Mainstage actors excel

EVA COHEN

The 2010 production at Magee High School Mainstage is approaching, and the show signifies another successful year in what has become a mainstay of the Vancouver Jewish community.

Mainstage is a special theatre program at Magee for grades 11 and 12, where students audition in order to participate. The program is very demanding and requires not only theatrical skill, but high academic standing as well.

Founded in 2001 by two Jewish teachers, Michael Green and Donna Welstein, who had previously taught at Lord Byng Secondary School, the program is modeled after a similar one they started at Lord Byng, and which continues there. When Green and Welstein moved to Magee, the school had recently been renovated to include new theatre facilities.

This year’s production, Anything Goes, has seven Jewish students taking part, including in the two lead roles, played by Sara Davidson and Doran Satanove. Since its inception, Mainstage has attracted Jewish students to Magee.

“Theatre is always more interesting to Jewish kids; it’s more attractive culturally,” said Green. “In the little theatre teaching world [Donna and I] were fairly well known and it drew kids to the school. I think they were fairly happy with it and so it has formed a reputation.”

Green and Welstein have since retired, and long-time colleague Theresa Webber has taken over, with co-worker Peter Beharry as assistant director of Anything Goes. Both Webber and Beharry were teacher’s assistants to Green and Welstein at Lord Byng, and worked under their guidance at Magee.

Webber has a great respect for her mentors and the reputation they have created. “Because it was such a strong program, word of mouth has attracted a lot of Jewish students from Richmond,” she said. “We are very fortunate to have an incredible tradition here.”

Whereas theatre is usually an elective or an extra-curricular activity in schools, Mainstage is a core program and, according to Green, this brings theatre away from being a “fringe activity.”

“Since there is an audition into the program and it has limited intake with high standards for admission, this draws interest because students know that if they are admitted ... they’re not going to be trying to work with kids who don’t want to really be in the class,” said Green. “That’s always the problem with elective programs in general.”

The training received by Mainstage students has set Magee up as a feeder school into some of Vancouver’s prestigious arts programs, such as Studio 58, University of British Columbia and Capilano University, and Mainstage attracts the interest of professionals such as Max Reimer, artistic managing director of the Vancouver Playhouse. He was at the first full rehearsal for Anything Goes. Due to his involvement, a great example of the exposure students receive, Satanove landed a role last year in Thoroughly Modern Millie.

This year’s assistant choreographer for Anything Goes is Andrew Cohen, a Mainstage graduate. In both Grade 11 and 12, Cohen had a leading role. He is now in his third year in UBC’s bachelor of fine arts acting program, and he has been involved in a few activities in the Vancouver arts scene, including as a tap dancer in the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. The lead choreographer, Ken Overbey, is away in Alberta for a show, and so he turned to Cohen to fill his shoes in his absence.

Of the two leads this year, Satanove is going to McGill University in Montreal for sciences, where he will keep performing on the side, and Davidson plans to go to New York to pursue acting. She has been noted for some amazing performances, such as at the Kiwanis Festival, where she received a rarely awarded 98th percentile.

Anything Goes is at Magee April 28-30 and May 5-7, 7:30 p.m. Tickets ($10/$12) can be bought at the door or at the school in advance.

Eva Cohen is a Vancouver freelance writer.

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