About a year ago, I had the immense privilege of writing and directing a community play for the Capitol Theatre Academy here in Moncton. 2023 marked the 100 year anniversary of the stunning Capitol Theatre, which is a place that has been the setting for many of my favourite performances over the years. In fact, it was on those very floor boards that I made my first musical theatre steps twenty years earlier. Well, first I rolled onto the stage in a bed. Then a wheelchair. THEN my character discovered he was not actually crippled, and I finally got to WALK on the stage by the end of the show. (Can you guess the musical?)
To be able to commemorate both milestones by creating a new play that was the product of my own visions, was an honour to say the least. I am a fairly sentimental person, especially when it comes to the theatre. Perhaps when I'm really old and in a wheelchair myself (not as a child hypochondriac), I will recreate this photo in the very same place.
Since 2003, I have played several more quirky characters in that building, including a cowboy with two left feet, a clumsy seagull, and the dorky sidekick to a Disney villain. Every time I get the chance to play on that stage or the adjacent Empress stage, I feel the comfort of home, while basking in the excitement of a fresh character. I never take it for granted.
What made directing my own play on the mainstage last year even more exciting, was the fact that I got to create a new experience for newcomers of the stage and of Canada. One of my main goals in writing the play was to demonstrate the importance of different roles within the arts and culture industry. This notion was organically deepened by cultural diversity - a implication of the future of this city and country.
As I write this, the Capitol is undergoing major renovations (new stage floor, new seats and more!) This is just one of many transformations that space has undergone in its 101 years of life. It's a testiment to the concept of preserving something sacred and historically rich, while allowing it to evolve and continue to be useful.
1923
2023
André Audet
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