Dayna Tekatch takes the Stratford Festival Of Canada stage by storm; with great rave reviews, a swat team of Musicals under her belt and a dip into a harrowing character in To Kill A Mockingbird....
 

By: Kindah Mardam Bey

September 2007 

Well if the world loses its energy source, I know where we can find another one. Power house performer Dayna Tekatch appears to be a slip of a woman sat in front of me at the over-promoted Balzac’s of Stratford coffee house for an interview (what else would you do at Balzac’s?). I’m a little shocked by this after seeing Tekatch perform in two productions at the Stratford Festival of Canada 2007 season; Mickey in the Gershwin’s’ Musical My One And Only and Mayella Ewell in To Kill A Mockingbird. Like night and day, rain and sun, techies and luddites…the two roles that Tekatch plays couldn’t be more different from each other; Mickey has chops, full of life and attitude, compared to the isolated, tormented, and confused Mayella Ewell. Yet, Tekatch gives both roles more commitment then a hockey team at the playoffs. In my quest to dig up some information on Tekatch on the internet, all I could discover were pages and pages of great reviews of her work…when critics agree, it means an actor has a gale force of talent.

Tekatch has been setting the Stratford stage alight for six seasons, performing in South Pacific, Oliver!, Hello, Dolly!, Guys & Dolls, Anything Goes, Gigi, My Fair Lady and was Cinderella in Sondheim’s Into The Woods last year. She’s won two Tyrone Guthrie Awards and the Richard March Award, and took on the additional role of assistant choreographer for My One And Only this season. Although, Tekatch smells a well-coordinated coup by the festival big-wigs, as her new job as assistant choreographer has her training lead actor Laird Mackintosh, who is also her off stage partner ‘we danced all winter in prep for the role!’ she has managed to embrace the challenge. As for her taking a back seat as an actress and delving into choreography, Tekatch has a mild fit ‘oh no! I love the stage far too much!’ she exclaims as any self-respecting actress would. However, any audience member can keenly observe for themselves how much Tekatch loves to perform on stage.

Possibly Tekatch’s energy comes from her desire to learning everything and anything new; she plays saxophone, has danced for thirty years in numerous styles, is a self-proclaimed avid reader, and has more recently become a ‘disciple of Peter Hinton.’ No, this isn’t some new form of Amway, or a recently modified North American cult based on alien abductions; Hinton is Canada’s foremost original creative in the world of theatre. Hinton loves a challenge; he is a playwright, director, dramaturge and all things inspiring about Canadian Theatre. Somewhat of a bohemian renegade of original thought on stage, Hinton has taken on the formidable role of artistic director for the National Arts Centre for English Theatre, but can be more inspiring in his one on one moments with performers like Tekatch. She was tutored by him last year in her role as Cinderella ‘Peter gave me permission to suck. He said it gives you more integrity when you let go. He told me to be brave as a performer and that no mistakes were to be made, just so long as I committed to the role and went for it. I have to be brave enough to trust my own instincts and commit fully on stage.’ As for the previously mentioned rave reviews, I think Tekatch has managed to grasp the Hinton School Of Thought rather well.

Perhaps that was a great turning point for Tekatch as she has taken on the challenging role of Mayella Ewell this year in To Kill A Mockingbird ‘many people would see Mayella as a bad girl. She has a man put on trial for a rape he didn’t commit, but I see her as a victim of her circumstances; she is from a poor background with no education and a violent home life. She’s been stunted by her own life in many ways, so right and wrong are less clearly defined for her.’ Ironically enough, Tekatch informs me that Mayella Ewell is an easier role to play then the light-hearted Mickey in My One And Only ‘because the role is so light it can be difficult to do, but plays like My One And Only provide something we need in society today, which is to laugh and escape. The challenges in Musicals are very different as you have to use more than one skill set at once, often you are singing, dancing and acting in musicals simultaneously.’

She continues ‘I actually enjoyed playing the opposing roles; it is fun at times to flip back and forth and can be helpful in exploring the different sides of the characters.’ When asked if the recent resurgence and interest in To Kill A Mockingbird onstage is an indication of our times she states ‘Yes, the themes are very relevant to the way in which we see the world today. Standing in someone else’s shoes will never be a tiresome subject matter as it is worth having a constant reminder to do so. Today racial issues are so important, as they were in Harper Lee’s day. Racism hasn’t vanished, ask anyone who looks Middle Eastern going through passport control if they feel racism is a relevant issue today. Plus the universal themes like parenting and the loss of innocence are major storylines in TKAM that bare reflection at any time of history.’

A perpetual enthusiast, Tekatch answers more often then not with the word ‘everything,’ followed by a more detailed description. What do you love about your job ‘Everything! The people, the challenges, I feel honoured to be in TKAM this year.’ What is the best part of performing at Stratford? ‘I love everything! The productions are of the highest calibre, and I am such a Stratford junkie! The small town feel, all the creative energy, and what a learning curve you have here.’ When she starts to sound like a billboard promotion for the Festival, I have to wonder if she got into the Balzac’s espresso before we met up, but overall Tekatch’s enthusiasm for the stage, for her profession, and for life in general, tends to be infectious...in a light up the town kind of way.

Dayna Tekatch will be performing in My One & Only and To Kill A Mockingbird at The Stratford Festival Of Canada until the end of October. To learn more about the festival go to www.stratford-festival.on.ca

As I mentioned, Tekatch is an avid reader and recommends Khaled Hosseini’s newest book A Thousand Splendid Suns ‘I can’t put it down!’ and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year Of Food Life by Barbara Kingslover, a book about eating local products, to which Tekatch enthusiastically exclaims ‘I haven’t shopped for vegetables at a grocery store for over two months now.’