David Geene
David Geene will be playing the role of Morgan, a
farmer who lives with his close friend on a small farm in Clinton, Ontario.
When asked to describe his character,
David said,
“I (Morgan) am in my fifties, and have
lived on this farm with Angus since 1942. We bought the place after coming back
from the war. Unfortunately Angus had been injured in a bombing raid and needed
looking after. He had lost his memory you see, so he needed some help with
remembering. So, we’ve raised some cows, chickens and eggs, pigs, and we grow
crops, including hay. It's not an easy life:
working 24/7, not making much money, and not having any family or sons
to pass the farm down to. That makes me a little cantankerous. But there is even
more that unsettles me. There was a woman in my life, an English girl I met
during the war. Her name was Frances, and she came back with me to live here in
Ontario… She hasn't been around for quite some time…. There's a story behind that, but you'll have
to come and see the show to hear it.”
David may be a familiar face to theatregoers
in the Port Perry area. He has performed
in many Borelians productions in the past, such as A Streetcar Named Desire, in
which he played Mitch; and Our Town, in which he played the Stage
Manager. For both of those roles, he was
nominated for ACT-CO (Association of Community Theatre-Central Ontario) performance
awards.
“My
first show in this area was in Uxbridge and I have particularly good memories
of taking on two difficult roles: Lenny in Of Mice and Men, a developmentally
delayed large man; and last fall I took on the role of contemporary artist Mark
Rothko in the play Red, a challenging megalomaniac, full of himself, but
fragile too.”
For the role of Mark Rothko, David also received
an ACT-CO nomination for Best Male Actor in a Leading Role.
“What I do on stage comes from working with a number of great directors and cast mates, being passionate about learning my character and my role, and working with a wonderful community of actors.”
When not seen on-stage, David can often be found backstage where he has worn many hats. For their 2013-2014 season David designed the sets for the Borelians’ production of Wait Until Dark, and he was producer and set designer on Drama at Inish. In Uxbridge, he was the musical director for Into The Woods, which garnered him another ACT-CO nomination.
Surprisingly, the theatre didn't find
David until 2004. Before that he was a
community musician as well as a professional tuba player in London and
Toronto. He is also an active singer and
has sung in several semi-professional and professional choirs and church
choirs.
“I have no training in theatre, except for
living the life I do ... Believe it or not, I am an introvert, deep down.
As a kid, I was very shy (not the same thing, but related). I have had lots of
anxiety about being in front of people. But at the same time, I have learned to
put myself out there, to be prepared, and become more and more comfortable and
confident in a presentation setting, whether in my role as a school
administrator, a speaker, a chair person, a musician, or as an actor. I still
get nervous of course. I am also a reader and a thinker, and being involved in
plays has allowed me to explore in a very hands-on way the depths of a
character, the world he lives in, the people with whom he interacts. I find
that totally engaging and transporting.”
You can
see David Geene in the role of Morgan beginning October 16th, 2014, when the
Borelians Community Theatre and Port
Perry Town Hall Players’ production of The Drawer Boy hits the stage.
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