Category: Role of a Lifetime

Jan Streader – Queen Elizabeth I It was a tremendous responsibility playing such a great historical figure. The powerful Queen struggling to hold her own in a viper’s nest of men, all plotting the downfall of her favourite. The tempestuous love affair between Elisabeth and the young, ambitious Earl of

Nikolai Witschl – Cymbeline by William Shakespeare – University of Alberta Studio Theatre, Edmonton, 2012 In February 2012 I joined the cast of the University of Alberta’s production of Cymbeline to replace Tristan Mi, a young actor who sadly passed away very unexpectedly halfway through the rehearsal process. It was my absolute

Alice Nelson – How I Became Invisible by Shawna Reiter and Kyla Read – CLUNK Puppet Lab/ Festival: Puppet Up! Festival/ City: Almonte, Ontario/ August 2012 I joined CLUNK Puppet Lab as a puppeteer for their show How I Became Invisible. My main puppet to operate was Fred, a 10 year

Russell Thomas – The Zoo Story by Edward Albee – Darkenrus Productions – One-Act Play Festival – Fort McMurray (regional) and Medicine Hat (provincial) – 2009 We were about a week away from performing The Zoo Story by Edward Albee and I had yet to learn Jerry’s 8-page monologue about the dog

Norm Sutton – Treasure Island by Michael O”Brien – Keyano Collge Theatre, 2006 I’m a bearded, burly biker. I was approached to be in the poster for Treasure Island and wound up getting a small role and an addiction to performing. At 50 years of age I learned for the first time

Heather Morrow – Lilies by Michel-Marc Bouchard – Stage Left, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, 1998 I was the mad mother of a gay son (played by THE actor on campus, whom I had a crush on). For his birthday, I found him a bathtub, which was full of water so he stripped

Karen Johnson-Diamond – Under the Big Top by Jan Derbyshire – Quest Theatre, Calgary 1996 No one is ever proud to admit their parents are divorced, but after each performance of this play,(which toured elementary schools in Alberta) kids would ask if MY (Karen’s) parents were divorced, just like the character’s? The

John Ullyatt – Cabaret written by Christopher Isherwood, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb – Citadel Theatre I’ve been pretty lucky with roles to choose to answer this quetion, but the first one that came to mind was Cabaret. I was supposed to play the Emcee in Cabaret

Clinton Carew – The Black Rider by William Burroughs, Robert Wilson and Tom Waits – November Theatre, NYC, 1999 Antlers gripped tightly to the sides of my head, screaming notes I didn’t know I had, growling the poetry of William Burroughs and Tom Waits in a vaudeville theatre in the shadow of

Andrea Newman – The American Dream by Edward Albee – 383 Directing Project, University of Alberta Drama Department, Edmonton, 2008 Playing Mommy was the role of a lifetime for me because it was the first role where I felt truly confident. Normally I would fret about forgetting my lines or my blocking,

Kathryn Kerbes – The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum adapted by John Kane – Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP) Who doesn’t want to wear the prettiest dress and say things like, “Are you a good witch, or a bad witch”? For this magnificent production of The Wizard of Oz, the

Zachary Arndt – Constellations by Chris Osborn – International Thespian Festival, Lincoln, Nebraska, 2007 Jonathan Pruett is an astronaut on a space shuttle at the time of a nuclear holocaust on earth. With the whole world in chaos everyone went to be with their families, leaving Jonathan to die in space alone. He

Trevor Rueger – The Balcony by Jean Genet – University of Calgary, 1993 It was a huge challenge. I played a woman, not a man in drag, a woman. The portrayal had to be convincing as the director was investigating gender stereotypes. I had to fool the audience into thinking one thing

Conrad Belau – play written by Lennette Randall – Leshra Creations. Rosebud, AB. 2012. There is nothing quite as electrifying as being the first person to perform a new character and a new script, especially when it is written and performed with your good friend. It was an immense experience being able

Christopher Hunt – MESA by Doug Curtis – Ghost River Theatre – premiered in 2000 – remounted by Ghost River several times. Published. Produced by many other companies across Canada, and recently in the States. The play was born after Doug drove his wife’s grandfather from Calgary to Mesa. Larger truths about relationships

Shannon Blanchet – Evelyn Strange by Stewart Lemoine – Teatro La Quindicina, Edmonton, 2006 Evelyn Strange was my first professional role out of university and reminded me that making theatre can be FUN. It introduced me to the wonderful world of Stewart Lemoine, Jeff Haslam and Teatro La Quindicina, a company that

Chrissie Muldoon – The Crucible by Arthur Miller – Rosebud School of the Arts, Rosebud, 2012 I was so petrified to be cast as such a pivotal character since I had only been in one show previous. I felt like I wouldn’t be able to do Mary justice. But thanks to my brilliant

Amber McKay – The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler – Grande Prairie Performing Arts Guild/fundraiser for Odessey House (Womans Shelter) Grande Prairie, 2013 It’s my first role. While it’s still in production, I have jumped in and am totally enthralled with the process. I’m learning about delivering lines, placing emphasis where it