Helen
Coughlin
Borelians
Community Theatre is delighted to have Helen Coughlin as The Drawer Boy’s
director. When the group first started
considering the play for their 44th theatrical season, it was clear from the
very beginning that the script had special meaning for Helen and that it had been an important
part of her life for quite some time.
"I have always loved The Drawer Boy. I first saw the Toronto
production over a decade ago and really wanted to direct the show once I saw it. After
pursuing that dream with Theatre on Main in Newmarket, [that production became]
the first community theatre group in Canada to obtain rights to perform the
play in 2002. Coincidentally, The Drawer Boy was part of the Grade 12 English
curriculum that I was teaching at the time, so I was also able to bring it to
my students…. They loved it!"
Although
this is Helen’s first time directing with the Borelians, it is certainly not the
only time she has worked with the group. In recent years, Helen has volunteered her
talents as Stage Manager for the Borelians production of Drama at Inish, and
she also worked backstage and in the sound booth on Wait Until Dark.
"I love the excitement of theatre....group collaboration, creative energy
in all aspects of the production from designing the set, directing or acting in
a show. Seeing the transformation from written script to live production is
always awesome! It can be all consuming and takes you to a different place. It
is lots of work, but you can see your results evolve. Then there's the rush of
adrenalin on opening night!!"
Helen
sure has had her fair share of opening nights!
Some of her fondest theatre memories are from acting in productions
like, The Memory of Water (for Theatre on Main in Newmarket) and Here on
the Flight Path (for Newmarket Stage Company). She has honed her skills
as a director on several other productions as well, such as Having Hope at Home
(for Theatre Aurora) and Beauty and the Beast (for the American School
of Kuwait).
Helen
seems right at home working on The Drawer Boy. She seems deeply connected to the play and
watching her in rehearsals gives the impression that the story and characters
have formed a constant part of her life in theatre and in Port Perry.
"The play really speaks to me on a number of levels: it is both drama and
comedy, features delightful characters, and is so human. I never get tired of
seeing it, and I am always moved by it. I am always delighted to work on a
Canadian play, particularly one that features rural Ontario."
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