Alumni Outreach: Doin’ it for Themselves

by Philip Szporer

"Concerning acts of initiative and creation there is one elementary truth: that the moment one definitely commits oneself then Providence moves too." So said Goethe, still right 200 years later. These NTS alumni combine exceptional theatre artistry with another talent beloved by fame: entrepreneurial genius. Young, supertalented, and almost famous, they are definitely committed. They work hard, they dream big, and they are coming soon to a theatre near you. Stand back.

Christopher Abraham (Directing, 1996)

Director Christopher Abraham, 26, readily admits "My work is my life. I don’t do much else." But many support the view that he’s a natural. The Toronto-based theatre company that he formed four years ago with Sheila Heti and James Cameron (Acting, 1990) upon graduating from NTS, Go Chicken Go, manages to stage one show a season. Also, in partnership with one of Canada’s veteran theatre directors, Bill Glassco, he’s one of the co-founders of The Montreal Young Company, a Montreal-based rep company that aims to foster young professional acting talent.

While doing all this, he’s successfully pursuing other freelance activities, like directing the hit production I, Claudia with Kristen Thomson (Acting, 1993). Known for his taste for the experimental, Abraham delves into everything from the European avant-garde to new Canadian plays. "I get a certain kind of satisfaction in commissioning and creating new work through my company, because it generally reflects my curiosity without really brokering any compromise to an audience." What’s at stake for Abraham is getting issues and styles of theatre that he’s personally interested in on the boards. "I try things that I would be less inclined to try in other circumstances," he explains. "Not that I’m known for catering to popular tastes in other things, but having my own company gives me permission to go as far as I’d like to go."

Currently, Abraham is developing a project with Sean Dixon (Acting, 1988) and Graeme Somerville (Acting, 1999), inspired by an investigation of Canada’s involvement in Yugoslavia and the War Crimes Tribunal.

Ker Wells (Acting, 1988)

This past March, Ker Wells directed a well-received revival of a Primus Theatre-produced show called Icaria. The Winnipeg-based company, started by Wells and four other NTS alumni a year after their graduation, performs a kind of physical theatre inspired by Eugenio Barba’s Odin Theatre in Denmark. Odin’s vision of theatre was first introduced to the group while they were still at the School by Odin actor Richard Fowler. The degree of physical engagement and training demanded by Odin set the standard for Wells and his group. "I found the commitment (to the work) both alarming and exciting," he says.

Primus’ activities continued for seven years before Wells left in 1997. Among other considerations, Wells says, he had turned thirty, and wanted to "at least imagine having some money in the bank" when he hit forty. He shifted his life to Toronto, and since then has scored some commercial film and television gigs, in addition to stage acting and directing.

Wells knew he would find it painful switching from the deep involvement of the Primus experience to being a jobbing actor. "Effectively, [there’s] no control over when you work, if you work, and what work you do. That’s the dysfunction at the heart of the actor’s life in this country," he says.

"There’s also a great deal of confusion about what function theatre should serve, about whether it should entertain, provoke, or disturb." Wells feels he’s on the cusp of another attempt at the company experience, while at the same time keeping one foot out of the pool.

Kristen Thomson (Acting, 1993)

Kristen Thomson’s well-received one-person play, I, Claudia which she wrote and performed, recently finished a sold-out run at Toronto’s Tarragon Theatre. A return engagement is planned for early next year, and there’s talk of a tour.

In her career, the Dora Award-winning actor has worked on a lot of new Canadian work, and has watched new writers struggle with their plays. "Even before I was an actor, I wanted to be a writer," Thomson reveals. "I ended up acting because somehow that skill was a natural fit for me. Whereas, I didn’t even know what it meant to be a writer. As an actor, I felt that I was using my whole body, my emotions, my mind and my social conscience, to all impact on the work. I imagined that a writer’s function was more cerebral."

But Thomson knew how to hold an audience, and felt she had "a strong position to work from, to articulate my own sense about the theatrical experience." Rather than sit down at a computer and write, she tape-recorded what became about 150 pages of material over a period of about six months while improvising with masks, physicalizing and vocalizing, to create her four characters.

Preparation beyond the page — spending time with the characters, shaping her ideas — motivates her. "All the details of the life of a character that don’t make it into the play can have a huge impact as to what shows up on stage," Thomson says. In the end, I, Claudia was 27 pages, but she wasn’t hard put to whittle it down. "Fundamentally, I didn’t lose anything."

Raoul Bhaneja (Acting, 1996)

Raoul Bhaneja, the 26-year-old Toronto-based actor and musician, is making his mark. Take his band, Raoul and the Big Time. Launched in June 1998, they recently released their debut CD, Big Time Blues, and did so on their own label, Big Time Records. Bhaneja has writing credits on the 13 songs on the disc, and can be heard singing and playing the harmonica and guitar.

In high school, Bhaneja had his own band and wrote music. But at the NTS, music fell by the wayside. After graduation, he founded a theatre company with two other alumni, Severn Thompson (Acting, 1996) and Eda Holmes (Directing, 1996), called The Storm Collective, a group that’s still running. He also rekindled his love of music. Strongly influenced by West Coast swing, Chicago blues, R&B, and "jump blues", Bhaneja set out to create his own brand of music, tinged with all those influences. Last year, when Raoul and the Big Time snapped up the Maple Blues Award for Best New Canadian Blues Band, a part-time diversion became serious.

Another highlight this year has been landing parts in two films, Atom Egoyan’s Ararat, and Bruce McDonald’s Claire’s Hat. Going full-tilt as an actor and as a musician makes for creative scheduling. "But," says Bhaneja, "I feel really fortunate because I really enjoy both." Besides, he figures he’s a bit of a self-starter. Occupying his time with personal projects "helps you navigate the minefield (of being an actor), because I can do what I really want, and nurture myself when times are lean."

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