masquerade Page 8

Page 06 | MASQUERADE | Summer 2009

Cameron Porteous

Drama students Connor Whitworth
and Ryan Hill sat down with set and
costume designer Cameron Porteous
for a Q & A on the LPCI set of Our Town.

Q: When you were in high school were
you interested in theatre?

A: Yes, I was part of a players club and I
wanted to be an actor. I won best actor
award in the Greater Vancouver Drama
Festival and decided to pursue acting. I
went to the University of British Colum-
bia for acting, and when I got out, I was
the worst actor there. My fi rst perfor-
mance was a disaster! But, I was told that
I had a future on the production side.

Q: What path led you to where you are
now?

A: Well, let me just tell you it was
defi nitely not a direct line. I originally
wanted to be a chemical engineer. But,
unfortunately, I could not pass a chem-
istry test! After university I went on to
the CBC and worked on the production
of television for fi ve years. Then I moved
to CTV, painting and designing sets. I
moved into the fi lm business where I
met an English set designer. He recom-
mended that I travel to England to study
design.

Once there I studied at the Wimbilton

College of Art. After my studies I moved

back to Vancouver and designed sets for
the Vancouver Play House. After staying
there for a while, I made my fi nal move
to Shaw and I am still there today. Now
I do a combination of freelance work for
both theatre and fi lm.

Q: What has been the highlight of your
career so far?

A: Defi nitely theatre! Especially on my
production of Calvacade, which ran
for two years at the Shaw, and people
are still talking about it! Second would
be the winning of my fi rst Emmy
Award for production on the televi-
sion series Beethoven Lives Upstairs.

Assistant

Director

Profi le

he job of the assistant director at Lawrence

Park involves more than just a script and a few
creative ideas. It takes a lot of time and eff ort,
and we would like to tell you how amazing
our two years of assistant directing have been
and how they made us the people we are to-
day.

In our grade eleven year, we jumped at the

opportunity to become assistant directors.
We had both acted in the school play before,
but found backstage to be fascinating.

At LPCI, we were given the opportunity

to be involved with all aspects of theatre,
including working with the actors, costume
approval, set design, props, lighting, sound
design and many other exciting responsibili-
ties. Working collaboratively with all the ac-
tors, crew, our teacher director and school
administration has taught us many skills for
the future.

Also, we feel being involved in school is

one of the most important things a student
can do. Th

rough our commitment in drama,

both of us became a part of something at our
school.

is year, we have probably spent more

time in the auditorium than we have at home,
but once we see the show on opening night, it
makes every single one of those hours worth
it. Moreover, rehearsals are so much fun for
both cast and crew. Being involved in the
school play is a serious commitment, but once
you get in the hang of things, you realize you
can't picture yourself doing anything else.

In our acting years we met so many people

who are now some of the closest friends we
have. Th

at made it a weird transition for us

in our senior year when we suddenly took on
a leadership role. In our fi rst year as assistant
directors it was hard to fi nd a way to balance
between friendship and authority. Telling one
of your friends for the fi ft h time to be quiet
back stage can sometimes make you feel a
little out of your league, and earning respect

Set and Costume Designer

D R A M A T I C A R T S

continued on page 7

continued on page 9

Cameron Porteous shared his expertise with the LPCI drama faculty, students and stage crew as they
prepared for their production of Thornton Wilder`s

Our Town.