By Brittni Brown (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: November 14, 2012
UFV theatre student Amanda Thiessen played in Gallery 7’s production of Sense and Sensibility this week. Performing as a volunteer for Gallery 7’s Theatre and Performing Arts Society, Thiessen is delightful to watch. The play requires big talent to fill the emotion-felt role of Marianne Dashwood, and Thiessen certainly delivers.
Sense and Sensibility, a Jane Austen love story, follows two sisters through the emotional journey of young love and heartbreak. As Marianne, Thiessen plays the younger of two sisters, a woman naive in her approach to love; she relies purely on her senses, and follows all of her heart’s desires. She ends up falling for bad-boy heartthrob John Willoughby (Matt Veenbaas).
In contrast, Elinor Dashwood (Katherine Hill), the elder sister, is sensible. She chooses to bottle her emotions in lieu of accepting what is best for her future. Her suitor, Edward Ferrars (Kenzie Hall), is not chosen based on compassion or love, but his ability to guarantee a comfortable future.
Inevitably, both girls find heartbreak – but this is no tragedy, it is a Jane Austen story, after all.
Thiessen successfully engaged the audience through her complete embodiment of character. During the play, I felt Marianne’s sorrows and recovery as if I were a part of her journey. Not only did she perform with a flawless English accent, but her monologues and discourse appeared smooth and natural.
Afterwards, I was lucky to catch-up with Thiessen for a few brief moments, to discuss the production.
Thiessen is a full-time UFV student who has a passion for storytelling. She began performing at just three-years-old, but took the main stage for the first time in high school; that’s where she developed a passion for acting. She is currently working towards her extended minor in Theatre, as UFV does not offer a major in this department. Upon graduation, she intends to audition for enrolment in Studio 58, a prestigious acting school offered by Langara College.
In discussing the play, Thiessen described her favourite scene, a pivotal moment in the play. Her character, Marianne, falls and hurts herself, unable to regain her footing. Willoughby comes to her rescue, lifting her from the ground, and carries her to safety. Thiessen explained that this was also her most “challenging and uncomfortable piece.”
This scene, Thiessen said, presented two personal challenges. Firstly, the young actress had to conquer the difficult acting techniques associated with “falling” safely on stage. She emphasized that making a fall look completely real—without causing injury—is certainly not a natural process. Secondly, being in the arms of another is no safe haven for Thiessen – on the contrary, it is her biggest fear! She hates being picked up, and the transition is not made less awkward when wearing a full-length dress. Regardless, her fears were undetectable on performance night.
So how do these actors memorize a two-hour script? I asked a few of Thiessen’s fellow performers, who said that line memorization is the minimum expectation for all actors. They giggled when asked the question, explaining that sometimes they forget this task is impressive to the audience. They said it is helpful to understand the scene objectives and relevance of the lines to the individual character – this helps them understand the meaning behind the scene and see the big picture.
Along with the other Gallery 7 performers, Thiessen put approximately 85 hours of rehearsal time into the production – not including script memorization. They began working on the play two-and-a-half months prior to its opening night. These hours are all volunteer time for Thiessen, work she puts in on top of her school studies and other life commitments.
Thiessen encourages “everyone to come see the show!” She hopes for the audience to “laugh, cry and come on a journey.” Remaining shows for Sense and Sensibility run from November 15–17, at 7:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee showing also running on November 17.
