What is your role in Chess? I am performing as part of the ensemble. Being in the ensemble requires you to adapt quickly and play a variety of characters. For me, this show’s primary challenge has been learning lines and lyrics in multiple languages: German, Russian, and Hungarian.
What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? A few years ago, my voice teacher encouraged me to get out there and audition for a show. I had been singing my whole life but hadn’t been involved in community theatre. I performed in Jekyll & Hyde with Two One-Way Tickets to Broadway, followed by Wizard of Oz with Festival Players. My free time went out the window as I fell in love with theatre!
Walterdale is such a great place to get involved. The people are friendly, welcoming, and so willing to teach people with minimal experience to contribute to shows in new ways. My crew work at Walterdale has included a variety of jobs, so I have learned a lot and made some great memories there. I was a dresser for The Three Penny Opera (“yay… hooray”), stitcher and dresser for Nine, ASM for Proof, stitcher and dresser for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and lighting operator for Six Degrees of Separation. I was also ASM for Round Barn Productions’ SHOUT! A Mod Musical.
What brought you out for this show? I really wanted to be part of a Walterdale cast for the first time, not to mention the opportunity to work with Kristen, Sally, and Bethany again. Initially, I was not very familiar with this particular show, but at this point some of my favourite musical numbers are from Chess, and it’s a joy to perform.
Why do you think audiences should come see this show? There are a lot of reasons to come out for this show, but I will keep it simple: “Anthem” is goosebumps-good.
Chess is a Board Game… What’s your favorite Board Game? Why? Got any funny game-playing stories? I used to think I was good at Chess. Having since played with a few friends, I realized I only thought that because my sister and I are both terrible at it. We make up for that being an unstoppable team at Taboo.