Member Profile – Page 15 – Walterdale Theatre

Meet the Cast of CHESS – Tanya Mirzayans is in the Ensemble

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.

Meet the Cast of CHESS – Matt Boisvert is Freddie

What is your role in Chess? I play Freddie. It entails a lot complaining, self-centered comments and general rudeness. It is a wonderful role: high energy and vocally interesting. It is also pretty hilarious to play someone so opposite myself.

What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? This is my first production with the Walterdale theatre and I have had a blast. I grew up doing St. Albert Children’s Theatre (1993-2000) which took up most of my adolescent evenings. I wrote several plays (We’ve Got Monkeys, Booth…), performed in an Improv troupe (Mr. Improv) and had a sketch comedy troupe (Cheese Tea). My last theatre show was Puck in the 5-hole, a sketch comedy show in Winnipeg Fringe in 2003.

What brought you out for this show? What drew you to it? I had been wanting to get back on stage for many years now. i suppose part of me was waiting for the perfect time/perfect show. Chess certainly seems to be that. I chose Walterdale because it is about the love of theatre rather than ticket sales and profit. I wanted to rekindle that feeling I had as a child when I volunteered much of my time because I loved doing it and enjoyed the relationships formed.

Why do you think audiences should come see this show? What do you think they will take away from it? Chess is a powerhouse. It is anything but a conventional musical. The score is amazing, the melodies contagious and the story layered with passion and intrigue. Every time you think you got it figured out, it changes. Quite like playing Chess.

Chess is a Board Game… What’s your favorite Board Game? Why? Got any funny game-playing stories? Actually, I invent board games! I have invented over a dozen board/card/tabletop games and have recently started a company called Spark of Madness. I love games so much I could never pick ONE as my favourite. My goal as a designer is to eventually create a good chess/checkers/backgammon style game. I have one called Stacks which is almost there…almost. One day. 🙂

Meet the Team of CHESS – Glenna Schowalter is the Stage Manager

What is your role on the production? I am the stage manager. This means that I sit through rehearsals to take blocking notes, get tech notes out to the production team and call all the cues once we get into the run of the show. There’s lots of communication and organization involved, and (of course) patience.

What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? I started theatre in high school, and have graduated from MacEwan University’s Theatre Production program with distinction. Since then I’ve done numerous community theatre shows and festivals such as Fringe and the Works. This is my fourth production at Walterdale, and my second time stage managing here.

What brought you out for this show? I was actually finishing up last season’s production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? when Technical Director Richard Hatfield asked if I would be interested in stage managing Chess. I said yes, of course.

Why do you think audiences should come see this show? What do you think they will take away from it? I think audiences will be blown away by the score of the show. Each song is musically interesting and completely unique in its storytelling moments. The audience will walk out humming.

Chess is a Board Game… What’s your favorite Board Game? Why? Got any funny game-playing stories? I love board games! I am a frequent visitor to our city’s board game cafes. My favourite board game so far (I still have so many to try!) is Shadows Over Camelot. It’s a cooperative game where the players take on the roles of King Arthur’s knights and try to save the kingdom from invading evil forces. I like it because of the co-op gameplay, and I’m a sucker for medieval fantasy stuff.

Meet the Cast of CHESS – Najm Abaza is in the Ensemble

What is your role in the production? I am in the ensemble portraying multiple characters which includes an obnoxious reporter, an enthusiastic translator and an abrasive technician.

What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? My background in theatre goes back to joining Musical Theatre, Drama and One Acts at Paul Kane High School where I performed shows like Fiddler on the Roof and Cut! This background led me to fall in love with the beauty of theatre, which brought me to Walterdale where Chess is my first show within the Walterdale community.

What brought you out for this show? What drew you to it? I have a keen interest in political histories, most notably the cold war. The music in the show such as One Night in Bangkok and Anthem drew me into auditioning for Chess.

Why do you think audiences should come see this show? What do you think they will take away from it? The audiences should come see the show because of the effort the whole cast makes in putting power in the show, as well as not letting the political status quo influence their view on the world.

Chess is also a Board Game… What’s your favorite Board Game? Why? Got any funny game-playing stories? My favourite board game is Monopoly because it is a good game for educating children on the concepts of a Free Market. My funniest game story would be when I would be landing on the “Go to Jail” square 4 consecutive times.