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Sign up now for guitar, bass, drums, and piano OAKVILLES MUSIC STORE 21 W ednesday , Septem ber 22, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m Artscene By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Two rising stars on the theatre stage,who graduated from SheridanCollege, said actors should always expect to be learning new things, even after theyve broken into the field. The two Stratford Festival stars, who can also be recognized for work done outside Stratford Michael Therriault and Chilina Kennedy visited their alma mater last week to offer some advice to current stu- dents. As you get older, now Im 32, you think that things become easier as you get more experienced, but I find that I need more classes now than when I was in my 20s because you develop layers and I find classes are about shedding pre-conceptions and shedding ideas of myself that I have, Kennedy said. So its more important now than ever to be open and keep learning. The two actors spoke on stage at the MacDonald Heaslip Hall to current perform- ance students and visitors. The conversation was hosted by the National Posts theatre critic Robert Cushman, who shared the stage with the two actors and asked them questions. Therriault added that everything one learns, he or she will apply into a production at all times. Theres never one way into anything. All the stuff you learn in the (Birmingham) Conservatory are different ways of trying to get in and eventually all of it adds up into something. Theres no simple answer like Im going to do this, Im going to do this and Im going to do this. Its always going to change. (Learning) is about building a tool box that you can pull things out of, he said. Stratfords Birmingham Conservatory, which focuses in classical theatre, is an intensive program to prepare actors for the stage. Therriault was in the program when he first got to Stratford in the late 90s, while Kennedy is still in the program. Therriault said the Conservatory makes things easier for actors because, while they are studying, they are already paid actors at the festival. You are just all day, every day, working on classical stuff. Its about creating a tool box for you to work with. They bring people to work with you and you get paid, he said. You guys are working so hard here and your trying to cram in so much but when you go into the Conservatory, even though you take Shakespeare classes here, the Conservatory lets you focus on one thing. Both actors spoke highly of the intensive program at Stratford, saying there arent many other programs around the world like it. Therriault added that there are many things to learn for stage theatre, but a big issue is voice. You will always be working on speaking because every theatre has different chal- lenges, he said. However, he added that some of the best stage actors, who use their voice so well to fill an entire auditorium, come out and teach, many of whom are very approachable people. Both alumni of Sheridans music theatre program have had some large roles on stage. Therriault has stared in roles ranging from Gollum in Lord of the Rings: the Musical to Irving Berlin in The Tin Pan Alley Rag. He received a Dora Award for his starring role as Leo Bloom in the Toronto production of The Producers, a second Dora for Lord of the Rings, and was nominated for a Gemini Award for his depiction of Tommy Douglas in the CBC television special Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story. This past summer, he could be seen on stage at Stratford in Peter Pan and Dangerous Liaisons. Kennedy is a rising star at Stratford, known for her performances as Maria in West Side Story and Philia in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, to her star turn as Eva Peron in this seasons Evita, the festivals first rock opera. Chilina spent three seasons at the Shaw Festival before making her Stratford debut in 2009. Offering advice to the students in the audience, Therriault said the biggest shock coming out of school and starting is the Actors now learning on the stage of life LIFE ON THE STAGE: The National Posts theatre critic Robert Cushman was host to Michael Therriault and Chilina Kennedy as the actors visited their alma mater, Sheridan College, to speak about life after school and offer advice to aspiring actors. DOMINIK KUREK / OAKVILLE BEAVER Michael Therriault See If page 23