NEWS ARCHIVES Drama queen doing what she loves People Profiles: Alex Karolyi "All the world’s a stage," writes William Shakespeare in the play, As You Like It, and it’s probably safe to say that Resurgence Theatre Company's interim general manager Alex Karolyi agrees. And with good reason. That’s because the 29-year-old Ms Karolyi has dedicated the majority of her life to theatre in just about any capacity you can think of. As a result, you’d be forgiven for calling her a drama queen. The theatre bug bit Ms Karolyi early, she said, and not long after she moved to Newmarket, at 13, and attended Huron Heights Secondary School. "I think I was interested in theatre for a long time, but it took me until high school to decide that I was serious about it and that it wasn’t just, ‘I like theatre.' It’s awesome," she said. "I liked all types of art and Huron Heights has a really great program. They’re really top-notch with the quality of their productions and I think that really guided and directed me to have a little more serious attitude about my place in the theatre world." Even so, the road from amateur actor to professional thespian is hardly a straight line from A to B and Ms Karolyi, like so many other would-be theatre professionals, followed something of a winding route in her journey. "I did training at a variety of places," she said. "It took me a while to figure out where I belonged and where I wanted to end up, as is often the case." Over the years, Ms Karolyi took a summer conservatory program at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City and then attended York for one year. "York was different," she said. "They’re very much about lecturing and theatre history and I really didn’t want to write essays about theatre. I wanted to be out there working in the theatre world." In the end, Ms Karolyi left York and attended the Randolph Academy instead. Its ‘triple threat program’, which focuses on acting, singing and dancing, just seemed a better fit, she said. After graduating from the academy in 2000, the next challenge was finding work in theatre, "which is often an ordeal unto itself", Ms Karolyi said. "You’re just like a fish out of water when you graduate," she said. "You have this strict life schedule for years and then it’s left to your own whims to be dedicated and persistent to get where you want to go. You can’t just wait at home for the employers to call you." Ms Karolyi kept plugging away, sending out resumes, headshots and working where she could on the community theatre circuit. "Those first jobs led me to other jobs," she said. "That’s one of the things about theatre. It’s such a small community, so you know one person and they know someone who knows someone and so on." As it turned out, the education Ms Karolyi received from the Randolph Academy proved invaluable as, thanks to its well-rounded program, she had versatility other actors and actresses just didn’t have. "The more you can do in the theatre industry, the better," she said. "If you are an actor who can sing and dance and even put on shows, then it’s almost guaranteed you’ll be working." "If you’re an actor, great. If you’re an actor who can sing, that’s even better. "If you are an actor who can sing and dance and even put on shows, then it’s almost guaranteed you’ll be working." Eventually, in 2002, Ms Karolyi and a few of her colleagues got together and created Shadowpath Theatre Productions, based in Richmond Hill, where Ms Karolyi has lived since 2005, and began producing and putting on their own shows. In the years since, success has followed the company’s endeavours and the group has performed everything from old favourites to original fare in York Region and throughout the GTA. "There’s benefits to performing in York Region and there’s benefits to Toronto," Ms Karolyi said. "I think there is a great arts and culture scene in Toronto, but there’s also so many things to compete with. In York Region, we don’t have as much, unfortunately, ... but you also get to be the star of the show a little more." Ms Karolyi is definitely the star of the show at Newmarket’s Resurgence Theatre Company and is, so to speak, also running the show in her capacity as interim general manager. It’s yet another role to play, she said, and just one of the many theatre hats she has donned over the years. It seems to fit. Ms Karolyi can see some similarities between Resurgence and Shadowpath, as both were set up by a group of actors looking for a place and space to perform their art. In fact, Ms Karolyi said she has been involved with Resurgence in a variety of ways over the years and has maintained friendships with Resurgence founders Anthony Leo and Lee Wilson. So, when Mr. Leo called to have a meeting and offered her the job as interim GM, Ms Karolyi said she just couldn’t say no. "I’m only here until the end of the year," she said. "I don’t know if that will be it for me, but we’ll come back in the new year and we’ll see what page we are all on." In addition to the job with Resurgence, Ms Karolyi also has a number of other projects on the go, not the least of which is her other jobs as a pilates instructor and dance instructor. Life gets pretty busy sometimes, she said. Ms Karolyi said she enjoys where life has brought her, but her dream job would definitely involve acting on centre stage, preferably with a touring production. "I think, in my ideal theatre world, Alex would have a great show that’s really convenient to move and show and I think that’s what I would do," she said. "Just tour the festival circuit." It seems no matter what role Ms Karolyi is in, as long as it’s theatre, she’s passionate and ready to perform in any capacity. The ability to communicate, interact and build a relationship with an audience via the stage is what keeps the love affair with theatre very much alive and well. So, what advice does she have to others looking to make their world a stage, literally? Just keep working hard and learning as much as possible. It’s not an easy road to go and the money’s not great, but for those who truly love theatre, there’s no reward like it. "It’s not a profession we appreciate enough to pay as much as we might pay other professions," she said. "I think that frustrates a lot of people ... I think maybe only 10 per cent of the people I graduated with are still working in the industry." © 2007 York Region Media Group. All rights reserved. | ||
|
| ||