NEWS photo Neli Lucente

LOCAL ACTOR Kevin Conway poses next to a favorite
photograph of James Dean — an actor the recent SFU
graduate emulates.

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13 - Fridas. July 3, 1987 ~ North Shore News

SFU GRAD READY TO TRY ANYTHING

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for

ASPIRING ACTOR kevin
Conway prefers Hfe without
a script.

The North Vancouver resident,
who graduated this year with an
honors BA in Enelish from Simon
Fraser University, fas played a
varied cast or characters during his
five vears at the Burnaby Mioun-
tain campus and his courses —
from business daw to Russian firer-
ature -- have been as varied its his
roles,

From the stage to the editor's
desk at the university’s student
newspaper and on to the bour-
droum as a student representative
on the university’s board of gov-
ernors, Conway has found a place
in his life — with room to spare —
for all of it.

And when he wasn't in chiss or
pursuing his extracurricular activi-
ties, Conway could often be found
working in) the university pub
where he was known by the affee-
tionate title of Dr. Sandwich.

His many sides are all part of a
yen to try everything.

Having completed his degree,
however, Conway now says being
a dramatic artist is high on his list
of priorities.

“My dream is to make a few
films and eventually get cnough

Ky’s the ii

an

mones together to finance a
theatre campany oat Whistler.’
says Conway, who had never deen
involved in acting until he took
theatre courses at SFU.

At 23, he has played both comic
und dramatic roles in university
productions — such as the spring's
production of Caligula. — and
landed a leading role in the made-
for-television movie Life Charade
that was filmed in Toronto last
summer, but not vet broadcast,

Conway now has agents in
Toronto and Vancouver and plans
to audition for a seven-week
American Academy of Dramatic
Arts workshop this summer in
New York.

What helped him carve his niche
in acting — like eversthing else in
life — has been his knack for
speaking out.

“Pm the kind of guy who likes
to sit back and watch the view, but
one who will always comment on
it,” he says.

The approach has led to more
than a few unusual experiences. In
Toronto, prior to doing the film,
he held a summer job at a restau-
rant where business was slow, Ina
flash of enthusiasm, he took to the
streets and convinced passersby to
come in.

His outspokenness later landed

RCHESTRA ON A CHIP.

it
actor

him one of two. student repre-
semlative posts on the university's
board of vovernors.

“Thad the idea that Ud be the
radical youth who was going to
open their eves, and in a way. 1
had my own eyes opened,” says
Conway, whose year-long term has
just ended. **f expected the board
menybers would be really conset-
sative people. What 1 found was a
real open-mindedness. That gave
mea lotof faith in the institution.”

Reing part of the board was a
far cry from his creative leanings,
but Conway says his involvement
showed him the value of being able
to sell yourself,

“TP wasn’t looking to gain expe-
rience in terms of business, but
Pye Jearned so much about being
involved in melti-million dollar
decisions and how they’re made. |
found that fascinating. Siting
uround a table with complete
equality with these masterful peo-
ple, watching them at work, that
was eye-opening.”"

His various involvements in the
university have opened many
doors, and while his sights are set
on acting and writing, he does not
discount other possibilities. This
summer, aside from his acting
pursuits, Conway is earning money
as a bricklayer and bicycle courier.

rs
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