Shannon Boklaschuk from Saskatoon Express recently spoke with Anna Mazurik about her upcoming projects with Persephone Theatre in Saskatoon and what may lie in her future in terms of her career path. You can check out the full issue by clicking this link or read the interview below:
Sourced from original article "Saskatoon Theatre Artist Excited about Persephone Debut." Vol. 17, Iss. 42, 22 Oct. 2018, p. 15.
Since receiving her university degree two years ago, Saskatoon’s Anna Mazurik has been immersed in professional theatre.
Her work has taken her outside of Canada, to the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival, and she has received accolades for her role as the protagonist in the 2017 short film "The Tinwife", which was screened in theatres from Hollywood to Australia.
Mazurik has also worked much closer to home, including Regina’s Globe Theatre, Calgary’s Vertigo Theatre, Saskatoon’s Gordon Tootoosis Nīkānīwin Theatre and at the annual Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan festival on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River.
This month will mark another first for her, as she makes her debut with Saskatoon’s Persephone Theatre in The Thin Man, a co-production with Vertigo Theatre. The play, adapted by Lucia Frangione from Dashiell Hammett’s famous novel, starts its Saskatoon run on Oct. 24.
The show centres on a rich and glamorous couple named Nick and Nora Charles, who solve homicides in prohibition-era Manhattan between wisecracks and martinis. Billed as “both an intriguing murder mystery and a witty and stylish comedy” by Persephone Theatre, the production features a cast of actors from Calgary and Saskatoon, including Kent Allen and Aaron Hursh.
“It starts off with Christmas Eve in 1933 in New York City. We find out that a friend of Nick Charles has been murdered a few days before,” said Mazurik.
“Nick Charles is a retired detective and (he) and his wife, Nora, are just visiting in New York City, where he used to do his detective work. As much as he can, he tries not to get pulled into solving the case – but he does. We’re met with a bunch of characters who are (from) all walks of life. It’s a lot of fun.”
Mazurik said the show is filled with “out-of-this-world characters” that will make audiences laugh. She plays Dorothy Wynant, the daughter of an inventor who has gone missing.
“The inventor’s secretary is who’s been murdered, so everyone thinks that the inventor killed her for various motives and reasons,” Mazurik said. “Dorothy kind of bursts into the first scene with a gun, and so she enters the play with high stakes. She’s desperate to find her father and she’s also desperate to cover it up if he did murder her.”
The Thin Man just wrapped up its world premiere production in Calgary, where it ran from Sept. 15 – Oct. 14. Mazurik said the show was well-received by Vertigo Theatre’s audiences, and she is looking forward to performing on the Persephone Theatre stage in her hometown.
“I feel really excited,” she said. “I’ve been out of theatre school for a few years and I’ve gone for several things there, but just haven’t quite landed the role – and I’m finally debuting there when I’ve debuted elsewhere. I’m really, really excited for this opportunity.”
Mazurik is a graduate of the Globe Theatre Actor Training Conservatory and the Bachelor of Fine Arts acting program at the University of Saskatchewan, receiving her degree in the spring of 2016. She has already received numerous awards and honours, including Best Actress in a Short Film at the Other Worlds Austin Film Festival in Texas and the SATAward for Outstanding Emerging Artist, as well as nominations for Best Actress at the Chilliwack Independent Film Awards and Best Acting at the Saskatchewan Independent Film Awards.
After appearing in The Thin Man, Mazurik will return to Persephone Theatre as Hodel in the beloved musical Fiddler on the Roof, which will run from Nov. 28 to Dec. 12 at the Remai Arts Centre.
“I’m overlapping contracts at Persephone,” she said.
While Mazurik is considering a move to Toronto next year, she has many positive things to say about the local theatre scene. She loves working in Saskatchewan and finds the theatre community to be very welcoming.
“There’s just so many really awesome, diverse people in this community that are working their butts off to tell some really cool stories,” she said.
The Thin Man, which is directed by Courtenay Dobbie, runs from Oct. 24 to Nov. 7 in Rawlco Radio Hall in the Remai Arts Centre. Tickets are $49-$55 and are available by calling 306-384-7727 or by going online to persephonetheatre.org.
- Shannon Boklaschuk, Saskatoon Express