Jenna-Lee recieves an award… well, a prop one!

“Every role is so different that I find my preparation often changes. It’s like trying to find your way out of a maze. Left, left, right, left, right may have worked last time, but this is a different maze! You’ve got to figure it out brand new every time. This means lots of mistakes and getting lost (and maybe some flailing and crying) but eventually you find your way. Or else a helicopter comes and gets you. In this case, the helicopter is the director.

Jenna-Lee and Angela before a company meeting.

“I think a little community is formed each time 80+ people pack themselves into a theatre and witness a story together. Those strangers, whether they know it or not, are now connected through this very simple activity. The trick then becomes to keep that little community alive and engaged once the show has ended and it’s time to go home. I think this is what Charlie and Embrace Theatre have attempted to do by creating partnerships and relationships with different people and organizations throughout the city, adding post-show discussions, all which lessen the gap between “theatre” and “real life”. More doors are open for people to continue to be engaged by the story that they’ve witnessed, and they have more outlets to talk about the themes and messages that they’ve taken in. In this way that community can continue to be engaged once they’ve left the theatre.”