President Kathy Rowe (left) joins guest Marianne Sawchuk for conversation at Creek Coffee
By Kathy Rowe
Marianne Sawchuk’s energy and bright smile are infectious! After a few minutes in her company, I realized it’s no wonder she has succeeded as both a nurse and an actress for most of her adult life.
“I could never imagine a career that would have me sitting at a desk. I had no idea what I wanted to do after high school. My mother, an X-Ray technician, suggested I take a two- year nursing program and she told me that after graduation, I could do anything I wanted. So, I took the course,” explains Marianne.
A career in nursing followed. At the age of 25, Marianne was asked to lead orientations in front of big audiences of fellow nurses. This took her out of her comfort zone as she had always been a very shy person. It made her very nervous to speak in front of people.
Determined to keep her job at that hospital in Vancouver and overcome her jitters, Marianne began taking acting classes at a local community centre. Her acting teacher saw promise and encouraged Marianne to continue with acting.
“I loved it”, she exclaimed. I literally nursed my way through theatre school”. Marianne studied acting while working as an ER nurse as she moved from Vancouver to Houston, Texas to L.A. and back again to Vancouver.
One summer in particular, she passed the audition to study at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City. Motivated by the lack of meaningful film roles, in 2006 Marianne created an annual live theatre festival which she named Women at Play(s). The first three festivals were performed in Vancouver (2006-2008). The idea was to gather a few short one act plays that would be directed and performed by women with simple stage lighting, minimal sets and props. The festival proved to be successful with sold out audiences.
Over the years, the festival has become an avenue for Canadian female novice and seasoned writers to expose their original plays and test their skills as actors and directors. Women at Play(s) just closed its 8th festival on March 15 at the VideoCabaret Theatre in downtown Toronto.
It’s obvious how proud Marianne is of this festival. Her core group of collaborators work hard to deliver interesting original plays to appreciative audiences each year. Every spring/early summer, Marianne will be accepting submissions of original one act plays by Canadian women playwrites.
Back in 2022, I interviewed local actor Bruno Verdoni and at the time, Bruno mentioned his wife Marianne was also an actor. I asked Marianne how they met. “We met on the set of an audition in Vancouver”. Laughing, she added, “I remember Bruno was wearing this big space suit costume and I thought ‘there goes someone’s knight in shining armor!’”.
Marianne’s advice to new nurses; “Find an experienced nurse who can be a mentor to you. Nursing is a business and you need to look after yourself in this job”. Her advice to young actors; “Get out there and produce your own thing. Don’t wait for the phone to ring. Keep your craft alive”.
When their daughter was in grade two Marianne and Bruno settled in Centennial. “It’s a beautiful community and close to the waterfront. We really wanted our daughter to grow up in a safe community with lots of green. It has been so wonderful for us”.