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What started you in acting and what were your primary influences?
I wanted to act ever since I was 10 years old...after watching The
Carol Burnett Show with my Mom, I would run up to our play room and
dress up as one of her many characters, and then recreate the
sketches for anybody and everybody in our house. I remember that
it was such an amazing, magical feeling to be able to make an adult
laugh - it gave my child-brain a tiny sense of delightful power!
Later, as a high school student, our drama class went to see a show
at The Second City in Toronto, and I remember being overwhelmed by
the idea that the actors there heard the amazing roar of laughter
every night-and they got paid for it, too! I auditioned for the
Second City Touring Company during my final year of high school,
but flubbed my call-back...I was young, and terrified, and
overwhelmed that I'd even gotten a call-back in the first place.
I didn't pursue acting professionally until almost ten years
later...but when I did, I went to Second City, and this time, I
signed up for classes. Within a few months, I got into the Tour
Co., got my first agent, and eventually, became a member of the
mainstage cast.
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List some of the productions you've been involved with to date.
The Mercer Report, The Jane Show, The Gavin Crawford Show, At The
Hotel, Death of a Salesgirl, The Blobheads.
Surprise interviews with Canadian leaders, in the name of comedy
for "This Hour has 22 Minutes, must truly be a unique experience."
Describe what must go through your mind and what you are feeling as
you are about to spring/ambush an interview on "high profile"
politicians?
It's such a rush to do the "road-trips"....they are terrifying and
exciting all at once. When you are acting in a studio or onstage,
there is a sense that you are in the correct environment for what
you are doing...but when you're out in the real world, playing a
character like "Single Female Voter", for instance-the strangeness
of that is very powerful sometimes. The ensuing adrenaline rush
helps me remember the jokes I've got to do, and helps sharpen my
improvising...but it comes at the price of some amazing heart
palpitations!
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Being detained and handcuffed when approaching the Prime-Minister
for an interview must have been a terrifying experience. Can you
describe what went through your mind? What was Mr Harper like, once
he "knew" you were with 22 minutes?
Stephen Harper was my first political "ambush" for 22, and my first
time playing Single Female Voter. Our show has had almost no access
to Stephen Harper, so we thought this was the only way to get a few
moments with him.
I remember sitting in the press conference that morning, heart
pounding, waiting for the right moment to stand up and ask him a
question. I wanted to be as respectful as possible, and let the
reporters there ask some questions before I began, but I became
very conscious of the fact that Mr. Harper's team was aware of
(and not thrilled by!) my presence. One of them sat beside me and
whispered 'this (is) a room for REAL reporters!"...so as the
minutes passed, I got a powerful sense of ' It's Now or Never', and
finally stood up. It felt like I'd been there for an eternity, but
as soon as I did, security swooped in and within moments, I was
handcuffed!
It was a surreal experience...because of the fact that I was
playing a character, (and because I have never been handcuffed!)
it barely felt real. And I stayed in character the whole time-that
further increased the disassociation to what was actually
happening. It was like an improv sketch had just taken a very
strange turn. They got me out of that room so quickly that I had to
yell out SFV's first few phrases as they were pushing me out the
door! When I think of the things Mary Walsh got to do on 22, with
a plastic sword in hand, I never could have guessed that they would
react that way.
In the hall, cuffed, they had me "turn and face the wall'", and
were saying they were going to going to take me down to the police
station. It was nerve-wracking under those conditions to be
temporarily separated from the 22 camera man, Peter Sutherland, and
the field producer, Mark Mullane, but knowing they were so close
made me feel a sense of safety-they are such great guys, and I knew
they would be looking out for me. While the men in uniforms were
taking my personal info, I could hear Harper's people talking about
me being on 22, and I really think at that point I got the
interview as a sort of damage control. So many cameras had recorded
the take-down!
As for my impressions of Mr. Harper...they told me I was only
allowed to ask him one question...and we aired most of my chat with
him on the show.
It was an overwhelming cascade of events-I think he must have felt
that way, too. But what continues to resonate with me is my sense
that it was a very aggressive reaction to somebody speaking out of
turn at a press conference.
Weeks later, on another press conference adventure with Gilles
Duceppe, a "real" reporter approached me, and asked if the
handcuffing incident was even real! I told him all about that
morning, and he expressed great frustration himself with the issue
of the press's limited access to Stephen Harper. If nothing else,
the handcuff incident got people talking about some very
interesting issues!
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