Canadian Film Digest (Dec 1976)

I’ve never had in this country — that if | chose to stay there, | could probably do very well.” | wonder though, if the talent drain to the U.S. isn’t ebbing somewhat. Isn’‘t Canadian production, however embryonic it may be, increasingly offering at least a degree of encouragement to actors, writers and directors to stay on and to grow with the industry ? “Only time will really tell whether that will enable us to stay on and to grow as much as we need to. Certainly we don’t lose people completely the way we used to with performers like Norma Shearer or Walter Pidgeon. | think that now, those who go to work in the States may either return or work half-and-half. But that’s a long-term consideration. And if | believe, as a performer, that my working life here is going to be shorter, and more narrow in the kind of roles I’m going to be offered, | certainly can’t afford to take that long-range viewpoint. | have to take what’s happening this year and next year. | can’t really think much farther than that. I’ve tried to be philosophical in a way and say, ‘Well, | think I’ve done some good work.’ It’s certainly been widely seen. But they don’t come running to you in Canada, so | have to look for my own projects and that’s what I’m doing now. In some cases | may be too late because somebody else owns the rights to something that | know is right for me, but at least I'll become more knowledgeable in that area. “| think the coming year for me is going to involve a considerable change in my own image of myself as a creative person, both in what I’m going to do and in what I’m going to be. | feel much at a kind of crossroads. | was trained to think of myself as a stage actress primarily, but not exclusively, That is no longer true. | thought of myself as a character person working in a company for many years. That is no longer true, though | would still like to work with a good company. But the time has come when | really need tremendous scope.” | wonder out loud how much the age factor has to do with the Lightstone renaissance. She’s now in her mid-thirties. She laughs and dismisses it lightly. “Age is irrelevant for me. To begin with | started late professionally because | didn’t go to the National Theatre School until after university. But | was never the sweet young thing who would mature into equipment A DIVISION OF the leading lady type and move later into older character roles. | started with character ingenues, as they were called, which carry a different set of priorities. You know the sweet young things can’t go from playing Gidget to playing Medea... | feel now a whole wealth of possibilities in terms of casting where | can relate to strong material with considerable range.” One doesn’t immediately think of television matching criteria like that, so I’m intrigued when she talks about a possible television series. “Oh yes, | want to do a TV series very much, first of all because | think that in terms of establishing credibility, it has a chance to do what no other medium has. To develop a long-running character who goes into people’s homes every week is a kind of challenge | haven’t yet had the chance to encounter in acting. The ideal series for me would encompass everything — one week humorous, the next dramatic — whatever.” Those who have seen a Lightstone performance know that the range is there. It was tested this past year on stage in her extraordinary one-woman performance in Miss Margarida, the controversial play about a school teacher who turns her SUPER PUFFT POPCORN LIMITED PLANNING — DESIGNING — INSTALLATION Food Service Equipment Specialists Drive-In Restaurants — FOR VISIT OUR SHOWROOM AT 33 UPTON ROAD, SCARBOROUGH, ONTARIO MIL 2C1 BRANCH MONTREAL (514) 270-1688 WINNIPEG (204) 633-8033 WAREHOUSES EDMONTON (403) 433-2561 CALGARY (403) 272-5571 BRANCH FACTORY Arena Concessions ‘Complete Take-Out Service and Supplies (416) 752-7350 DARTMOUTH (902) 463-1347 COMPLETE COLOURFUL CATALOGUE AND SUPPLIES LIST ON REQUEST 12 canadian film digest