The Secret Garden, an Exit 22 Company production, on now until March 28 at BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts, 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver. Tickets: $22/$15/$10, available at tickets.capilanou.ca.
It can be tough for a young actress to stay in the character of an English Edwardian-era girl, especially when she must wear a corset throughout the duration of rehearsals.
That was just one of the rehearsal musts for senior acting students in Capilano University's Exit 22 production of the musical The Secret Garden.
"The girls wear corsets for the entire rehearsal period so yeah, it's been a new one for them. You have to relearn to breathe actually in a corset," laughs acting instructor and play director Gillian Barber on the difficulties of rehearsing for a period play.
"I think adapting 2015 behaviour to wearing corsets and lace-up boots and long dresses, you know, it's hard to adapt to a new era, very different from today's world," explains Barber, who says she's had to be hard on students to consistently stay in the role of individuals from 1906, the year the play takes place.
"I've been quite strict with the students on behaviour and physical carriage so it's quite a change for them."Barber and her cast of 24 students spent nearly two months rehearsing for the play, which premiered March 19 at Capilano University's BlueShore Financial Centre for the Performing Arts, a production she describes as both "dark" and "beautiful."
The play is a musical adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel that many likely remember reading as a child.
"There are lots of versions of it. It was a novel and then it was made into a movie and then I think its third step was a musical. It's quite different from the book," Barber says.The musical expands to a more in-depth look at some of the other characters, including the father and long-dead mother of Colin, the bedridden young boy who the protagonist, Mary, helps to bring out of his shell. Colin's mother, who is only a memory in the book and movie, is brought out as one of the play's central characters, albeit as a ghost.
"For example, the parents, the mother and father, one who's dead and one who's not, the parts have been expanded into the musical so that you get a larger journey for all those characters. In the book it's basically Mary who does everything," Barber explains.
Mary, who loses her parents to cholera and must leave her home in India to live with relatives in England, is played by Kaitlyn Yott. Her spoiled brat of a cousin, Colin, who claims he can't walk, is played by Elyse Maloway, while his father, Archie, who can't get over the loss of his wife, is played by Frankie Cottrell. Playing the observant ghost of Colin's mother, Lily, is Sherry Freeman.
"Lily has to be released and she's sort of held in to the earth by the Archie character, Frankie's character. He won't let her go because he's mourning her," explains Barber. "She's always there watching people."
The esthetics of the show are likely to match the expected performance of senior acting students. Professional designer Conor Moore was brought in by the school to design the set and lighting. The school's technical theatre, arts and entertainment management and costuming departments have worked in conjunction to ensure the set, costumes and sound accompany the piece beautifully. Barber says she was asked by those in charge of props to rummage through her own garden for some greenery for the set.
"The props department has been purchasing flowers and vines. In fact last night (they) asked me to bring two garbage bags full of the vines in my garden. So yeah, my garden will be bare but the set will look gorgeous."
Barber says it's a long process rehearsing and carrying out a musical production like this, but it's that very complexity of sight, sounds and choreography that make it what it is.
"It takes a long time to sort of put all the three elements of a musical together. . . there's lots of things that come together to make it beautiful."
