Taking a chance

By Carolyn Drake
Guardian
Friday, September 21, 2001

When Marlane O'Brien settled on Prince Edward Island five years ago, she took a chance.

Far from the major centres, full-time acting jobs were few and far between.

But there was something about living in the tightly-knit community of Crapaud that appealed to her.

"When I moved here, a lot of my colleagues in the acting business said, 'there goes your career,'" says O'Brien, the driving force behind One Ear Up Productions.

However, at the same time she felt that she had arrived in a place that felt more like home than anywhere she had been before.

"Outside my parent's home, that is. That's why I moved here. And that's why I'm proving them wrong," says O'Brien, who is taking another chance this month.

Her production company and Victoria Playhouse are mounting J.J. McColl's Menopositive! at Victoria Playhouse.

The musical plays September 18-23 and Sept. 25-30 with performances at 8 p.m.

The co-production is the first time the play has been staged in eastern Canada, says O'Brien.

"It is a wonderful combination of gut-splitting humour."

"There are spots where people were hanging on to themselves because they were laughing so hard or crying heartrending tears.

"That's because anyone who has reached the age of 50 has truly lived life. Some of it has been terrific and some of it has been horrific," says O'Brien, who performed in the Saskatoon productions last year.

Her enthusiasm for the musical has attracted the attention of Canadian songbird Catherine McKinnon, who has joined the cast and taken a chance.

"With it's wonderful, strong writing, it's like a female Hamlet - witty, funny and poignant.

"I thought it was so well written, I was thrilled to be asked to be part of it," McKinnon says.

She plays Zsu Zsu Hereny, a Hungarian actress who has come to Canada and is having difficulty finding work.

The musical, which tells the story of four women who meet to create a musical revue for the high school's 35th anniversary reunion, also features Pam Stevenson and Virginia O'Brien.

For Stevenson, a well-known actor, playwright and humourist, it's a chance to do some singing.

"I couldn't be happier. I'm surrounded by so many strong singers. It's something that I've wanted to do for a long time," says Stevenson, adding that she's please to be working with One Ear Up Productions.

Menopositive! is the latest offering of the new production company that has a growing list of credits to its name.

Over the summer, cast members Virginia O'Brien, Judi McLaren and Marlane O'Brien-also know as the band Westmoreland-performed Path of the Hurricane at Brackley Beach and Opry North for the Crapaud Exhibition, Kings Playhouse in Georgetown and the Delta Prince Edward in Charlottetown for the month of August.

"We discovered that if we wanted to do a show, it meant that we had to mount it, produce it or direct it or organize all that stuff.

"We decided to take the chance," O'Brien says.