Tag Archives: Stratford Festival

Rodrigo Beilfuss, artistic director and actor

Rodrigo Beilfuss is a Brazilian-born Canadian actor-director with a German last name, who trained in England and now calls Winnipeg, Manitoba his home. He is the artistic director of Shakespeare in the Ruins.

Shakespeare in the Ruins. Photo Clarence Abrams.

Growing up in Brazil, Beilfuss envisioned a career as a diplomat. He was well on his way after being accepted to law school, but he faced a fork in the road when he was also accepted to a cultural exchange program in Winnipeg. He chose Winnipeg thinking he’d return to Brazil, and a career in the foreign service after the cultural exchange was completed.

As part of his cultural exchange program, Beilfuss was introduced to the works of Shakespeare; he fell in love with the Bard’s words and soon traded his pursuit of a diplomatic career for a one in theatre.

Beilfuss admits that when he was first introduced to Shakespeare, he didn’t understand much of the language. However, his realization that he was not alone in his struggle to comprehend Shakespeare’s work ultimately gave him the confidence to work through it. “Ironically, Shakespeare gave me a sense of belonging – everyone was confused; everyone was terrified,” says Beilfuss.

From Winnipeg Beilfuss traveled to Stratford, Ontario and England where he studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His master’s thesis research at LAMDA examined the process, and cultural impact, of performing Shakespeare in different languages – a natural topic for Beilfuss, whose first language was not English.

Beilfuss’ was also accepted to Stratford Festival’s prestigious Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre training program and the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical Direction.

Beilfuss went on to perform at the Stratford Festival for three seasons and was assistant director to Graham Abbey in a fourth.

In this episode of The Performer Podcast our conversation begins with the story about a production of “Macbeth” at the Stratford Festival the day that three actors, including the lead, were unable to perform due to illness. The play went on with the actors and understudies scrambling behind the scenes, some covering two roles.

In “Macbeth,” Belfuss played Young Siward whom Macbeth kills in the final battle, shortly before his swordfight with Lord Macduff. The production was filmed and will be available for free, for three weeks beginning May 7th, as part of the Festival’s Shakespeare Film Festival

SHOW NOTES:
Website.
Twitter.
Instagram.
Cyrus Lane podcast
Lisa-Repo-Martell Podcast
Joseph-Ziegler Podcast
Stream Macbeth from the Stratford Festival as part of the Shakespeare Film Festival

Hamlet at the Rose Theatre Brampton with Pakistani-Canadian star Ahad Raza, directed by Haysam Kadri a graduate of the Birmingham Conservatory at the Stratford Festival.

Shakespeare In The Ruins website

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FOUR EPISODES WITH OTHER ACTORS FROM THE STRATFORD FESTIVAL
Click to Listen.

Playwright, Actor: Michael Healey

After graduating from Ryerson’s Theatre School, Michael Healey acted in various productions before he wrote “Kicked.” He produced and performed the one-act monologue at the Toronto Fringe Festival and toured with it, subsequently exploring playwrighting further.

Healey’s impressive career trajectory includes writing “The Drawer Boy,” one of the most-produced Canadian plays in North America. He’s also adapted works for the Stratford Festival, North America’s largest classical repertory theatre company.

In our podcast, you’ll hear Healey explain how being a member of the acting company at the Blyth Festival led to the creation of a life-changing play. It was his time at the Blyth Festival, with Miles Potter and others collaborating on the collective creation “The Farm Show,” that inspired Healey to write “The Drawer Boy.” An international success that The Guardian called “a landmark in Canadian theatre.”

It’s hard to believe now, but Healey says he was on the brink of abandoning his career in theatre when he wrote that play. Healey opens up about the depression he felt after graduating from Ryerson and how he managed to overcome it.

Also in this podcast, you’ll learn how Healey works with actors during the rehearsal process, and why he leaves a box of Tic-Tacs on the table at rehearsals.

Healey explains why he sought legal counsel after the Tarragon Theatre cancelled his play about Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper, “Proud,” and how grateful he is to playwrights across the country who supported him as he drew from a personal line of credit to mount his own production.

Towards the end of the podcast you’ll hear one of the best-ever audition stories that occurred the Shaw Festival.

SHOW NOTES

Michael Healey on Twitter
Miles Potter on Twitter
Paul Wells at Macleans
John Ibbitson on Twitter
The Stratford Festival
The Shaw Festival
The Blyth Festival
Jerry Seinfeld and David Letterman in conversation at the Paley Center – on YouTube.

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Actor: Colm Feore

Colm Feore is one of North America’s top classically trained actors. He’s appeared on stages around the world, on the big screen and television.

In the new Netflix series “Umbrella Academy” Feore plays Sir Reginald Hargreeves who adopts seven babies with miraculous powers and teaches them to be superheroes.

Boasting an all-star cast including fellow Canadian Ellen Page, Mary J Blige, Tom Hopper, Robert Sheehan and Kate Walsh, “Umbrella Academy” is receiving rave reviews.

The Los Angeles Times says: ‘“The Umbrella Academy” stands out among the countless other superhero series splashed across billboards and your viewing queues.’

The Boston Globe review includes this line “an imaginatively filmed show that follows no formula as it takes on a messed-up family and the roots of trauma.”

In our podcast, we discuss Feore’s stage work on Broadway with Denzel Washington, his work on the film “The Chronicles of Riddick,” with Judi Dench and Vin Diesel and his work at the Stratford Festival.

Colm is married to the very successful director/choreographer Donna Feore, so naturally, I asked him how they manage to have a happy marriage and raise their children while working in locations around the world. Don’t miss my podcast with Donna Feore.

Thanks to Kelly Monaghan, Neil Hawkins and Amanda Hatton for contributing questions!

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