StudyInteractive
- Sit down with Meg Roe, the star of The
Syringa Tree, as she answers questions from classrooms around the city.
ATP: How many hours did you spend rehearsing?
Meg Roe: For
this show, we rehearsed five hours a day, six days a week for three weeks. At the
end of those three weeks we went into the theatre for three days and rehearsed
with lights, sound, and set. Those days we worked for ten hours.
Normally in a
rehearsal process a show rehearses eight hours a day, six days a week, but when
it's just one actor (and one set of vocal chords!!) the days are usually
shortened to give the actor a bit of a break.
ATP: What was your
favourite part about working on this show?
Meg Roe: The
creative team on this show -- the lighting and set designer, the sound
designer, the stage management team, and the director -- is really one of
the most fun, most creative groups of people I’ve ever worked with. We all get
along really well, and we had a super great time in the rehearsals. Once I get
on stage, the best part is really the audience. In the shows where the audience
is right there with me, laughing and stuff, it's just SO fun and so rewarding.
ATP: How did you first
start acting in Calgary
outside of school?
Meg Roe: When
I was in high school (in Airdrie!) I worked with a company in Calgary called 'Storybook Theatre', I’m
pretty sure they're still around, and did some shows with them. I went to the University of Victoria after I graduated and took a
bachelor of fine arts degree in acting. I can't say enough about how great that
was; it really raised the bar for me and opened my eyes to the whole Canadian
arts community, the history of theatre, and just lots of great ways to work as
an actor. After I left UVic, I worked with Theatre Junction here in town and
they really gave me my start. I appeared in all five of their shows in one
season, and really got to show the community what i was capable of as well as
testing my own limits as a performer. Then I just auditioned around and got
work here and there - ATP, the Vancouver Playhouse etc - and just started
working.
ATP: What is the hardest part of this show?
Meg Roe: The
hardest part of the show for me is just being nice to myself night after night.
I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and, obviously, when it's just me up there
there's only one person to blame when things don't go PERFECTLY night to night.
so I have to work hard at being able to forgive myself if I screw up a little
bit and to keep going without letting you, the audience, know that anything's
up. (ha!)
ATP: How many opportunities are there in Calgary or in Canada to be a full time actor or
is it usually a pass time you do along side another job?
Meg Roe: There
are lots of opportunities to work as an actor exclusively in Canada, and actually in Calgary too, but to be honest it's still a
job that usually needs a bit of supplementation.
I’ve been very lucky
to have worked only in the theatre since I started my career (I have not had
any other jobs) but lots of performers do supplement their incomes by doing
other work. Most try to find jobs that still keep them in the business. For
example, I work as a sound designer and I’m going to be directing for my first
time this summer. This way, I can diversify my income, but I’m still being
super creative and tapped into the industry, and it's still something I totally
love to do.
Most actors don't
just work on stage either; we work in film and TV and also as voice actors --
like in animation and stuff. A lot of performers do work at side jobs, teaching
acting to students, coaching other actors etc. but to be honest, acting takes
up a lot of time, and, for the most part, you never really know when the next
job is going to come along, so must professional actors can't hold down a full
time job and do acting on the side. It’s an in or out kind of deal.
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