A different kind of magician took to the stage to tell the audience they are the stuff “dreams are made on,” during Sock ’n’ Buskin’s intimate performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest on Nov. 29.
The Tempest is traditionally the story of the magician-duke Prospero, exiled from his station by a vindictive older brother and forced to bring up his young daughter on a desert island. He uses his powers to enslave the spirits on the island to do his bidding. However, this version features a female lead, the duchess Prospera.
Actor Sarah Thuswaldner said the part was perfect for her.
“Strutting around the stage yelling at people—I’m kind of in my element,” Thuswaldner said.
“While [Prospera] is a very complex character, a lot of the actual actions and emotions amount to ‘I’mma pee in your Cheerios,’” she said.
Director Matt Hertendy said he chose actress Sarah Thuswaldner to be a female Prospero for both practical and artistic reasons. He said he needed someone who could carry the play, and he was open to a female taking on the role because “it makes the play much less patriarchal.”
While the male Prospero appears controlling and domineering, “when you cast a female Prospero it’s just about a single mom who’s looking out for her daughter. It changes the dynamic,” Hertendy said.
Kayla Owen who played Prospera’s spirit helper Ariel said she enjoys the authority her character wields as well.
“I love it . . . It makes me feel really powerful,” she said of the scenes where the spirit Ariel manipulates and tricks people with magic.
Instead of using a theatre as a venue, the company performed Shakespeare’s mystical desert island comedy in 217 Dunton Tower, a much smaller room.
A combination of screens, fairy lights, and simple props including a human steering wheel during the shipwreck scene were used to create the set.
Owen said the venue was an opportunity for the actors to make the space their own.
“We got really creative . . . in making the setting our own,” she said. “I feel like it’s something we wouldn’t really do if we were in a big theatre.”
Stage manager Kevin Nimmock agreed with Owen.
“You can see and feel everything that’s going on, you’re so close to the actors,” he said.
“Someone in the audience last night said when the candle was lit by Prospera in the first act . . . you could smell the candle from the audience and I think that’s a really cool experience because you don’t get that in a big theatre.”
Hertendy said Sock ’n’ Buskin will also be raising funds for the Snowsuit Fund, an organization which helps underprivileged children in the Ottawa area get warm clothes for the winter.
He said all for the proceeds from the Dec. 6 “pay-what-you-can” show will go towards the Snowsuit Fund.
“As long as I can remember S ’n’ B has been kind of just about making shows . . . I feel that it’s about time that we start to give back to the community,” Hertendy said.
He said Sock ’n’ Buskin will try to include some kind of charity initiative in all of its future shows.
