An interview with Christopher Gaze, Artistic Director and founder of the Bard on the Beach Shakespeare festival in Vancouver, BC....

 
Wrote by: Tessa Perkins (Vancouver Correspondent - Canada) 

Growing up in Sussex, England, Gaze always knew acting was what he wanted to do in life and he found it massively appealing from his first encounter with performing. Gaze told me about the day he realized he wanted to be an actor; home from boarding school, one Sunday his mum took him down to the village hall where she performed amateur theatre. He saw all the coloured lights shining in the dark theatre, the velvet curtains, and it all just looked so fun. He couldn't imagine that people got paid to be a part of such a delightful experience; from then on he was hooked.  

His parents were a tremendous support to him and his acting career. Due to the war, his mum was unable to fulfill her dream of becoming an actress, so she poured her efforts into his career instead. Unfortunately, his late father never lived to see Bard On The Beach, but Gaze assures me he would be very pleased with what his son has accomplished. His parents passed on to him a love of the arts, and for that he is grateful.

After boarding school, Gaze went to Bristol Old Vic Theatre School at the age of 18. He spent three years there where he "discovered theatre and the fairer sex." He didn't have any specific goals while in theatre school other than to become a working actor. Gaze feels that massive breakthroughs are a matter of chance, being in the right place at the right time, but he has been acting for 35 years now and seems to still be always in the right place. When asked what he would be if he was not an actor, Gaze says that the answer has changed over the years. He used to tell people that he would want to sell real estate or run a pub, but now he says that he would like to be an athlete, or possibly a businessman. 

The idea for Bard on the Beach came about through a progression of events. In the early ‘80s there was a theatre company in Edmonton that did a Shakespeare festival in a tent. In '83, Gaze moved to Vancouver and witnessed a number of festivals in Vanier Park that attempted to put on Shakespeare festivals, but failed after one or two years. In '89, after his father had died and he got "a mortality kick in the rear end," Gaze felt that it was his time to try. He wanted to stop being an on-call actor and step-up and do something. In 1990, the first Bard on the Beach Festival in Vancouver took place with 34 performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream, a budget of $35,000 and 6,000 patrons. Now in its eighteenth year, the festival has grown to two stages, four plays, a $3.5 million budget, and 87,000 patrons. Gaze anticipates that the festival will continue with great success so long as its growth is carefully controlled. He says there is a delicate balance that must be maintained by gentle hands and good minds so that the festival does not outgrow itself, and of course there must always be a wonderful cast of actors that do it for the passion of acting.  

Curious about the choices of plays over the years, I asked Gaze how they decide which plays to stage each season. He said that there are only six or seven comedies that they would put on, so they become predictable as to which one will be up next. They must always choose the right play for the right stage (main or studio), and also make sure that the casting for the plays will allow for enough women's parts. By 2014, Gaze hopes to complete the entire Shakespeare canon. As for what role Gaze himself will take up during a season, he discusses that with the director. There will generally be a role he has his eye on, and this year it was King Lear. This is his first major role in about ten years, and he feels that it is time to "step up to the plate" and take on this challenge at this time in his life. He says this role is the highlight of his career thus far, and he is very excited to have the chance to perform it.  

Although Gaze has traveled on many continents, he loves living in Vancouver and feels that it is a beautiful, lively city that fosters a healthy lifestyle. In contrast to England, Gaze enjoys the vast openness and wildness of Canada, and proclaims that he is "a proud Englishman, but a prouder Canadian." Other than acting, Gaze is passionate about his family, wife Jennifer, their children, and their grandchildren. He is a devotee of the arts who feels that they are life-enriching and the beauty of being alive. I'm sure Shakespeare would be proud to know that there are people like Christopher Gaze out there making sure his plays thrive in festivals like Bard on the Beach. 

For more information about Bard On The Beach, go to: www.bardonthebeach.org