Denyse Karn, above, has worked in Canadian theatre her entire adult life. She trained as an actor at Ryerson but gravitated towards costumes and eventually set design which is what she’s been doing for the last 20 years. And it’s what she was doing yesterday evening when we sat down to chat prior to the final dress rehearsal of The Winter’s Tale, this year’s Dream in High Park, produced by Canadian Stage.
“When you meet people who are still doing theatre in their 40s, you know they love it,” says Karn. “Because it’s not for the money. And it’s not for the short hours. To create magic and do this for a living is an honour. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
As we talked, Karn attached a comb to a head wreath that had been falling off during rehearsals. It was one of the finishing touches on a particularly lively production of a story that veers from the staid black and white world of Shakespeare’s fictional Sicilia to the flamboyant and colourful Bohemia.
“We wanted it to feel almost like the Globe Theatre,” says Karn, of the overall set design. “In Shakespearean times the focus was on the costumes because the plays were always performed in the same theatre with pretty much the same architecture. We wanted to create a natural environment that didn’t feel out of place in the park.”
Tonight, the Dream in High Park cast and crew will celebrate opening night with a pot-luck supper followed by the performance and then drinks, possibly quite a few drinks. Then the cast will carry on for the summer in what they fondly call “camp Shakespeare,” while Karn moves on to planning the next season of Nightwood Theatre,where she’s the newly installed Producer/General Manager.
For Nightwood’s 2011/2012 season, Karn will produce as well as design Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad and The Happy Woman by Toronto playwright Rose Cullis. “It will be a really big season,” promises Karn.
When I ask how she copes with the financial uncertainty of a career as a freelance theatre pro, Karn says it has never bothered her: “I think the answer is to not worry about it. And I’ve never had a problem, the work is always there. I’ve been working full time in theatre since I was in my 20s and I raised two kids. I’ve always been able to relax and go with it. If I was worried about stability I would have gotten a real job after having my kids. But it has always worked out.”
Karn might be talking about herself when she describes the wonderful cast she’s been working with these past many weeks in High Park: “They come in from the audience, create this play and then leave again at the end — it’s really about the magic of story telling.”
WHERE/WHEN: The Winter’s Tale in High Park, June 28 – September 4, Tuesdays – Sundays at 8 pm, weather permitting; pay what you can ($20 recommended donation). NOTE: Canada Day at the Dream in High Park runs from 4 – 8 pm with crafts, interactive games, workshops led by the cast and backstage tours followed by a free performance at 8 pm.
Photos of Denyse Karn by Christopher Jones, photos of The Winter’s Tale by Chris Gallow
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