This year Miracle Theatre is offering two comedies in repertory from Canadian playwright Norm Foster, Lunenburg and Here on the Flight Path, which opened March 27, and will run until April 27 now that additional shows have been added, at ArtSpace.
Missy Christensen, who will be appearing in the two plays presented by Miracle Theatre’s Ted Price and Anne Laughlin, grew up in Mackenzie and has kept close ties here.
She keeps coming back to Prince George again and again, Christensen said, who is an award winning actor who graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada.
Under Price and Laughlin’s tenure at Theatre NorthWest in the 2003/2004 season Christensen appeared in Vinci and in the 2000/2001 season appeared in Round and Round the Garden and Table Manners.
Most recently Christensen played Racon during last year’s Miracle Theatre production of Comedy of Tenors.
She said she’s happy to be back with the theatre company that does good works in addition to producing good work.
Each Miracle Theatre production sees proceeds go towards a great need in Prince George.
Recently Laughlin and Price heard about the struggles some seniors are experiencing across the country and more importantly right here in Prince George. Local seniors may have trouble paying their ever-increasing rent or find themselves making the impossible choice between life-saving medication and groceries because their fixed income just isn’t cutting it.
To help ease the financial burden by raising funds through Miracle Theatre’s professional productions Price and Laughlin created the Prince George Council of Seniors Emergency Fund, held in trust by the Prince George Community Foundation, with proceeds going to those who are most vulnerable in the community that will be accessed through the Prince George Council of Seniors.
“I seem to go full circle which means I always end up back here, which is also back home because I grew up in Mackenzie and Prince George was the big city when I was growing up,” Christensen said.
“So it feels like I keep coming back to my touchstone.”
Christensen calls Campbell River home now and also spends a lot of time in Vancouver, she added.
Christensen said preparation for her roles in the plays started early.
“Ted and Anne are really great about getting us the scripts early,” Christensen said.
“So we get lots of time to look at our characters and Ted and Anne are very keen when they hire you that you know what you’re getting into, you know where you’re coming to, you know what you’re doing it for and that you actually like the character, which is enormously important. That you’re not just working to work, that you care about the theatre company, you care about the cause and you share some affinity with the characters.”
That’s the beginning of it and Christensen goes from there.
“Once I am in the space it helps me know why am I saying that line, where am I going with it and what the other characters are giving me so there is a certain amount you do beforehand and I don’t do a ton of that so I come in rigid – I like to come in and go ok, what is the world we are creating together and work really collaboratively.”
In Lunenburg Christensen plays Natalie.
“And I love her,” Christensen laughed.
“She’s the best friend of the woman who has come to Lunenburg to look at this cottage and everything revolves around that. Natalie is kind of artsy but doesn’t believe in herself enough to live in her art. So that’s part of the journey this character goes on and she wants to be a really good best friend but is also very much living in the moment and that makes for so many hilarious moments.”
Natalie has a lot of heart, Christensen added.
“Between the two women there is a really lovely adult female friendship but it’s not just cookie cutter – they let each other down but they still love each other – which is really cool – and there’s this idea that when you get to a certain age you gotta seize life and so they allow each other to do that. So there’s this beautiful journey that people are on and even though it’s really funny there’s also these really heartwarming moments for all the characters.”
For the character of Gwen in Here on the Flight Path, Christensen said she’s the storyteller in the play.
“It’s funny and sexy and also a story of finding yourself after loss and finding out what matters to you,” Christensen said.
It’s always a pleasure to be part of the cast at Miracle Theatre, she added.
“Ted is an incredibly generous director and the cast are all lovely people,” Christensen said.
“Doing a show that is lovely for a good cause with people who care about doing good work – what more could you ask for?”
Christensen said she’s worked all over the country.
“And here there’s a sense of trying to do something that moves people to laughter but also that moves people in a way that makes them go away feeling good about life and maybe get a bigger idea about themselves,” Christensen said.
Tickets are available at Books & Company, 1685 Third Avenue or by calling 250-563-6637.
To check the schedule for dates and times of each play visit Miracle Theatre’s website at https://www.miracletheatre.ca/productions/upcoming-production.
