What is your role on The Women? My name is Brooke Emberly, and I am the Master Painter on The Women coming up next at Walterdale Theatre. Being Master Painter means I am directly in charge of making sure the Designers and Directors dream of the set comes to life, in the form of paint. I am in charge of acquiring the appropriate paints for the palette of the show, applying the techniques and textures required, and overseeing all those who help with this process to be sure everything looks uniform. In the paint department, we are the last ones to work but the first thing you see when entering the theatre!
What is your background in theatre? In Edmonton? At Walterdale? I graduated from the Theatre Production course at Grant MacEwan University in May of 2015. Before that, my experience with theatre was the acting I did in high school. I was always interested in the ‘behind the stage’ magic, and wanted a job that would always bring new and exciting challenges. Since graduating, I’ve had the good fortune to stay active by volunteering with Walterdale Theatre, light-walking at the Citadel Theatre, working concerts with our local IATSE 210, as well as my festival work with The Works during the summer months. Through these connections, I had the opportunity to work on the props for the music video Second Attack by Striker. Although it was volunteer work, it was an amazing experience that I’m so grateful to have been able to learn from.
What brought you out for The Women? I was actually head-hunted for this position, which is an extraordinarily humbling experience. After working on the paint crew for Othello, another show put on by The Walterdale, I was asked to come back in a leadership position for this show. I am so excited to be working with the people I do, and equally as excited to see how this all comes together!
What do you think audiences will take away from the show? Although The Women was created in the 1930’s, many of the issues it revolves around are very relevant today. At its core, this show is about stability, respect, trust, and feeling honoured and wanted. These are all things that anyone, of any gender, can relate to. Through its zany scenes juxtaposed against its serious ones, this slice of life play works through many of the truly human issues we still face. I honestly believe that there are so many ways to interpret this play, that you just have to some see it for itself to see what it says to YOU!
What do you think is the most important issue facing women today? Why? We currently live in an amazing era where information (and inevitably, misinformation) can be shared globally at the click of a button. This means, issues that were never being addressed before on large scale levels are being recognized and sought out. Unfortunately, we also live in an age where it is easier, and ‘trendy,’ to pretend that legitimate issues that plague thousands are just cases of people being ‘too sensitive’ or ‘too pc.’ There is an awkward tug-of-war happening where the newer generation see’s these issues and wishes to take the reins and fix them, yet the older generation is not ready to give up control or change old ‘bad habits’ for the better. This has always been the case as one generation gets ready to overtake the other, (i.e. the ‘Greatest Generation’ verses the ‘Baby Boomers’ in the hippie movements, rock and roll movements, etc…) however there is the added complexity of technology that spreads these debates quicker, more aggressively and more anonymously. Of course, it is not all as cut and dry as all of that, as there are people from each generation that go against the grain of the masses in either positive or negative ways; but it still stands to show that the most challenging obstacle facing women today is the ability to legitimately be heard, recognized, trusted and understood above the roar of nay-sayers and the cloud of misinformation and abuse. After all, those who are in the wrong are often the loudest of them all.