actor
to study
at Yaie

Plans to get Masters degree

BY DEANA LANCASTER = Shakespeare and another
. modern monologue for the
Contributing Writer audition.

{t was the only drama

GRAHAM Shiels will
be living away from
home for the first time in
September, when he
travels to the Yale
School of Drama to get
his Masters degree. in
Fine Arts.
Shiels, a 25-year-old
‘North Vancouver resident, is
the first-ever actor from
B.C. to attend the presti-
gious school in New Haven,

NORTH, Vancouver’ s°
“Graham Shiels, 25, is the
‘first-ever actor from B.C.

a to’attend the prestigious .

“Yale: Schcol-of Drama in
~-\ New Haven, °*
; _ Connecticut.

Connecticut.
--“J'm pretty nervous about
t,” said Shiels. “I've never

been away from’ home for.

any length of time.”

‘ He auditioned = in
February, along with 1,100
“other applicants: The pro-
gram accepts 17 students.

To prepare for his audi-

tion Shiels studied with
Canadian director and West
Vancouver coach Scott
Swan.

° “Eoguess you could say
hé’s my mentor.” said
Shiels. Swan helped him
prepare a monologue from

program he applied for.

“L had my heart set on
Yate.” Shiels said. He added
that because it's a master's
program, the students are
older and tend to be more
experienced than at other
schools.

Shiels got his Bachelor of
Fine Arts at SFU. He had
enrolled in Business
Administration, but soon
realized that he wanted to,
pursue the interest he'd dis-
covered in drama at Argyle
Secondary School.

“I first took it because I
thought there was no home-
work,” Shiels said with
laugh.

But teacher Lloyd Burritt
soon instilled in him a love
for the art and inspired
Shiels to continue acting
after high school.

After graduating from
SFU he found work in a
show called Theatre Terrific.
which travelled to high
schools across the province,

, ‘focussing on issues which
: affect people with disabilfi-

ties.

He also produced work:

independently and landed
small parts on shows such as
the X-Files.

’ Now he’s ready to contin-
ug his training, but there are

’ still some financial obstacles
. Standing in his way.

Shiels got a student loan
for the maximum amount he
could, and it doesn’t even
cover tuition at Yale. He said
he can’t receive financial aid
from the school because he
isn’t an American resident.

He did, however, win z
Joseph Golland -award
through ACTRA, the actor’s
union, for $1,000, and he’s
working as much as he can
at Burnaby General Hospital

-to help fund the three-year

program.

But no matter what sort
of obstacles stand in his
way, Shiels said he'll be
leaving for Connecticut on
Sept. 1

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