well. But because The Sound of Music movie is so embedded in our culture people know this story and they remember watching it with their grandmother and they love this story in a way that’s physical and whatever their connection is to the story we can feel it in the show.
From the very first performance, we felt it as soon as we started the music because some people sing a little bit, or they repeat a line, and you hear them sighing or crying or laughing. And I was like, “Wow, people love this show.” And isn’t that wonderful that they get to come to see a show that they love and I’m happy to share it with them because I love the story too. It’s part of my childhood.
Cassia Schmidt and Ian Farthing in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
I know you also produce original music with your most recent release called The Lullaby Project: Songs for the Sleep Deprived. Tell me a little bit about that project and how that came about.
CASSIA
It was my COVID project. I actually just wanted to do a writing project around parenthood and lullabies and to collaborate with people. And I’m a mom. We have three kids. We have a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and a four-month-old. And before I was a mom, I always thought what a romantic idea to rock your kids to sleep but instead it’s often frustrating and you’re tired and it’s not working. And so that’s why I call it songs for the sleep deprived. It’s more about songs for parents rather than songs that might put your baby to sleep.
And my favourite song I co-wrote with Lauren Hamm and Paul Zacharias we called “Time Go Easy”. We sat together and just talked about being parents and how there’s a saying that being a parent is saying goodbye to a child over and over again because the baby is gone now. You’ll never see that baby again, but now you’re saying hello to a toddler. And then you’ll never see that toddler again because now there’s this child, and now all of a sudden there’s this teenager, and then there’s this adult before me, right? So, we all had a good cry, and then we went off and we wrote this song that’s our pride and joy from the album.
Rosebud Theatre Production of The Sound of Music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein. Directed by Morris Eartman. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
What do you think it is about music that makes it such an important part of people’s lives?
CASSIA
I think it’s something Morris Ertman our director said at the end of rehearsals about the show. “This show is about music changing people’s hearts and wouldn’t that be amazing if that’s what we get to do all summer for audiences.” It’s like a softening of the heart and I think it’s a physical experience for us. Music has rhythm – like our heartbeat. Like our mom’s heartbeat. Like our family’s heartbeat. And I think when we’re listening to music, we’re part of the music. There’s something physical about it that goes into our spine and into our memory and into our feelings in a way that nothing else really can. So, just like falling in love – it’s magic. (Laughs) Everything’s magic.
***
Catch The Sound of Music at Rosebud Theatre until September 2nd. Tickets are available through the Rosebud Theatre Website or by calling the Box Office at 1-800-267-7553.
Ryan Parker, Vanessa Sabourin, Shannon Blanchet, Scott Shpeley, Garett Ross, Sheldon Elter, and Beth Graham in the Catalyst Theatre Production of Nevermore – The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jonathan Christenson. Production Design by Bretta Gerecke. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
Before I dive into a deeper look at Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe I’ll start off by simply saying I give it two thumbs up. I’d give it more thumbs but those are all I got. Evolution has seen fit to stop at two thumbs per person and that does seem to serve us well although had evolution seen fit to give me four I’d give Nevermore four thumbs up. So, yes – go see it. It’s a show that comes highly recommended not just from me but from countless other reviewers and audience members.
I think the best filmmakers, painters, and writers all have a particular vision. We know A Wes Anderson film from a single frame. We know a Van Gogh on sight, and we recognize a Rolling Stones song after hearing a few notes. That’s what makes these artists stand out. Their work is unique in form and structure and execution. These artists see and understand the world from a slightly different angle than the rest of us and so they bring new life to many of the things we take for granted – be that a sunflower or the life of a poet.
And so, who better to bring to the stage the life of Edgar Allan Poe – an artist with his own unique artistic view of the world – than Catalyst Theatre and writer, director, and composer Jonathan Christenson. Nevermore is filled with energy that explodes across the stage in bold and theatrical storytelling that distinguishes Catalyst Theatre as a truly unique and visionary voice in Canadian Theatre. And if Poe was able to shake off his uneasy slumber and journey from his resting place in Baltimore to Calgary and see the show – I have little doubt that he would be pleased with this nightmarish and mesmerizing telling of his tale – elaborate costumes, rhyming prose, imaginative staging, and a rather macabre story all set to music and flawlessly choreographed.
Scott Shpeley in the Catalyst Theatre Production of Nevermore – The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Photo by Tim Nguyen. Production Design by Bretta Gerecke.
Nevermore first graced the Vertigo Stage in 2011 and this revival has the good fortune of bringing back together the incredible ensemble from that original production. Scott Shpeley channels the bedevilled poet with a wide-eyed wonder and a growing sense of doom as the other cast members transition between a multitude of characters in Poe’s life including his mother Eliza Poe an actress who dreams of fame and fortune played by Vanessa Sabourin.
Sheldon Elter brings to life Edgar’s older, gregarious, and optimistic brother Henry while Garett Ross takes on the role of the pious and stingy Jock Allan who gave Edgar a home when Edgar became an orphan after his mother died.
Ryan Parker plays the rather aloof Rufus Griswold once a friend of Edgar’s who becomes jealous of Edgar’s talent and makes it his mission to tarnish Poe’s reputation. Shannon Blanchet plays Elmira Royster Edgar’s first love whose father isn’t too keen about the prospect of his daughter marrying a poet. And Beth Graham plays Edgar’s first wife Sissy who must endure scandalous rumours about her husband’s involvement and affection for another woman.
These are big bold characters that move about the stage like living marionettes and the entire cast energetically throws themselves into a story that depicts the tragedies and hopes that haunt Edgar’s short life.
Nevermore – The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Production Design Bretta Gerecke. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
Nevermore – The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Production Design Bretta Gerecke. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
Ryan Parker, Vanessa Sabourin, Shannon Blanchet, Scott Shpeley, Garett Ross, Sheldon Elter, and Beth Graham in the Catalyst Theatre Production of Nevermore – The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Book, Music, and Lyrics by Jonathan Christenson. Production Design by Bretta Gerecke. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe covers Poe’s life from birth to death. Forty years in a little over two hours. Like all biographical plays, certain things are adjusted and manipulated to tell a coherent and simpler story because – well you’ve only got two hours.
And in some ways, I think a play is very much like a painting – paintings are a version of reality seen through the lens of the artist and the subject matter of a play is a version of reality seen through the lens of the playwright and director and the actors and the entire creative team and the purpose of the play is to entertain – to enthrall its audience and Nevermore succeeds on every level.
Catalyst Theatre’s
NEVERMORE: THE IMAGINARY LIFE AND MYSTERIOUS DEATH OF EDGAR ALLAN POE
A whimsical and chilling musical fairy tale at Vertigo Theatre
The Cast
Shannon Blanchet (Elmira Royster) Sheldon Elter (Henry Poe) Beth Graham (Rosalie/Fammy/Sissy) Ryan Parker (Rufus Griswold) Garett Ross (David Poe/Jock Allan) Vanessa Sabourin (Eliza Poe/Muddy Clemm/Louise Gabriella) Scott Shpeley (Edgar Allan Poe)
The Creative Team
Jonathan Christenson – Writer/Director/Composer Bretta Gerecke – Set/Costumes/Lighting Designer Laura Krewski – Choreography Wade Staples – Sound Designer Matthew Skopyk – Music Producer Leo O’Reilly – Catalyst Production Manager John Raymond – Stage Manager Nyssa Beairsto – Assistant Stage Manager Ruth Alexander – Music Director Keven Green – Catalyst Technical Director Alexandra Prichard – Lighting Associate Kat Evans – Costume & Props Associate Jonathan Beaudoin – Costume Coordinator Rebecca Cypher – Costume & Props Assistant Derek Miller – Sound Design Assistant
Rosebud Theatre’s production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote is a rich and rewarding story about love, family, regrets, and hope all brought to life in a wonderful production that provides audiences with a memorable and highly entertaining night at the theatre.
Bringing the play to life is a terrific cast including Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts, Nathan Schmidt as Ludie, Heather Pattengale as Jessie Mae, Rebbekah Ogden as Thelma, and Caleb Gordon and Christopher Allan each playing multiple roles. The production is expertly directed by Morris Ertman who also designed the sets.
Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts in the Rosebud Theatre production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. Photo by Morris Ertman.
All Carrie Watts wants to do is return to her childhood home of Bountiful but without money and being an old woman living with her son Ludie and his wife Jessie Mae her dream of returning home isn’t going to be an easy task to accomplish. She’s tried it before and failed but this time she’s secretly been making plans and preparations, and no one is going to stop her.
But she’s not the only one dealing with life’s difficulties. Ludie and Jessie Mae have had their own regrets because sometimes careers stall and stumble or our hopes for a family don’t work out the way we planned. In the end, all three characters have to figure out how to come to terms with life’s regrets and move forward.
After seeing the show on opening weekend, I arranged an interview with Judith Buchan to talk with her about the play and her portrayal of the feisty and determined Carrie Watts.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, I saw the play and you know, we talk about the magic of theatre but the true magic of being deeply moved and at times getting lost in a play doesn’t happen very often. It’s a rare experience. But your production had that magic. And I wonder how much of that magic do you sense on the stage and what’s it like to be in a production that has the power to move an audience.
JUDITH BUCHAN
It’s beautiful to hear that actually. I am not sure how much I can sense that. I mean obviously we’re hoping to do justice to the material. Trying to connect and trying to find the truth and the honesty in these people the best we can. And with Horton Foote’s writing nothing is wasted. I go through the whole script every day before I perform it because it is so beautifully written that you do not want to stray from it in any way. And the more I study it, the more I realize nothing is wasted and everything comes back to a payoff at the end, and everything does connect in some way.
In some ways, it’s a little story. My daughter, Rachel, has a great description of this play. She says it’s about an inch wide and about a mile deep. And that really touched me because it’s not as if big things happen yet huge things are happening between the characters. Relationships are being altered in big ways and their eyes are being opened in deeper and more meaningful ways about themselves and each other. I had seen The Trip to Bountiful myself on Broadway with Cicely Tyson playing Mrs. Watts and I was deeply moved by it.
Heather Pattengale as Jessie Mae and Nathan Schmidt as Ludie in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. Photo by Morris Eartman.
JAMES
It’s a play filled with ghosts because the people in it are mature characters. And I personally like plays about older characters and characters that have known each other for a long time. I just usually find those more interesting. There’s history there that includes tragedy and happiness, and that informs the relationships in the present. Tell me about your character and her journey, and why do you think all the characters in this play are so compelling?
JUDITH
Horton Foote just has the gift of writing simply but just so deeply. I had a lot of great aunts that were very powerful women and very resilient and strong and opinionated and who lived really complicated lives. And I’ve kind of been thinking about them while doing the play. My own mother loved this story, and she did say to me once you could play that part. I hadn’t actually thought of that before she said it, and she died last November so it’s been very poignant for me to be in a play and playing a character that I know she loved.
I think my character and the other characters in the play remind us of people we know. And Carrie loves her son even though his life has been a mess because of an illness. And she adores him so much and he adores both his mother and his wife Jessie Mae. And what would you call her? Well, she’s a strong flavour – Jesse Mae. Just a powerhouse of a person and loving her husband so much and she’s living in a time when she can’t really be more than what she is. And my daughter who really loves this play said Jessie Mae would’ve been a lawyer if she lived now. She’s smart but she’s kind of trapped looking after her mother-in-law and so what can she do?
I think you see the frustrations of the characters really, really well, the things they’re fighting against. And I just think there’s so much truth in the play about how we treat our elders. And I think it’s kind of unusual to have this senior lady being the one taking the journey and I love that.
Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts and Nathan Schmidt as Ludie in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. Photo by Morris Eartman.
JAMES
Let’s talk a little bit about the production itself. I’d love to hear what it’s like to work with Nathan and Heather and bring this story to life.
JUDITH
I’m so fortunate. I’ve worked with Heather a few times before and so we already start at a place where we know each other and are comfortable with each other and love each other. So, it’s just fantastic. And Nathan and I haven’t really worked with each other but thirty years ago I taught a few courses here and I would come in from Olds and teach and he was a young student then. And you know its so good to see him mature and become such a fine actor and stay in Rosebud and put his roots down and contribute here and teach. So, it’s really been fun to be on stage with him.
And Rebecca was a student from here and she’s doing all kinds of things and she is just darling. And for her to be the stranger I meet on a bus…I mean how blessed am I to meet Rebecca on the bus every night and have to tell her my life story? And Caleb and Christopher they’re just great having to play several different roles and having to move all the backstage stuff so that things roll in smoothly and roll out smoothly. I agree with Morris our director that on this small stage not having a blackout and instead having everything moved around so smoothly works better and I just love the way that’s done. And I just find the music so beautiful that it almost makes me cry sometimes.
Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts and Rebbekah Ogden as Thelma in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. Photo by Morris Eartman.
JAMES
Yeah, there’s not a production element that doesn’t work. From an audience point of view, the transitions between scenes are seamless. They dovetail beautifully. It’s like a dissolve on stage.
So, the main character is Carrie Watts. She’s older. She’s looking back at her life, and so, I’m curious about you and your thoughts about growing older and reflecting back. What’s that like?
JUDITH
It’s quite an experience to be able to play this woman and reflect back on my own life. I find certain things that she says really get to me like when she says she wants to know why her life has become so empty and so meaningless. That really gets to me every time because I think people feel that way quite often. And it’s just heartbreaking to have a lot of regrets and I think you can reach an older age and really be so full of regrets. And I can relate to her sometimes. I had one child, so my table isn’t full at Christmas or Easter, but I have great friends.
And in the play Carrie teaches me that you need to be thankful for what you have and whatever you have is enough and maybe we need to really be listening to that. So, I just think it’s really hopeful and helpful to see an older person take stock and admit she has regrets, and then manage to go past that and she sees that she gets her strength not from a house or from people but from the ocean and from the beauty around Bountiful.
Nathan Schmidt as Ludie, Heather Pattengale as Jessie Mae, and Judith Buchan as Carrie Watts in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Trip to Bountiful by Horton Foote. Photo by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
So, I’m curious to know what you think theatre can offer a modern audience in this age of TikTok.
JUDITH
Well of course, it’s the shared community experience that we were deprived of for the years during Covid. Sitting together in a room and laughing together or crying together and watching something happen in real-time right in front of you. You know, it’s a shared thing that I think is ancient and powerful.
And at Rosebud walking home from a show under the stars and the northern lights and hearing the coyotes in the distance keeps you very grounded in the land and the earth. And having a theatre school here and a community of theatre artists here there’s a big commitment to honesty in the storytelling which you know, most theatres would go along with, but I think somehow because this is an earthy place, I buy more into the honesty. And somehow Rosebud manages to find the essence of the shows they produce and so I enjoy what happens at Rosebud very, very much, and I’m so privileged to be able to work here.
Vertigo Theatre presents a highly entertaining and suspenseful production of Gaslight by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson based on the play Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton. Bringing the play to life is a terrific cast including Kelsey Verzotti as Bella, Braden Griffiths as Jack, Valerie Planche as Elizabeth, and Hailey Christie-Hoyle as Nancy. The production is directed by Jack Grinhaus and delivers plenty of mystery and suspense.
Kelsey Verzotti as Bella and Braden Griffiths as Jack in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Gaslight by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson. Directed by Jack Grinhaus. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
All devoted husband Jack Manningham wants is for his wife Bella to get well. Ever since moving into their new home in London Bella has experienced a number of episodes that have made her doubt her own sanity. Items disappear, noises are heard, and the gaslight dims on its own. Jack enlists the help of Elizabeth the housekeeper and the new maid Nancy to make sure that Bella gets the rest and quiet she needs in order to recover. But things aren’t exactly as they seem and as layers of the story are revealed – including the disturbing history of the house – Bella must figure out what’s really going on before things turn deadly.
I spoke with the director of Gaslight Jack Grinhaus about the play, his role as Artistic Director of Vertigo Theatre, and what fictional detective he’d want to clear his name if he’d been wrongly accused of murder.
JAMES HUTCHISON
So, Gaslight takes place in Victorian London. There are mysteries at play and sinister forces at work. Tell me about your production of Gaslight and what audiences can expect from spending a night with Bella and Jack.
JACK GRINHAUS
It’s a great classic thriller but because of this new adaptation it feels very present and modern. There’s this woman who feels isolated in her home and I think we’ve all known what that feels like over the last few years, and she’s in a relationship she can’t understand, and she is confused about herself. And in this new adaptation, Bella is the agent of her own freedom, as opposed to the original script which had a detective come in and help solve the puzzle. All three women in the story are extremely strong actors and characters and it’s been really exciting to work with them.
And I see the play very much as a superhero origin story because there’s this woman who starts off feeling like she can’t believe in herself. She doesn’t trust herself. She doesn’t trust the world around her. She thinks maybe something is going on in her mind, but as time progresses she’s like Neo in The Matrix. She starts to accept that she can actually expose all the truths of the story. And I think audiences will have a really great time following her because it’s from her point of view and while she’s being gaslit we’re gaslighting the audience as well with the way we’re staging the play and with the way we’re using the design elements.
Braden Griffiths as Jack and Kelsey Verzotti as Bella in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Gaslight by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson. Directed by Jack Grinhaus. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
Our perception of ourselves often depends on the feedback that we get from others.
JACK
Yes.
JAMES
How much of our identity do you think comes from what others reflect back to us?
JACK
Well, that kind of goes back to that existentialism, Sartre kind of idea, right? There’s no shame until we are witnessed by others. It’s a really intriguing question. I’m going to give you a little anecdote of me gaslighting myself recently.
During our run of Murder on the Orient Express, Haysam who starred as Poirot was doing the big Poirot finale. I was in my office. I was listening to the play on the program sound outside in the hallway.
I thought, “Okay, I’ll go down and see the applause and go talk to the audience after the show. I’ll just hang out in the office until then because I’ve seen it fifty times.” And I waited for a particular point in Poirot’s final monologue, where he speaks about one of the characters and he says, “Oh, she’s in a new play called No, No, Nanette on Broadway and she’s very successful.” And I went, “Okay, great. I’m going to head down.”
And I went downstairs, and I went into the theatre, and I slowly opened the door, and as soon as I walked in Haysam was on stage saying, “Oh, she’s in a new Broadway show called No, No, Nanette and she’s very successful.” And I went, “What the hell? How? Didn’t I just hear?” And I started to question myself. I went, “Oh, no. I must have only thought I’d heard that line.” And then I found out after the show that a woman had actually shouted in the audience and they’d stopped the show. She thought her husband was having a medical emergency, but he actually just had his eyes closed and was listening.
So, they decided to restart the play and go back to the top of the monologue, and I walked out of my office and into the theatre at the same moment in Poirot’s final monologue missing all of what happened in between. I thought, “I must have lost my mind.” It was funny because why wasn’t my first instinct to think, “Oh, maybe something happened on stage, and they had to go back?” Instead, my first instinct was to think that there’s something wrong with me. I basically gaslit myself.
And I think people who are predators can really take advantage of that kind of thing. Knowing that people self-deprecate and blame themselves and their sense of shame and guilt is so high in relationship to other people that they doubt themselves. And it’s because we always want to please the people around us. That’s the secret weapon of the person who does the gaslighting.
JAMES
You’ve got Kelsey Verzotti as Bella, Braden Griffiths as her husband Jack, Valerie Planche as the housekeeper Elizabeth, and Hailey Christie-Hoyle as the new maid Nancy. What are some of the qualities this cast brings to their characters and to the telling of the story?
JACK
I’ve known Val for a long time. We’ve worked together in the past. And so, I knew Val and I knew her as a great rock in a company, a strength in a company. She’s a director as well, which I like as a director because you’ll get someone who’s looking at the big picture from the inside. And her great strength of character I knew would support some of the younger women in the show, Kelsey and Hailey, who are still new to a certain extent. They’ve both started to have burgeoning careers, but they’re still in the early stage of their career. And I thought here’s their first big chance at a really intimate big show here in Calgary. It’s good to have someone like Val who can keep them grounded and supported when needed and Val’s also such a strong actor that she brings up the people around her too.
And there’s something about Haley’s ability, even in her youth, to show great strength of character and independence. And that’s really great for her playing Nancy, who’s sort of an obstinate maid in the house who’s got her own game going. So, Haley right from the audition had this kind of maturity and wisdom that I felt was important for playing Nancy because Nancy is someone who probably came from the street, probably has a lot more street sense and streetwise than education and wealth because she came from nothing. And so, she has to have – even in her youth – this look in her eye that shows experience and life.
Hailey Christie-Hoyle as Nancy in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Gaslight by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson. Directed by Jack Grinhaus. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
Braden is a brilliant actor and has always been the good guy in shows in Calgary. He’s never really been known as the bad guy. So, this is a great way to gaslight the audience by going, “Hey, look it’s the nicest guy in Calgary.” And I just think Braden’s such a strong actor bar none that his ability to play the ambiguity of Jack is really exciting because that’s really hard. It’s hard to direct an actor into ambiguity. And that’s what we need because you can’t totally know whether Jack is really the bad guy or not. And maybe he isn’t. You have to see the production to find out. And that ambiguity that Braden brings to the character keeps the audience guessing for as long as possible.
And Kelsey is such a strong, young actor who needs to be able to carry the weight of the show. She has this great sensitivity and emotional availability and vulnerability, but at the same time you can see there is a powerful spirit there, a strong human there. And that’s Bella. Bella is both. And oftentimes you’ll find actors who play one or the other better. Somebody who’s better at playing somebody who’s vulnerable and not as strong. And then other people can play someone with a hard edge but not as vulnerable. And Kelsey has this great balance flowing between those two worlds which is what we need to legitimately believe Bella’s journey. We need an actor who can be vulnerable and then finds the strength to empower themselves to success.
And the cast has really great chemistry and the second we had the first read we knew we nailed it. They all have these qualities that I perceived as important for the version we are telling of Gaslight.
Kelsey Verzotti as Bella and Valerie Planche as Elizabeth in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Gaslight by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson. Directed by Jack Grinhaus. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
The title of the play is Gaslight but in a greater sense we’re talking about betrayal. Being betrayed leaves a deep wound and it seems to be a common theme in a lot of plays and movies and books. Why do you think it is we like stories about betrayal?
JACK
Partly because we all understand it. We’ve all had a moment in our life where we’ve been gaslit. We’ve all had personal or professional relationships in business and in life where somebody has led us down a particular path and then pulled the rug out from under us. And I think we all know what a terrible feeling it is to go through that.
But I also think betrayal is part of the bigger picture of what we do at Vertigo, which is intrigue. I think most people in our world are honourable as humans. And for us, we’re fascinated by the underbelly of society. We’re fascinated with people who are willing to do things that we may not be willing to do. And so, you have television shows like Succession and even though these stories are dramas it’s really about the intrigue. It’s about trying to figure out why, how, and who in regard to the story. The thing about Vertigo is we lay so many breadcrumbs that our audiences are used to watching every blink, every chin movement, and every hand gesture. And so, I’m really marking those moments in the play, and I think the audiences love that. I think that we as humans love to solve puzzles and riddles.
Kelsey Verzotti as Bella, Braden Griffiths as Jack and Valerie Planche as Elizabeth in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Gaslight by Johnna Wright and Patty Jamieson. Directed by Jack Grinhaus. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
Part of the job of the artistic director is to provide a vision forward in regard to the theatre and the plays it produces. Next season you’ll be designing your first season as Artistic Director of Vertigo Theatre. I’m curious to know what goes through your mind as you’re picking the plays you want to produce and designing an overall season.
JACK
It’s a great question. It’s a huge one. Because you’re encapsulating quite a bit. As an artistic director you have to imagine that there are maybe thirty or forty balloons that you’re trying to hold all the strings together on. First is the theatre you’re working at and its mandates. You have to serve that. Then you have to serve the needs of the patrons, the donors, the staff, the marketing, the board, the funders, the sponsors, the local community, and your own artistic interests.
Jack Grinhaus Artistic Director Vertigo Theatre Photo by Dahlia Katz
And, of course, you’re making sure that there is parody and equity in the voices and faces involved in projects. And I like to look at what the tone of the world is at the time, what’s going on in the ether at the moment. What’s the zeitgeist reading so that people always feel like there’s something interconnected in the works they’re seeing artistically.
Our current season I said was so much about people escaping isolation. Which is intriguing because that is exactly what we’ve all been doing. Next season is a season of what I call transformation. A season of people starting to look again at who they are and trying to affect the world around them and how that works. And to me, that’s very much what we’re doing now. We’re coming out of the pandemic and we’re asking ourselves, who are we now and how do we impact the world around us? And so, all the plays for next season were built around that thematic element.
And I’m interested in authenticity and intensity in the work. I think it’s really important that people are drawn into the stories and the emotional experience. And I love high theatricality, so I always pick plays that are really theatrical in nature, and I’m also interested in balancing seasoned and new audiences’ interests.
And so as an artistic director I’m trying to blend all of those things together in an exciting, engaging, and thrilling season and to offer something fun because people have been beaten up over the last little while and they want entertaining plays with great stories and I think that’s what makes Vertigo seasons so successful.
JAMES
While I was doing a little research on you and I came across Bound To Create Theatre which was formed in 2004 by yourself and Lauren Brotman. And on your website, it says in regards to the type of work you create that you are keenly interested in the beauty, boldness, and truth born from confronting the challenges that face the human spirit. So, what has been a highlight or two from the work that you’ve created with B2C Theatre about the challenges of being human and what sort of impact do you hope it’s had?
Lauren Brotman in Hedda Noir adapted by Jack Grinhaus from the Henrik Ibsen play Hedda Gabler. Photo by Philomena Hughes.
JACK
When we started the company we realized there were a lot of niche issues that were not necessarily being discussed and so we started taking on stories that we felt were about lesser-known issues and also exploring highly theatrical means and premiering incredible works by new voices in theatre.
One that really sticks out for me is dirty butterfly by Jamaican British playwright debbie tucker green, which is kind of a poetic piece about the collateral damage of domestic abuse. We had this incredible underbelly storyline, and we’re also premiering in North America for the first time this incredible black playwright from the UK. Obsidian Theater, who’s the premier black company in Canada, partnered with us for that.
And it was incredible because we would have women’s shelters coming to see the shows and women coming out saying, “You know, seeing your show made me understand that I’m not alone.” And when you hear that – that’s kind of everything. Martha Graham once said that if she affected one person in her show in the entire run then it was worth it. And now debbie tucker green’s work is world-renowned.
Lauren Brotman, Kaleb Alexander, and Beryl Bain in dirty butterfly by debbie tucker green. Photo by Joe Bucci.
Also, Meegwun Fairbrother’s Isitwendam (An Understanding) which was a play about a young man who is half indigenous and half white and he goes to work for the Conservative Government and his first job is to go and discredit a residential school survivor’s reparation claim. And when he goes there his whole life is turned upside down as he finds out about residential schools. We started this fifteen years ago and now we’re hearing more about residential schools, but at the time that was not a subject that most places or people were interested in negotiating.
We worked with Native Earth in Toronto that premiered our play and we toured it all over the country and it was just a real opportunity to deal with a really important issue but in a really unique way. It was a detective fiction basically because it was about a young man who is trying to figure out the mystery of his missing father. And it ends up that his father was at one of the schools and had taken his life. That’s what started to pull me into the detective genre because I co-wrote and co-created it with Meegwun Fairbrother – the writer – the creator. He brought his story and I sort of created this bubble of detective fiction and Lauren and I sort of tweaked and worked in that. And so that was really exciting.
Meegwun Fairbrother in Isitwendam by Meegwun Fairbrother and co-created by Jack Grinhaus. Photo by Joe Bucci.
For the first fifteen years or so we were purposefully tackling things that we just didn’t think people did. And we were very lucky to have a very strong audience and community-based support behind it. And it was really exciting. And we learned how to do everything – write, produce, direct and it really defined who we were as artists and our integrity as artists and our passion and how hard we work.
Ray Strachan and Lauren Brotman in Hedda Noir adapted by Jack Grinhaus from the Henrik Ibsen play Hedda Gabler. Photo by Philomena Hughes.
JAMES
For my last question let me set the scene for you. It’s been a weekend where you and a number of other artistic leaders from the Calgary community have been brought together at a remote mansion by an eccentric millionaire named Sir Cedric Digglesworth who wants to leave his fortune to the arts community, but rumours are rampant that not everyone is on his good list and he’s about to change his will. Then in the middle of the night, a gunshot rings out and when everyone rushes into the library they find you holding the proverbial smoking gun and the lifeless body of our famous arts patron Sir Digglesworth lying dead at your feet. You stand wrongly accused of murder. What famous fictional detective would you want to investigate the crime and clear your name and why would you want to pick that particular detective?
JACK
This one is going to be the shortest answer and the easiest one for me. I would take Batman, the Dark Night Detective, any day of the week. Batman would come in and not only solve the crime, but he would equally punish the appropriate criminal in a way that would be a more fitting justice than maybe what the cops would. And so my go-to is always going to be Batman.
JAMES
Was Batman a hero when you were a kid?
JACK
Oh, of course. I had all the comics on the walls and all the books as well. And he’s called the Dark Night Detective, you know, and the new Batman is that detective genre style.
JAMES
Do you have a favourite Batman?
JACK
Listen, I’m a kid in the nineties, so I gotta go with Keaton. The sound of his voice is always going to be Batman to me. And my favourite actor ever is Jack Nicholson. It’s really hard to beat that joker.
Murder on the Orient Express at Vertigo Theatre is a masterful and thrilling production of the Agatha Christie classic cleverly adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig.
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Everything is not as it seems. That statement has never been more true of a murder mystery than in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Hercule Poirot finds himself surrounded by an eclectic assortment of characters including wealthy American businessman with a shady past Samuel Ratchett, the elderly Russian Princess Dragomiroff forced to live in exile, and the overbearing, loud, and life of the party Mrs. Hubbard, an American. Before the train can reach its destination, it is stopped by a snow drift in the mountains and during the night one of the passengers is murdered!
Poirot is assigned the task of investigating the murder by his friend and manager of the railroad Mousier Bouc who is also travelling on the train. There’s an abundance of clues. An abundance of suspects. And only Hercule Poirot can untangle the web of deception and decipher all the clues to figure out his most baffling and morally challenging case.
Vertigo Theatre takes you along for a thrilling, fun, and intriguing murder mystery featuring a terrific cast including Haysam Kadri as Hercule Poirot. I sat down with the director of the play Jovanni Sy who is also a playwright and actor to talk with him about Murder on the Orient Express, what makes the mystery genre so popular, and how he came to play Mr. Miyagi in the premiere of The Karate Kid – The Musical.
JAMES HUTCHISON
The murder mystery is a popular genre of fiction. So, I’m curious what do you think it is about that genre that has such a lasting appeal, and then I’m wondering specifically, why is Poirot such a popular figure? What did Agatha Christie stumble upon or deliberately design to make Poirot the much beloved and popular character that he is?
JOVANNI SY
I have a theory. I think people love mysteries because the detective is ultimately a seeker of truth. It’s solving a puzzle but it’s also trying to uncover the truth in the face of all your adversaries trying to inundate you with lies. There’s something really appealing about that, about being able to weed through all the deception, weed through all the artifice to uncover a nugget of truth.
And as for Poirot, I think people love him because he’s a showman. He’s so idiosyncratic. One of the really interesting things about the whole detective genre is that we get to know most well-known detectives on a reasonably superficial level. The story is not about their journey to get from point A to point B and learn something along the way. It really is a plot-driven genre, so people will like mysteries in as far as the mystery is compelling and good.
I don’t think Poirot would’ve been a popular detective if Christie weren’t extremely adept at constructing these wonderful puzzles for him. We know his characteristics, but they’re all rather external. They’re about his vanity or his pomposity or his strict moral code. But he doesn’t often undergo a dramatic journey the way protagonists in other genres do. It’s really about how good is he at solving the mystery.
Mike Tan as Monsieur Bouc, Sarah Roa as Countess Andrenyi, and Haysam Kadri as Hercule Poirot in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig and directed by Jovanni Sy. Photo by Tim Nguyen
JAMES
In this production, you’ve assembled a stellar cast including Haysam Kadri who is portraying Poirot. What do you think are the qualities Haysam brings to his portrayal of Poirot and as the director of the play how much of that is the director’s vision and how much is the actor’s vision? How did that collaboration work on this production?
JOVANNI
What Haysam brings, other than being a superlative actor is real fierce intelligence. He’s really good at thinking through the text. I mean, I think it’s no surprise he is the artistic director of The Shakespeare Company, and you know for most interpreters of Shakespeare you really need a very rigorous sense of diction and thought. Thought and text have to be aligned and with Shakespeare it requires a real cerebral kind of technique.
And I think approaching the character ultimately, it’s him. He’s the guy doing it. I think where I help is early on in rehearsal, I felt he was doing a wonderful job right off the top, but it felt like his Poirot had a more Sherlock Holmes kind of rhythm to him. Because, you know he’s done such a wonderful job of playing Holmes where everything was super direct, and Holmes is like tunnel focused and everything is to get to the point. Poirot’s not like that.
Poirot is a hedonist. Poirot loves his rich food and his expensive wines and beautiful women. And he is a bit of a showman. In Ludwig’s text he has a lot of stuff where Poirot’s constructed something like the way a magician would present a trick – you sit there and in a second I will show you – this! And he constructs a lot of reveals in a very ostentatious almost vaudevillian kind of way.
So, we almost had to slow down Haysam’s motor. I think his own personal motor is probably more closely aligned to a Holmes-like character who is super fast, super cerebral, super to the point, and instead have him sit back and really enjoy the indulgences of a Poirot and the way he enjoys unfurling the mystery for you in a very showy manner.
JAMES
You know, it’s interesting too with Poirot being as you mentioned a hedonist that perhaps he is more in touch with the psychology and motivation of his suspects.
JOVANNI
Absolutely. I think you’re quite right. Whereas Holmes is much more evidence-driven, science-driven, and data-driven with his kind of process Poirot is about constructing the mindset of the killer. He definitely looks at a murder scene and thinks, “Is this a tidy or an untidy kind of killing? What frame of mind were the perpetrator or perpetrators in? Were they in a hurry? Were they enjoying themselves?” He really tries to pinpoint the psychological makeup and motivators for any kind of crime and match that against his range of suspects. Whereas Holmes is practically on the spectrum where he observes a lot but misses things about the way people work because he’s clinical and robotic in his approach.
Lara Schmitz as Greta Ohlsson, Haysam Kadri as Hercule Poirot, Elizabeth Stepkowski-Tarhan as Princess Dragomiroff in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Agatha Christies’s Murder on the Orient Express adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig and directed by Jovanni Sy. Photo by Tim Nguyen
JAMES
One of the interesting things about Murder on the Orient Express is of course the setting because the play takes place on a train, and that certainly provides challenges for your set designer, Scott Reid and your actors. But it’s also fun to see on stage. Can you talk a little bit about the set design and what it was like to create that world and put the characters into it?
JOVANNI
It has its inherent challenges. Some things are really hard to circumvent as in Ratchet’s sleeping compartment must be next to Mrs. Hubbard’s on one side and Poirot’s on the other. You can’t really get around that. I think the geography of the crime is pertinent to its uncovering. So, some things are set in stone.
It’s a challenge because a train is a confined space and I think we leaned into it as much as possible. We didn’t try to do an abstract representation where a train corridor could suddenly easily accommodate the five people who needed to be in the corridor. So, you know, in that scene where they’re all passing each other, we just leaned into how even in the most luxurious train on earth you still have a problem if it gets crowded when you try to pass each other in a corridor. Or when you have nine people in a room that is literally three by five how do you stage that?
It was tricky and it takes a lot of precision so that people aren’t blocking each other. Fortunately, the sight lines are good. Scott created some really smart conventions like being able to see through the walls from the rooms to the corridor and having walls implied but not completely filled out.
Luigi Riscaldino as Michel the Conductor, Sarah Roa as Countess Andrenyi, Haysam Kadri as Hercule Poirot, Mike Tan as Monsieur Bouc the Vertigo Theatre Production of Agatha Christies’s Murder on the Orient Express adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig and directed by Jovanni Sy. Photo by Tim Nguyen
JAMES
So, I want to talk a little bit about another iconic character because you’re also an actor and earlier this year you were in the world premiere of The Karate Kid – The Musical, and you played Mr. Miyagi, who in the original movie was played by Pat Morita. What was it like to work on that show and become part of the DNA, so to speak, of Mr. Miyagi?
JOVANNI
It was surreal is the only word I have for it. I mean, that was such an iconic movie for me. I was sixteen when it came out. And, Pat Morita, you have to understand, was like an idol to a whole generation of Asian performers, because we were so underrepresented. There were so few figures in television and film that weren’t the stereotypical background kind of guy who was a buffoon or an idiot or just inconsequential. Mr. Miyagi had power and agency and dignity and humour and pathos and Pat Morita did an incredible job. He got an Oscar nomination. So, he’s an iconic figure to so many Asian performers and artists of my generation and subsequent generations.
So, to walk into his shoes was daunting because he created a character that everybody knows – everybody loves, and the challenge was how to interpret it and make it my own and not try to just copy him because I couldn’t even if I tried. Even if I just wanted to say, “Hey, let me just crib, everything Pat Morita did.” I’m not Pat Morita. It wouldn’t work. And, in the end, what made it even more surreal was Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, and Martin Kove they all came out to see the show in St. Louis. Talk about meeting your idols. So, it was an incredible experience.
Director, Actor, Playwright Jovanni Sy
JAMES
I did read somewhere that there are plans for Broadway. Is that correct?
JOVANNI
It’s still in the works. I think if it happened it would probably happen in 2024, but you never know. It could happen. I hope it does. I would love to do that show again.
JAMES
Is that an ambition of yours to get on the Broadway stage?
JOVANNI
You know, it wasn’t. I’m pretty happy with my career in Canada. I mean it’s not an ambition in the sense of one that I would say I actively pursued. There are musical theatre specialists who move to New York, and they’re clearly working towards that trajectory. So it was, I would say more of a fantasy than an ambition. I thought about it the same way I thought it would be great to play shortstop for the Jays, you know, it’s just in the back of my mind. I took no concrete steps to get there. It just sort of happened. But would it be great to be on Broadway? Yeah.
JAMES
I understand that when this opportunity first came up you were busy with a lot of other things and you went, “Nah, I’m not going to do it.” But your wife, Leanna Brodie, had some good career advice for you.
JOVANNI
That’s absolutely true. When I got the call I was directing my thesis play at the University of Calgary. I had just started. I was at the busiest I could have been and I was also scheduled to direct a show in Winnipeg around the time that Karate Kid would’ve happened. So, I thought, you know, I already said I’d do something else, but she said, “Look your friend would understand if you got this. You could pull out of your directing commitment.” Which I ended up doing. But she told me, “If you’re going to do it, don’t just do it half-ass. Do a good job.” And I listened to her. I actually really worked on the video audition. I sent it in still thinking this is ridiculous. There’s no way. But it happened. It just happened and I almost didn’t bother submitting because I thought I’m too busy. Leona is the smartest person I know and always gives very good advice.
Daniel Chen as Victor Fung and John Ng as Tommy Lam in the Vertigo Theatre Premier of Nine Dragons by Jovanni Sy. Directed by Craig Hall. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
You’re an actor, director, and you’re also a playwright. Your very own mystery, Nine Dragons, premiered on the Vertigo stage in 2017, which I saw, and I really liked. The story follows Chinese Detective Tommy Lam in 1920s Hong Kong, while he investigates the deaths of several women, and he finds himself battling racism and he risks losing his career, reputation, and maybe even his life. So where did the inspiration for that story come from and what does the future hold for Detective Tommy Lam?
JOVANNI
The funny thing is, I had an image of Tommy’s foil the character Victor Fung, first. I think I saw a picture of a Chinese man in a beautiful tuxedo looking very Noel Cowardesque and I thought, what an interesting man, who is he, why is he dressed like this? And I thought of a Victor Fung like character and I’ve always loved mysteries so the idea to make it noiresque and set it in 1920s Colonial Hong Kong came early.
I was working on this piece in Toronto before I moved out to Vancouver in 2012, but I ran into Craig Hall the artistic director of Vertigo Theatre at a conference in Calgary and we talked about this piece I was writing and he thought, that sounds really interesting. And Craig has his own connection to Hong Kong, and he’s been to Hong Kong a number of times. So, that’s how it started. That’s the connection to Vertigo and why it premiered there. It wouldn’t have happened without Craig.
And what’s in store for Tommy? Craig actually commissioned a prequel, which is another Tommy Lam story that takes place about thirteen years before Nine Dragons. So, we’re talking 1911, Hong Kong and I started working on it. And it may have a future at Vertigo. Jack Grinhaus the current artistic director of Vertigo Theatre and I have been talking about it but it’s early. We’ll see.
JAMES
You know, you’re writing plays and you’re creating this character have you ever thought of writing some Tommy Lam mystery novels? You could write a whole series.
JOVANNI
I haven’t. But you know I love that genre and if I were to turn to long-form fiction, I think I would go in the mystery direction.
John Ng as Tommy Lam and Duval Lang as Henderson in the Vertigo Theatre Premiere of Nine Dragons by Jovanni Sy. Directed by Craig Hall. Photo by Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
So, you not only write mystery, but you also write comedy and congratulations are in order because you recently won the Playwrights Guild of Canada Comedy Award for your play, The Tao of the World. And it’s a free adaptation of William Congreve’s Restoration comedy, The Way of the World. Your modern version takes place in Singapore, and it’s two years after a pandemic and the wealthy elite are making up for lost time by hatching schemes to bed other people’s partners and to swindle each other out of their dynastic fortunes. What’s the story behind the creation of that work?
JOVANNI
It’s really weird. I was at the UofC doing my MFA in directing and I needed to direct a thesis play. It kind of happened coincidentally because I was working on this Nine Dragons prequel which is a totally different beast and I had plans to direct this other play, a Brecht piece and then the faculty had some reservations about the viability of doing that piece so they suggested I do something else. And somebody said, “You know, we’re in the middle of COVID, we could use some laughs. Have you thought about doing a comedy?”
So, I thought, I’ve always loved Restoration comedy. I remember seeing a bunch early in my career and being a fan of a number of them. And I started looking at them and I thought about The Way of the World, but I thought at the same time, how can I take this established piece and try to reinterpret it from modern times because there’s something interesting about a new definition of restoration.
The Restoration comedies are all about the restoration of the monarchy after Cromwell. You know, the years of the Republic. So it’s the restoration of the monarchy coming in because most of the English royalists had been exiled in France. But what does restoration mean today? And to me it really meant the restoration of everyday life after we’ve been shut down.
I started working on it right in the middle of COVID when we were still working remotely, learning remotely. Masks were mandatory. Social distancing was mandatory. And so, what would it be like after COVID? Because I imagine the rich and wealthy would be just as naughty post-COVID as they were post-restoration of the monarchy, there’d be a kind of a giddy bawdiness and licentiousness.
And of course, I wanted to set it in an Asian setting because that’s what I’ve done with a lot of my works is try to recenter the experience to interpret it to a modern audience that includes Asians but doesn’t exclude everyone else. So that’s how it came about and was set in Singapore. It was almost like an experiment that just went really, really well.
JAMES
So, you know, it’s funny you mentioned needing a play and then this comes along. How much of your work do you find is just having the practical thing that you need and then inspiration strikes?
JOVANNI
That happens more often than you’d guess. I hadn’t even thought of it that way. Thank you. Wow. That’s a real, Aha! Yeah. I think it’s born of pragmatism first then the inspiration comes later. Or you know, not even inspiration. It’s like, I’ve got something to solve, so how do I solve it? I’m almost a believer that inspiration’s overrated and that if you frame creativity as a series of puzzles to be solved where you can define the parameters what you would call inspiration comes afterwards because you’ve had something active to work on.
Which is why I love writing in genre. I love the mystery genre. So, genre can actually be liberating because it sets the parameters for you and gives you something to do so you don’t have time to worry about do I have some kind of divine inspiration? You’re just trying to crack a knot, right?
JAMES
Inspiration is problem-solving.
JOVANNI
Yeah.
JAMES
We read mysteries, and we watch them on TV or at the movies, but there’s something extra fun and engaging about going to the theatre and seeing detective fiction. What makes the stage such an ideal and fun medium for experiencing a who-done-it and what sort of fun are audiences in for when they come to see your production of Murder on the Orient Express?
JOVANNI
I think first, it’s ultimately a fair test because you are literally, as an audience member, seeing everything exactly the same as the detective is seeing it. Everything that’s happening is happening in front of your eyes. There are no edits. There’s no selective choosing of things. You are solving the mystery at the same rate and with the same details that the detective has. So, it’s fair.
But the other thing is the implication that you can experience a surprise. The gasp. It’s happening right in front of your eyes – the mystery or shock, or unexpected bit of violence, or an unexpected bit of mayhem – it’s so immediate. And I think that’s why the stage is one of the best places to see mystery because it’s a visceral thing. You get that immediate connection when reading a mystery but it’s not in front of your eyes. You’re not seeing blood or a flash of light or hearing a sound that resonates to your core. So, if you’re going to see Murder on the Orient Express, you’re in for a literal ride. It’s like a train ride. You feel like you’re there on the train confined with the passengers and there’s a sense of danger and a sense of fun.
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VERTIGO THEATRE presents Agatha Christie’s classic MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Adapted for the stage by Ken Ludwig
Agatha Christie’s MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS features Haysam Kadri as Hercule Poirot, Luigi Riscaldino as Michel the Conductor/ Head Waiter, Stafford Perry as Col. Arbuthnot/Ratchett, Jesse Del Fierro as Mary Debenham, Elinor Holt as Mrs. Hubbard, Alexander Ariate as Hector MacQueen, Mike Tan as Monsieur Bouc, Elizabeth Stepkowski-Tarhan as Princess Dragomiroff, Lara Schmitz as Greta Ohlsson and Sarah Roa as Countess Andrenyi.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is Directed by Jovanni Sy, Assistant Direction by Camryn Hathaway, Set & Projection Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by April Viczko, Assistant Costume Design by Katriona Dunn, Lighting Design by Jonathan Kim, Sound Design & Original Composition by Andrew Blizzard, Assistant Lighting Design by Tauran Wood, Fight & Intimacy Direction by Brianna Johnston, Stage Management by Donna Sharpe, Ashley Rees, and Raynah Bourne.
This holiday season Desert Crown Theatre produced a festive and entertaining production of my stage adaption of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. A Christmas Carol is the ageless story of redemption where Ebenezer Scrooge having turned his back on love and his fellow man is visited by three Christmas spirits who teach him the error of his ways. In this fun and lively adaptation, you’ll still find all the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future along with Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit, the Ghost of Jacob Marley, Old Fezziwig, Scrooge’s nephew Fred, and the love of Scrooge’s life, Belle. There are some scary bits, a few good laughs, a tender moment or two, and some surprises! It’s a fresh take on an old tale sure to thrill young and old alike.
Desert Crown Theatre is based in Vail, Arizona a small community of about 15,000 not too far from Tucson. Last year a group of Vail residents got together to start a new community theatre company in order to provide opportunities for youth to explore and experience the arts including drama. I sat down with Christine Ralston one of the founding members of Desert Crown Theatre and her husband Nate Ralston who is playing Scrooge this year to talk with them about Desert Crown Theatre and this year’s production of A Christmas Carol.
CHRISTINE RALSTON
I grew up in an extremely performance-oriented family. We played instruments, we did theatre, we did film, we did dance. It was really important to my parents to let us explore. Not all of us acted, not all of us sang, not all of us danced. I’m in the middle of seven siblings. There’s a lot of us. But they really wanted us to have an outlet.
All of our children are older teenagers or adults now but when they started going through middle and high school I was shocked when I found out there weren’t clubs with those types of activities available. And our schools are great schools it’s just after years of seeing no choir or drama club we decided to form Desert Crown Theatre.
I’m the director of youth programs so my passion is to do things like our summer camps and our hope is to provide kids and the community with an artistic outlet and to keep it at a low enough cost so that it’s not pricing children out. Because they might not ever try it otherwise, and we’ve already discovered some kids who are extremely talented and have really bright futures in performing who came to summer camp and who had never done anything before.
NATE RALSTON
I did some community theatre where I grew up. Even where I grew up, there was a community theatre. I didn’t start Desert Crown Theatre but I’m supportive of it because I had that opportunity as a youth. I was in three plays as a teenager. Crazy for You, Number the Stars, and Babes in Toyland. And I really liked it. I thought it was a lot of fun. And last year when we were doing A Christmas Carol I really liked the role of Marley. It seemed like it would be fun to be the mean and angry ghost. And this year I wanted the opportunity to try the main role and there are some challenges to it as well, but I enjoy that.
Nate Ralston as Scrooge, Raedin Ralston as Young Scrooge, Taylor Ralston as Niece Emma, Éowyn Ralston as Little Fan in A Christmas Carol at Desert Crown Theatre. Pete Mecozzi Photography
JAMES HUTCHISON
One of the fun things about this year’s show is your entire family is involved. Nate, you’re playing Scrooge. Christine, you’re the stage manager and also the Spirit of Christmas Yet to Come. You’ve got your son Raedin playing Young Scrooge and your daughters Krystin, Éowyn, and Evelynn are also part of the cast and Afton is helping backstage. So, this is the second year the entire Ralston family has been involved with the production of A Christmas Carol. What’s it like having the whole family working on the show and what are some of your family traditions you celebrate this time of year?
CHRISTINE
It’s great. It’s building a really fun memory this year, especially with our son playing young Scrooge opposite his dad’s Scrooge. It’s brilliant because he looks like him and can mimic him so well that it makes for a very believable character.
NATE
The difficulty is that whenever we stand next to each other I have to get on my tippy toes so it doesn’t look too odd because he’s a couple of inches taller than me.
CHRISTINE
It’s definitely building a new tradition for our family. And as far as our other family traditions, we don’t really have too many. I grew up in a family and we observed Hanukkah from my dad’s side, but we also did Christmas. And we still do both.
NATE
What we do for Hanukkah is celebrate with latkes and dreidel. And now that the kids are older dreidel has kind of passed by the wayside. We have some end-of-year traditions. There’s a place we walk to and see the Christmas lights. We have our traditions about how we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve and the way we have a Christmas Eve dinner and Christmas Day dinner.
CHRISTINE
And every year, at least one or two of us has participated in our church’s Christmas music program.
Michael Shaughnessy as The Ghost of Jacob Marley in the Desert Crown Theatre production of A Christmas Carol. Pete Mecozzi Photography
JAMES
Nate last year as you mentioned you played Jacob Marley and this year you’re playing Scrooge and the play deals with redemption and forgiveness. And I’m wondering how playing Scrooge, a man in desperate need of redemption and forgiveness, has made you think about those two aspects of life.
NATE
I have to be fully honest. I’m a religious man, and that’s a normal part of my life. It’s a daily part of my life; asking for forgiveness; looking for redemption. I believe that all men are sinners and have fallen short of the glory of God and the play focuses a lot on the idea of redemption. One of the lines in the show is Bob Cratchit telling his family what Tiny Tim had said in church earlier. And he had said that he hopes everybody can see him as a cripple so that they can remember who it was that made blind men see and lame men walk. A Christmas Carol without mentioning any names focuses quite a bit on Jesus Christ, and I think if I were to have a wish it would be that this show can help bring people closer to the saviour – to the redeemer. So, for me personally, this has not really added to or changed the way that I view forgiveness and redemption instead I guess I’d say it further strengthens my belief in it.
CHRISTINE
In the play, you can really see that the Cratchit family is a religious family. They read Psalms together when they’re in mourning and they go to Church and it shows that they have that connection and that faith that things are going to be okay, and they’re going to make it through. A Christmas Carol is a show that is all about finding hope. It’s not like redemption goes away at the end of your life. Even in your later years, it’s still attainable because it’s never too late for forgiveness or to change. I think that’s a good message that A Christmas Carol shares with everybody who comes to see it.
Nate Ralston as Scrooge, Christine Ralston as The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come in A Christmas Carol at Desert Crown Theatre. Pete Mecozzi Photography
JAMES
I don’t think until Scrooge is pleading near the end of the play in the graveyard with the Ghost of Christmas Future and he asks for forgiveness that he has a chance for redemption.
CHRISTINE
The graveyard scene is really intense. Especially for us because it’s the two of us up there alone in the graveyard with the tombstone. And we play my character the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come as a lady in full Victorian mourning with a veil. And Scrooge is asking for mercy. This man who at the beginning of the play would never have asked for something like that.
We really try to give that scene a bit of desperation. Nate ends up on the ground in full tears and is really desperate because he thinks that he can’t do anything and the spirit has turned her back on him and it’s a really powerful moment. Not only is he asking for mercy he is also realizing he has to ask for forgiveness. Mercy isn’t just given. Mercy needs to be earned as well.
That’s one of our favourite scenes especially because the following scene is so different. He has pledged that he’s going to change and he wakes up in his bedroom a completely new person. And I think that’s really symbolic.
JAMES
Every theatre company brings their own vision to the telling of the story. Tell me a little bit about the vision for this year’s production as you bring it to the stage.
CHRISTINE
Audiences come to A Christmas Carol for the atmosphere. There had been discussion of do we modernize this or do we change the time period. And the overall consensus was, no. People want to be transported back to a simpler time. People want a classic tale told in its own time which means gorgeous costumes. And we wanted to make our atmosphere immersive so the second you walk through the door we have a choir and they’re phenomenal singers in Victorian garb, and we have a Christmas tree auction set up, and we want our audience to walk in and be filled with the Christmas spirit. That’s kind of our goal with this show.
Nate Ralston as Scrooge and Porter Turner as Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol at Desert Crown Theatre. Pete Mecozzi Photography
JAMES
When I was writing the play I wanted to create a scene that showed how Bob Cratchit is a really good dad and that he’s playful and there’s this wonderful humour and love in the family. And that’s the scene where we see the Cratchit family on Christmas day.
CHRISTINE
I think how you wrote it gives credit to Bob because despite the fact that he comes from this cold, harsh workplace and working for Scrooge he is able to leave that at his door when he comes home to his family. And so, you have this bubbly happy home and they’re playful and excited. Most portrayals don’t really put that in.
NATE
One of the difficult aspects of playing Scrooge is trying to figure out when he’s going to start having this change of heart because he’s super cold and angry, and then he goes on this journey and sees things in the past and it hurts him a little bit, but does it really make sense for that to be the thing that immediately changes his heart?
There’s got to be this gradual change and in the scene where Bob Cratchit and his family are celebrating Christmas and they’re so happy and it’s so much fun he sees what it’s like to have a happy home. I don’t think it makes any sense for Scrooge to start to feel any happiness unless he’s seen how happy Bob is with his family. So, one of the things that I try to show is how the happiness Bob is experiencing with his family is having an effect on Scrooge.
Sierra Turner as Mrs. Cratchit and Porter Turner as Tiny Tim in the Desert Crown Theatre Production of A Christmas Carol. Pete Mecozzi Photography
JAMES
One of the other things I have in my version of the play is that Mrs. Cratchit actually does get to give Scrooge a piece of her mind. That’s something she says she’d like to do in the book, but she never gets the chance.
CHRISTINE
Oh, absolutely. And our Mrs. Cratchit plays it so beautifully. She is a sweet and loving mother and she’s so kind and when she stands up for Bob in the street scene on Christmas Day, she does give Scrooge a piece of her mind because she’s a woman of her word. And then of course, Scrooge immediately triples Bob’s salary and she’s taken aback. I think sometimes Mrs. Cratchit gets left behind. So, it’s nice to let her have a moment.
I actually had the actress ask me, what’s her first name? And I said, go read the book. She doesn’t have one. Because it was written that way. In the book, she was just Mrs. Cratchit. And one of the things we have hidden on stage is an original edition of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol.
JAMES
So, maybe the spirit of Charles Dickens might be there to help you guys out.
CHRISTINE
That’s what I think. This book is from the eighteen-hundreds and it’s on our set and the audience doesn’t know it, but we know it. And we’ve got a cast of about 45 people, 20 of which are children. And it helps our board to see that so many people believe in us and support us. And when you have a large cast they bring more people to the theatre and I really stress to the cast as much as I can that you don’t know who you’re going to inspire, whether it’s an audience of 30 or 300 or 3000, you don’t know who you might inspire out there.
We had a little girl show up to auditions with her dad, who we’ve known for a few years and we convinced him to come in and read and guess who’s playing Fezziwig. He did not expect to audition. He had never done this sort of thing before and we just said to give it a go. And it turned out he had a talent for it and he had just never put himself out there. And he is having so much fun and doing the show with his daughters. His one teenage daughter is the assistant stage manager and the little one is playing Ignorance. And it’s just been so much fun to have that many people involved.
Anna Dalgleish and Caleb Gordon in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Adapted for the stage by Ron Reed and Directed by Morris Ertman.
This holiday season Rosebud Theatre is taking audiences on a magical journey back to Narnia in a fun and family-friendly stage adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis.
In the original story Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are four children who have been evacuated to the countryside from London during the early days of World War II. The children soon discover a wardrobe in their new home that leads them to the magical land of Narnia. Narnia is locked in a forever winter but never Christmas spell by the White Witch who rules over the land. The story revolves around the promise of spring and end of the Witch’s rule that is prophesized when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve mark the return of Aslan the lion who is the rightful King of Narnia.
In Ron Reed’s stage adaptation Lucy and Peter return to the wardrobe as adults many years later and relive their adventures in the land of Narnia when they were children. The production is directed by Morris Ertman and stars Anna Dalgleish and Caleb Gordon who play Lucy and Peter as well as all the other characters in the story including Aslan, the White Witch, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, Father Christmas, and Mr. Tumnus.
I was lucky enough to catch the opening weekend of the play and experience a terrific production that reminds all of us about the joy and imagination of childhood while bringing a beloved story to life. I sat down with the talented stars of the show, Anna and Caleb, to talk with them about the production, their love of theatre, and what they want for Christmas.
ANNA DALGLEISH
For a long time, I’ve been seriously looking at adopting cats and I get an early Christmas gift this weekend. I get to adopt two little kittens and I’m very excited about that. So, Christmas comes early for me. It starts this week.
CALEB GORDON
The last time we did this show I was involved as an assistant stage manager and the gift shop sells Turkish Delight. I never thought I would like Turkish Delight, but I had a bag of their stuff, and I liked it so much that I bought them out. So, let me just hawk for the gift shop. Ten dollars a bag. It’s very tasty. Turkish Delight is my answer.
JAMES HUTCHISON
I’m curious, when did each of you discover your love of theatre and what was it about that experience or moment in time that stirred your soul?
ANNA
Well, I have a very special story that goes along with this because the very first time I saw a play, it was a two-hander version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Pacific Theater had put on a show very similar to this one, but it was a different adaptation. I had never seen a play before. I was a four-year-old, so it was all magic to me.
And then when I was six years old the second show I ever saw was also The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And that was when I fell in love with theatre because I have very strong memories of that. By this point I was an avid reader and already quite an imaginative kid and to see something playing out in real life embodied by people right in front of my very eyes who were profoundly affecting my emotions and whose story I was following along with captivated me. And so, my love of theatre is all tied to this story, and I was very keen to do the show when the chance came around.
Anna Dalgleish and Caleb Gordon in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Adapted for the stage by Ron Reed and Directed by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
What about you, Caleb?
CALEB
I went into theatre when I was in grade nine, and I was very good at it. And I say good at it because I could memorize things very well, but I had no idea about emotions or that maybe I should use them on stage.
And I remember when I had just turned eighteen sitting down and having a really big conversation with myself. I had gone to a summer drama camp, and they had talked about the presence of the fool in a lot of Shakespeare’s plays. And I hated being a fool. I hated not being in control was the real thing. And I remember thinking, maybe that’s not healthy and maybe I should look into that.
And so, I did. I decided, let’s do all the things I’ve never done before. Let’s be the fool. Let’s be okay with being a fool because what we had talked about in summer school was how fools are the only ones who are comfortable in chaos and limbo. Everything and everybody else gets turned upside down, but the fools are the ones who are suddenly the guides and the way keepers in those situations. And I thought, “Wow, that sounds infinitely better than been tossed around and lost at sea and not actually knowing where I’m going.” And so, I would say from that moment onwards is where my love of theatre was truly ignited.
JAMES
Your love of theatre brought you to the Rosebud School of the Arts. Both of you are graduates. So, tell me about your relationship with Rosebud and how you feel it has helped shape you as artists.
ANNA
There’s something so intense about forming an artistic voice in such an immersive education environment. Rosebud is basically a street that crosses another street and when you dip down into the valley it’s like you’re fully immersed in theatre and in your studies. And at times that was incredibly intense and sometimes even overwhelming. But at the end of the day, I think that the immersion into the world of theatre that exists at Rosebud is what has made me such a holistic theatre person and so willing to dive into the deep end every time I get a chance to do something theatrical.
CALEB
I know that when I came to Rosebud, I used to be quite a people pleaser and I would always defer to other people and their needs, but Rosebud was small enough that I couldn’t do that anymore. Instead, I had to actually take the stage and when the light was shone on me I had to step into it. Rosebud is where I started to listen to my own voice as opposed to the voices of others and that was very helpful for me in realizing who I was. Rosebud is a place where when you graduate you are your own artist with your own voice.
JAMES
Did you find the same Anna, that you discovered your individuality as an artist when you were in Rosebud?
ANNA
Absolutely. We were all so different from one another and that’s a comforting feeling when you’re at an audition because auditions are always nerve-wracking. They’re going to see sixty people today and how in the world am I going to stand out? But my training here taught me that it is not about outshining, it’s about bringing what only you have to offer to the audition.
And then at the end of the day, if that’s a fit for the show, fantastic. If it’s not a fit for the show, it’s not because you’re a bad actor, it’s because you have shown them what you have to offer and they’re going with someone who has a different thing to offer. So, you never have to pretend to be someone you’re not. You just have to bring your unique gift. And I think that Rosebud grads are encouraged to have that sense of self and that sense of individuality and to put their own quirky stamp on who they are and what they bring.
Anna Dalgleish and Caleb Gordon in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Adapted for the stage by Ron Reed and Directed by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
There’s a famous quote by George Bernard Shaw. “We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing.” And I think that’s an interesting idea when we look at this particular adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe because Lucy and Peter are adults and they’re remembering their childhood adventures.
CALEB
One of my favourite parts of this show is when Aslan comes back and we just play tag for a few moments. The exuberance that I feel in that moment not only from myself but from the audience as well is so exciting. Who would’ve thought that watching two people run around on a stage playing tag was exciting? And yet it is. Even today, we just came out of a show and oh goodness, people were excited and chattering, and all I’m doing is running around on stage out of breath.
And I think I have a sense of play. I play a lot of video games and tabletop games and that sort of thing, but I’m realizing just how much a sense of play is actually something to be celebrated because it’s not that people don’t have a sense of play it’s that people can’t express it fully because they’ve been told that’s a thing that you leave as a child and now that you’re older you have responsibilities. You can have responsibility, but you can do it with a wink in the eye and a sense of play.
ANNA
This question makes me think of the dedication in the novel that C.S. Lewis wrote to his goddaughter who was named Lucy. And he says something like this, by the time I’m finished writing this book, you may have grown out of fairy tales but there will come a day – one day where you’re old enough to read fairy tales again, and I hope this book will find you then.
And I think that’s true of the characters in the story. I think Peter and Lucy are far enough away from their adventures as children and are far enough into their lives in England as adults where they need to remember how to read fairy tales and how to play again. And I think it is that sense of play and embracing that childhood belief and courage and adventure that brings a taste of that Narnian magic back to them in the present moment.
CALEB
And in this play, at one point I’m Peter playing Edmond watching Lucy play the Witch Queen and she levitates her wand. And the wand does levitate because a Narnian is holding it up for her. And there’s that moment where Peter’s thinking, “Did I just see that? Is that what’s really going on right now?” And those moments in our adulthood are just a trick of the light but as a child those moments are not a trick of the light they really happen.
ANNA
That’s another magical thing that is brought to life in this particular production because even though we have two primary storytellers we have two other actors Christopher Allen and Lacey Cornelsen involved in the process. We start out in this dusty old room and because of these two other actors the whole room bursts with magic and the involvement of these two Narnian characters makes you really believe that the magic has come back.
Anna Dalgleish, Caleb Gordon, Christopher Allen and Lacey Cornelsen in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Adapted for the stage by Ron Reed and Directed by Morris Ertman.
JAMES
When Lucy and Peter first discovered Narnia, it’s a land of perpetual winter and never Christmas. In fact, the White Witch’s magic keeps Father Christmas from being able to visit Narnia. And the story is about the arrival of Aslan and the breaking of that spell. And the story takes place in England during World War II and it’s about living through tough times with a vision of better times in the future. What is it about Christmas do you think that renews our hopes for a more compassionate and better world?
ANNA
I think for one thing winter is a very desolate time and if it goes on for too long you begin to wonder if we are ever going to see tulips again or crocus again or all these beautiful springtime miracles. And I think that Christmas is representative of that miraculous life springing forth.
And I know that for C.S. Lewis a ton of his interest and passion was in the Christ story and of course that’s remembered at Christmas time where out of nowhere a miracle is born that turns the whole world upside down. And I think, in this story Father Christmas who comes in with this boisterous energy and gifts galore represents the turning point. And he comes with the good news that Aslan is in fact here and the balance of power is shifting, and the melt will come and you will have what you need to be prepared for the coming world.
CALEB
I remember being very young and thinking Christmas is about getting presents and it’s all about getting the Fisher-Price Knights and Castle set or whatever it was that I really wanted. And then of course you go through a little bit more and you realize, ok, maybe it’s actually more about getting socks and more about the people that I spend it with.
And I have always enjoyed the Christmases that I’ve experienced in Rosebud. I worked in the Mercantile for quite a few years while I was a student, and I remember having so many good memories of the place. Closing down and we’ve sent all the patrons home and it’s dark and there’s just a little bit of excitement because even though it’s cold outside and it’s freezing and Kevin’s car won’t start we know that we have a community out here in the middle of nowhere who gather and find warmth with each other’s kindness.
And I remember thinking in the early days of COVID that we might never have theatre again. I tried a few ZOOM readings where I read Shakespeare with a bunch of other players to an audience and it just does not feel the same. There’s no life through the digital ether, unfortunately. I think technology is great but realizing it’s never going to bridge that gap like real live theatre can was very worrisome.
So, it’s reassuring to come out of it now and I’m dealing with a cold but instead of saying sorry everybody I have a cold and you’re just going to have to deal with that I can say sorry everyone I’m going to be masked up for the next little while because I don’t want to spread that to everybody. COVID brought a lot of realities to the forefront. Theatre is a precarious career at times. It’s precarious and it’s a gift to be able to be in front of people and I should take care of myself and others while I do it.
Anna Dalgleish and Caleb Gordon in the Rosebud Theatre Production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Adapted for the stage by Ron Reed and Directed by Morris Ertman.
ANNA
Theatre artists have always been adaptive and the fact that it’s a live art means that at any moment anything can happen and you have to adapt to it. We’ve always been good at that. But I think COVID taught us on an industry scale, just how flexible we can be and how creative we can be about solutions.
And I think bringing all of that adaptation and creativity back into the theatre when audiences have been allowed to return, has made us care for each other better and has made us even more grateful for the gift that is being inches away from your scene partner and being just feet away from the audience.
There’s nothing like a full theatre of well-fed, excited individuals ready to watch a show and Rosebud does that unlike anyone else. It’s been a glorious and joy-filled homecoming, these returns to full audiences. And now I think none of us take it for granted. So, there’s extra magic in that for sure.
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The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis adapted for the stage by Ron Reed stars Anna Dalgleish as Lucy and Caleb Gordon as Peter along with Christopher Allan and Lacey Cornelsen as Narnians. Director Morris Ertman, Fight Director Nathan Schmidt, Scenic Designer Morris Ertman, Costume Designer Hanne Loosen, Lighting Designer Michael K. Hewitt, Sound Designer/Composer Luke Ertman, Stage Manager Samantha Showalter, Assistant Stage Manager Koayla Cormack.
This interview was conducted on Friday, November 11, 2022, and has been edited for length and clarity. Last Revised on December 22, 2022.
Tara Laberge as Emily Murphy in the Drama on a Dime and Urban Stories Theatre Production of High and Splendid Braveries by playwright Caroline Russell-King. Photograph by Benjamin Laird.
Playwright Caroline Russell-King has been writing plays and entertaining audiences for more than forty years. Her Palliser Suite trilogy of one-act comedies which all take place at the Palliser Hotel in Calgary was shortlisted for the National Steven Leacock Award for humour. Her play Selma Burke, which she co-wrote with Maria Crooks, and is about the life and work of African American sculptress Selma Burke was shortlisted for this year’s Sharon Pollock Award. And her most recent play High and Splendid Braveries explores addiction, women’s rights, and prohibition all told through the life and times of Emily Murphy one of The Famous Five. Not only is Caroline a gifted playwright but she’s also a dramaturg, theatre critic, and ghostwriter. You can find out more information about her plays and professional services by visiting her website at www.carolinerusselking.com.
I saw High and Splendid Braveries a few nights ago in The Motel at the Arts Commons and I’m happy to report that it’s a play filled with wonderful moments – funny, tragic, heartbreaking, and triumphant all brought to life by a powerful script and a terrific cast of five actors playing multiple roles. The Famous Five were five Alberta women who lead the fight to have Canadian women recognized constitutionally as persons. Emily Murphy led the battle and was supported by Irene Parlby, Louise McKinney, Henrietta Muir Edwards, and Nellie McClung. Their case was rejected by The Supreme Court of Canada in 1928, but the Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council, which was the highest court in the land at the time, decided in favour of the women on October 18, 1929.
I sat down with Caroline to talk with her about High and Splendid Braveries and the journey the play took to go from page to stage.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Initially, you wanted to write a play about The Famous Five but felt that a two-hour play simply couldn’t capture the lives of all these women, and you found that one voice above the others began to speak to you. Tell me about that process and the years it took to go from your original inspiration to a finished play.
CAROLINE RUSSELL-KING
Well, the truth of the matter is that I didn’t know anything about them. I was woefully ignorant. And so, I was reading an article in Avenue magazine, and it was about the first unveiling of the statues of The Famous Five in Calgary, and I thought, “Oh, that’s interesting.” And in the back of my head I thought, “Oh, that’s a good Alberta Foundation for the Arts grant because it’s about women’s history, and somebody will fund me to write a play about that.” And then I started researching these women and I started falling in love with these women and being awestruck by these women and being completely swayed by them.
The Women are Persons! statue in Calgary honouring The Famous Five. Sculpted by Barbara Paterson. Photo courtesy of Frances Wright.
So, I did a lot of research. I read their books, and I went to Ottawa and put on the white gloves and looked at the original correspondence in the archives, and I had some copies of that sent to me. I did interviews with people including Frances Wright who’s the CEO of The Famous 5 Foundation, and my mother-in-law Angela Matthews was a contributor and supporter of The Famous Five, and I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but I got invited to the inner circle and unveiling of The Famous Five Statues on Parliament Hill. So, I got to meet The Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, and go into the Senate and meet the senators and have cocktails with Margaret Trudeau. And that was interesting because that’s where I first started thinking about loss. There were lots of activities going on at the time, and I fell down that whole rabbit hole of research, and then I started writing the play.
And the play was too much. There were too many storylines and too many parts. And I thought I can’t write about The Famous Five. I have to focus on one. So, the one I was most attracted to was Emily, and a lot of people have written about Nellie. There are a lot of Nellie plays out there. But I thought of Emily because she was literally the driving force behind getting this thing done.
People think the story is about women wanting to become persons. Well, we already knew we were persons. So, what did Emily really want? I followed that thread, and I read her book, The Black Candle, which was the first seminal book of research at the turn of the 20th century about opioids in Canada.
She went into drug dens and interviewed people and tried to make systemic change and tried to save lives. She was exposed to the idea of harm reduction. We think of harm reduction as being a new thing, but it isn’t. She would have been appalled at the closing of safe injection sites. She was really ahead of her time in a lot of ways. She was trying to save lives and stop the flow of opium. She was amazing. She was a neat broad. I liked her a lot.
Ginette Simonot as Princess Poppy with Martina Laird-Westib and Shannon Leahy in the Drama on a Dime and Urban Stories Theatre production of High and Splendid Braveries by playwright Caroline Russell-King. Photo by Benjamin Laird
JAMES
You said in the introduction to your play that she whispered to you in the night.
CAROLINE
You know what it’s like. You’re a playwright. You know what they do. They wake you up and they start talking to you and then you have to grab a pen and start writing it down.
JAMES
It makes our job easier.
CAROLINE
It does.
JAMES
The play features five actors portraying multiple characters, and the play is very fluid in terms of moving between locations. And I think it’s very cinematic with short scenes, but you can follow the major narrative quite easily. Tell me about the team of people you’ve gathered together to bring High and Splendid Braveries to the stage and to life.
CAROLINE
I have my very good friend Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan directing the play. She’s a fairly new director, but she has a huge wealth of theatrical experience. She’s worked all over Canada in A houses with the best directors, and she brings with her this huge wealth and passion and rigour and care.
Director Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan and the cast of High and Splendid Braveries by playwright Caroline Russell-King in rehearsal.
And I wanted to do it in the Arts Commons. That was important to me. I’d heard a rumour, and I don’t know if it’s true, but I’d heard a rumour that the land opposite the Arts Commons is going to be repurposed and that there was some threat that The Famous Five statues might actually be moved away from there. And I thought, “I have to do my play before the statues get moved.” So, I wanted a theatre in close proximity to the statues, and the simplest and easiest way to make that happen in six months was to co-produce the play with Urban Stories Theatre and Helen Young, who has been producing shows in the Motel for ten years.
The cast includes my really good friend Allison Smith, whom I’ve known for forty years, and she played a pregnant clown in one of my first plays at The Glenmore Dinner Theatre. She doesn’t like to talk about that. (Laughs) So, Alison Smith and Martina Laird-Westib, Shannon Leahy, and Tara Laberge. I had seen Tara Laberge in a Fire Exit show, and I was really impressed by her work. And we have Ginette Simonot. She’s a rock star.
Playwright Caroline Russell-King in rehearsal for High and Splendid Braveries.
I couldn’t afford to put this show on with a full equity slate, so these are some of the best non-equity actors in town and what’s great about being a theatre critic is I’ve gone to a lot more theatre and seen a lot more people, and I’m always scanning for who’s out there and who is going to be somebody that I want to work with in the future. That’s how we got Tara Laberge, and then because of COVID we have an understudy – the lovely Tara Blue.
JAMES
One of the things I really liked about the play is that you let your characters speak from their particular perspective and the time in which they lived. So, we have characters voicing opinions and ideas that today we wouldn’t agree with but as an audience in 2022 we recognize the ideas as being out of step with how we think today. So, I’m curious to know your thoughts in terms of trying to be fair in presenting how these characters thought and still designing the play to reflect our modern views about some of the ideas you present.
CAROLINE
Well, it’s a conundrum, and it’s interesting because there’s been a shift towards taking those attitudes out of plays. I saw a play in the past year that was a historic piece that spoke so eloquently and so vocally about everything, but they wouldn’t have spoken like that at the time. They wouldn’t have said that. This voice is the voice of the playwright who wants to apologize for these characters. And because you’re a playwright you understand we want our characters to be flawed. We don’t want these perfect people doing perfect things in perfect situations with no conflict. That’s boring and unrealistic.
And The Famous Five, as they’ve come to be known, the more they get scrutinized under the microscope the more flawed they seem to people, and then people concentrate on those flaws as opposed to acknowledging the incredible amount of worth that happened because of these women. They literally changed the world.
I believe the audience is smart. I don’t like the term bums in seats. I like the term brains in seats. I think sometimes playwrights want to make things safe and spell stuff out or be superior in some ways, but I think the audience is bright and there are always going to be people in the audience that are smarter than I am.
JAMES
Do you think sometimes playwrights don’t want to be taken to task by presenting a controversial idea?
CAROLINE
Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. But you know it’s not my personality to shy away from controversy. I always say one of my worst flaws and one of my best flaws is that I’m not a people pleaser. That being said, I would like people to enjoy my art, but I don’t write thinking about pleasing certain people or certain elements of our society. That’s not where I come from.
I think we need to talk about the issues more, and I think we need to get out of our silos and talk about the things that matter. We need to build bridges. We need to be able to communicate with each other. I mean, the issue of drug addiction – how is that not bipartisan? How is it that not everybody wants to address poverty and healthcare? What kind of world are we trying to build? It’s scary when we can’t talk to each other.
JAMES
One of the things that makes your story real is that you deal with loss. Emily’s personal loss. Could you speak a little bit about including that in the play?
CAROLINE
That actually came out of talking to Margaret Trudeau because I thought there’s a woman I have nothing in common with. We’ve got our little sandwiches and our drinks, and her life and my life are completely different. But she had this enamel pin on which was a rose for her late husband, and she had lost her son. And we started talking about grief. And I thought, well, that is the universal thing that joins us all together. The older we get the more we’ve encountered loss and grief and I immediately started thinking about Emily and thinking about what the loss of a child would have been like for her. I think personally there is no greater loss than the loss of a child. A spouse is hideous, brothers and sisters are hideous, and parents are bad, but they come in order. You’re a father, you know. How would you come back from that, right? That should be another bipartisan thing. Who doesn’t care about that?
Tara Laberge as Emily and Ginette Simonot as Doris in the Drama on a Dime and Urban Stories Theatre Production of High and Splendid Braveries by playwright Caroline Russell-King. Photo by Benjamin Laird.
JAMES
I’ve seen you on social media where you do a thing called Pop Up Playwright. On your website you say, “Pop Up Playwright is about creating art in public spaces. Playwrights are generally not visible. Actors are visible. Directors are. Playwrights not so much. I think we need to come out of our offices and move away from the kitchen tables and go out. Much like painters, we need to set up our easels and create in public.” Tell me about the decision to create Pop Up Playwright and what it’s been like to create art in public.
CAROLINE
Oh, it’s fascinating. It’s been a great social experiment. I’ve done Pop Up Playwright in hospitals, airports, downtown, at City Hall, libraries, and once on the street. I have my Pop Up Playwright sign I put up, but I also put up a little plexiglass sign that will say something like, “Ask me questions about plays. Feel free to interrupt me.” I invite interactions with people.
It’s very strange because you’re regarded overwhelmingly with such suspicion and one of the things that I get asked all the time is, “What are you selling?” And while I am a dramaturg, I’m not out there trying to drum up business. It’s about having discussions about theatre with people who might not even go to theatre. I love talking to people about so many things and having people come over and ask, “What are you working on?” And I can say, “I’m writing this scene. I don’t think it’s very good right now, but I think I know how to fix it.”
Allison Smith as Arthur and Tara Laberge as Emily in the Drama on a Dime and Urban Stories Theatre Production of High and Splendid Braveries by playwright Caroline Russell-King. Photo by Benjamin Laird.
JAMES
So, now that the play is finished and it’s being produced what does Emily Murphy, the Emily Murphy who spoke to you in the middle of the night and whispered in your ear, what does she think of the play, and what do you hope comes out of this?
CAROLINE
At the moment she would channel Nellie McClung and say, “Get the thing done and let them howl.” The big dream would be to have it produced at the 100th anniversary of the Persons Case, which is in 2029. I’d like to get it on at the NAC, so I’d like the play to have a bigger profile. I think that’s the only time producers would consider putting it on at that level.
But the most important thing is that people come away from the play having had an entertaining night at the theatre. That they haven’t been lectured to. It’s not an infomercial. It’s not a heritage moment. It’s not a quaint little story about Little House on the Prairie women trying to do their thing. These are real women. These are flawed women. These are women who are fighters.
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CAST & CREW
On a Dime Productions and Urban Stories Theatre presents High and Splendid Braveries by playwright Caroline Russell-King stars Tara Laberge, Allison Smith, Martina Laird-Westib, Ginette Simonot, Shannon Leahy, Tara Blue. Co-producers Helen Young & Caroline Russell-King, Director Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan, Stage Manager Andrea Cortes, Assistant Stage Manager Mary Bogucka, Assistant to the director and original music AJ Tarhan, Cello Morag Northey, Lighting Concepts Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan, Lighting Designer Calum Maunier, Lighting Tech Support Kai Hall.
Nathan Schmidt and Griffin Cork in the Rosebud Theatre production of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones. Director Morris Ertman, Scenic Designer Hanne Loosen, Costume Designer Amy Castro, Lighting Designer Becky Halterman, Sound Designer/Composer Luke Ertman.
Rosebud Theatre’s production of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones is a highly entertaining and wonderfully crafted production. The play is designed so that two actors portray fifteen different characters. The story focuses on Jake Quinn and Charlie Conlon who have been hired as extras along with plenty of other town folk by a big Hollywood Studio that’s shooting on location in Ireland. Jake and Charlie are down on their luck, but Charlie has a screenplay that he feels could turn their fortunes around if he could get it into the hands of the right people.
The play stars Nathan Schmidt as Jake Quinn, Griffin Cork as Charlie Conlon, and is directed by Morris Ertman. Some of the other characters portrayed by Nathan and Griffin include Caroline Giovanni the American star of the film, Clem the film’s English director, Sean and Fin a couple of young lads from town, and Mickey a local in his seventies whose claim to fame is being one of the few surviving extras on the 1952 film The Quiet Man starring John Wayne.
Stones in His Pockets premiered at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast in 1996, and when it was produced at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1999 it became a huge hit. From the Fringe the play moved to the West End in London where in 2001 it won the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy and the Olivier Award for Best Actor for Conleth Hill who many people may know better as Varys in the HBO Fantasy series Game of Thrones. From the West End the show travelled to New York for a successful Broadway run and since then has been performed by regional theatres throughout the world.
I was lucky enough to catch the opening night production of Stones in His Pockets and I had a thoroughly enjoyable, entertaining, and fun evening at the theatre. I sat down with the stars of the show Nathan Schmidt and Griffin Cork to talk with them about the play and we started our conversation by talking about the magic of the theatre and what that word means to them.
NATHAN SCHMIDT
I guess what people mean by magic is something unbelievable that happens right in front of them. And then coming to the theatre you experience the emotions of the story, and it all seems ethereal and magical, and all of a sudden you’re taken up in a story and carried along by the cast or a certain kind of music or the way the lighting cues hit, and it hooks everything up for you, and you become a part of this group of people as the audience experiencing the show. And it’s such a unique kind of experience that you don’t have very often. I think that’s part of what the magic is.
GRIFFIN CORK
I always relate it back to my grandmother a little bit. I always describe her as the ideal audience because she says her perfect show is one that makes her forget about her shopping list. And she likes to think that the story is being told for her only. That it’s her bedtime story is the way she puts it.
And to me, the magic of theatre is that it makes you believe the story. You start to care about that guy on stage and it’s the punch through of that suspension of disbelief. So, in this day and age, if you can make my grandmother forget about her shopping list, I think that’s pretty magical.
JAMES HUTCHISON
Well, I mentioned magic and we often see magic between actors, they have chemistry, they play well off each other. And I can definitely say after seeing the show last week that you guys have great chemistry. This is a two-person show where you’re playing multiple characters. So being in sync is absolutely essential. How much of that chemistry between the two of you was there naturally and how much of it is something that you work on through the process of rehearsal and the performance of the play?
GRIFFIN
I did my audition with Nate which gave our director Morris Ertman and us a pretty good idea about how well we naturally play off each other. And when we did the first read our set designer Hanne Loosen came up to me and said, “Have you read that with Nate before?” And I said, “No, not all the way through.” And she said, “Oh, yeah, you guys are just pinging off each other.” So, there was already bedrock there and I think our sensibilities and our senses of humour line up pretty well.
I don’t know that I ever actively worked on chemistry with Nate, but when you spend forty-five hours a week together you get to know somebody pretty well. And I think I also formed a rapport with our director Morris, and our stage manager Kalena, and our production stage manager Brad, but the audience doesn’t see that rapport because its not on stage. It’s kind of what rehearsal is for in a sense – to build chemistry with the people you haven’t worked with before.
Griffin Cork and Nathan Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre production of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones. Director Morris Ertman, Scenic Designer Hanne Loosen, Costume Designer Amy Castro, Lighting Designer Becky Halterman, Sound Designer/Composer Luke Ertman.
NATHAN
I think it was a John Cusack quote that said one of the skills the actor has is to develop a shorthand for deep relationships. So, it’s actually part of the skill set to be able to speak to each other with a depth of understanding that you maybe don’t actually own but that is actually there because of the trust you have for each other and because of the type of work that we do. We put ourselves in the other person’s hands. And for sure, there are some people you connect with more quickly. Griffin’s quite a bit younger, but we have similar sensibilities. So, I think that chemistry while some of it’s about the people I also think part of it is the skill set to go deep with people quickly.
JAMES
The play takes place in County Kerry, Ireland and the local town is being used as the location for a big Hollywood movie, and the locals are being used as extras. Tell me a little bit about this world, and the world of the play.
NATHAN
It’s really a town that’s lost so much of what made it a town, and people are hanging on there and staying because it is their hometown. So, we have Mr. Harkin selling his land – selling off a lot of his son Sean’s birthright – just to make ends meet because of an economic downturn in the local economy. That’s pretty relatable. And people have that small-town feeling of there’s nothing here for me. There’s no future for me. I have nothing to hope for. The older people are upset by that. They’re hanging on because this is where they’re from and there’s pride in that. The young people don’t see a place to connect and find a life. And then this movie comes and injects all this money into the economy because of the scenery and the beauty of the land and the forty shades of green but it’s just a location to them nothing more.
GRIFFIN
The play is full of harsh dichotomies. There are the people in the town, and then people who have come to the town for the film, the film crew. And even in those groups, there are dichotomies. The townspeople either love the movie or hate the movie. And then in the film, there are people who love Kerry and people who hate Kerry. And then the way that they shoot films is terrible. They dig up the landscape, and they over-inflate the economy, and they work the people to death, and then they leave without any regard really. So, for me, the whole show is about seeing people teeter-totter between the two sides. And I would say the play is exploring the nature of success. Like, what is success? Is it to be famous? Or is it to make a living in the place that you love?
JAMES
The show’s being performed in Rosebud. A hamlet an hour or so drive east of Calgary, not far from Drumheller. And I was hoping each of you could speak a little bit about your unique relationship with Rosebud. Nathan, you’re not only an actor in the show, but you head up the Rosebud School of Theatre’s acting department and make your home in the community.
NATHAN
I grew up in rural Alberta farther north. There was no theatre. Nobody went to the theatre. My family never went to the theatre. It just wasn’t part of the culture that I was in. But our school went to the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton every year. We’d go to a play, and I just thought it was the coolest thing.
And I kind of came to the awareness that it was actually a job that people did. There was a moment where I was like, “Wait a minute, that’s a job. That’s work. They’re at work. That looks like pretty cool work to me.” Everybody was saying, “Oh, you go to a university, and you get your career.” And I’m like, “But those people are doing theatre for a job. That’s pretty great, right?”
So, Rosebud came right along on the heels of those realizations, and it ended up being a place where I could stay connected to theatre and the whole town’s economy is based around doing theatre. And I really enjoyed doing the acting, but I also get to teach, and when I teach I’m constantly redefining and re-articulating and reworking how I work and how I engage story, and so Rosebud became a place to put down roots.
GRIFFIN
I think Rosebud is fantastic. There will always be a city boy inside of me that I can’t shake. But Rosebud is kind of idyllic in the sense of what you would picture a small town should be. Bill Ham the music director here at Rosebud also fixes bikes, and he fixed my bike in his garage. He didn’t train for it or anything he just liked watching videos and figuring out how to fix bikes. And we sat in his garage, and he fixed my bike, and I said, “Great, what do I owe you?” And he goes, “No, no, no.” And I said, “You fixed my bike and if I was in the city, I would pay the bike fixer.” And he said, “No, don’t ruin this.” And I went, “Okay.” So, I had to ask his daughter, who is my landlord, what he likes, and she told me, and so I bought him a big bag of Chicago mix popcorn. It’s that kind of community.
Griffin Cork and Nathan Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre production of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones. Director Morris Ertman, Scenic Designer Hanne Loosen, Costume Designer Amy Castro, Lighting Designer Becky Halterman, Sound Designer/Composer Luke Ertman.
JAMES
So, the play takes place in Ireland and there’s the phrase “the luck of the Irish.” And that can mean that the Irish are inherently lucky, or it can mean that even though the Irish have had some hard luck they’ve overcome those hardships and gone on. How do you think the idea of luck relates to the story of Stones in His Pockets and what happens in the play and then second looking back on your own lives and careers what role do you think luck plays in our lives – how much of an influence do you think luck has on our path through this world?
GRIFFIN
I like exploring the idea of luck – especially through Charlie’s story. Charlie’s not lacking in ambition or initiative, but something switched for him when he partners up with Jake and they start to talk about doing a film about cows. His outcome hope is different. Before his ambition and initiative were leading to something more superficial. Getting to be famous, not working too hard, and getting to be rich. The cow film they talk about making is something they honestly believe in and a story they believe needs to be told.
NATHAN
When Charlie gets an opportunity with his script, he’s so used to not having anything good happen he says, “I knew no one would look at it. I knew no one would ever read it.” I think luck comes when we’ve got eyes enough to see the opportunity and know that we should grab hold of it and do it. And in hindsight, we call it luck. Well, isn’t it lucky that showed up when it did. But it actually was, I had enough awareness to step into my own agency and follow that path.
GRIFFIN
And I think luck has quite a bit to do with our industry but there are also things that you can do to prepare for a lucky break, and I think luck and opportunity are wasted without initiative and ambition.
NATHAN
I don’t have a rabbit’s foot and I don’t rub anything for luck. I don’t pay much attention to luck. But I do think it’s lucky that I found this place from the question you asked before. I wouldn’t have known about Rosebud but somebody that I’d gone to school with came over and I never had friends over because I was a bit of a loner and they came over to visit and said, “Oh, I heard about this place Rosebud,…” and this is right at the time when I was thinking about theatre as a future. “Oh, it’s a little theatre town in southern Alberta where they teach theatre.” And I was like, “Okay, I’ll try that.” And that was it. You can say, “Well, isn’t that lucky she came for a visit.” Or was it lucky that I said, “I’ll try that.” I don’t know. But I do feel lucky, I guess.
Griffin cork and Nathan Schmidt in the Rosebud Theatre production of Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones. Director Morris Ertman, Scenic Designer Hanne Loosen, Costume Designer Amy Castro, Lighting Designer Becky Halterman, Sound Designer/Composer Luke Ertman.
JAMES
Well, we’re coming out of COVID and it’s good to see live theatre up and running again and if people are looking at heading back to the theatre why should they head out to Rosebud to see this production of Stones in His Pockets?
NATHAN
We just had 170 people in the house today and they had a ball. This show is a good time and people are enjoying themselves. And I always think the drive out here is part of the whole experience. I think there’s something really connecting and nostalgic about the trip out here and then you get to see what we’ve been talking about. A really good play. It’s a good reason to come out. It’s just a delight to have a room full of people again. We just appreciate it and I find it so energizing and exciting.
GRIFFIN
And there is something very beautiful to me about watching a big show with a small cast. And theatre has something that other mediums like film will never have, and it’s that you get to do theatre in front of people that you know are there, and they know that you know they’re there. And you get to actually hear them laugh, or hear them cry, or hear them cough, or hear their phone go off.
NATHAN (Laughs)
Well, that’s the magic, isn’t it?
GRIFFIN (Laughs)
Yeah.
***
Stones in His Pockets by Marie Jones stars Griffin Cork as Charlie Conlon and Nathan Schmidt as Jake Quinn. Director Morris Ertman, Scenic Designer Hanne Loosen, Costume Designer Amy Castro, Lighting Designer Becky Halterman, Sound Designer/Composer Luke Ertman, Stage Manager Kalena Lewandowski, Stage Manager (Rehearsal) Brad G. Graham.
When romance novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued from a car crash by his “number one fan” Annie Wilkes – he feels lucky to be alive. As Paul slowly recovers from his injuries in Annie’s isolated home, Annie reads Paul’s latest novel and discovers to her horror that Paul kills off Misery – her favourite character. That’s when Annie’s obsession takes a dark turn, and she forces Paul to write a new novel that brings Misery back to life. In a perilous game of survival, Paul works on the new novel while plotting his escape from the menacing and unpredictable Annie Wilkes.
Misery stars Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes, Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon, and Curt McKinstry as Buster and I’m happy to report that Vertigo’s production of Misery is a thrilling dive into the scary world of deadly obsession. Everything you want in a psychological thriller is here including phenomenal performances, an incredible set, atmospheric lighting, a chilling soundscape, and plenty of big payoffs all under the gifted direction of Jamie Dunsdon.
I sat down with Jamie to talk with her about Misery, and I started our conversation by asking her what is it about Annie Wilkes that makes her such a compelling and menacing character.
JAMIE DUNSDON
What makes her so compelling is that she’s so human. She feels so real. She’s not a villain. She’s not Moriarty. She’s broken is what she is. She’s a normal human being. She’s someone who has had hurt in her life and pain in her life, and she just used the wrong means to cope with it and that led to an obsession which led to fanaticism.
And for her, this is a love story. For Paul, this is a survival story. She’s entering this story from a much different angle than everyone else. And then she can snap on a dime, which makes her unpredictable and frightening and complex.
Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES HUTCHISON
You’ve got a wonderful cast with Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes and Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon. Tell me a little bit about how these actors are bringing these characters to life and what we can expect as an audience.
JAMIE
When I was casting, I didn’t want a Kathy Bates impersonation. It was about finding a person who could bring complexity to this character. I think it’s easy to look at a character like Annie Wilkes and just play a psychopath. I wanted an actor who could enter her from a human angle. And I felt the same way about the Paul character. I didn’t want a James Caan impersonation. I didn’t want someone to do the same thing that he did.
We’re not trying to do an impersonation of the film, even though this is an adaptation of the film more than of the novel. We are trying to honour what audiences want from the Misery story while also giving them something that’s a little more rounded and a little more complex. So, Anna and Haysam bring something that’s really beautiful to the characters. They bring their years of theatre experience and playing real rounded human characters, so these characters on stage feel like people you could know, and that’s mesmerizing to watch.
Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes and Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
You know, one of the most chilling aspects of the story is the fact that there actually have been fans who have stalked and killed the very people they claim to admire and love.
JAMIE
I know.
JAMES
That’s what’s so strange about humans, right, how that love can twist into hate. And I wonder what do you think it is about human nature that makes some people travel down that dark path of obsession and violence?
JAMIE
I’m not sure what makes them go down that path. I think people who have trauma and then live with that trauma on a loop in their head are looking for coping mechanisms and that can make the mind do dangerous things.
And then I’m guessing what happens with obsession is there’s a shift in the concept of ownership. I think a lot of fans feel ownership over the thing that they love, and when that ownership gets carried to its furthest logical conclusion ownership means control, and ownership means they have a right to control the subject or the object of their fascination and fanaticism. I think objectification and ownership is probably where the shift happens in their mind.
But what makes people go down that path? I’m not sure.
In our production, we’re playing with what happens when people get traumatized. What’s going to happen to Paul Sheldon if he lives through this experience? Is he going to be a different person on the other side? Is he going to be a different person in the same way that Annie is clearly a different person than the child she was? Something happened to her and her past made her who she is.
Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes and Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
In the play, Paul doesn’t give up. He’s resourceful. He’s trying to figure his way out of this situation. So why doesn’t he give up? What keeps him going? What do you think the story says about our desire to fight and survive?
JAMIE
In the novel, he kind of does give up. There are some significant moments in the novel where he wishes for death. We don’t go quite that far in the play, although we hint at it. I think what happens and what pushes him through is probably that Paul gets broken down into the animal version of himself, and that animal instinct to survive.
And the other thing is, he’s got something to fight for. Being locked in this little room changes him. It makes him a better person in a lot of ways. Trauma tends to make someone either a better or a worse version of themselves. And so, I think, he gets a new outlook on the world, and that gives him something he’s trying to escape for. He has a different perspective about his life as a writer and the characters he writes about and a deeper love of the work he’s done. I think he is transformed by this experience.
Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
A theatre production involves all kinds of elements and talented people working on those aspects of a production. What are some of the elements you’re bringing together in terms of set design, lighting, sound, costumes, and makeup and how are you using some of those elements to tell the story?
JAMIE
This adaptation of Misery was commissioned by Warner Brothers for a Broadway production, and they pulled out all the stops. They put Warner Brothers’ money into it. The play is massive. And the team at Vertigo has pulled out all the stops as well. They’ve really embraced the challenge.
We’ve got special effects. We’ve got fire. We’ve got guns. We’re using light in a sort of cinematic way. And Scott Reed is doing my set for Misery which I’m really lucky for because the set for this show is very demanding. How do you create a claustrophobic space on stage while also allowing for all the other things that need to happen inside the house? I won’t spoil it, but Scott’s given us a really beautiful mechanism to work with that allows us to travel through the house but to also feel the claustrophobia of Paul’s room.
Misery can feel like a small story. It can feel like a little two-hander, but the scale of this production is pretty massive. I made a list of every special effect in the show and every unusual bit of combat and choreography, and production challenges, and I think that every production challenge that has ever existed in theatre is in this play. Except for bubbles, maybe.
JAMES
Is it too late to add the bubbles?
JAMIE
No, it’s not too late. I’ll look for a place. Just for you.
JAMES
Excellent.
JAMIE
I think audiences are in for a treat. It’s not spectacle for the sake of spectacle. It’s all there to serve the story. Some of the special effects are really tiny and you wouldn’t even think of them as special effects, but they’re special effects to us because they require special technology or a special prop. There are a lot of tricks that we have to do in this production to make things possible.
Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
There are lots of different schools of thought about approaching directing and putting on a show and I’m curious to know how you describe your own approach to directing and whether or not you follow any particular philosophy or process or method.
JAMIE
I don’t have a process. In fact, my approach or my process is to not have a process. I was trained with a process. I did my masters in directing and so I learned a process. I learned an approach to tackling plays, but over the last fifteen years of my directing career, I found that when you try to paste a process on top of any given project you’re asking that project to fit within a previously held set of parameters. And that doesn’t work. Every play means something new. So, my approach is to learn what kind of director I need to be for each project.
So, for this cast, for example, I’ve worked with Haysam and Anna and Kurt McKinstry who is in the show as well. I’ve worked with them all before. I know them as actors. I trust them as actors implicitly. And they trust me. We have a really great relationship.
So, we do table work at the beginning and we did some table work on this, but back in my early days of directing, I would have felt the need to write down our objectives for every scene. And today I’m much more like – okay we can talk about our objectives, but we’re not really going to know everything until we’re up on our feet. So, there’s a lot more fluidity than there used to be in my process. There’s a lot more responsiveness to the needs of the moment. So, my approach to directing is to be responsive rather than prescriptive.
JAMES
Is there something about the play or directing or theatre you never get asked that you’d love people to know about?
JAMIE
I would love people to know about the role of the stage manager because most people don’t know what the stage manager is, and the average audience member will never know who that person is or how they exist in the world of the play if the stage manager is doing their job.
And on this show, we have a team of stage managers that are holding this thing up. Every moment they are running around backstage doing things and getting things ready. Meredith Johnson is my lead stage manager, and I often joke that the best-kept secret in Calgary is that the best director in town is Meredith Johnson. She’s a hero and a consummate artist, and without her artistry a show like this wouldn’t work. And it is artistry. There’s timing. There’s finesse. There’s an element of directing in stage management. The true hero of productions like this one are the stage managers.
Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes and Curt McKinstry as Buster in the Vertigo Theatre Production of Misery based on the book by Stephen King and adapted for the stage by William Goldman. Directed by Jamie Dunsdon. Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Photo Tim Nguyen.
JAMES
I’m going to go back a couple of years. Back in March of 2020, you were directing a production of Admissions by Joshua Harmon for Theatre Calgary. I think it was just about to open or it had just opened and then COVID hit.
JAMIE
It was about to open the next day.
JAMES
And you had to shut it down and here we are now September 2022. Two and a half years later. I’m curious about two aspects. First, what was it like having to close that show and then what’s it like coming back with a full production now? And I’m curious to know how do you think COVID has impacted the theatre world and you as an artist.
JAMIE
Not being able to open Admissions was one of the most painful things I’ve gone through in my career. We got so close. It was a show I was proud of. It was a show that was doing really well in previews. I feel like it was all this unfulfilled potential energy that was suspended and never got released. So, I have a lot of sadness about the fact that show never opened, and it was a show that not only got postponed but they chose not to bring it back in the end. So, it’s deeply sad for me, and I carry a lot of sadness about that project.
I think a lot of theatre artists have experienced that in the last couple of years, and it’s made them question why they do theatre. There’s a lot of pain in this industry right now. We’ve seen ourselves get shut down and locked away and so now that we’re coming back what I’m seeing is this real joy of being in a room with people that you trust and you want to create with again, and that’s really beautiful and more beautiful than it used to be because we’re aware of how special it is, and we’re more aware of the ritual of live theatre – of the empathetic ritual of coming together in a space to experience things together.
***
Misery stars Anna Cummer as Annie Wilkes, Haysam Kadri as Paul Sheldon, and Curt McKinstry as Buster. Katherine Fadum is the understudy for this production. Misery is directed by Jamie Dunsdon, Set Design by Scott Reid, Costume Design by Rebecca Toon, Lighting Design by Anton deGroot, Sound Design & Composition by Dewi Wood, Fight Direction by Karl Sine, Stage Management by Meredith Johnson, Carissa Sams and Michael Luong.
“I believe we move in the direction that lights us up. That captures our attention. That we feel passionate about. But my end destination keeps changing and what makes me happy keeps changing. I thought when I started all of this, I wanted to be an actress. I didn’t know I was going to be aplaywright. And I like playwriting a whole hell of a lot better. It’s really about trusting the path and letting go of the outcome because how can you really foresee where the path will take you? If someone comes along and mentors you they can only tell you what path they took. But that’s not you. That’s not your path. I used to feel like a failed actress but if I had taken different steps along the way, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up loving playwriting so much or being as happy as I am being a playwright.”
Meredith Taylor-Parry Playwright
Playwright Meredith Taylor-Parry whose previous plays Book Club and Book Club II: The Next Chapter were big hits for Lunchbox Theatre has a new play at Lunchbox premiering on May 10th called Shark Bite. The two Book Club plays focused primarily on the challenges and joys of motherhood and marriage while her new play turns its attention to the relationship between a grandfather and his troubled fourteen-year-old granddaughter Ava as the two struggle to find the love and connection they once shared when Ava was a child.
I first met Meredith back in 2011 at Playworks Ink a theatre conference focusing on playwriting run by the Alberta Playwrights Network and Theatre Alberta. At that time Meredith was just beginning her playwriting journey and she was in the early stages of working on her play Survival Skills which won the New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest in 2013 and was produced Off-Off-Broadway in April 2014 by the 13th Street Repertory Company in New York City.
Meredith is a gifted playwright who is as adept at comedy as she is at drama, and her newest play is a touching and heartfelt glimpse into the age-old challenges of family members trying to reach out across the generations. I contacted Meredith back in March to talk with her about Shark Bite, life-changing decisions, sources of creative energy, and playwriting.
JAMES
One of the things we experience both as an audience and as an artist is a divergence of opinion regarding the work we see and the work we create. And by that, I mean the same movie or book or painting can be praised as the most meaningful and deeply moving experience of someone’s life and someone else will not feel a thing. One person can love it. Another person can hate it. Do you have an explanation for that divergence of opinion in ourselves and in others, and what does that tell you about us as humans?
MEREDITH
I think to sum it up in one sentence – people are complicated. Think of how complicated we are in our personalities and our histories and our experience. So of course, one piece of art is going to mean something completely different to someone else, or they’re going to experience it in different ways. That being said, what I’ve always been told about writing was that the more specific you are to your own experience the more you’re going to relate to a wider group of people.
So instead of trying to figure out what your audience wants, go to the heart and truth of your own experience as much as you can, and you will reach more people. That’s how you find your people. Your audience. The people that want to listen to what you have to say and to what story you want to tell. Because if you’re authentic through your writing and tell your story and your truth, then you seem to reach those people out there who are listening for it. They want to hear it because they experienced something similar.
JAMES
Have you ever had a critical moment in your life where someone or something you’ve encountered has resulted in a decision that changed your life’s path?
MEREDITH
Absolutely. I just feel weird about getting into it because I’m going to get pretty personal but what the f*ck! So, I got involved with a guy who was married back on the East Coast and if you flipped open a sociology textbook you could find a paragraph with our pictures above because it was that typical.
“I’m not happy with my marriage. I’m so sad. And now that you’ve come along, I understand what real love is. Maybe I’m finally ready to leave my wife. But no, I made vows. But I’m so unhappy. And you’re so great and amazing. Let’s get an apartment together! No this is moving too fast for me, I need to think. Blah blah blah.”
And I’ve written about this. I’ve written about this a number of times. Trying to work it out. That’s when I first started writing. That’s what I was writing about. It finally came down to this very dramatic scene in a small rural town in Nova Scotia, where I was sitting in a car and all three characters were there. The mistress, the husband, and the wife and they were screaming at each other. And I thought, “Oh my God, this is a Women’s Television Network fucking movie. And I am part of it. I’ve let my life become this drama.” And it was so clear to me that if one person did not withdraw that this crazy dysfunctional silly drama would continue on for who knows how long. That’s a lot of energy and a lot of pain and a lot of suffering. And I didn’t want any part of that anymore and I wanted to step out of the drama.
So, I did. I went home. I talked to my wonderfully smart, kind, and very wise roomie at the time who was my best girlfriend. And she organized a girl’s camping weekend around the gorgeous Cabot Trail in Cape Breton with a few good friends. By the time we had finished that trip, I decided I was going to get in my car and drive across Canada, cause I love a good road trip, and figure my life out. Those women and that weekend changed my life. Never underestimate the power of the female friendship. So, within two weeks, I packed up all my stuff, dropped it off at my parents and started a road trip and ended up out here. That’s how I ended up in Calgary. So – life-changing.
If I hadn’t done that God knows I’d still be back in Nova Scotia. I never would have had a little look-see and gander around Canada and figured out where I wanted to be. I’m sure I never would have ended up in the arts. I never would have had enough guts to go and do my BFA and my MFA. There’s no way I would have ended up as a playwright.
It’s a really interesting movie. But in the book, there’s a line that goes, “Who we want to be doesn’t matter when there’s no way to get there.” And that really brought to mind the idea of guidance and mentorship in life for me. It’s like how do we figure out how to become the artist?
MEREDITH
I think our picture of who we want to be isn’t the destination. I believe that. When someone says I don’t know the path to get there it’s like – take a fucking step in the direction of where you think you want to go and then watch the magic happen. Because in my life, every time I’ve done a big bold move the universe has come in tenfold.
For example, you may ask how does an elementary school teacher manage to take a road trip across Canada with no job prospects and end up out in Calgary? It’s because within a week after I’d made that decision to leave, I had a big unexpected financial windfall.
I believe we move in the direction that lights us up. That captures our attention. That we feel passionate about. But my end destination keeps changing and what makes me happy keeps changing. I thought when I started all of this, I wanted to be an actress. I didn’t know I was going to be a playwright. And I like playwriting a whole hell of a lot better. It’s really about trusting the path and letting go of the outcome because how can you really foresee where the path will take you? If someone comes along and mentors you they can only tell you what path they took. But that’s not you. That’s not your path. I used to feel like a failed actress but if I had taken different steps along the way, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up loving playwriting so much or being as happy as I am being a playwright.
Anna Cummer, Cheryl Hutton, Kira Bradley and Arielle Rombough in a scene from the Lunchbox Theatre production of Book Club II: The Next Chapter Photograph by Benjamin Laird
I remember making a decision when I was turning thirty. I already had two degrees. I had a Bachelor of Education and a Bachelor of Sociology. Should I go take a Bachelor of Fine Arts and spend all that money or should I go to SAIT and take the film and television course, which was notoriously hard to get into at the time, but it seemed more practical, because I thought, “Well, I could still be on camera. I’ll just be working in television. Maybe I’ll be hosting a show or maybe I’ll work in news.” And that seemed the more practical choice. And if you took a poll of all my friends, which I did, because I used to do that in order to try and make decisions, they all said, “Oh, SAIT. Doesn’t that sound more practical? It’s only two years. You’re not going to spend as much money. I can see you doing television or radio. You’ve always been interested in it.”
Maybe SAIT was more practical, but I went with my gut intuitive feeling that I would not be happy. I got accepted into SAIT. I probably got in because I was relaxed in the interview. I wasn’t hanging all my hopes and dreams on it. I got in, but then I phoned them up and I said, “You know what, I’m declining my seat because I’m going to go to the University of Calgary and I’m going to take my Bachelor of Fine Arts and Drama.” And the admissions person said, “Well, good luck to you.” He was nice. He was just kind of astounded because people wanted to get into the program so badly.
But I just had this epiphany moment and when I made that decision, I decided that from then on, I was going to make bold moves like that. I wasn’t going to do what culturally looked right or what my friends were telling me to do. I was going to go with my gut. And I feel like I’ve been rewarded. I feel very grateful for the life that I live now. I work hard to let go of the feeling that I’m a loser unless I’m a famous Canadian playwright or I’m making good money doing this. Which is so ridiculous because it’s such a crapshoot and there are so few people that are going to go into the arts and make money. Maybe it should just be enough that you’re happy with yourself and you’re happy with trying to get your work out into the world. Sometimes you do, and that should be sweet enough perhaps.
“The Biotechs” Meredith, Tanis, Jenny, and Krista – Banff 2019
JAMES
You mentioned friends. Who do you have in your life that can be brutally honest with you and how brutally honest are you with yourself?
MEREDITH
I subscribe to the philosophy of less brutality and more gentleness. So, I have a really good group of girlfriends who are honest with me, but we’re all each other’s biggest fans and we’re all really gentle with each other. And as far as being honest with myself in a workshop situation, for example, where you bring your play in and you lay it out and all the actors read it, I invite honesty. I just keep assuring people that I want to know if there’s something that doesn’t feel right to them. And you will get a lot of different opinions because as we said before, people are complicated. People respond differently to art. One scene that someone might love and adore another person may think is completely unnecessary. One character that I’m in love with someone else might find creepy.
So, I let everybody know at the beginning I want their honest feedback and that has come with experience. I certainly wasn’t like that at the beginning of my career. Not at all. But now I can handle anything. Just give it to me straight. I will write everything down because I feel like I have a really good inner bullshit meter that will tell me one of two things. Either: “You know what, that comment doesn’t serve the play OR shit they’re right. I didn’t see it before but now that they’ve given me that feedback I have to go back and fix that part. Oh my God, that entire scene has to come out and I have to write something else. What am I going to do? How am I going to fix that?”
Occasionally, I just note a comment and wait for two other people to tell me the same thing then I’ll go back and have a look at it. But I still have the dial on the bullshit meter that says, “Thanks for your feedback!” while I’m thinking, “No way would I touch that. I don’t care if you think that character is creepy. You can not like that character and that’s fine, but I’m not going to change anything or take that character out.”
Arielle Rombough, Kira Bradley, Anna Cummer, Kathryn Kerbes, and Cheryl Hutton in the 2016 Lunchbox Theatre Production of Book Club by Meredith Taylor Parry. Photograph by Meredith Taylor-Parry
JAMES
Let’s talk about creative energy. That’s been one of the challenges I’ve noticed over the last decade with my own writing because I’ve always thought of writing as something finite. In other words, something that gets used up in the day. It’s like a jug of wine, right? You drink as you write and by the end of the day the jug is empty, and you’ve used it all up. And if you use it up on other activities like blogging or writing commercials, which I used to do, there’s nothing left at the end of the day for your stories.
But just the last week I started to think about creative energy more like turning on a tap. In other words, it’s always available. It’s just you have to turn the tap on to use it. So, I could be at work and let’s say I’m a commercial writer, I turn it on. I create whatever I need to make a living. I turn it off when I head home. And then that night, I’ve got a two-hour block where I could turn the tap on again and do my own creative writing. How do you think of creative energy? The energy you use to create your art. Is it a finite thing to use up in a day? Is it a flowing thing? I’m just curious.
MEREDITH
There’s got to be something in the tap when you turn it on. You have to figure out how you replenish that supply or keep that supply flowing. And for me, it comes from other people. For example, my energy has completely changed since we started talking even though this morning, I had a bit of anxiety about doing the interview because I wanted to think carefully about my answers. But now that we’ve started talking about playwriting, I don’t give a shit because I get so excited and all the anxiety goes away. This crazy energy builds up in me and it’s fun because I love talking about writing and I love talking about plays and I love talking about making art.
And if you look at any of my plays they went from one level to a much higher level it was always because of an infusion of creativity from other artists offering their talent, ability, different points of view and brilliance to the project. For example, with Shark Bite Maezy Dennie, Robert Klein, Chantelle Han, and Ruby Dawn Eustaquio were a dream team. I keep getting dream teams at Lunchbox. Like the dream team I had for Book Club and Book Club II. It’s impossible to have all of that artistic talent in a room together and not get inspired. And I know that I need that. It’s just that sometimes I forget to seek that out. I’m pretty good at doing workshops if a workshop pops up from the Playwrights Guild of Canada or whatever. I will do a workshop because I know that I’m going to come out of that two-hour workshop and be full of creative energy, which is going to help my writing that day or the next day or in the weeks to come.
Meredith’s Mother Elizabeth Taylor, Meredith, and her sister Emily Taylor Smith on an Opera Tour in Budapest 2019
And I need to expose myself to other forms of art if I want to get creative energy to put into my own art. I need to visit art museums. I need to look at visual art. I need to listen to a lot of music and different kinds of music. I need to read fiction. I need to go to plays because that will replenish my creative energy. My mom and my sister and I would go on these amazing opera tours pre- Covid. There’s a company out of Ontario called ARIA tours and they handpick the wine that you’re going to drink in the two-star Michelin restaurant where you’re going to dine. And thanks to my Mom, I’ve gone to New York and Scandinavia and several different countries in Europe, and I’ve eaten great food and toured world-class art museums during the day and seen so much opera. I’m truly blessed to have been immersed in such amazing art experiences.
And getting outside. Walking or gardening or yard work. Even shovelling snow. You’re outside. You’re getting your vitamin D. You’re getting some fresh air. You’re doing something kind of mindless that you don’t need your brain for so your brain starts wandering and coming up with creative ideas or starts solving a problem in a play that you’re working on or comes up with an idea that you might use for a play.
All this stuff’s been said before though. I’m not making this up and you just have find what works for you. And those are the three things I can think of that work for me every time: being around creative people, experiencing art in other forms and going outside and walking or just moving your body in other ways like yard work.
JAMES
How has COVID made an impact on you over the last couple of years? How has it impacted you personally and professionally?
MEREDITH
It broke my stride as an artist, I think. It did a lot worse for a lot of other people, so I don’t mean to sound whiny, but I had just rented a desk at cSPACE in the sandbox which is a co-working space at the King Edward. And I would go in once a week dressed up for work with my lunch and my computer and sit at this desk with other people who were renting space. And there’s all this art in there already and a lot of nonprofits and a lot of arts companies and organizations. And I’d go and I’d sit down and work and in a few months I finished an adaptation I was working on. And then COVID hit, and I thought, “Well, I’m not going to go into work anymore.” And for a while they shut down completely. So, now I’m like, “Should I do that again?” It was productive at the time but right now for whatever reason, I’m not super motivated. I already feel really busy.
And the pandemic was the perfect storm for my teenagers and they both encountered a lot of mental health struggles that were worsened during the pandemic and came to light during the pandemic. So, we started a whole journey with both of my kids and that’s taken its toll. It’s been really hard on us as a family but we’re getting through it.
Summer 2021 – Greg, Leo, Noah, and Meredith – Dinosaur Provincial Park – Alberta, Canada
But it also gave me time to rest and say, “Okay, we’re in a pandemic right now. I’m going to support my kids with their mental health struggles and get my kids through grade nine or ten or whatever it was because they’re working from home and they’re going to need my support to get through it.” Neither of them was doing very well independently. They really needed support and help to get through the online learning. So, “I’m going to give myself a break as a writer and I’m not going to feel like I need to be writing every day right now.”
JAMES
You mentioned you have a production coming up with Lunchbox Theatre called Shark Bite. This is the third play of yours to grace the Lunchbox stage and here’s the description, Ava a troubled urban teenager goes to her grandfather’s remote cabin for a visit. The two soon learn that the easy days of their relationship are far behind them and when George tries to find some common ground between them through a hike in the woods, a dangerous turn of events leaves Ava in the position of trying to save them both.
First, I’m curious, Ava’s fourteen and I’m just wondering, what were you like when you were fourteen? What did you think about the world? What was your life like? What did you spend your time doing? And reflecting back now, how much of that fourteen-year-old version remains today and how much did you use it to create the character?
MEREDITH
Oh, God, that’s a tough one. That’s a big question. Okay, so the first part of the question was thinking about yourself at fourteen and I see myself as a gawky, gangly teenager. My nickname was String Bean. And I was a card-carrying perfectionist. I was working really hard in school to try and get good marks. I did extracurriculars. I did sports. Even when they made me miserable I still did them. And then I was looking at everybody else and going why can’t I just be normal like her? Or comparing myself to other people because there was always someone who was better on the basketball team than me and there was always someone who was getting higher marks than me and had a boyfriend when I didn’t. So those kinds of things. Feeling like there’s something wrong with me. That I’m out of place. That I don’t fit in with other people.
I did spend time out in the woods with my father because he was a big outdoorsman. So, the stuff about hiking through the woods in the play and the spruce gum and looking at animal tracks would have still been a part of my world a little bit at fourteen. I don’t know how old I was when I gave up snaring rabbits. When I finally went, “Oh my God this is horrible. And traumatic.” Little t. That was definitely still part of my world at that time.
But when I was writing the play, I also tried to look at it from the point of view of teenagers and I wrote an imagined character who wasn’t really one of my teenagers, but I was certainly drawing from some of their experiences. And then Maezy helped me too in that final workshop that we did in 2021 with Stage One. She helped me be more truthful and authentic. There’s pretty much no other place I’d rather be than sitting in a room with a bunch of actors, trying to make a play better, and then getting to see it. I’m grateful for all the people that I get to work with through Lunchbox and I’m grateful that I’m going to get to work with them again because it’s a pretty damn great place to work.
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Robert Klein as George and Maezy Dennie as Ava in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
Maezy Dennie as Ava and Robert Klein as George in the Lunchbox Theatre Production of Shark Bite by Meredith Taylor-Parry. Photo by Tim Nguyen
JAMES
One of the themes in the play is an examination of self-harm. And the play really made me think about our culture and the fundamental role punishment plays in our society. The desire to punish ourselves is a message that might find its roots in the very nature of our own culture. In other words, ideas like no pain, no gain and the need to make sacrifices in order to achieve something. So, I’m curious about your own thoughts and what you hope your play opens up in terms of a discussion about self-harm and punishment.
MEREDITH
Self-harm wasn’t originally in the play. I workshopped the play with the St. John Theatre Company just before the pandemic in the fall of 2019. Pamela Halstead was the dramaturge and I also worked with a lot of really talented playwrights in that little circle. We were all finalists in a playwriting competition that was put on by the St. John Theatre Company and in order to enter the competition you had to have ties to New Brunswick or New Brunswick roots. Which I do. I was born there.
And one amazing playwright in attendance in Saint John, John-Michel Cliche said that when he thought about the presence of the lighter in the play he immediately thought about self-harm, and I replied – “Wow.” Sometimes you put things in your play, and you know they’re really important, but you don’t know what the hell they’re in there for. And then someone like Jean-Michel comes along and says, “Well, what about this?” And that opened up the idea of self-harm and I started thinking about it, and then it came into my own life through what my teenagers have been experiencing over the past couple of years. And then it came into the lives of a lot of my parent-friends, who have teens, and you know, pandemic aside, just being a teenager in this age is really, really, really, hard. Right? In this age, of TikTok.
So, I believe there’s a reason why Jean-Michel turned to me and said, “I thought about self-harm when she took that lighter.” Coincidence? I’m not sure. I’m experiencing this with my kids and I know so many people who are experiencing this and this needs to be talked about because this is a big commonality among teenagers right now that’s not being talked about a lot. And there are parents from my generation who are going, “What the hell? I don’t get this. I don’t understand this at all.” So, I think it’s really good if we talk about it a bit and we get some more information out about it and it sparks conversation among audience members.
I also think it really illustrates the generation gap between Ava and George because he’s an even older generation because he’s the granddad and how does a teenager maintain a relationship with a grandparent? How did I maintain a relationship with my grandparents at that point? When you’re fourteen and vulnerable and going through stuff that you don’t want your grandparents to know about because they might not understand it or they might judge you for it, so you don’t really show them who you are. You just have this kind of superficial relationship. They just know that you do well at school and you like horses. You don’t talk to them about what’s really going on. I felt there needed to be issues that illustrate the characters struggling to connect while dealing with topics that the granddad doesn’t understand.
And I don’t know everything there is to know about self-harm but from what I’ve learned about self-harm, and from what people have told me – because I haven’t experienced it myself – is that it is different from punishment. My understanding of it is that you’re inflicting a physical pain to avoid or rescue you from or to stop a profound emotional pain that is being visited upon you, rather than it being a punishment. It’s more like an action to protect you from pain, or to take you out of a painful place that you’re in so that you can avoid experiencing emotional pain.
For more information about self-harm check out the links below:
When you think about life how much do you think about the cycles we experience and the linear progression of time we experience because there are cycles and an individual cycle can be different. So, we have the seasons, and each season has similarities to previous seasons, but each season is also unique, right? This summer was hotter than last summer or whatever. And just as we experience cycles in life on an annual basis, we’re also on a linear track. We’re getting older each day. So, our time here diminishes. And when you look at life, how much do you think about the cycles of life and how much do you think of the linear progression of time?
MEREDITH
I think more about cycles. That’s how I mark time. I really love the change of seasons in our climate. I could never be a snowbird. I have friends who are retiring, and I look on Facebook and they’re like, “We’re snowbirds now and we’re going to go down and live in Florida.” My grandparents did that. And I think, “I couldn’t do that. I’d miss the change of seasons. It’s nice to take a break from winter and go away for a couple of weeks but I like that cycle.”
And every year it seems to light me up even more. I’ll be sitting at my window, and I look outside, and I see birds starting to come around because it’s starting to get a little bit milder and I’ve got bird feeders in the yard and I’m like a little kid, “Oh my God, I saw my first Robin.”
And as I get older that stuff becomes more important and interesting to me. I notice it more. I enjoy it more. I enjoy that spring cleanup and getting out when the earth is starting to soften up a little bit and then you go out and you work in the yard all day and you smell the dirt and the air starts to warm up a bit in the spring. And I love the fall equally with all the smells and sometimes that beautiful weather that keeps going into fall when the skies have never been bluer, and it’s really crisp in the morning. And I love the first snowfall of the year and so I think I focus more on cycles.
And I know there are cycles with parenting because parenting is tough. And it makes parenting a whole lot easier because when you’re in a really tough cycle, or a really tough phase it really helps to look at it and realize, “You know what, this isn’t going to last forever. And right now, it’s really, really tough. But in a few years, they’re going to be a grown-up and we’re going to be sitting down having a coffee together, or going to a movie, or going for lunch and everything is going to be okay.” And it’s really useful to remember that when you’re going through a difficult phase.
JAMES
This too will end.
MEREDITH
“This too shall pass.” My mother used to say that all the time and I honestly believe that. And maybe it sounds trite, but it helps me sometimes to say it to myself. When I’m in my own little mire of bad thoughts or bad times or bad luck. It can help me to say, “This too shall pass.” So, I think in cycles. Definitely cycles.
JAMES
Back in January 2016, we did an interview where you talked about your play Survival Skills which is a fictionalized story about a father committing suicide based on your own experience with your own father completing a suicide after he had received a terminal diagnosis, and in that interview, you said, “You want to write the kind of play where people are going to go home and talk about it, think about it and talk about themselves a little bit. You know, my God, if it got people to think about their own mortality a little bit, how could that be a bad thing? We all run around scared to talk about it, but we’re fascinated by it at the same time. The idea that we’re mortal, just to have that discussion opened up wouldn’t hurt.” So, I thought, let’s talk about it. Let’s talk about mortality and the fact that we’re all at some point in the future going to die. Have your own thoughts on mortality evolved over the course of your life?
MEREDITH
I think they’ve evolved but I can’t really say I spend a ton of time thinking or talking about it either. You know, it’s funny, at that point in time, I was obviously thinking we need to talk about death. It needs to be in a play. But right now, I don’t have a lot of thoughts to share on the topic to tell you the honest truth. I still think what I said was valid and I like what I said.
JAMES
Maybe there are times in your life where you feel the need to discuss your mortality, and maybe there are other times you don’t.
MEREDITH
And maybe you could take out the word mortality and punch something else in there like self-harm or punishment or shame or any of the other things we’ve talked about. I mean isn’t that what one hopes a play does? When I wrote Book Club a lot of thought went into how many moms are experiencing the same things, and shame being one of them, for not being the best mother on the planet. A couple of my plays deal with that theme. But if we don’t talk about it and bring it out into the light, we’ll just go on pretending to the people around us that we’ve got it all under control. Perhaps when we open up and laugh about the things that make us feel ashamed as moms or just human beings and shine a little light on it, perhaps that is a little bit healing.
There’s a Brene Brown quote, and I have it on my mirror in my bathroom. “I think laughter between people is a holy form of connection, of communion. It’s the way you and I look at each other and without words, say, I get exactly what you’re saying.”
So, if you write a funny line in your play about something rather important and your whole audience is laughing about it, there’s a shared humanity in that. Perhaps the audience is thinking “I get it. I get what you’re saying. I’m with you.”
Besides the fact that everyone just laughed at something you wrote down and were fortunate enough to bring to actors and a director and the rest of your creative team and they’ve poured their creativity into it and together you’ve just made a big room of people laugh and walk out together feeling happy and connected.
Playwright Kristen Da Silva. Photo by Patrick Hodgson
“I wrote a comedy with a character who has terminal cancer, and I didn’t know whether that was going to work, whether people were going to be willing to go there and laugh in the same breath as they’re going to cry. I lost my aunt to the same cancer I wrote about, and you know we didn’t get to confront some things in real life, because we’re not always capable of doing that with our loved ones, but I got to confront some of those things in the play. So, I think that comedy is a doorway to some tough conversations. And I set out to entertain people, but I don’t shy away from tackling things that might be more difficult or might evoke sadness, because I think there’s something really cathartic about feeling all of those emotions in one night.”
The Rules for Playing Risk, Where You Are, and Hurray Hard are just a few of the plays where playwright Kristen Da Silva takes a comedic look at the loves, ambitions, and struggles of the everyday people in her plays. In fact, that’s one of the reasons I love her work so much. These are people you can relate to and understand and identify with. These are stories about people trying to navigate the intricate, and mystifying road of relationships, love, and sometimes even death all delivered with humour and humanity.
All the more interesting is the fact that prior to diving into playwriting and acting full-time Kristen spent the first part of her working life in the corporate world. Home on maternity leave with her youngest son, and feeling a need for some intellectual stimulation, she wrote her first full-length romantic comedy Book Club. Other plays were soon to follow including Gibson & Sons and Hurry Hard both winners of the Playwrights Guild of Canada Comedy Award.
Her most recent play, The Rules of Playing Risk, a touching story about a grandfather and his estranged grandson getting to know each other for the first time, premiered in April 2021 in a video-on-demand production from Theatre Orangeville. I contacted Kristen over ZOOM back in February 2021 to talk with her about her creative process, thoughts on comedy, going down rabbit holes, and what she’d say to her younger self if she could go back in time.
JAMES HUTCHISON
A couple of days ago, I watched this documentary from 1964 called Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen, and it reminded me of my childhood, because I grew up in the ’60s, and I was watching the cars and the way people were dressed, and I had this avalanche of nostalgia hit me, and I found myself diving into memories of my childhood. I was wondering, for yourself, do you have triggers that take you back to your childhood? And what was that childhood like?
KRISTEN DA SILVA
My favourite part of my childhood was camping. We used to go up to Wasaga Beach where there was a campground, and we had a trailer, and the smell of smoke from a campfire and the smell of Avon Skin So Soft still brings me right back to my childhood. My parents, like everyone, used Skin so Soft as a bug repellant.
The winters were a bit tougher because when I was seven we moved to Nobleton – which is a village surrounded by farmland. It was very different from the neighbourhood where I had spent the first seven years of my life – where there were a lot of families packed in tightly together with kids, and it just facilitated kids playing more easily. In the country to play with someone, you had to be driven to their house.
But at the campground kids used to play all day, and I remember coming back at whatever time curfew was, but all day long we just ran around and played capture the flag and explored the woods. I have great memories of that.
JAMES
I guess when I think back to my childhood and what’s different today is the sense of freedom children had to play. To explore. I remember riding all over Calgary on my bike, you know, going for miles, all over the place.
KRISTEN
Yeah, it’s very true. It’s really changed. I would lose my mind if my kids were gone all day, and I didn’t know where they were. But that was normal in the ‘80s. There were no cell phones. No way to really check-in. It was just come in when the streetlights come on.
JAMES
Supper time is when the mothers are standing on the porch shouting for the kids.
KRISTEN
One of my aunts used a whistle to call us back. When we heard the whistle, we came running. And other than that – we were on our own.
JAMES
At what point did you find yourself being on stage and telling stories, and where do you think that impulse to perform comes from?
KRISTEN
I think it started with dance. I didn’t really enjoy dance in terms of the lessons, but I remember really enjoying the recitals. That feeling when you go out on stage and you’re suddenly not as bound by your own awareness of yourself, and you can express yourself in braver ways through performance and through playing a character. I think that’s what really drew me to theatre and kept me coming back time and time again.
And I remember when I would go to a movie, I would leave the theatre and still be in that world. I was a big reader and I think I was living in a fantasy a lot of the time. Every activity I did as a kid I turned into a story for myself. I remember going skiing and weaving a tale as I was riding the chairlift about what I was there doing and where I was in the world. I spent a lot of time inside my head. Inside fantasy. And I think being on stage was an extension of that.
I first started acting in school. I believe we did Rapunzel, and I think I played Rapunzel’s mother. I played Mary in the school Christmas pageant, which was in French. I remember going to the manger and we were speaking French. And then after that, once I got into higher grades, there was a school play you could audition for every year, and I always did that.
JAMES
So, it’s interesting to me that you’ve got this storytelling narrative going on in your head and this love of fiction and literature, and then you go to university and major in political science and labour relations. How does that happen?
KRISTEN
Well, I’ve thought about it a lot because it really is strange. And the weirdest part is that my parents encouraged me to major in theatre. And I said, “No.”
I think I felt scared of failing. If I were to pursue what I really cared about – and it didn’t work out – that felt like too big a thing to put on the line. These weren’t conscious thoughts that I had back then, but now looking back on that decision I think that’s the main reason I didn’t major in theatre.
Also, it wasn’t a usual career choice at my high school. I didn’t know anyone who had done that in my peer group or slightly above my peer group. I couldn’t look to someone else and go, “Okay, so that’s a path I could take.”
JAMES
What were the university years like for you? Because I understand you did keep your foot in the theatre circle. You joined an improvisation troupe.
KRISTEN
Yeah, I kind of didn’t deliberately do that. You know honestly, when I think back to that time I was really overwhelmed by the experience of attending university, because keep in mind, like from the age of seven on, I lived in this tiny village, and we had one stoplight, and you know even going to York and seeing that many people in one place was a really new experience for me.
I don’t think I was really sitting down in an organized way and thinking through things. You have to declare a major, and I had done very well in my last two years of high school in history and in law, and I thought, “Well, I’m good at these things. I think maybe I’d like to pursue something like that.”
And then at York, in order to graduate, you have to do an arts credit in your first year, and you can pick any art. I picked theatre because that was what I was already familiar with and liked. It was because of that that I got into the improv company because the professor who taught me, Fred Thury, ran Vanier College Productions, which at that time was sort of like a theatre program for non-majors. It was where people could continue learning about the craft and perform.
He asked all the people that were in his acting class to audition for Vanier College Productions, and – I think even before that happened – they’d already cast the improv company, but somebody had left, so he approached me during class one day and basically said, “You’re going to come and be in this improv company.” It wasn’t really, “Do you want to be in this?” It was, “You’re going to be in this.” Which is sort of how Fred was. He was like, “You’re directing the next play. I see your potential, so I’m not going to give you a choice.” Which I think, given my personality, and how wishy-washy I was – is what I needed.
And after that happened, I was smitten. We were performing sketch/improv shows once a week, but we were rehearsing and writing new sketches, I think, two or three times a week. Some years I was also involved in a mainstage show. It became really busy and was also social, and you know you’d think, before class I’m just going to pop over and help with costumes, then you find yourself there for three hours. Oh, shoot, I missed my whole lecture. I really got distracted and sidetracked, and I had a lot of catching up to do on my other classes.
JAMES
You mentioned you grew up in a small village and you talked a little bit about your friends. Have you retained any friends from your childhood or the university days? And, if so, what’s it like having that long connection with someone?
KRISTEN
I have friends from my camping days. We don’t see each other very often, but once in a while we might chat over Facebook. I’m still in touch with my best friend growing up and we see each other once in a while. We’ve lived in separate places a lot since childhood. She was in Kelowna for several years and then, you know, once you have a young family, you don’t see people as often as you’d like.
The people I’ve stayed closest with are the people I met in university doing improv and doing Vanier College Productions. I’ve made a few very close friends through that, and we lost touch with each other for a little while, but we reconnected probably ten years ago. Some of my closest friends are people I met in university.
What does it mean? I mean, I think it’s just that thing of having a shared experience with someone, someone who understands how dear you hold a place that other people, who have not been a part of that, find hard to understand. We went through these experiences in university that shaped us as people, and as artists, and there’s that sort of mutual history together that matters.
And there’s just that thing of people who have been there for you through your life, the people who have been there for your major milestones, good and bad. They become the people that you trust the most, and you turn to, and in some cases, and for me, this is very true, they become your family, your chosen family.
So, they are very important to me. And particularly in the last few years, as I left my previous career behind to embark on playwriting and acting as a full-time pursuit. That was really scary. And those were the people that kept me focused, cheered me on, and bolstered me, and let me know I’m doing the right thing. And when you lose faith, having somebody there who can say to you, “Don’t lose faith, you are on the right path” is totally invaluable. That’s the role we try to play for each other.
I think anytime you see somebody who’s been successful at something often it’s because of the people around them, who support them. Maybe we don’t appreciate that enough and how important that is, because doing something all on your own and maintaining your own momentum takes superhuman confidence.
JAMES
So, I’m wondering now, at this age and with the life you’ve lived, and the wisdom you’ve gained, if you were to have a time machine and you were able to go back to the campus when you were a young student in the bar having a beer, and you went up to your younger self, what advice would you give her?
KRISTEN
I actually think the way things turned out and the path I took is exactly how it had to happen in order for me to arrive where I am, and I’m happy with where I am. I’m grateful for where I am.
So many things had to be in alignment for me to pursue this career and one of the things that absolutely had to happen was I had to go into the corporate world, because if I had not done that – I wouldn’t have had the money saved to make a go of it.
The business skills I developed are really useful as an entrepreneur, as someone who’s trying to manage their own business, if you will. I have a great agent now, but certainly, in the first few years, everything, marketing my work, negotiating, all of that was me. I learned a lot of those skills in business.
And I also wouldn’t want to tell myself to avoid things that were painful or avoid things that you could look back on as regrets, but you can’t, because as cliche as it sounds, all the things that you’ve done and gone through become where you draw your stories and your understanding of the world from. Life is an incredible teacher. There is no shortcut to learning some things.
So, I wouldn’t want to go back to myself in university and tell myself anything that might change what I decided to do, because I think what I decided to do is why I’m where I am right now.
JAMES
So, you’d buy her a beer and say, “You’re on the right path, kid.”
KRISTEN
Yeah, I think I would probably just give her a pat on the head and maybe tell her it’s going to work out. I think that’s what I would do.
JAMES
I want to talk a little bit about some of your thoughts on theatre and writing, but I want to start by asking you about some of the writers you like and admire and who they are and why you happen to like their writing, and I’m thinking particularly playwrights, but it could be novelists, or other writers too.
KRISTEN
I’m really interested in who else is writing comedy, and I’m big into Canadian writers in general. I’d hate to leave anyone off a list because I have so many friends who write. If I were to pick a single play that really moved me recently it would be What a Young Woman Ought to Know by Hannah Moscovitch. I listened to it on the Play Me Podcast where they do radio readings of Canadian work.
There are some American playwrights whose work I like as well. Annie Baker comes to mind. Currently, I’m reading a Lynn Nottage play called Sweat, which is fantastic.
And in terms of other reading, I tend to gravitate to things that are not comedic. The last novel I read was The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead, and I highly recommend it. I finished it at 2:00 am and, without giving too much away, there’s this twist, one of those gut-punch sort of things. The power of really good writing amazes me.
JAMES
We talked about you majoring in political science and I have a BA in sociology. And I’m wondering if political science and sociology are about exploring the balance between the individual and society. And I’m wondering if that’s a fundamental subject of drama, right? Conformity versus individualism, and the tension between those two. So, I’m wondering what are some of your thoughts about freedom and conformity and stories? Do you see any of those themes in your own writing or in writing that you like?
KRISTEN
I view reading as one way to better understand things I have never experienced, or I never could experience myself. I don’t know how much I have to say about the specific subject of individuality versus conformity, but certainly good stories often have a character that’s willing to challenge their status quo or the status quo of the world. To make things better, and that’s certainly a theme that’s appealed to me.
I think reading things that are written from a point of view you don’t personally own can grow empathy and understanding for other people and find the commonalities between yourself and other people because there’s always something, regardless of what the story is, relatable in there. Someone has written this story, and it might be their own story, or it might be a story about their community, and that’s such a gift to be able to open a page and grow your understanding.
JAMES
So how does comedy provide insight into the world? Because you’re a comedy writer, and I agree, I like finding the comedy writers. Why do we need comedy? What does it do for us? How does comedy help us understand the world?
KRISTEN
I think it plays a huge role, and I think that’s because it’s really hard for people to be vulnerable and comedy is a way for us to put down our guard. Laughing with someone is a really quick way to find common ground. We both found something funny, and now we’re laughing. There’s a science behind what laughter actually does in our brain, and some of those brain chemicals allow us to feel a little more open for a while after we feel them. In that way, comedy is like a doorway into being able to examine ourselves without the level of fear we might feel doing that directly.
I think comedy is a huge opportunity to bring people in and have them hear what you have to say. It’s very disarming to laugh. And when people are relaxed, and they’re enjoying the story you can say some things and you can get some things across in a way that you might not be able to do off stage.
I wrote a comedy with a character who has terminal cancer, and I didn’t know whether that was going to work, whether people were going to be willing to go there and laugh in the same breath as they’re going to cry. I lost my aunt to the same cancer I wrote about, and you know we didn’t get to confront some things in real life, because we’re not always capable of doing that with our loved ones, but I got to confront some of those things in the play. So, I think that comedy is a doorway to some tough conversations. And I set out to entertain people, but I don’t shy away from tackling things that might be more difficult or might evoke sadness, because I think there’s something really cathartic about feeling all of those emotions in one night.
Debra Hale, Melanie Janzen, Kristen Da Silva in Theatre Orangeville’s production of Where You Are. Photo by Sharyn Ayliffe
JAMES
In our correspondence, I mentioned that I finally got around to watching all nine seasons of The Office and you wrote back, “Oh, that’s one of my favourite television series.” Why does The Office appeal to you? What do they do well? Why is this one of your favourites?
KRISTEN
The first time I watched The Office I was going through a very tough time. I was living on my own for the first time in my life, I had a one-year-old son, and it was a very stressful, lonely sort of time. And someone said, “There’s this show you should watch, The Office, it’s funny.”
So, I put it on one night, and there was just something so comforting about it. It was about everyday sort of scenarios where people are just going to their office job, and the company they’re in is a paper company, and everything feels kind of low stakes from that point of view, but the personal stakes are really high. Steve Carell is a genius in his role. And that character is so believable, even though he’s so outrageous. The writing is funny, the characters are solid, and you feel like the actors are having fun. It became like comfort food to me.
JAMES
You know the entertainment industry has a tendency to label people. This actor does this type of character. This writer does this type of writing. In what ways is that helpful? And as a comedy writer in what ways do you think that’s a hindrance?
KRISTEN
That’s an interesting question. I don’t know. I don’t know if there would be resistance to seeing something of mine that isn’t funny at all. I think over time, as I’ve written more, I have become more comfortable with putting more drama in my comedy, but I don’t yet feel compelled to write a pure drama, and whether or not people would embrace it – I don’t know.
As an actor, I do both. I have done a lot of comedy on stage, but I’ve done drama on stage as well. And in terms of film and TV work, it’s mostly drama. I think that some of the best comedic actors are also some of the best dramatic actors, because I don’t think the skill set is different. I just think that with comedy, there’s a technicality that sort of comes in about timing, and for some people that doesn’t come naturally to them. The really great actors are gifted with that skill, and they always say you should play a comedy like a drama. You should take it very seriously. Whatever’s going on should mean the world to your character. I think that’s what makes comedy work. If we go back to The Office, you know, Dwight is just as serious as can be. And it’s funny, because the actor, Rainn Wilson, has chosen to commit to that.
JAMES
Now that you’ve written six, seven, eight plays are you noticing any particular themes in your stories? Is there anything that you gravitate towards now that you’ve got a body of work?
KRISTEN
Oh, yeah, for sure. For sure. The same themes show up in everything. For me, it’s a lot of stuff around relationships and familial history. Mothers and daughters. Daughters and fathers. Fathers and sons. Brothers. Pretty much everything I’ve written, except one thing I think, speaks to those themes and explores the challenges inherent in those relationships. A lot of things around people trying to work out what happened in their past and make amends.
I’ve just finished writing, The Rules of Playing Risk. It’s about a grandfather and his estranged fourteen-year-old grandson who he doesn’t really know and whose father he didn’t really know either. The story is about what prevented the grandfather and his son from having a really meaningful father-son relationship and how that has impacted the grandson.
The play also deals with trauma and with PTSD. Not in a very open way, it really only deals with it through how the characters have adapted (or maladapted) to their own traumas. I was interested in the idea of how many generations does this affect – what gets passed down and how far-reaching some of that stuff is. I have a personal connection with that. And in the research for this play about this grandfather and grandson I took a lot of details from my own family history.
Both of my grandfathers were in the Second World War, and when I asked my family what my grandfathers had told them about their memories of being in the war it was sort of shocking to me that, at least in my family, they never talked about it. I mean, they would have gone through some horrific things that we now understand carve a lasting imprint on the brain and affect everything about somebody.
And I was interested in that. You know, how does a person go through this terrible thing that must have had a deep impact on him at a young age, and then come home, marry, and have kids immediately. That had to impact him and the way he parented, and it had to have impacted everyone around him. And so, I was curious to see how that showed up in my own family when I was growing up. And how does it show up in me now?
Neil Foster and Liam Macdonald in Theatre Orangeville’s production of The Rules of Playing Risk. Photo by Sharyn Ayliffe
JAMES
If you look at the plays you’ve written and characters you’ve created is there a particular character or a couple of characters that maybe are closer to who you are as a person?
KRISTEN
I don’t know. I’ve never thought of that. I would probably have to say that the character I’ve got in this new piece, The Rules of Playing Risk, whose name is Maggie is probably the most like me in terms of how she thinks and how she responds. Our backstories are different, but I would say in terms of personality, she’s probably the closest. She’s quick-witted but cares about people, and she engages in the world with humour, more so than anything else, which is very me. There are probably parts of me in everybody I write. Probably, there are parts of you in everybody you write too.
JAMES
Even some of the nasty characters? The not-so-nice characters?
KRISTEN
Oh yeah, that’s the interesting stuff, right? Like, where did those come from? Are those the things we don’t like about ourselves that we’re exploring on the page? I haven’t written a lot of villains because my plays don’t tend to have a villain. The only play that I can think of that really has someone who was set up to appear to be a villain at first is Five Alarm where there’s the rivalry between the two main characters competing in this chili cook-off. And a lot of that was extracted from my own life. The character isn’t based on me, but some of the things that end up explaining her behaviour I could relate to.
For her, it was the feeling of being left out of things, and she acts this way, because she feels rejected. And I can remember feeling some of those things in my life and certainly, I’ve observed other people who are very spiny and have a hard time letting people in or being vulnerable and that stems from having been rejected and not feeling safe around other people.
JAMES
I suppose that’s because as humans, so often, our behaviour is designed to protect us.
KRISTEN
Yeah, exactly. I think most people want to experience a true connection with others. And it’s just, there are so many things that happen in our life that scar us and make that hard. The more things that someone’s been through the harder it is for them to find the courage to open themselves up and to be hurt again. There are people who struggle with that forever and never resolve it. And it’s sad. Unfortunately, tragic things happen, and people become so defensive over a lifetime that they can’t let others in. That theme shows up a lot in my writing.
JAMES
Do you think a lot of theatre and stories are about characters attempting to be their authentic self and maybe that’s why we relate to it? Is that one of the appeals of drama? Watching characters trying to do that. And then how hard is it for people in life to be their authentic selves?
KRISTEN
It’s really hard. I do think that’s the appeal. I think that’s the appeal in writing it too. Sometimes you can resolve things through writing that you can’t resolve in the world, because in writing I have the ability to force the conversation between two people. And as a writer, I can choose to allow that person to take whatever step, even if it’s just that tiny step that allows the conversation to start. I can force them to do that.
In the real world we all have people in our life that you want to say, “Stop! Everything you want is available to you. If you would just lay down your defences and reach out for it you would have richer, more meaningful relationships and that might mitigate some of your feelings of being rejected.” You see these people struggling to belong, and a lot of the time their struggles are self-defeating. You’re right – it’s fear-driven. No one wants to be hurt, and vulnerability is the most important ingredient in connection, but it’s so hard for most of us to be vulnerable.
JAMES
We started talking about comedy, and now I think we’re talking about tragedy.
KRISTEN
I think they’re the same.
JAMES
Are they?
KRISTEN
I think they are. I don’t know about you but if you were to break down what your comedies are about you could take some of these same subjects and make them into a drama. If you took out some of the jokes and changed the dialogue.
Even my play Hurry Hard, which is about these people who want to win a local regional bonspiel, is really a story about this estranged couple whose marriage ended because they weren’t able to find vulnerability together and figure out their problems.
And it’s also about this relationship between two brothers where this tragedy happened. The older brother was on track to having an incredible NHL career, and a stupid choice by his younger brother led to an accident that basically took him out.
And they both have to live with that in their relationship – the level of guilt, on one hand, that has made this relationship dysfunctional and then, on the other hand, this guy who loves his brother, but his brother took something away from him and that’s left him bitter about what his life ended up actually being.
All of these storylines could be put into a drama very easily and still work. I don’t think comedy and tragedy are very different.
JAMES
Subject matter may not be different, but the tone is.
KRISTEN
Yes.
Adrian Shepherd-Gawinksi, Bruce Davies, and James Hawksley in Lighthouse Festival Theatre’s Production of Hurry Hard. Photo by Melissa McKay
JAMES
How would you describe your writing process?
KRISTEN
I think most of my writing happens when I’m not in front of my laptop. So, before I start writing, now, usually I have had the idea in my head for a while, and I have started to work out some of the details, so when I get to the actual phase of sitting down to start writing dialogue I have a sense of who the people are already. Their voices have been in my head. I’ve probably already played with some lines of dialogue, I’m starting to figure out the relationships, I know what the conflict is and I’m working out the details.
So, I do a lot of thinking before I sit in front of my computer, and then I tend to write in bursts of a day or two where I’ll sit at the computer the whole day and I’ll get a lot of writing out. Usually, the first thirty pages of something new flow out of me and they’re really easy to lay down. When I’m writing a two act play once I get to a point where there will be a natural intermission there’s always a timeout. I almost feel like I lose momentum at that point, because I’m trying to figure out act two.
The first few times that happened, I panicked. And then once I had worked my way through that painful period a few times, now I expect it to come, so I don’t panic. And I will take as much time off as I need. There might be a break of a month or two in between writing. I have things I need to work out, because I don’t really do detailed plotting. I don’t plot it out on paper. I plot it out in my brain, but I also leave space for the characters to tell me what’s going to happen. I think at some point the characters start talking, and they start doing things, and then you’re just there to report it. I think they need room to do that.
JAMES
Do you find you always know where the play is heading in terms of an ending? I know John Irving – this is so bizarre to me – in interviews, he says that he always comes out with the last sentence of his novel. He writes down the last sentence for The World According to Garp or Cider House Rules – he writes down the last sentence and then he writes the story, and he said, he has never changed the last sentence. That just shows you how unique writing is. There’s no other writer in the world who does that. But that’s how he writes. So, maybe talk a little bit about endings and when those come to you and how they help you in your writing process.
KRISTEN
I don’t always know the ending. I usually have an idea of where it will go, or I have two or three alternate endings in my mind where it could end up. And that’s because I find as you’re writing you’re taking new paths you didn’t expect.
At some point something occurs, and you follow it, and it opens up a different lane, if you will, and you need to be able to be open to that effecting where the story ends. And I think part of the pleasure of writing is discovering that. The reason I don’t write a detailed plot is because I think I would lose interest if I already knew where it was all going to go. I think part of the joy of writing, for me, is discovering the story.
JAMES
A lot of your stories deal with relationships and romance. Are you a romantic?
KRISTEN
I have to admit, after all these plays I’ve written about love that I must be a romantic. I didn’t think I was before. I really didn’t.
I don’t know what your childhood was like, but my parents and family weren’t effusive, and we dealt with life through humour. That’s how we would show love. That’s how we managed disagreement. We managed most things through humour, and humour is a door. Humour can be used to open a door, but it can also be used to close things off.
So, I have had a hard time with romance in my real life. But I think there’s a part of me that really yearns for that and has always wanted the world to be more ideal. And you have to believe in love, right? What else is there? If you can’t root for love and root for the most powerful thing in life then suffering will quickly outweigh everything else. I think, again, back to what we really, really truly yearn for, above all else, is connection. It’s human connection. We are social creatures who rely on each other.
JAMES
I read in a couple of interviews you gave that your friends say you have a tendency to head down rabbit holes.
KRISTEN (Laughs)
Oh, God.
JAMES
How do these rabbit holes serve you in terms of your creative life? Are the results useful?
KRISTEN
I think it’s always useful. You might not need the specific information or knowledge that you’ve gained but there is something useful about constantly challenging your brain and opening new pathways and learning new things. So, something will catch my interest, and my interests are varied, and I think what my friends find amusing are the unexpected topics I’ll go down a rabbit hole on.
At the beginning of the pandemic, I got super into astrophysics, and I was trying to understand string theory, and I still don’t understand it. I watched hundreds of hours of video and read more things about it because once I’m curious about something my brain doesn’t want to let go of it until I understand it.
I sort of hyper-focus on things and that includes writing, which I think is a gift as a writer to be able to hyper-focus and get a lot done in a short period of time, but as a human, it’s a gift and a curse, because you can get distracted by it and end up down a path that really isn’t overly productive. Maybe it will be later, but I don’t think at any point in the future anyone is going to call on me to save the world using string theory.
JAMES
If this is a plot point in a play when you say, “No one is going to call on me to save the world using string theory.” We of course know you’re going to need it.
KRISTEN
Exactly. Well, I better do more research then because I’m just not ready yet. I actually don’t understand it.
JAMES
I’ll bet half the people studying it don’t understand it. Let’s talk a little bit about the first play you wrote called Book Club. Tell me how that came about and why you decided to write it.
KRISTEN
Book Club is the only play that I wrote without any plan going in whatsoever. Like none. It started as a lark. I was on mat leave with my youngest son, and it’s physically busy, but it’s not intellectually very challenging, and I needed something for my brain to work on. I really didn’t write it with a lot of intention. In my later work, if I was going to talk about a subject, I gave it some thought as to what I was trying to say, as opposed to just improvising the whole thing. So, that play, I think, is quite different from the rest of my work.
JAMES
You had mentioned to me that Norm Foster is a mentor and somebody you connected with. How did that relationship happen? How did you connect with Norm, and what sort of sage advice has Norm Foster provided you in your career?
KRISTEN
Oh, gosh, we initially connected on Twitter. I had made a joke and I wrote, “I wish community theatres would do a goddamn Norm Foster play every once in a while.” Which is obviously a joke because it’s hard to find a community theatre that doesn’t have a Norm Foster play in its season. But I didn’t know him, and I tweeted that and someone else – not Norm – took exception to my tweet.
JAMES
They didn’t understand it as a joke.
KRISTEN
No. I thought it was obviously tongue-in-cheek.
JAMES
Yeah, I thought it was obvious too. I thought it was funny.
KRISTEN
Because he’s extremely well produced. Like he is the most produced playwright in Canada, and it’s well earned.
JAMES
If only Tom Hanks could get a break.
KRISTEN
Right. “I wish people would recognize Tom Hanks and put him in some movies.” It was that kind of a joke. Anyway, someone took exception to it and that person responded angrily to my tweet and listed all the places that Norm’s been produced, and I didn’t even see it. I’m at work and my friend texted me and she goes, “Oh my God, you gotta go on Twitter. Somebody didn’t like your tweet and Norm Foster responded to that person defending you.” So, I went on Twitter and Norm basically had said, “I think she was being tongue-in-cheek, and I thought it was funny.”
And then we followed each other, and I was talking to another new playwright, and he had shared his play with me, and in his play he had a foreword he had written, and it included a quote from Norm about his play. And I wrote him back and I said, “Did Norm Foster read your play?” And he said, “Yeah, if you send him a play, he’ll read it.” And I thought, wow, that’s wild that he takes the time to read other people’s plays, because people must be sending him plays constantly.
So, I sort of put that knowledge away, and I still didn’t really have the guts to ask him, because I didn’t know him. And I thought that’s sort of an audacious thing to ask someone, you don’t even know, to spend three hours reading your play when you don’t have a name, and no one knows who you are.
But then one day, I think he had just liked a tweet of mine or something, I decided why not just ask? At that point, I’d written Book Club, and I thought it wasn’t terrible, maybe it won’t be a waste of his time. Maybe he’ll have something to say about it, and maybe he’ll offer some feedback. So, I found myself writing a message. And as I’m writing the message, I find myself not just saying, “Will you read the play, but will you mentor me?”
And, he responded and said, “I’ll read your play. Send it to me.” So, I sent it to him, and he read it right away, and I thought, “Wow how generous that he not only will read my play, but he will read it immediately and provide me with paragraphs of commentary on it.” So, he read Book Club, and he wrote me an email that said, “It’s very difficult to write comedy, and you know how to write comedy.” And he said, “I would love to mentor you. I want to be who discovers you.” And that was the start of what ended up being, to this day, a really meaningful friendship in my life.
He didn’t teach me how to write, but he did help me figure out what worked and what didn’t work. He gave balanced feedback, you know, as complimentary as he was about it, he also had things to say that helped sharpen it. And so, I would ask him questions, if I was confused about something, or if I was struggling with something. And it could be related to the writing itself, or it could be related to the industry.
Because he knows how the industry works. And I didn’t know. I didn’t understand anything about it. I didn’t know how playwrights made money. I didn’t know who made decisions, or how to submit things, and how you get your work produced. I didn’t know any of that. He gave me really solid advice, and he opened doors for me by introducing my work to other people. That is what eventually led to me being produced professionally. There aren’t enough words to describe how important he’s been in my career.
JAMES
Every artist needs their champions.
KRISTEN
Absolutely. And he’s had success and he has the grace as a human being to be willing to send the elevator back down and help other people succeed, and nurture other people with their writing, whether they show great promise or not, he will still read and give notes to people. He has an incredibly generous spirit to other writers because he is really passionate about writing.
JAMES
I’m going to take a little side shift here.
KRISTEN
Okay.
JAMES
Because the reality is we’re in COVID. And we’re in lockdown, and we’re experiencing it, and I’m just wondering what have you found the most challenging, for you personally, living in a pandemic?
KRISTEN
Well, being very honest it’s mental health. Anxiety. I didn’t write for the first nine months of the pandemic or do anything that I loved really, because I was using so much of my energy and my personal resources to manage my way through how scared I felt.
I felt really worried about the sickness itself. Especially in the beginning when we had very little information. I remember thinking, “Can I be outside? Am I going to get sick if I walk my dog?” We didn’t know anything about the virus yet. We didn’t know how contagious it was or how deadly it was. And so, I was scrubbing my groceries down with Lysol thinking if I didn’t do that my family might get sick and God forbid one of them could die, and as a mom of three kids, like all parents, you worry.
So, there was that, and I love my career. I love what I do, and I had an amazing exciting season lined up, and now all of a sudden, I had to watch each show sort of wash up on the shore. Cancellations came in waves. Things got cancelled or postponed, and I know a lot of artists probably felt the same way – it’s not just your livelihood. If you work in the arts, it’s not something you just do to make money. It’s the opposite, right? We almost make no money, and we do it anyway. So, there’s something in it that’s completely integral to our existence. And that being threatened sent me into an existential crisis. I thought, “What would I do if theatre didn’t recover? How would I find meaning for myself? My children give me a lot of meaning and purpose, but theatre also gave me a lot of meaning and purpose.”
JAMES
It’s part of your identity. It’s part of who you are.
KRISTEN
Absolutely. My entire life has included theatre and performing. So, it’s been a profoundly challenging year, but it’s also been a very ground-breaking sort of breakthrough year in terms of understanding that you cannot build your whole life around one thing – that’s very dangerous. So, you have to figure out where your inherent happiness is and how to find joy in life if things you count on right now were to go away, because they can. That’s what we’ve all learned. Things can go away very quickly.
Andy Pogson and Beryl Bain in Lighthouse Festival Theatre’s Production of Five Alarm. Photo by Daniel G. Wiest
JAMES
I want to talk about honesty, and I want to talk about it on three levels. How important, do you think, is it to be honest with yourself? How important is it to be honest in our personal relationships, and how important is honesty in the writing and presenting of stage plays?
KRISTEN
It’s vitally important in all three areas, I think, again, going back to vulnerability, which requires telling the truth and looking at yourself with a clear eye. Like being able to see the things about ourselves we might not like, and not reject those things but embrace them and accept them. You know, accepting that we’re fallible, that we all have flaws, we all make mistakes, make bad choices. Being able to confront that with honesty, but not with condemnation. I think that’s meaningful when you’re talking about being honest with yourself, but it’s also meaningful when you talk about being honest within relationships. I think dishonesty is often a protective measure. There’s that feeling that if I’m honest about something – whatever that might be – if I’m vulnerable, I might be rejected. They might not accept me anymore.
But deep truly meaningful love and intimacy only comes from the ability to be extremely honest. You can’t build a relationship with somebody on dishonesty because the other person is operating without information that they might need in order to understand why you behave the way you do, and you’re also not able to be yourself. So first, you have to do the work of confronting that in yourself. Why do I react to that? Why does that trigger me to be really upset or feel threatened or angry? You have to be willing to look at things that have either happened to you or that you are ashamed of.
The topic of shame and how it keeps us from being honest with ourselves is also very interesting to me. As a kid I struggled in school to complete things, and I struggled with being able to pay attention. And the way that the world reacted to that was that I was not behaving. I wasn’t being compliant. I was a troublemaker. I didn’t care. I was lazy about school. And those labels stuck to me. And so now, whenever there’s something in my life where I’ve dropped the ball my immediate reaction is to feel shame. I feel ashamed that I’m not as good as other people at organizing my life.
And it’s the same in interpersonal relationships. I think we avoid that feeling of shame because it’s so threatening, because to feel that we aren’t worthy of other people’s acceptance and love is threatening. You know – the idea that we can be ostracized and wouldn’t have people around us, that we would be abandoned. Fear keeps people from being vulnerable with each other.
And on stage, if you want the audience to go on a journey with you, you have to have vulnerability. So as an actor you have to find that. As a writer you have to find that. You have to tell the truth about things. You have to be willing to tell an honest human story showing people that are flawed and still lovable.
JAMES
You mentioned your play, Where You Are, was more personal, because it was inspired by your aunt who suffered from the same cancer as one of the characters in the play.
KRISTEN
Yeah.
JAMES
Why did you feel the need to explore that and create a story around that experience?
KRISTEN
Because I love my aunt so much, and I guess it was sort of a love letter to her. She inspired that story. And I wanted to do what I could to keep parts of her here. I didn’t know how to say goodbye to her and close that chapter. And writing something felt like a way to express what she meant to me. But it also, in a way, helped me process my own grief.
My aunt was given a year when she was diagnosed. And you’ve got one year to do everything you’d want to do, and at the same time, you’re battling an illness. It made me think about my own mortality a lot and what it would be like to know that you had a finite amount of time left. The play, however, is not about my aunt. A lot of the piece is fictionalized. Most of it is very fictionalized. It’s just about the experience.
JAMES
It’s inspired by that experience.
KRISTEN
It’s inspired.
JAMES
Sometimes audiences don’t understand that even though your aunt died from the same cancer the actual story you end up writing from that has touchpoints…
KRISTEN
…but is different. Exactly. One of the main things in the play is the decision to treat the cancer or not. And that came from a conversation with my uncle. He told me she had struggled really hard with the decision to stop chemotherapy because she didn’t want to let her sisters down. She didn’t want to say to her sisters, “I’m not going to do everything I can do to prolong my time here.” Because it comes down to time. When you have a terminal cancer all the treatment is designed to buy you more time, it’s not going to cure it.
And with my aunt and many people who go through cancer treatment, the treatment itself is very debilitating. She would have the chemo, and that whole week she would feel miserably sick. And just as she started to come around it would be time for another round of chemo. And so, she had to make the decision whether she wanted to prolong the time she had or accept that her time might be shorter, but that her quality of life would be better for the last months that she had. And I wanted to explore what it would feel like to be terminally sick and to be thinking about your loved ones and trying to make decisions that are best for you but also honouring your loved ones and the sense of obligation you feel, and that’s really what the character in the play struggles with.
In the play, she has a hard time telling her niece that she’s sick because she doesn’t want it to change their relationship and then everything between them will suddenly have a different colour. Which it does once you know someone’s sick. Every time I spoke to my aunt – every time I saw her – I thought, what if this is the last time? And I remember saying goodbye to my aunt. She had a celebration of life, for her birthday. And I knew saying goodbye to her that day after this celebration would be the last time I would look her in the eye and say goodbye. And we said goodbye like it wasn’t the last time. We said goodbye like it was just another visit and we would see each other again at Christmas. And we both knew we wouldn’t.
So, there was a great deal of pain, but there was also a great deal of beauty and grace the way she navigated all of that. It was really inspiring. And I thought, you know, if I can do anything, I can write this story and maybe if I write this story, it will help other people also understand their pain.
JAMES
What’s been some of the audience reaction to seeing the play? What have you heard back from people?
KRISTEN
It’s been really touching, because I’ve had people reach out to me on social media that saw the play elsewhere and wanted to tell me that they really connected to it because of a personal experience they were either going through or had gone through. And in some ways, although it’s tragic and there are parts of the play that are gut-wrenching, there’s also a message of hope to it and ultimately joy, and that’s what I wanted to achieve. I’m really proud of that piece.
JAMES
Do you think that play indicates a shift in your writing?
KRISTEN
Yeah, I do. I think that’s the first time I really tackled something more challenging. And then it emboldened me to continue to explore things that aren’t light-hearted. It’s comedy, but it’s also real life. And real life is tragic sometimes. I hope that people can find something in the finished play that helps them process their own life in some way.
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