20 - Wednesday, July 22, 1992 —- North Shore News

Whistler troupe goes under the stars

HAT DOES a member of an ensemble cast do

when a musical is over?

Since most actors don‘t quality for UIC, it can mean heading back to a boring desk job, more audi- tions, returning to school or Jeav- ing the profession altogether.

Whatever the outcome, charting a course until 65 is clearly not an option for actors.

North Vancouver actor Robert Rozen has faced an uncertain future before. For the founding ar- tistic director of the two-year-old Whistler Summer Theatre, the absence of steady work has meant industrial shows, footwear exposi- tions, puppet festivals — anything to eke out a living.

And like many Canadian actors, he has no intention of giving up on his career.

""My real passion is to per- form," says Rozen, who caught the musical theatre bug at age seven. ‘1 strive for the moment I'll be on stage.”

A Toronto native, Rozen moved to Vancouver four years ago fol- lowing an erratic stage and film

career. Prior to that, his steadiest theatre job was three years in the long-running Toronto, Toronto.

Two sunimers ago he and wife Susan Anderson (also an actor and sister of Reid Anderson, the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada) were sitting in an outdoor cafe in Whistler Village watching families mili about in the town square.

ft occurred to him then that, when they weren’t windsurfing or hitting the links, there wasn’t much for families to do, especially when the sun goes down.

“Right then we thought there’s no entertainment in Whistler. In the evening there isn‘t anything to do besides sit in a restaurant and drink beer. And then what do you do with the kids?”

Start a summer theatre, they thought. There was one problem: where? With no indoor theatre or even an empty building, their pro- spects weren't looking good.

But Rozen and Anderson weren't about to let technicalities stop them: they pitched a large tent at the foot of the Wizard ski lift and the rest is history.

{t was a gutsy move — maybe

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Evelyn Jacob SPOTLIGHT FEATURE

even reckless. After all, we are knee-deep in a recession, and the arts aren’t at the top of anyone’s agenda.

Even a major fundraiser for the theatre in April, whose star attrac- tion was Karen Kain (apparently

x “HER

Reid Anderson gave her the time off), failed to raise much.

But Rozen, who smiles often, is optimistic.

“In business, they say give it three years and see which way it goes. We have to give it at least three.”

What's it been like so far?

Rozen folds his hands and places them behind his head: ’‘In a way, it’s very much like having a baby — it’s exciting when it comes out, but while you're going through it. it’s painful,” he laughs.

And exhausting. As if starring in and directing the first shows weren't enough, Rozen also sold tickets, did the publicity and various odd jobs without collect- ing a dime.

Keo, SUS

“Oh you don’t want to write that,’’ he responds when asked how the season went financially, refusing to divulge numbers. But he insists it succeeded on a number of counts.

For one, people in the com- munity liked the idea of a summer theatre and were anxious for it to continue and grow.

Whistler is B.C.’s fastest growing town (its population has grown 120% over five years), and Rozen wants to make sure he is there to cash i in on the action.

“Culturally | think it’s going to become a real hotbed, and our theatre will be part of that. We don’t have to be bigger than any-

See Rozen page 26

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