Q: Have you been doing anything to prepare for your roles over the winter?

DAH: I've been maximizing my time with Ori and Jo because I know my days are about to get very full for the next few months. I'm hoping we can get into a rhythm where they can come and join us for lunch breaks. I had the intention of jumping back into hot yoga and doing some running to get my body prepared, but those plans quickly went the way of the dodo bird.

The holiday season was very good to us. It was Ori's first, and we were in Vancouver introducing her to friends and family who hadn't met her yet. I had the opportunity to play in Onegin at the Arts Club for a week or so before they head out on tour, so it did help to get the musical muscles working before coming out to Stratford.

DW: I adore the "homework" part ahead of a production. I have been doing a bunch of character research on who Marian might have been in her time, taking every singing lesson I can fit into my schedule and resting up for what is to come. I know that this rehearsal process is going to be really intense and I can't wait to get started! I have also been spending a lot of time with my family because I know I am headed into a whirlwind of costumes, choreography and words, words, words. The beginning of the new year was spent relaxing with some hot chocolate and a good movie on the most comfortable of couches.

Q: What are your favourite things about your characters, and do you recognize aspects of yourself in them?

DAH: I love Harold! He's a well-practiced hustler of the highest order. He does it all so easily and with such confidence and purpose. At the same time, we don't know an awful lot about why he is what he is or where he came from, so I get to do a lot of research and creation, which I relish. I'm looking forward to discovering a lot more about him while discombobulating my Marian at every turn - that is, until she finds her way to discombobulate me! Danielle and I only met for the first time when we performed a brief musical medley at the Stratford Festival Gala for Eric McCormack last fall, but I can tell I'm gonna have a great time trying every trick in the book to make her smile!

DW: Can we just talk about how cool Marian is? I absolutely love her strength. She's never, ever the damsel in distress: she takes her actions and ideas very seriously, and follows through with everything that she's got. She's intelligent, creative, witty and generally awe-inspiring for her time. It also helps that Daren, my wonderful Harold, happens to be one of the best in the business. I could tell from our first meeting by that mischievous look in his eye that the next few months are going to be filled with belly laughs and goofy grins!

Q: The Music Man begins rehearsals in February and runs into October, so it will take a lot of stamina. Have you been in long runs of productions in the past, and how do you pace yourself for the challenge ahead?

DAH: It sure will require stamina, but I feel prepared. I recently did the national tour of If/Then, with Idina Menzel, LaChanze and Anthony Rapp, and I learned a lot about sustaining over a long run. It will be different in that I won't have to be travelling from city to city during this contract, but I've done that too with the Dancap production of The Toxic Avenger Musical, here in Toronto. The main thing will be finding ways to maintain a healthy balance or, as my wife would say, "practising radical self-care."

DW: Self-care is going to be our best friend throughout this run. I have been incredibly fortunate to have experienced a long run before by playing Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz for almost two and a half years, so I feel prepared for what's to come. I try to get a lot of sleep, take care of my body and really fuel myself with the right things. It's so helpful that the Festival has so many accessible programs for wellness and betterment. Sleep is the most important aspect of staying healthy, and I get the napping gene from my mother, so I think I'm in good shape for that!

Q: What are you most looking forward to in your first season at Stratford?

DAH: The local community. I have no idea what I'm stepping into, which is exciting, but theatre folks are the same worldwide. When we work together, we form a family. We'll look out for one another, irritate one another and share laughs and mistakes over the next little while. I can't wait to vibe with the folks we'll get to meet, and I hope they'll enjoy the ride as much as I know that we will.

DW: I am beyond excited and fortunate to be surrounded by such talented artists and creators. I have had such wonderful experiences with the people I've met already, so I'm positive that it will only go up from here. I'm eager to learn and really dive into everything Stratford and the Festival have to offer. The theatre world is a funny one, because you forge such fast, beautiful friendships: I can't wait to get to know my new "family"!

At the heart of the new centre will be a jewel-box theatre with all of the character and intimacy of the existing Tom Patterson auditorium, but with greatly expanded production and patron facilities.

For 46 years, the Tom Patterson Theatre has been housed in a City-owned facility originally built in the early 20th century as a curling rink. Though a much-loved creative space, the theatre suffered from cramped and uncomfortable seating, poor accessibility and limited production capabilities. The structure has been deemed by the Festival's engineers to be at the end of its viable life.

"The Tom Patterson Theatre is one of our most treasured creative spaces," says Mr. Cimolino, "but one that is woefully inadequate for the calibre of performance and experience our patrons have come to expect. This campaign will allow us to turn it into a facility befitting the founder whose name it bears. Together with our artists, staff and most generous donors, we look forward to rekindling the infectious spirit that Tom Patterson inspired 65 years ago, a spirit that awakened a belief in Canadian creativity and changed the cultural landscape of this country." 

The auditorium at the heart of the new centre will be clad in softly lime-washed masonry and surrounded by a veil of shimmering glass, hung with thin bronze mullions. A two-acre terraced garden, beautiful enough to be a landmark in itself, will stretch from one end of the site to the other. 

The theatre will have a slightly larger capacity and longer season. Together with the expansion of the Festival's Forum, education and digital offerings, it is estimated that the new centre will generate an additional $14 million per year in economic activity, on top of the $134 million already generated annually by the Festival as a whole.

"Just as the creation of the Festival transformed our city 65 years ago, this new theatre will add great depth and opportunity to our community," says Ms Gaffney. "The expanded education and Forum activities will help us to develop new audiences - including the important youth market - and the beautiful auditorium will open wonderful creative avenues, setting us apart from other world-class theatres and helping us to attract visitors from around the globe."

The practice of assigning traditionally male Shakespearean roles to women (though far from new) has not been without its critics. While Ms Henry can empathize with those who are reluctant to embrace the idea, she recognizes that it can open up a play to reveal new and through-provoking insights. And in the context of the news headlines of the past year, the time seems riper than ever to explore women's power and its place in the world.

"I know some of our long-time Stratford patrons have expressed doubts about this kind of casting," says Ms Henry. "I hardly blame them; I had doubts, too. But when I finally got it through my head that I had been denying the possibility that Shakespeare might have written something that could be looked at differently and would still be his, and thrillingly his - that he might well relish such a look at his story - the possibilities began to pour through the text in a way I hadn't remotely envisioned. And I realized it will still be The Tempest. As a playwright, he's limitless.

"Antoni has been reading The Swerve by Stephen Greenblatt, and he referred me to the section about Hypatia, an acknowledgedly brilliant woman in Alexandria who held huge public and personal influence. A member of the ancient world's pagan intellectual elite, she was eventually branded a witch, pulled from her chariot, stripped and murdered - ostensibly for siding with the faction that fought the removal of Jews from the city. Our Prospero, of course, was not murdered, but [her enemies] put her and her daughter on an old boat that they assumed would sink with her on it.

"The fact that nowadays women are gaining - and demanding - a voice in quite new ways lends this story of jealousy and betrayal a timely cast in 2018. We can look at the story through a modern lens and still thrill to Shakespeare's insight and compassion and magic. I'm becoming more and more taken with a point of view I never thought I would honour as I study and re-study this play."

As Prospero, Ms Henry will be sharing the stage with an incredibly talented and diverse cast - including a few former Birmingham Conservatory participants. She is greatly looking forward to rehearsing and performing with this particular ensemble, and feels it is one of the best aspects of this production.

"Well, of course, this - the wonderful cast - is the true glory of working at this remarkable Festival. You get to play with some of the greatest actors in the world. Lucy Peacock, playing Juno, for heaven's sake? It's a company to revel in. If I fall down, they'll pick me up."

Whenever I take a seat in the audience, I can't help being excited. The lights dim, and I forget everything else - it seems the theatre is the entire world. The play is more engaging than watching a movie, because you're seeing the real action right in front of your eyes. Being an audience member means you're really part of the performance itself. For example, hearing the whole theatre laugh together makes the entire show more personal.

After the play ends, we walk out excitedly, sharing our praise for and impressions of the performance. Being able to exchange insights with my peers makes the experience more meaningful. Comments like "Lady Macbeth is so much younger than I expected! That makes her character seem doubly evil" are part of the post-play conversation. We reiterate the humour, remark on the violence and realize new depth together. Overall, sharing my love of Shakespeare with classmates allows for more appreciation and a more complex analysis of the play we saw together.

That's what makes theatre so important in my life, especially with Shakespeare's plays. As much as we read and study them, the text can't come to life like it does in the performance. These plays were meant to be performed. In watching them, we can have the same experience that the groundlings (or more dignified visitors) at the Globe had!

Several times during our annual visits, I've sat next to seniors and had the chance to talk to them. I've found that older audience members have a wider appreciation for the plays and often a better understanding of each, which makes it easy to learn from them. They always tell me that coming to Stratford is a very special tradition - they're regulars there, like my grandparents. That's how I want my life to be when I'm older.

Visit stratfordfestival.ca/HD to find a cinema near you. Tickets can be purchased through Cineplex cinemas.
U.S. dates will be released shortly - stay tuned!

Exciting award news!
We're pleased to announce that our 2017 film of Macbeth was recently nominated for Best Variety or Entertainment Special at the 2018 Canadian Screen Awards coming up in March!