Q: What made you want to be a performer?

Matthew Armet: I started dancing sort of by accident when I was in Grade 1. A friend of mine asked me to come to one of her dance recitals, so my mom took me. We ended up at the wrong studio, which was presenting a different recital, so we watched that instead. The next week, we went to the right place to see my friend's recital, and by that time I was hooked on what I'd seen and asked if I could start taking dance lessons. My mom used to be a dancer, and my dad was a musician, so there had always been music and performance while I was growing up at our house. I was just "that kid" who jumped around on the trampoline in the basement when I was three years old, screaming into my Fisher-Price microphone! 

Q: Has performing ever been a kind of escape for you?

Genny Sermonia: Of course! It became an escape at an early age, but more so during my teenage years. I never had the best grades and I was terribly shy; so when I walked into the dance studio, it became my safe place where I would forget the real world and just get away from mundane reality for a time. Just like in the studio, I find that being on the stage is an escape: you can literally become a different person, totally immerse yourself, and leave your troubles behind for a couple of hours. I think that's true for everyone, whether you're in the show or watching it. There's something so magical about a theatre space - especially the Festival Theatre.

Q: What would you do if you could no longer sing and dance?

Ayrin Mackie: It's a pivotal moment when Zach asks that question in the show, and Donna [Feore, director of A Chorus Line] asked us all the same thing in rehearsal. Most of us felt the same way: we can't allow ourselves to even think about it. Maybe this can be seen as being a bit of an unhealthy mindset, but a professional stage performer has to live in the moment. We have to be present and open at all times and dedicated to our craft: thinking about a life other than performing is too distracting. What gets me through is the knowledge that there is always a new opportunity waiting to present itself just around the corner. You might not get one job, but the very next day you can get a call for another audition out of the blue, and it takes you off in a whole new, exciting direction that you hadn't even expected. Over the years, the passion changes and grows - opening up new possibilities at every turn.

Macbeth
Eight new performances between October 24 and November 5!

"I've wanted to direct John Gabriel Borkman for a while," she explains. "I've done Hedda Gabler and A Doll's House in the past, and not long ago I was re-reading Ghosts, and that started me thinking about Henrik Ibsen's late works.

"Borkman was written at the end of his life, when he was contemplating his own legacy and mortality. He also had a young paramour at the time. All of that is reflected in the play, with its explorations of striving, ambition and creation. It shows us all the sides of the coin at the same time."

The character of Borkman reminds Ms Perloff of some of today's American tycoons. 

"I'm from Northern California - the land of the tech titans. These are highly charismatic individuals who could be viewed both as enormously potent businessmen and as deluded narcissists. They truly believe that they are changing the world. Is it true? How much is fantasy and how much is reality? As with Borkman, we'll never really know."

Ms Perloff studied classical Greek theatre, which has many similarities with Ibsen, and she also sees many parallels between the works of Ibsen and Harold Pinter, another favourite playwright.

"The past is something that characters like Borkman mine and use to justify their present behaviour. But, more explosively, the past is always lurking just below the surface - ready to detonate in the present. How that all plays out is what makes the story so fascinating."

Working with a new translation commissioned from her long-time collaborator, Paul Walsh, has made this production extra special for Ms Perloff.

"Paul was a dramaturge with ACT for ten years. It's been wonderful to have him here during some of the rehearsal process. He originally studied Norwegian in order to be able to translate Ibsen, so when a performer has a question about the reverberation of a certain word, he can explain the text perfectly. It's such a gift to have him there in the room. His translation is not only true to the original, but it feels very comfortable for a North American person to speak and to listen to."

What can audiences expect from this sort of public play reading?

 "I would say that - rather than expect anything in particular - people should leave their expectations at the door," says Mr. Wyn Davies. "Just relax and expose yourself to some great works of theatrical writing. The joy of these readings is that none of us brings any expectations: the readers themselves only look at the script once ahead of the evening. The idea is that we don't want anyone overthinking it."

What is the aim of presenting dramatic readings in this casual, unrehearsed manner?

"It's one of the few times performers can simply follow their instincts and go with their initial responses to the text. They can really respond to the story that the writer is telling. We often choose plays that may never otherwise be done by the Festival - either because they don't fit the mandate, or perhaps they are a little past their sell-by dates.

"This year, we're doing Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies, as they seem a natural follow-up to the history behind Breath of Kings.  So come on out, and have a peek behind the curtain at what a first read-through looks like. I think you'll find it both entertaining and inspirational."

Mark these dates in your calendars and book your tickets today!

Tune in to CBC-TV on the following dates:

August 28: Hamlet
"The most complete, most fulfilling, most satisfying production of Hamlet in decades" - Toronto Star

September 4: The Adventures of Pericles
"Moving and fun from beginning to end" - Broadway World

Tune in, grab a bowl of popcorn - and enjoy!

Pre-order your Stratford Festival HD DVDs and Blu-Rays now for a special price!
Must-haves for any theatre lover, The Taming of the Shrew, Hamlet and The Adventures of Pericles are now available with special pre-order pricing.

Our DVD pre-order price is only $19.95, or you can purchase all three titles for just $54.95.

Blu-Rays can be pre-ordered at a special rate of $29.95, or you can purchase all three for just $79.95

Pre-orders will be available for pickup from our Stratford Festival Shop later this fall, or we can ship them to you for an additional flat-rate fee of $9.95 for Canadian addresses and $14.95 for American addresses.

Prices go up in October. Save now by starting your very own collection or add to your collection of Stratford Festival HD films today!

Click here for more details

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Stratford Festival HD is sponsored by Sun Life Financial as part of their Making the Arts More Accessible™ program.

Support for Stratford Festival HD is generously provided by Laura Dinner & Richard Rooney, the Jenkins Family Foundation, the Henry White Kinnear Foundation, Ophelia & Mike Lazaridis, Sandra & Jim Pitblado, the Slaight Family Foundation, and Robert & Jacqueline Sperandio.