A parade of actors have been auditioning this past week for my play ANIMAL.  It is an exhilarating (and at times exhausting) process as you sit there and take in every actor who comes before you.  I am drawn to an actor’s face.  Their head shots leave an immediate impression.  The face says so much about who they are, what they bring in with them and how open they are to the process.  I don’t envy an actor’s position to come into a room and try to impress strangers.

The faces of those above are my nephews and niece.   I’ve seen these faces change over the years.  They’ve grown up.  One is done university.  Some are just beginning.   And one is in the thick of high school.  If you look at each of their faces (including my mug in the middle), they tell a story.  Each face has an expression which can be read in many ways.  Contentment.  Shy.  Eccentric.  Precocious.  Uncertain.  Confident.  Whimsical.  Joyful.  Contemplative.  Reserved.    And then when you talk to them, their  personality inevitably shines through.  I am by nature a shy person.  Some may think I’m an extrovert.  I am an introvert who plays the role of an extrovert when needed.  And I think I do a pretty good job, but it is always a fight inside of me.  Writing is a great tool to wrestle through the many faces one wears in life.

Here’s another face I want to introduce you to.  Actually, you met her in my last blog but she looks a tad different in this head shot.  This is the director of ANIMAL – Evelyn-Marie Long.  She was a blond in my last photo with her.  I’m getting to know Evelyn more and more as we have worked our way through the audition process.  She has a firecracker of a personality, yet like myself, she considers herself more of an introvert, enjoys writing and creating shows.  Evelyn is from Calgary, and has moved quite a bit over the course of her life.  She came to Toronto and studied singing, acting and dance at Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts.  It was during her time there that she discovered her interest in theatre lies more in directing and dramaturgy.  Encouraged by a mentor at Randolph, she embarked on a different journey where she began to create her own work and nurture/advance the creative works of others.   She created a theatre company called The Creation Coffin and is drawn to feminist works.

ANIMAL’s main character is a fierce female who is searching to find her way through the maze of mental illness.  Evelyn’s life (like mine) has been touched by mental illness and is no stranger to dealing with family members who struggle in the grip of this disease, its’ various, and at times, vicious tentacles.  The character of Raina Shepherd and her deep struggle with mental illness was certainly a draw for Evelyn to be involved with ANIMAL.

This week are call backs for actors who auditioned for parts.   Some hard choices will have to be made regarding casting.  I look forward to introducing the faces of ANIMAL.   And come November 21 (at the Alumnae Theatre), sharing the play with the public; for you to see them – these characters (and actors) – up close – face to face…