StudyInteractive: April 2008 Archives

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.

Welcome to ATP’s StudyInteractive, an online guidebook that brings stronger educational tools to as many students as possible! A brand new part of our Classroom Connections Program, StudyInteractive is a virtual classroom, with blogs from artists, study guides, links, and online resources. A technological advancement for ATP, we’re thrilled that we can now bring the ATP experience to your classroom projector, your laptop or your desktop computer at home. Bringing together Calgary schools and the Calgary arts community, you can expect more when you experience ATP.

Our first venture into this new realm is the creation of BlogVCV, which stands for Blog Virtual Classroom Visit. A traditional ATP Classroom Visit involves the artists traveling to schools all over Calgary to answer students’ most pressing questions about acting, production and life as a professional in Canada’s fastest growing theatre community. An exciting way to learn that acting on stage professionally is a lot more than just learning lines, our ATP artists and staff take time to ensure that every student has the chance to learn more about the work that goes into a production, and BlogVCV provides the artists’ answers as a virtual resource.

Over 1200 students from across Calgary will have had the chance in April to see Meg Roe’s dynamic performance in our Cornerstone Production The Syringa Tree by Pamela Gien. Due to the incredible demands this role places on Meg’s vocal and physical energy to perform this play (she rarely talks offstage for the entire run so as to preserve her voice!), Classroom Visits were just not possible. Thanks to our new website and new program, students not only get to discuss the play and its themes as a class and then ask Meg their questions, but are also able see what other students all over the city are asking as well!

Another interesting aspect to Meg’s work on The Syringa Tree is her connection to Education without Borders, a not-for-profit organization that funds the development of educational institutions in South Africa. Students and teachers may wish to discuss this aspect of the play as well. To learn more about Meg’s involvement with Education without Borders, click here. To learn more about Education without Borders itself, visit www.educationwithoutborders.ca