Lauren Macfarlane

Actor

The one who is not afraid of dipping her toes

Her family camcorder has evidence of little Lauren standing on the bed and performing one of her first musicals. However, that’s not an everyday thing for the MacFarlanes.

 “My family is a very sporty family. I’m the oddball.”

MacFarlane had her first theatrical experience when she was only 11. This was shortly after her parents decided to get MacFarlane enrolled in singing classes.

She performed on the song “Great Expectations” which is the story of Kate, a girl who feels burdened by her parents’ expectations as they want her to accomplish nothing short of perfect in life—just like them.

MacFarlane's real life does not look very different. During breaks between rehearsals, she was often seen sitting on the ground completing her assignments. She is in her third year at the UBC and is majoring in Linguistics. There is not much overlap between theatrical arts and linguistics except for the study of vocal tracks.

“I thought about perusing musical theatre but then I chose the ‘more sensible’ route, I guess.”

MacFarlane’s parents encouraged her to study linguistics, and she understands their concerns. While this young artist applauds the people who take a leap of faith and pursue theatrical arts, the recent writer’s strike put a lot of things in perspective for her—especially when it came to “career stability."

 But not all hope is lost. MacFarlane has plans to get into a theatre program after graduation to “just dip her toes into it and see how it feels and goes.”

If she changes her mind by then, MacFarlane says she will be happy studying linguistics further because she also likes it "very much."

Danica Parker

Sound technician

The one who interferes

Danica Parker learned to operate a soundboard while in high school back in Virginia, USA. The big complicated machine never scared her one bit. She asked for help from some senior technicians and has been mastering sound controls ever since. She is currently a Political Science student at the UBC and plans on returning home after graduation.

To Parker, what's most attractive about a soundboard is the 'control' it offers.

“It’s a fun job. You do have to work a lot with balancing things, especially when people start to sing with their mics on and they aren’t as loud or as quiet as they need to be, we then interfere to get a good sound for the audience without overloading everything.”

Sam cheng

Set designer

The one to whom Canada is 'a home' but not 'the home'

“It’s a confusing synopsis, honestly!” says Sam Cheng who worked as a set designer for the play.

Originally from Hong Kong, she first came to Canada when she was in the tenth grade. Cheng was more of a dancer back in Hong Kong because memorizing lines has always been her greatest nightmare. Cheng's high school here in Canada offered a theatre production class, and from then onwards, she never looked back. To her, set design means creating a playground for the actors to play in.

“ I really liked the thought of working backstage because you get to know all the secrets and I was like oh, if I work backstage, I’ll know everything that’s happening with the show.”

Cheng conceptualized and designed the backdrop for the play.

Her favourite song from the play is “Footprint” which is about the journey of Ryan, a young boy who moves away for college. Later, he returns home to find out that things have changed and the only thing that’s constant in life is himself.

 To Cheng, it all sounded too familiar. When asked if she considered Canada home, the now-third-year Theatrical Design Production major at UBC replied, “Canada is ‘a home’. However, my definition of home is where my family is and so, Hong Kong will always be home.”

Ashton Ying

Assistant set designer

The one who doesn’t know why

Ashton Ying is a second-generation immigrant from Singapore. He was never really involved with theatre until recently. Ying is a Psychology major at UBC and worked as an assistant set designer for the play.

His philosophy is to take life lightly. According to Ying, not everyone needs to do something extraordinary to feel worthy. He prefers being a team player, taking orders and seeing them through.

 “I step in wherever they need me, whether it’s a meeting or making some calls. I am there for them because they do so much.”

 Ying was immediately struck by the character Pie in the play.

“I don’t know why!”

 Pie is a character who is set up for a blind date. Throughout the musical, he is seen debating internally as to whether he should go about his usual ways and rely on logic, or if he should give in to his emotions for once and be with the girl he has fallen hard for.

As for Ying, he did somewhat have an answer for himself by the end.

 “Maybe, it’s because I too have been relying on emotions a lot lately.”