Category: Role of a Lifetime

Natalie Gauthier – The Crucible by Arthur Miller – Rosebud School of the Arts in Rosebud, Alberta – Spring 2012 I was 21 and in my third year of acting school, and I got cast as a 71-year-old woman. Like my own Grandma, Rebecca was a deep, sturdy, stubborn soul who acted

Sarah Shudra – The Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler- Peace Players, Peace River Alberta April 2011 Ever since I began dancing at the age of 6, I have not been able to stop! My love of dance fuelled my early passion for art. Since my childhood, I have come to appreciate and dabble

Amy Burks – Triumph of Love, Pierre Marivaux, Trans. James Magruder – Rosebud School of the Arts, Rosebud AB, 2011 It was difficult to play a male character role, though one of my best performances! I donned a fat suit, a fake beard which I would swallow bits of, my face and

Jeany Snider – Hello Dolly! Music by Jerry Herman and book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder’s play The Matchmaker – Western Illinois Musical Theatre, Macomb, Illinois, 1997  Nothing can beat playing Dolly Levi in “Hello Dolly!” Waiting backstage to come through the curtain and down the steps in Harmonia Gardens

Heather Pattengale – Queen Milli of Galt by Gary Kirkham – Rosebud Theatre, Rosebud, Alberta, 2011 Though I now live in Alberta, I was born in Galt and spent much of my life in Cambridge, Ontario, where the story of “Queen Milli” is a popular urban legend. Before rehearsals began I even had

David Snider – Tuesdays with Morrie – Rosebud Theatre This is the most personal show I have done to date. From rehearsals and through the run, the show was full of serendipity of life meeting art, including playing opposite my dear friend and mentor, Morris Ertman. The connection with the audience was

Clyde Blackburn – My Fair Lady – Alan J. Lerner & Frederick Lowe – Grande Prairie Live Theatre, Grande Prairie, AB, 2009 I have wanted the role of Henry Higgins ever since doing a short scene from Pygmalion in my grade eleven English class. Thirty-nine years later, the role nearly slipped through

Kisa Mortenson – Crooked by Catherine Trieschmann – Fringe Festival, Edmonton, Alberta, August 2007 In Trevor Schmidt’s Crooked, I played an angst ridden teen. This is my favorite role, because I learned I was in the early stages of pregnancy while we were in rehearsals. Before every show, I would talk to the

Gerry Potter – The Commedia Show–improvised on the spot, based loosely on the Commedia DellArte tradition of semi-improv – Theatre-Go-Round, Ottawa, 1971 Il Dottore, the pompous, lecherous professor in our semi-improvised, outdoor version of a traditional Commedia Dell’arte comedy spoke to my soul. I revelled in the part as I rolled out

Kristen Finlay – Gypsy – music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents – Keyano Theatre Company, Fort McMurray, Alberta, 1995 After moving to Fort McMurray to teach, when Gypsy came up for auditions I was determined to not just be another girl in the chorus and

Morgan Smith – Tudor Queens: A Burlesque by Ellen Chorley – Send in the Girls Burlesque. Fringe 2011, remounted in January 2013 at Canoe Festival I think secretly, every young actress wants to play a part for which she gets to wear a sparkly costume. And not-so-secretly, she wants to play a

  Barbara Mah – The Rocky Horror Show by Richard O’Brien – Walterdale Theatre – Edmonton, 2002. It’s not the role, but the people that keep me doing theatre. Like when I played Magenta. We had so much fun, we would have gladly performed with no audience (happily we sold out). I’m

Mark Sinongco – Footloose: The Musical; Music and Lyrics: Eric Carmen, Kenny Loggins, Tom Snow, and Dean Pitchford, Book: Dean Pitchford and David Saint – Canadian College of Performing Arts, Victoria, BC 2012 Ren McCormack was my very first lead role in a musical. I had to opportunity to take on songs

Vanessa Sabourin – Prophetess by Scott Sharplin – Sound and Fury Theatre, Edmonton, 2004 (I think) Prophetess was an amalgamation of Shakespeare’s Henry VI part 1, 2 and 3 and Richard III for one performer written by Scott Sharplin. Queen Margaret is woven through out all four plays and goes from a

Jennie Esdale – Confessions of a Paperboy by Doug Curtis – Ghost River Theatre Isobel in Lion in the Streets, Allison in Trainspotting, and Hope, a wounded Crane, are at the top, but originating the role of Christopher Columbus in Doug Curtis’ Confessions of a Paperboy is my role of a

Written by Ken Cameron, Anita Miotti and David Van Belle – Theatre of the Living Statue This experience is one of my fondest theatre memories because I had the opportunity to write with my friends, rehearse with my new son in the room, perform with David Van Belle, and be directed

Valerie Planche – Communion by Daniel McIvor – Calgary The pauses at the beginning and throughout the script would challenge any actor. They forced me to think through the character, to sit with her. Linda Moore (the director) kept saying, “Not long enough Val!” and I’d think – are you crazy,

Kira Bradley – An Eye for an Eye a collective by Doug Curtis, David Rhymer, Tony Eamie, Karen Johnson-Diamond, Duval Lang, Kira Bradley – Ghost River Theatre, Calgary, Alberta, 2001 Rural Albertans came to the city to see this show and they were moved by it. I couldn’t believe my eyes one night