Check out this article featuring the lovely Erin Germaine Mahoney - she was just sublime as Rachel in REFUGE OF LIES, and will be singing and dancing her way through GODSPELL opening this Friday! Find the original article by Roxanne Hooper here.
Raised a navy brat, aspiring actor Erin Mahoney moved around a lot.
While she’s called Langley home for the past three and a half years, Mahoney admits she’s anxious to relocate again soon, this time to the “big city” of Vancouver – to be closer to all the acting opportunities.
The 22-year-old is just one summer course away from completing her bachelor of arts in theatre at TWU, and is currently rehearsing for the upcoming Pacific Theatre production of Godspell that opens next Friday in Vancouver.
While she’s lived in Connecticut, Italy, Georgia, Maine, and Washington State, she said it’s not too important to her where she hangs her hat.
Admittedly, she’s bustled around the world because of her father’s career with the U.S. Navy, and she’s now found a home for herself in the world of theatre.
“Because I moved around so much as a child, I often had to resort to my own entertainment,” Mahoney explained to the Langley Advance. “My imagination was my aid, and I would adorn myself in various costumes and go out into nature and just... play. I suppose that is what being a child is all about. I would create intricate and magical worlds and they would steal me away for hours and hours.”
Mahoney seems to have found a home at Pacific Theatre.
She is currently preparing for a role as Jo Ann Worley, where she will “be singing and clowning around” on stage in Godspell. But she also recently completed a much different role as Rachel in the same production company’s rendition of Refuge of Lies.
“Ron Reed, the artistic director of Pacific Theatre, was one of my professors at Trinity. He saw my work in TWU’s spring production of David Auburn’s Proof (Claire), and before I knew it, he asked me if we could meet together for lunch and talk. He asked me to audition for the role of Rachel, and I did, and the rest is history!”
Mahoney was asked to offer some insight into her initial introduction to theatre.
“I have been playing, story-telling, and imagining myself in created worlds since I can remember, but I discovered the theatre in Grade 6. I’ve been deeply involved in it ever since,” she said.
“My fascination with formal theatre really solidified in high school… I participated in any performance-oriented affairs as a child, whether in song or dance (I did ballet and jazz), etc., but there was never a fully developed theatre program. In high school, however, I auditioned for my school’s performance company where my training really began,” she recounted.
“Then I came to Trinity Western University and learned the importance of the theatre artist. I learned that the theatre is not about the individual but about the community. That it is precious story-telling, shared experience and togetherness that the theatre is supposed to be about.”
Asked what lies ahead – following Godspell – Mahoney simply replied: “the future, I suppose.”
You can follow this young actor, including her thoughts about theatre, life and “other good stuff” online on her blog at: http://dumademoiselle.blogspot.com/.
Or you can catch her in Godspell, which is running at Pacific Theatre, 1420 West 12th Ave., for more than a month.
The show runs May 28 to July 3, Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m., as well as matinees on Saturdays at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $17-$34, and can be reserved at 604-731-5518, the box office, or online: pacifictheatre.org.
Mahoney is just one of several TWU students participating in this play. She’s joined by fellow Langleyites John Voth, Kyla Ferrier, and Ben Buckingham.
Godspell is a musical conceived and originally directed by John-Michael Tebelak with music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz.
Singing! Dancing! Sheep! Goats!
Thou shalt be thrilled, aid artisitc director and TWU theatre professor Ron Reed.
Godspell, born out of a master’s thesis project, became the longest running Off-Broadway musical of all time in a turn of Hollywood-style fortune when it caught the eye of New York producers at its college premiere.
Now this rambunctious and vibrant musical is nestling a comfy home for itself on Pacific Theatre’s intimate stage, ready to fill the space with such beautiful and timeless hits as Day by Day and By Your Side.
Known for her stellar direction of everything from flashy musicals to intimate dramas, Jessie Award-winning director Sarah Rodgers takes the helm of this exciting finale to Pacific Theatre’s season.
“I grew up watching Laugh-In and what’s exciting about Godspell is that the same humour, delight, and fun from that 1970s variety show era is in this play,” Rodgers said.
Read more: http://www.langleyadvance.com/Theatre+Wandering+navy+brat+home+stage/3056457/story.html#ixzz0oy0nxuX9
