To volunteer, or not to volunteer?
To Joan Dennison, the answer is obvious.
Dennison volunteers with Shakespeare in the Ruins, which stages a Shakespearean play at the Trappist Monastery Provincial Park in St. Norbert every spring.
JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS
Joan Dennison volunteers with Shakespeare in the Ruins, which stages a Shakespearean play at the Trappist Monastery Provincial Park in St. Norbert every spring.
The St. Boniface resident got involved around 15 years ago and enjoys it for many reasons.
“I’m outdoors, which is great, there’s the camaraderie amongst the volunteers there and it’s just a good experience,” she says. “Of course, I get to see the play, which is a good bonus.”
Dennison traces her love of the arts to when she was a child in Montreal in the 1950s. On Saturday afternoons, her mother sent her to see triple features at a local movie theatre.
She was enchanted by stars such as Doris Day, John Wayne, Bette Davis and Cary Grant.
Dennison gave acting a shot as a teenager when she participated in a high school play. She didn’t appear in anything else until 27 years later. By then, as a lab technician in Winnipeg, she got involved with community theatre.
She portrayed Judith, the eccentric mother and former actress in a production of Hay Fever, a comic play written by Noël Coward. She also appeared in a production of Arsenic and Old Lace, a 1939 play adapted into a film directed by Frank Capra.
The permission actors are given to explore their emotions on stage appeals to Dennison.
“When you’re angry in real life you can’t reveal that sometimes, but if you’re angry on stage you can be angry,” she says. “It’s permissible. Playing a character who’s flamboyant or loud, you can be those things. You can just let go.”
Dennison has volunteered at the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre for 40 years and Prairie Theatre Exchange for 25 years. She takes tickets and helps people to their seats.
Volunteering with Shakespeare in the Ruins was a logical addition since she helps with the same tasks.
Dennison most enjoys seeing how audience members react.
Staging the plays outdoors is a great way to bring in people who might not otherwise attend a Shakespearean production, she says.
“(It) introduces people to Shakespeare in a setting that will inspire them to see Shakespeare again,” she says. “You get wrapped up in it, more so than you would (at a) theatre indoors.”
Shakespeare in the Ruins values Dennison’s commitment to the company, says Seraph-Eden Boroditsky, assistant general manager.
“She has answered the call for help in-office during the off season in addition to coming out to volunteer during our regular season run at the ruins,” Boroditsky says in an email. “We are so grateful for her (and all of our volunteers)!”
Shakespeare in the Ruins starts its 30th anniversary season, which includes a production of Twelfth Night, on June 1.
The company is always ready to welcome new volunteers, Boroditsky says, and could use a few more this season.
Boroditsky is looking for parking lot attendants, bartenders and ushers, as well as people who can take tickets and sell merchandise.
“It’s a really fun and relaxed experience with a friendly group of people in a wildly beautiful environment,” Boroditsky says.
Sign up at shakespeareintheruins.com or call 204-957-1753.
If you know a special volunteer, please contact [email protected].
