{"id":468266,"date":"2022-06-27T18:06:07","date_gmt":"2022-06-27T15:06:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/playing-anne-is-something-i-was-told-i-would-never-do\/"},"modified":"2022-06-27T18:06:07","modified_gmt":"2022-06-27T15:06:07","slug":"playing-anne-is-something-i-was-told-i-would-never-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/playing-anne-is-something-i-was-told-i-would-never-do\/","title":{"rendered":"#\u201cPlaying Anne is something I was told I would never do\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30655ef3b28\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a30655ef3b28\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/playing-anne-is-something-i-was-told-i-would-never-do\/#%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9CPlaying_Anne_is_something_I_was_told_I_would_never_do%E2%80%9D%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;\u201cPlaying Anne is something I was told I would never do\u201d&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9C%E2%80%9CPlaying_Anne_is_something_I_was_told_I_would_never_do%E2%80%9D%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;\u201cPlaying Anne is something I was told I would never do\u201d&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n                            The pandemic forced the Charlottetown production of Anne of Green Gables\u2014The Musical on hiatus for the first time in 55 years before its much-anticipated return this past weekend.\n                        <\/div>\n<div>\n                                                                        <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On Prince Edward Island, there is no better marker of \u201cback to normal\u201d than the return of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anne of Green Gables\u2014The Musical<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The show about a spunky, freckled orphan coming of age at her adoptive family\u2019s farm, inspired by Lucy Maud Montgomery\u2019s 1908 novel, has played in every Charlottetown Festival since 1955. It was the longest-running theatrical production in the world, and, until the pandemic nixed it in 2020 and 2021, had become a more quintessential part of P.E.I. summers than red sandy beaches and lobster rolls.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This year, the show goes on, and Charlottetown benches and buses are once again plastered with promotional photos of Anne in her classic red pigtails and green corduroy overalls.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The face in this year\u2019s promos belongs to Kelsey Verzotti, a 26-year-old actor born in Calgary and living in Toronto who is playing Anne for the first time this year. Verzotti is no stranger to the musical: she played Diana Barry, Anne\u2019s best friend in the show, at the Thousand Islands Playhouse production in Gananoque, Ontario, in 2019. But embodying Anne for the first time in the province the protagonist calls home, as the first Asian-Canadian ever cast in the role, has Verzotti preparing for a new level of limelight. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maclean\u2019s <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">caught up with her before the show\u2019s opening night this past weekend:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Welcome to P.E.I., Kelsey. Are you settled in Charlottetown?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Kelsey Verzotti:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> I\u2019m actually living in Sherwood, 10 minutes from Charlottetown, and I\u2019m having major FOMO. I love walking my dog on the Charlottetown waterfront, and I want to be closer to the common hangout spots. But it\u2019s probably a good thing for me to not live within walking distance from Cow\u2019s Ice Cream.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>READ: A rainbow house beaming with Pride<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Anne of Green Gables is huge on P.E.I., and living in the city might get you recognized more than you\u2019d like. Has it already started?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019ve been recognized a couple times, but I heard they\u2019ve just plastered my face on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> buses, and I think the main garage, at the Charlottetown Confederation Centre of the Arts, will have my face on it. So I\u2019m bracing myself, but laying low for now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>It\u2019s your first time living on P.E.I., but you\u2019re no stranger to <\/b><b><i>Anne of Green Gables<\/i><\/b><b> after playing Diana Barry in Gananoque prior to the pandemic. Why audition to play Anne this time?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When I played Diana, I fell in love with musicals. And then, as I got to know the play, I also fell in love with Anne. I like her character and I can relate to her in a few ways. She\u2019s got a terrible temper, and I can get that way\u2014really reactive\u2014with my parents. I like her ability to speak her mind and ask questions that trigger people\u2019s imagination. Mostly, I resonate with her desire to fit in and be accepted. For example, this role is something I was told I would probably never do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Because you\u2019re not red-haired? You\u2019re the first Asian-Canadian to be cast as Anne in Charlottetown. Do you think about that a lot?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We\u2019re so knees-deep into the acting and rehearsing that I don\u2019t really think about it lately. But when I take a step back, I realize it\u2019s huge. One of our producers told me the other day she was driving through town and saw a little Asian girl get her photo taken next to a promotional photo of my face on a bench. Moments like these remind me that this opportunity is even bigger than just me playing the part.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>MORE:\u00a0Cottage Industry: A rare 1960\u2018s A-frame in B.C.\u2018s Okanagan Valley<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>For the show, are you going with a red wig, or red hair dye?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wig. I picked a colour a little toned down from the classic neon orange and it feels natural\u2014I\u2019ve been told I should dye it permanently, but I don\u2019t think I can maintain that financially, or want to spend my summer in the hairdresser\u2019s chair.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>This year, Diana Barry will be played by Emma Rudy, who played Anne in 2019. You and Emma went through the <\/b><b>Musical Theatre and Performance graduate program at Sheridan College <\/b><b>together, and now you\u2019re each in a role the other has played before. Do you exchange pointers?\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s nerve-racking to play a part that someone just played, and they just watch you do it. But Emma has been a total rock for me in the process. Our relationship spans 10 years, and having her here makes it so easy\u2014even when we mess up. I\u2019m so used to playing Diana that I kept singing Emma\u2019s lines in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kindred Spirits, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but we laughed about it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">She gave me good advice about playing Anne: spare your energy. It\u2019s a vocally exhausting part. We play eight shows a week, and that\u2019s standard for a production, but Anne\u2019s lines are so high, and I haven\u2019t played a role this big before. So, getting good sleep this summer is important.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>I hope you can still enjoy P.E.I. despite the crazy schedule.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I really have, so far. When I\u2019m out with Emma in Charlottetown, she knows everybody and all the cool places. You can go somewhere and find a full bucket of mussels for $13. I\u2019m like, \u201cHow?\u201d It\u2019s a great start to the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"under-article-widget-nl\">\n<p class=\"under-article-widget-title\">Looking for more?<\/p>\n<p class=\"under-article-widget-description\">Get the best of <em>Maclean<\/em>&#8216;s sent straight to your inbox. 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On Prince Edward Island, there is no better marker of \u201cback to normal\u201d than the return&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":468267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/Kelsey-Verzotti-Landscape-Headshot-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[74429,130759,130760],"class_list":["post-468266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-anne-of-green-gables","tag-charlottetown","tag-musical-theatre"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=468266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/468266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/468267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=468266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=468266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=468266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}