Interview: The Women of 'CLOUD 9' - Ann-Marie MacDonald

Currently playing at The Panasonic Theatre, CLOUD 9 is an award-winning gender-bending play by Caryl Churchill (Top Girls) that explores political and sexual expression through a strange time-twisted structure. 100 years pass throughout the play, with one act set in British colonial Africa and another in modern-day London, yet recurring characters (often played by different actors in each act) only age 25 years. Sounds confusing, but in reality, what you get is an explosive and fascinating look at issues that resonate just as strongly in society today as they did when the play was first written over thirty years ago.

CLOUD 9 features a star-studded cast tackling difficult and different roles. Last week, BWW spoke with Blair Williams about his take on the show.  Now, we get to speak to Ann-Marie Macdonald about her roles, as well as imperialism, religion and how the show still has its edge after all these years:

What is it like playing a character that a different actor played in a previous act? Does that affect your interpretation of the role?

Well, it's not so much that I play two different roles, because we have to approach each role on its own merits. The real challenging part is that my roles are shared, I'm double cast with Evan Buliung. So I play Little Edward in the first act and he plays Adult Edward in the second. I play his mother, Older Betty in the second act and he plays my mother Young Betty in the first act - we trade roles. So we have to pick up where the other leaves off. He becomes the grown up version of the child that I play and I become the middle aged version of the young woman that he plays. So it's really challenging allowing ourselves to organically evolve in the roles so that the audience will get a sense of continuity.
It's not as though Evan and I look alike! Gender issue aside *laughs* We are really looking for emotional qualities, qualities of manner and the spirit. We know we won't physically resemble one another but our physicality can and our spirit can. So we have to align ourselves at a level that is very imaginative.

Is that something that you and Evan worked together on developing?

We only addressed it with one another directly once and I think that was enough for both of us to realize that the important thing was to go beyond simply watching and listening to the other person. We actually had to absorb eachother. We work very differently, we're not the same as people, we don't have the same vibe or anything, so for us to meld it's quite a big deal.

In the show, 100 years pass between Act I and Act II, but the characters only age 25 years. There are many different interpretations of this, what is your take on it?

I think that it's a way of showing how we got here. "Here" being the present moment which in the play is 1980. It's a way of showing that these people in Act II are products of history and that nobody exists in any kind of historical, political or social vacuum. We are all products of our society and our history and of the politics that shape that history.

The "present" in the play is 1980, and the show was written in the late 70's. Obviously we (as a society) have evolved and changed since then. Do you think that we have become more accepting of pieces such as this?

I think it's still pretty edgy, I think it was outrageous when it first premiered. But it was also very popular so it was a radical thing that was trying to come out. It's still pretty edgy. The play is very entertaining, funny and wicked but at the core there is a very edgy message which is one of ownership. The idea that you can own other people, that you can own countries, that you can own the earth, CLOUD 9 seems to show that all these forms of imperialism are going to bring us to a bad end. And I think we are seeing that now with climate change and various catastrophes. We say we are very sophisticated and that we believe in evolution etc, but we still treat the earth as though God (whether you believe or not) told us to "go ahead, use it all up, it's yours". We don't conduct ourselves in a very scientific or evolvEd Manner, regardless of what we say we believe.

And as a species we have developed a sense of imperialism, not just against each other, we have become imperialistic towards the other species and towards the earth.

As you said, CLOUD 9 is very edgy, and I imagiNe You get a very diverse audience every night. Have you had any extreme reactions from anyone in the audience?

Well the audience seems to love the show. We are actually reassured when someone storms out because they hate it because we realize it still has the power to shock people. But most people are kinda hungry for the "bite" of this show. For instance, it's affirming when people gasp during certain scenes. We all know they have seen worse thing in movies - they have seen things that are more violent and more sexual - but when you sit there and participate in live theatre and are in the audience, you are sensitized. You aren't numbed by the fact that you are removed. What is shocking actually feels shocking. You are raw, so if there is something sexually outrageous or hilarious, you really get to experience it. Nothing is mediating, you are RIGHT there and it's happening. When grown men and women gasp when a bad word is said we laugh, because we think that's great, it means they really got it and they really heard it. You don't really hear or feel these things when you see them on television.

Was there one particular thing that drew you to these roles?

The director cast me in these roles and she is pretty clever at knowing what people should do. I found it very challenging and irresistible to play an upper class British lady who is a bit older than I am and who doesn't like other women and thinks men are much smarter. I just loved getting into her head and into her wig - it's a great wig!

The CLOUD 9 website is a great website, and you have been running a piece on what makes you feel like you are on CLOUD 9. Is there something specific about being in this show that makes you feel like you are on CLOUD 9?

When I get to talk directly to the audience I feel superb. I love to just look out and talk to the audience in real time.

Have you had positive feedback from the audience in addition to the gasps and the odd person who storms out?

Yes, there has been lots of positive feedback. For instance, people can post comments on the website which is really neat. I've never been involved in a show where you could do that before. So you really do get that direct feedback immediately. People love the transformations that the actors go through. Everyone plays two if not three roles. This is good old fashioned theatre and good old fashioned delight in watching an actor transform physically and vocally and transform their gender. It's just delicious to watch. And to watch actors change characters and genders and change time periods, it's like time travel. It's a lot of fun and truly amazing to watch.

 

 

When and Where?
Cloud 9: A Comedy of Multiple Organisms

The Panasonic Theatre
651 Yonge St (south of Bloor)

Performance Schedule
Plays until February 21st, 2010

TUESDAY 8:00 PM & SUNDAY 7:00 PM
WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY 8:00 PM
SATURDAY & SUNDAY 2:00 PM
FRIDAY & SATURDAY 8:00 PM

Tickets can be purchased at the box office, by phone at 416-872-1212 (1-800-461-3333) or online at www.mirvish.com

For more information please visit www.cloud9toronto.com