Non-MX Interviews: Tom McCamus (9/10 Facebook Q&A)
Stratford Festival Facebook 9/29/10: Tom McCamus
Stratford Festival
September 29, 2010
A final reminder that Tom McCamus will be on Facebook tomorrow to answer your questions. Look for the post at 9am letting you know he's here and put your question in the comment stream of that feed.
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Stratford Festival
September 30, 2010
Tom McCamus is with us on Facebook today to answer your questions! If you have a question for Tom please place it in the comment section below and he'll be around throughout the day to answer them.
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Cecile Muller (aww I'm starting to think I arrived 10 minutes too late, the thread is so silent now)
September 30, 2010 at 8:57am
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Cait Newell It has gotten a bit quiet now.
September 30, 2010 at 9:15am
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Stratford Fest Jenna - Canadian theatre has very few if any stars - but I do meet a lot of people around town who say hi and thanks for the performance - always appreciated. I love Superstar iwas around when it first came out and I'm looking forward to seeing it.
Not in Titus
September 30, 2010 at 9:19am
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Stratford Fest Jaclyn - I wrote poetry, sci fi stories, plays and screenplays. Nothing of note - I starting writing plays to see if I could have a better understanding of what a playwright went through - I was doing a lot of new works at the time.
I don't really have favourites - I like so many things and all depending on the mood at the time
fondest acting memory - sitting onstage and listening to Bill Hut act in Long Day's Journey
September 30, 2010 at 9:29am
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Stratford Fest Cecille - I was out getting groceries. Most of the stuff I write is not good enough to publish - However there is one short ten-minute play I wrote for the Tarragon Spring Arts Fair and it is published in their book of Arts Fair plays - my play was entitled - Apoplexy
September 30, 2010 at 9:32am
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Stratford Fest Cait - I guess the best way is to come here and audition. There are a number of American actors here - some auditioned, some were brought here by directors. Or you could move to Canada become a Canadian - a great way to live your life
September 30, 2010 at 9:38am
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Cait Newell Believe me I have though about it. I've always been a supporter of the Canadians. Not that there is anything wrong with Americans of course. Just always been drawn to Canada.
September 30, 2010 at 9:40am
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Stratford Fest Lauren - no TV/movie stuff in the future - I've been too busy doing theatre, pretty lucky I guess.
September 30, 2010 at 9:41am
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Stratford Fest Mara - I have a workshop on my farm with a dart board - I stand at one end with a coffee and script beside me, music playing and I throw darts and speak my lines
September 30, 2010 at 9:45am
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Cecile Muller Thank you for the info, I will check it out. By any chance, would you have an idea where to find Trinity ? The trailers are enticing, but that movie seems to have fallen off the face of the Earth.
September 30, 2010 at 9:53am
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Suzanne Gerhold Ditto what Cait said a few comments ago about Three Sisters. You and Lucy Peacock taking off those boots--mama mia! I don't have a question. I'm just happy to be able to tell one of my favorite Stratford actors how much I've enjoyed your performances over the years.
September 30, 2010 at 10:05am
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Julie Jackson I made my first trip to Stratford this year, saw five plays in three days, and the two shows I'd see again if I could were Dangerous Liasons and Peter Pan, which I wasn't really expecting.
It sort of blew my mind to see the intensity and passion of DL and then to see several of the same actors interacting in Pan in a totally different type of material and even acting style. What are the challenges of performing three different roles in two very different plays in rep and doing them all so well?
September 30, 2010 at 10:10am
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Cait Newell I will be in Toronto in early January it's too bad When My Name was Anna won't have opened yet.
September 30, 2010 at 10:11am
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Stratford Fest cecile - Trinity is very hard to get hold of - I think my brother found a copy put out by a distribution house in Holland and it was on some format that my DVD player would not recognize,
September 30, 2010 at 10:24am
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Stratford Fest Suzanne - thanks, appreciate it
September 30, 2010 at 10:24am
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Stratford Fest Julie - its the best part about rep. When you're rehearsing if you find yourself in a bit of a problem ( a tunnel I call it) with one character the next day you're doing something totally different and it helps to clear the mind.
In performance it keeps things from getting too stale, although we only do DL twice a week and sometimes when we get onstage with it, it takes awhile to remember where we were when we last left it
September 30, 2010 at 10:28am
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Cait Newell Do you have any sort of preshow routine that helps you get in the right frame of mind for each performance?
September 30, 2010 at 10:35am
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Stratford Fest Cait - I usually go through the play in my head and then go to a coffee shop for an espresso and a read of the paper
September 30, 2010 at 10:40am
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Cecile Muller I'm very curious to finally see DL next month as I'm lucky to have read the original french book as a teenager (by the way, pardon my english as it's not my native language) because I have a far away memory that I quite enjoyed Valmont's character, so I'm sure it will be fun to see it thru fresh eyes. Peter Pan was also great on that side as it was the first time I saw the play, therefore without fond childhood memories about it, I was quite surprised to find Hook's character more human and relatable than Peter's (even if it was played brilliantly too).
September 30, 2010 at 10:42am
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Stratford Fest Its seems to be that when despicable people (characters) show us their vulnerability we feel for them much more than the character who does everything right - perhaps it has something to do with a vacuum
September 30, 2010 at 10:52am
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Cait Newell I would have liked to have seen Pan, sadly there isn't enough time in one weekend to see everything you would want. But I agree with your statement as far as Valmont's character. You really did feel for him as the show went on. Also completely unrelated to the statement I loved the set.
September 30, 2010 at 10:55am
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Cait Newell So simple and yet so effective.
September 30, 2010 at 10:56am
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Jaclyn Qua-Hiansen @Stratford Guest/Tom - So true! I usually find the villain much more compelling than the hero. Which is probably why I prefer reading Oscar Wilde to George Eliot.
September 30, 2010 at 11:02am
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Stratford Fest the villains are always much more enjoyable to play
September 30, 2010 at 11:29am
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Cecile Muller Perhaps it is because the villain often has more depth or personnality than the hero: the audience is automatically enclined to favor the good guy, and he's is only as great as the evil it fights, so I could imagine it would be quite fun and challenging to play the villainas he needs to keep a balance between the required bad guy actions and keeping the audience in doubt despite his disadvantage of being the villain, because a completely evil character would break the balance of the story as it would become one sided. At least it's my modest theory
September 30, 2010 at 11:46am
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Stratford Fest a good theory - however it depends on the play.
September 30, 2010 at 11:49am
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Cecile Muller On another matter, if I may ask: why did you choose to live in a farm ? Personally I nearly always lived in the countryside and had my fair share of uncommon animals, but a bear ? That's quite a leap (or is that a common kind of pet in Canada ?)
September 30, 2010 at 12:08pm
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Julie Jackson Thanks for being available for this. Theater is so ephemeral, and talking about it keeps the memories of a wonderful performance vivid for a little while longer. Are there any plays that you've particularly enjoyed recently? Or do you prefer to be away from the theater when you're now working?
September 30, 2010 at 12:27pm
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Stratford Fest Cecile - We lived in Toronto for 20 years so we wanted to try something different and we have lots of dogs so the country seemed the logical choice - we've been there 10 years and have never regretted it
and as they say in the country - you never see the bear: however my wife did just once.
September 30, 2010 at 12:30pm
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Stratford Fest Julie - I love watching other people work. And when you're working here you've a great and varied selection - I've enjoyed everything here this year. Winter's Tale was particularly good - but then my evil partner was featured quite prominently.
I also try to get down to the Shaw to see whatever I can - depending the amount of free time I have. I saw a play in Toronto last night called Through the Leaves - quite beautiful, sad, great performances
September 30, 2010 at 12:37pm
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Kathleen Clay Cann What a fascinating dialogue. I hope you are enjoying this as much as your cyber-fans are! I was wondering if there is a miasma of Valmont which stays with you for a while? It's such an intense role, which you give such humanity. Definitely an anti-hero, not a villain, in my opinion. I have heard it said that an actor must love the character in order to play the role well. Who was harder to love? Valmont or another past villain?
September 30, 2010 at 12:41pm
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Cait Newell I've heard of so many actors who don't like going to the theater it's so great to hear that you are just as supportive of seeing theater as well as performing. I love to see what is out there and see what kind of work other people are doing. I get truly inspired by so much of what I get to see.
September 30, 2010 at 12:51pm
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Cecile Muller "you never see the bear": hmm I think I don't get it, sorry, I must be missing a cultural reference.
September 30, 2010 at 12:55pm
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Stratford Fest Cecile - Its more a reference to what's out there that we never see. And what country folk say to urban folk when they arrive and ask "so what kind of animals are out here - should I or my dogs be nervous?"
September 30, 2010 at 1:07pm
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Teddy Gough Hello, and thanks for answering questions. We saw you walking downtown one day and didn't know whether to say hi or not. We wanted to tell you how great your work had been when we saw you in Peter Pan and Dangerous Liasons the week before, but thought you might prefer your privacy while "off duty."
How do you feel about fans approaching you when you're out and about?
September 30, 2010 at 1:08pm
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Stratford Fest Kathleen - I hope none of him stays with me, I think I do get a bit prickly before I actually have to play him. The ones that are hardest to love are the ones you can't figure out.
September 30, 2010 at 1:08pm
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Gabby Giordana I caught you in both Dangerous Liaisons and Peter Pan this year and loved them both. Waiting for Godot is still ranked as my favourite Stratford production. You're always a pleasure to watch at the festival, and it's very kind of you to answer everyone's questions!
Getting to my question... Recently I've been catching up on Canadian movies and TV that I've missed out on over the years. (The almost 30 years I spent living in Windsor wasn't terribly conducive to keeping up with Canadian films. It's a bit of a dead zone for Canadian culture.) Specifically, I've been watching a lot of things involving Bruce McDonald, Don McKellar, Dan MacIvor, Callum Keith Rennie and Molly Parker. So obviously, I've been seeing you popping up here and there... in Last Night, in episodes of Twitch City and Slings and Arrows, etc. Do you enjoy that aspect of Canadian entertainment that brings people back together frequently to work with each other on various projects in the same way that you would find yourself working with the same actors in multiple plays in Stratford? I've always been curious about the sense of community that seems to exist in the entertainment industry in Canada.
(Also, the Hard Core Logo fangirl in me wants to ask you how it was working with Hugh Dillon on Ginger Snaps Back.)
September 30, 2010 at 1:20pm
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Amanda Mustard I am going back for a second viewing of DL next week and I can't wait. Saved it for my last play of this season. When you are performing in Stratford do you live in town?
September 30, 2010 at 1:24pm
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Cecile Muller Oh I see
September 30, 2010 at 1:25pm
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Stratford Fest Teddy - its always nice to hear from people who like your work. There always seem to be more of the people who don't - or is it they just have a more vocal forum - or we just get too sensitive
September 30, 2010 at 1:40pm
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Stratford Fest Gabby - the sense of family is one of the things that keeps in this business, I only wish there was more of a cross over between the theatre and film/tv worlds
Hugh was great guy - he was just starting to get fascinated by acting then - and he's obviously excelled at it.
September 30, 2010 at 1:42pm
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Stratford Fest Amanda - when I'm here I rent a house to live in - over the ten seasons we've been here I've stayed in more than ten houses and in all parts of the city. Its a great way to get to know a place.
September 30, 2010 at 1:44pm
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Cecile Muller Oh, one last question I forgot about: do you enjoy theater acting more than tv for example, or is it just different ? I would think having a live audience and having multiple occasions to play dslightly differently the same act may influence your preference, but I wouldn't hazard a guess.
September 30, 2010 at 1:49pm
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Cait Newell Tom I want to thank you for taking the time to answer everyone's questions. I'm about to leave work and won't be able to check back for a few hours and by then I am sure you will be off to the theater. I hope the rest of the season goes well for you. Thanks again for your time!
September 30, 2010 at 1:52pm
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Stratford Fest Cecile - I always say when I'm doing one I wish I was doing the other. Its all acting but the crafts are different. For example: in film/tv once the scene is done you never have to do it again - in theatre you have to spend months trying to achieve the freshness you had in the early rehearsals - however that search can lead to a depth you may have missed in the film/tv situation
September 30, 2010 at 1:56pm
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Stratford Fest Cait - my pleasure.
September 30, 2010 at 1:56pm
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Cecile Muller Aw, the last hour is almost up already; well thank you for your time, it was much entertaining and I hope you continue your great work for many more years
September 30, 2010 at 2:05pm
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Stratford Fest its been fun - thanks for the questions
September 30, 2010 at 2:13pm
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