IrenePoole exemplifies what it means to be a working mom writ large. Five weeks after her son Silas was born, Irene began rehearsing for the role of Katherine in Taming Of The Shrew at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival Of Canada...

Written By:Ashley Hunking (Vancouver Correspondent - Canada)

June 2008 

Irene Poole exemplifies what it means to be a working mom writ large. Five weeks after her son Silas was born,Irene began rehearsing for the role of Katherine in Taming of the Shrew at the StratfordShakespeare Festival. Irene says the preparation process for the role ofKatherine was different than previous roles. In an odd illustration of lifeimitating art, Irene's determination, adaptation and acceptance of personalcircumstances parallels and inversely reflects her stage character, "theirrepressible Kate." As a new mother, Irene anticipated both the inevitablesleep deprivation and constant lack of time. She committed additional time to linememorization and character study while stealing any extra moments to supplymilk to her husband, Tim Campbell, for their newborn. One can only imagine the focusand delicate balancing this tribeca of roles (ie. professional actress, mother,and wife) requires in the face of post delivery/pre production challenges.

In Taming of the Shrew, Katherine is awoman known for her scolding tongue. Irene comments that the source of "Kate'sanger [results from] the society that she lives in...her father's power to marryBianca (Kate's sister) and herself. Marriage was a matter of commerce and thehighest bidder was in a position to buy a wife. Kate is a highly intelligentwoman and she meets her match when she encounters Petruchio. He shows her howshe cannot continue being as she is." There has been much controversyaround the theme of Kate's submission to Petruchio, and some critics argue theElizabethan patriarchal power structure no longer reflects modern life.However, Irene feels that Shakespeare says something much deeper than what isseen at face value. Irene says, "the most challenging aspect of playing Kateis to lead the audience along her journey." In order for the audience tounderstand who Kate becomes at the end of the play, Irene must convey hermotivations. Irene notes, "I must bring the audience through all of themoments...from Kate being an angry mal-content woman to the person she becomes."For Irene,it is clear that Kate and Petruchio love each other. She says, "any marriagehas a great deal of negotiation and sacrifice." In agreement, I would addthat the modern critical focus on the patriarchal context does not do justiceto Kate's intelligence and as such is sexism in modern clothes, making Shrew aspertinent as ever it was.

Even thoughIrene believes that The Taming of theShrew comments on something deeper than the battle of the sexes, shedoesn't want to belittle the fact that women were undoubtedly treated asinferior to men. She says, "But not to downplay how difficult it was forwomen during this time period...women were subjected to torturous games." Inthis production, the acclaimed director, Peter Hinton, experiments with acucking stool (dunking chair) in the opening sequence where a women is dunkedinto water while strapped to a chair. A cucking stool was used in ElizabethanEngland as female punishment for "attitude." Irene feels women have far morepower in their own lives today, however there still are societies that treatmarriage as a business exchange.

As well as Taming of the Shrew, Irene also playsLady Montague in Romeo and Juliet.Irene feels that the two characters, while both are women, are distinct fromeach other. Montague is a mother and in fact this is the first role in whichIrene has played a mother since she had her own baby. She finds the maternalrole satisfying. In this version of Romeoand Juliet, Lady Montague is ill. In contrast, Katherine is high energy andengaged. The stage presence of Lady Montague is less time intensive and allowsIrene down-time, which can include an enjoyable occasional cribbage game withher colleague, Evan Buliung, who plays Petruchio in Taming of the Shrew.

I asked Irenehow much of her performance is her own thoughts, feelings and opinions and howmuch is Kate's. She replied, "Kate is a lot of me and I am a lot of Kate."In this performance, Peter Hinton scripted Kate as disabled with a limp.Ultimately, Irene's performance is a studied mixture of who Irene is, whatPeter Hinton envisions and Shakespeare's genius.

Advice for aYoung Actor:

Irene Poolealways knew she was going to be an actor. Well before the age of ten she waswriting plays and taking part in the local drama club. Growing up in anisolated town, Irene learned to occupy herself with drama. It wasn't untilUniversity that Irene began to experience the influence of her teachers anddeveloped an understanding of what it means to be a professional actor in thiscountry.

I wanted toknow how Irene prepares for any individual performance. She says, "warmingup for a performance looks different with every production." For Taming of the Shrew, there is a vocalwarm-up. She says, "We may use songs from the play." Poole also includes a physical warm-upbecause the limp she is required to perform can be strenuous.

When I askedIrene how she measures growth as an actor she said, "The more confident Ifeel, the more clarity I have. People around you can be a valuable source ofinformation,but you don't want to rely on that entirely." Tim, also an actor, offers Poole an invaluable source of thought andreflection; understandably, she does not engage critically for the duration ofher performances.

Poole is an avid reader and has manyfavorite books, a few of which include Blindness,Disgraced and Shipping News. For books about acting, she enjoys David Mamet and finds Jon Barton's tapes on Shakespeareinvaluable.

Her advice toaspiring actors is: "Persevere, take chances and do as much work as you can...surround yourself by people who share your passion...this will give you otherperspectives and networks." She says that it is inspiring to be aroundothers who are inspired. I will conclude by saying I am inspired by having hadthe privilege of a conversation with Irene Poole.

Read the A 'n' E Vibe Taming of The Shrew Review