There was no one to play the love interest of Kaylee Norn’s character in Echo Player’s Nana’s Naughty Knickers, so she recruited her boyfriend.
“I coerced him into it,” she chuckled.
Her boyfriend, Glen Parry, was working as a firefighter for the Wildlife Management Branch in his home town of Terrace, B.C. when she first sprung the role on him, but he turned it down. When he returned to the area in August and the part still wasn’t filled, he eventually agreed.
Nana’s Naughty Knickers, directed by Don Harper, opens at the Village Theatre in Qualicum Beach tonight, Oct 3, and runs to October 20.
Norn started acting in high school while living in Nelson, B.C. and did some work in community theatre while living in Grand Prairie. At the same time Don Harper was directing Nana’s Naughty Knickers in Grand Prairie, and he caught her play.
“I saw her acting there and I was impressed,” he said. “And then she came and auditioned here.”
Norn graduated with a technical theatre diploma from Vancouver Island University, and currently she’s taking the nursing program there. This is her first role with Echo Players. She said she and Parry, who is taking engineering at North Island College, both have heavy course loads, but acting is a nice stress-reliever.
Acting as partners on-stage can be tricky, said Norn.
“It’s a little bit harder to stay in character sometimes because you have your set tendencies,” she said, “but it’s a good challenge. It’s nice to see someone in a different light too.”
They both agreed it’s difficult to make their character’s interactions seem “new awkward” but they're both having fun with the task.
Nana’s Naughty Knickers is about Nana, who is in her 80’s, running an illegal business from her apartment, making sexy lingerie for seniors. Norn plays her granddaughter, Bridget Charles, who comes to live with her for the summer, while looking for accomadation during university in the fall. Parry plays the local policeman, Tom O’Grady.
For ticket information to see Nana’s Naughty Knickers visit www.echoplayers.ca or call 250-752-3522.
CONTEST: Win two tickets to see Nana’s Naughty Knickers. Email reporter@pqbnews.com with “Send me to the Village Theatre” in the subject line by the end of the day on Tues, Oct 8. Include your name and phone number. Good Luck!