#14 – Mark Allan

Mark Allan has been performing in theatre across Canada for the past 22 years. In that time he has touched on all aspects of the industry from acting, directing and choreographing, to casting and producing. He was honoured to have been awarded a Calgary Critics Award in 2015 for his portrayal of Brave Sir Robin in Spamalot. He loves theatre and hopes to be fortunate enough to keep doing what he loves for at least another 22 years!It is easy to use, both for back end and front end users; however the app is only as useful as the user makes it. We’ve used the app twice now for our conferences and have not had the usage/response we were hoping for, although we did get a better response overall the second time.

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Transcript

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Phil Rickaby
Welcome to Episode 14 of the Stageworthy podcast I’m your host, Phil Rickaby. And my guest today is Mark Allan. An actor’s singer from Toronto. Mark is currently working with smile theatre, a Toronto based company that performs for senior citizens. Our conversations picks up just as we’re starting to talk about smile theatre, although the company name is cut off the beginning of the audio. On Stageworthy, I interviewed people who make theatre from actors, directors, playwrights and more and talk to them about everything from why they chose the theatre to the work process and anything in between. You can find stage worthy on Facebook and Twitter at stage where the pod and you can find the website stage where the podcast.com If you like what you hear, I hope you’ll subscribe on iTunes or whatever podcast app to use and consider leaving a comment or rating.

Mark Allan
mandate is basically to bring theatre to senior audiences, so that can’t get out anymore. So we either go to little like Legion halls, or theatre spaces. Or we go to like, right into the nursing homes and long term care home sometimes. The other day, we just did one that was like, it was at some conference centre. I’m not even sure what it was for exactly. But it was like 300 people we walked in, we didn’t know there was gonna be like that. Because usually, like, these are like, smaller, like, Yeah, little things you tour. It’s like, every day, you know, we meet in the morning, and we tour out, you know, and it’s maybe about 50 to 60 people, you know, sometimes I mean, when we go to the theatre, things that can be a bit bigger, but we didn’t know, this is a new thing that they were doing that they got us to do. And we walked in and it was this huge, like, benefit thing that was going on? For like 300 people. So it’s it was pretty cool. But it’s yeah, it’s a good company

Phil Rickaby
is is? Is it? Is there a particular show? Is it a like a cabaret type thing?

Mark Allan
Or is it? Well, they do for different types of shows a year and they just vary so this one is actually it’s it’s got original music in for like this one song to kind of like the show’s called remember that song. And because the show smile, they usually like they have the shows. And they have writers and they write shows and stuff like this. And they can be a little jukebox things with kind of a storyline through or that can be completely original, like they did one called in Flanders fields that we’ve done. And it was all new music and you know about Johnny grant his life. But this one is like, they got together with a group of seniors that these two writers, and they collected these stories, and then they created one story out of it, but these two people meet it or how their lives ended up together and, and beyond. So it’s pretty interesting. So it’s the one song is like, original. And then the rest of it is like their lives to the years and the songs that meant something to them. Because they, I guess this writer, there’s been these new studies done on like Alzheimer’s patients and stuff like that, how music really like triggers things for them, right? Yeah. So he kind of wanted to he kind of wanted to hear from seniors, and find out like what songs really meant things to them at certain times of their lives. So it’s it’s pretty interesting. And it’s, you know, it’s a good response. It’s like, one of those jobs. It’s not like, obviously not one of the most glamorous jobs. No, you’re kind of travelling in a band, and you’re like setting your stuff up and sitting down. It’s an equity gig, which is great. And you’re home every night pretty much. Yeah, in Toronto, which is like unheard of pretty much. That’s your jam river show.

Phil Rickaby
Yeah, yeah.

Mark Allan
So, so, but you see people’s responses, and then like, nurses will come up, nurses will come up to us. And they’ll be like, That man hasn’t had any recognition or any speech, like six months. And he’s like, singing along and then afterwards, like speaking to us, and as well that he enjoyed the show. It’s it’s pretty, it’s a pretty cool company. It’s been around for 40 years. Yeah, so it’s a good one of those, like, you feel you’re doing something a little bit more valuable with your talent. If that makes any sense. It doesn’t mean we’re entertaining people like what we do. And that’s like, bringing happiness to people when you can bring it to people that are in positions that you know, this really is a highlight of Yeah, you know, their their time is a great opportunity. Very cool. So yeah, that’s very cool. Yeah, it’s cool.

Phil Rickaby
When did you first realise just just Just going going away from that for a second. When did you first realise that that funeral was something that you wanted to do?

Mark Allan
I think I was pretty young. I think as soon as I kind of, you know, when you’re like a little kid, you’re like, I want to be a cop. When you watch stuff on TV, I want to be a fireman, I want to be a detective. And I want to be Batman. And when I kind of got that, because I would watch TV and get those ideas, you know, and when I kind of got got the recognition of like, oh, well, these people are actors. They pretended this and that’s their job. I was like, Oh, you can be everything. So it was pretty young that I decided and I was fortunate enough to like in my I grew up in just outside of Ottawa. And they had drama programmes in the public school, which I don’t know if a lot of people have that. No, I think no, I don’t think Yeah, but we were so we were pretty lucky. And so like, sort of grade five, so we weren’t like so little, a grade five. And we had like this fabulous woman, like her name was Carol hay. And she’s pretty involved in the industry. I think she does film and TV stuff now or she produces stuff. Anyway. So I remember that when we were kids, because we lived up in Ottawa. There’s that show. You can’t do that until the show? Yes. Yeah. And she had, she was like the drama coach for the kids on that show. So it was like, high stakes be at her class.

Phil Rickaby
It’s always funny when I hear people talk about you can’t do that until it comes up. I remember that as little as a little Canadian show. People in the states were annoyed because it was on Oh, crazy. Yeah.

Mark Allan
So So yeah, we’re so she was my drama teacher in grade five. And she just was like, it was like a really valuable thing to have someone that was like this professional working with kids, you know, because she actually taught us like a lot of things. Like, I’ll never forget that. When we went to go see a show one time, she had a whole, like 10 minute discussion in the class of like, how to be a good audience member, which I don’t think kids are taught at all. No. She’s like, you know what, like, you can like, you can laugh if something’s funny. You can like when you’re clapping, she used to say like, if you’re clapping, you don’t want to talk like this, you want to double time because then it sounds like there’s more people and the actors get more energy, better show. And I always remember that I thought it was just I thought it was just amazing. But English, she she really kind of started the ball rolling of my love for theatre, I guess. And we were fortunate enough because we lived in Ottawa, like we go to like the NAC quite a bit. You know, to see kid shows and that in public school, and then moving into high school, the same thing, having like, really good drama teachers that were really invested, not just teaching it to, you know, something they had to teach. Yeah, these teachers really loved what they were doing. And so got to go to the NEC and see all those kinds of shows and, and we’re able quite often to go to talk backs. And so then I would end up being, like manipulating the Talk or not manipulating, like taking over the talk back and asking all these questions. I remember like having like a half hour discussion when I was a kid with column for your goal, the simple, you know, trying to find everything that I could that time, whatever was interesting to me when Yes,

Phil Rickaby
13 Yeah. Do you remember what the first theatre you saw was?

Mark Allan
God, I don’t doubt.

Phil Rickaby
I don’t remember

Mark Allan
it. I think it was a musical of some sort, though. Because I really, I really liked musicals, too. But my high school, the high school I went to they never did musicals. And so when I was like, 16, I guess what grade is that? Like? 11 1011? Yeah. I was like, Oh, well, if I want to do musicals, I’m gonna have to start doing it outside of school. So I started joining like all the community theatres, right find and getting involved with the musicals through that which kind of just kind of spiralled into kind of what I ended up doing with my life.

Phil Rickaby
It’s kind of unusual that a high school wouldn’t do musicals, because that’s,

Mark Allan
yeah, I don’t know. You know, my school was originally supposed to be tech school. So I by the time I got there wasn’t but I don’t know if that because we didn’t have like, we had a stage and we had some bars of light. But it wasn’t like crazy setup for theatre in our school. But our drummer room was our dream room was like, because for tech, right, so they had like, lighting boards. We had like, I don’t know, eight or nine like lines of lights. And it was like a beautiful little black box theatre, but it was like, tiny, you know, you could like do shows in there and have like maybe crammed 30 people in to watch. Yeah, but the actual onstage we didn’t have we didn’t have that much. That elaborative setup.

Phil Rickaby
Yeah, I remember when I was in high school, our stages in the cafeteria, so sound was really bad. Yeah. And it was the same place for everyone. had all the assemblies. Yeah,

Mark Allan
so yeah, it was the same way. Yeah, yeah. Um,

Phil Rickaby
what point did you realise like really seriously realised that it was a thing that you could do. And like as a as a career,

Mark Allan
I think when I started doing it outside of high school and got like, good response from people and people telling me like, oh, you should do this if you’re because I would say, express my desire. And when the older people like the directors or whatever, were very encouraging in that. Because my parents obviously weren’t like most parents. So like, Do you got to do something? And I was always like, no, no, because I think I started seeing when I was pretty young that I wanted to be an actor. I think it was about grade eight. So it wasn’t even a high school yet. When I was like, I know, this is what I wanted. Yeah. And so it was like a blessing and a curse. Because sometimes, like, you know, being in school, you’re like, why do I need to learn geometry? I’m going to be an act,

Phil Rickaby
of course. Yeah. Yeah, I had a similar thing, because I would be in I always had trouble with math. And I was, you know, teacher would be working with what? You know, you’re gonna need math or what is it? You’re gonna want to do with your life? Yeah, I want to be an actor. They were like, Well, you wouldn’t need to count how many steps you were gonna take.

Mark Allan
Never. Yeah, I’d be like, I never need to always be like, give me a calculator. Yeah, because when I’m grown up, I won’t need to do this in my head. Yeah. You know, so I found that hard.

Phil Rickaby
And you did you find it? Was it your see your parents were like, trying to encourage you to do something else

Mark Allan
or? Yeah, like they would be like, they tried to like steer it in like, well, you’d like to enact you know, lawyers, like people that are lawyers. That’s kind of like acting and stuff like that. And I was like, Oh, God. So but then I think that they went once I started doing it again, outside of school, and they would come into like these bigger theatres. Yeah, these cars in Ottawa to they have. They don’t have a huge amount of professional theatre there. They have the NAC they have like, GTS GCTC. Like, there’s like a couple there’s just like a little handful, which is why no one lives in Ottawa, they all come to Toronto. But their community theatres are really well run. And really, production volume is just ridiculous. Like, when I first got to the city and was doing shows, like I was like, the theatre community theatre shows the production. Bigger. Yeah, no, yeah. So you know, and so sort of doing the community theatre shows and, and then they kind of started like seeing that. I guess, when you see other people around, and they’re like, oh, they like what your kids doing? Kind of yes, you kind of get forced to change like, oh, maybe I can’t do it. And they did finally, like have that conversation where they thought, Oh, I could do it.

Phil Rickaby
They didn’t make any any deals when they go to school, like your programme somewhere or anything like that, or

Mark Allan
No, I mean, I had kind of always grown up. When I decided I want to be an actor. I knew that at the University of Windsor, there was an acting programme, and my family all comes from Windsor in Detroit. Okay, we moved away, we were like the family that moved away. So I always thought I’m gonna go to Windsor for the for the drama programme, and then kind of made a musical theatre programme. So I thought, oh, even better. But then right before that last year of high school, I saw just like the teacher had up in the drummer and like the different places, and they had the Sheridan College poster and just the programme and the programme just sounded more like what I wanted. Because again, I wasn’t so academic, I guess. Yeah, and, you know, university, it’s like a lot of like, the writing of that. All the papers, and yeah, taking all the other stuff. And I knew that I wasn’t interested in doing that. And I didn’t have the patience to do things that I didn’t think were gonna accept me.

Phil Rickaby
I felt the same way because I initially got into Ryerson and George Brown at the same time and decide to go to George Brown because I didn’t want to take a math science and psychology and English. I just wanted to do theatre all the time.

Mark Allan
Yeah. Yeah. And we had to take a couple like at Sheridan, you had to take like an English and something else. But because when I was in school, they had that grade 13 And I took my grade Thirteen’s. I kind of was I kind of got out of those first year things that college Yeah,

Phil Rickaby
so it was pretty good. Nice. How long is the programme at Sheridan? It’s a three year pro career. Yeah. They I mean, did you enjoy it? Is it like I went for a year? Oh, okay. Wow, that year,

Mark Allan
um, there was just a lot of different ideas that I had. And the teachers had, I guess, not to get into anything, but there was there was a lot of conflicts and stuff and, and so, so some of the teachers there weren’t into me, and then some of them were and so you You know, they actually asked me to leave. And so one teacher came out after this meeting, he’s like, they can’t actually do that because of your marks, your marks are really high. So if you go to the dean, if you go to the dean, you’ll be allowed back in the programme. So it’s like, I’m going to get back into the programme. And yeah, I’m going to do that. And then literally slept on it that night, and woke up the next morning. I’m like, Oh, he said, but if you come back, you’re probably not going to be treated well by the faculty. And so by those faculty members, so kind of slept on it, and then the next morning, woke up, I’m like, you know, what, if I’m not gonna get treated well by people, I’m gonna get paid to not be treated. Like if I’m not getting paid. So yes. And just started luckily, working. I was really fortunate. You’re really lucky. Yeah. Because things just, you know, I mean, so much of this business like, yes, you have to have talent. Yeah, but not so much podcast, you know, you want so much is like the how opportunities come to you. Yeah. And just how things lead to other things and the people you meet and Yeah, that. Yeah, so it was very fortunate. Do you remember what you did like what your first mighty got a very first gig was? Canada’s Wonderland. It was the first year that they paramount, or no was the year right before Paramount was officially going to take it over. So to kind of like lead into it, they had like a big Star Wars, Star Wars Star Trek museum that they brought in. And then they hired a whole bunch of actors to do these environmental, they call them environmental skits. So we weren’t like the strolling characteristics. I think they did end up becoming scrolling characters two years after they didn’t have the skits anymore, which was to Beck’s was a lot of fun. But you basically you’d go out and there’d be like three of you or two of you or whatever. And you’d start these like skits that were involved, like the crowd and stuff like that. So it’s great fun. You know, so like, a lot of it was scripted, but there’s like a lot of improv. That was a lot of fun to be able to do when you’re, you know, kind of just learning

Phil Rickaby
every day.

Mark Allan
But yeah, we’re really lucky. And then I think the next thing I did that really got me got the ball rolling was like, I was at a bar. I was at Woody’s I think and there was like, downstairs by the bathrooms like a call board and stuff in there like auditions for the show. And I don’t think it was fringe at the time. It might have been I don’t think it was though, I think was just some some sort of festival, because there was a lot more little things like that. And so got auditioned, got this show. And then that guy that directed the show, and wrote the show, he ended up being the director over at the mousetrap. Chuck theatre, okay. And so, you know, I was like, 21, I guess when I wanted to go to school 18. So it’s probably 20 years old. Yeah. And he hired me to go do that show. And that’s like a non equity gig and how that ran was that you’d go, you could just watch the show any night, just come in, if you’re on just studying. So as understanding just come in any night, you just watch the show, take notes, whatever. And if you can, because they didn’t pay you until you were in the show, right? You would go on Monday nights and rehearse. And so that was that was like the thing. And then if you went on, I think it was like 50 bucks a show. So, you know, that was like, great. And stuff starting off. And then really fast. I think that I started understanding November and you it was trial by fire. Like, yeah, you I think I had like my watching of it a week. I had the one rehearsal and I think it was on like Tuesday. So I’d like to like a script on one side is a script and you know, and it was a funny place like the truck theatre was wasn’t built to last it was built just to be up and out. But it was the show that ended up going for 2020 I think it’s 26 years, 27 years in the end. And so they didn’t have any kind of channelling system. So the show was going on upstairs dressing rooms were downstairs, and you kind of had to keep your up but couldn’t kind of really hear. So there’d be like multiple times where like you they’d be like, you know, you hear like a lie and spoken really loud. Twice. You’ve like people are just running upstairs to get unsaved Yeah. But anyway, so I think like in January, the guy left that I was under studying and so I took it over. And so then I now I was like making I think it was like 350 a week. But back then. That wasn’t so bad. No, I think that my rent I was living with three other roommates and I think we paid like, I think I’m at 250 or something like that. And so like suddenly I was like the big money rolling. And I would be the one that would like cover the rent and people would put up how much they owed me on the fridge and stuff. It was like ridiculous, but it was like good luck. It allowed me to live just as at being an actor. Yeah. And then also the good thing about that job when I when I was doing it was that they so they had the understudies. How I told you, but because it was like a non paid thing, they’d have like a list of people so there’d be like all these people underneath you, that wouldn’t be understanding. So I was understanding I was the next in line. So luckily happened to be the only one at the time, but then they will hire more people. And so if you got, like a summer job like a summer show, yeah, you could literally tell these understudies. Hey, look, do you want to cover for me for two months? And, and if they agreed to it, you’re off like you, you can go do your other show. And so it kind of became like, this day job to go back to it. It was really, it was really it was it was great. Like, as a young actor, like having that freedom. Yeah. And like not having to work a waitering job not having to work, you know, any kind of Tempe office job was just very fortunate.

Phil Rickaby
And that’s very lucky. How long were How long did you do the restaurant for?

Mark Allan
I think that I did it. I think I did it for five years. Off and on. That is a long time to do a show. Yeah. But would come and go. Yeah, but also, yes, very long time and learn such valuable lessons in that like,

Phil Rickaby
well, that’s I mean, I was just gonna say, like, how to keep the show fresh over a long

Mark Allan
period. How to keep it fresh. Yeah. Beautiful thing to learn. Yeah. And yeah, so like, that’s yeah, I learned I’m also such a learner that way. Like, I think I ended up I mean, I’ve learned in my year at Sheridan, I learned some valuable things. They learned how to, like, you know, make my resume make me my audition book, and like little things like that. But working on the job, like, is so valuable. That’s why when sometimes I have young people now ask me because I work with young people doing different things, and they’re like, oh, what school would you recommend? And like, I’m like, any school is gonna have its up. Yeah, hits pluses and minuses. And, you know, if you don’t find what you want, go take private vocal lessons or take private dance lessons. Go take private acting lessons, you know, yeah, go to work. Yeah.

Phil Rickaby
I would say, I mean, when I was a lot younger, I thought that, you know, who needs do we need to theatre school to teach them how to act. But then when I went to theatre school, I kind of learned that I had a lot of bad habits that I learned because all I ever did was amateur theatre in high school theatre, which, while valuable, you can learn a lot of bad Hell

Mark Allan
yeah, for sure.

Phil Rickaby
So I’m really glad that I did you know, that I was tucked into doing that. Yeah. But then, I mean, you can learn the same thing if you if you take private acting class. Yeah,

Mark Allan
totally. Or work with just really good people that you can, like, kind of emulate, see how they work and, you know, learn through Yeah,

Phil Rickaby
you’ll always get that opportunity, though. It’s actually not over a long period of time. That’s true. Because it takes a long time to really sort of figure out like, Who’s this person that I’m working with? You know, what part of their personality Am I seeing every day? Yeah, but if you do if you work with people for a very long period of time, you really get to sort of see that. What was the first professional musical that

Mark Allan
you did? First professional musical. So I guess like So becoming equity kind of would shoot Yeah, I guess that would be I became equity ended forever plot. Okay, so

Phil Rickaby
when was that? Was that what is now the Panasonic or was that a different one? No, that

Mark Allan
was playing. That was playing and, and I was I think I was a bit too young. When I was running in the city. I was just a bit too young. I think I was like, maybe in just when I first got here, so 20 years old, and most guys were a bit a bit older. Yeah, I think they were like, closer to their 30s. That group of boys. Mid mid mid 20s to 30s. No, it was in Barry. I think it was called Gryphon theatre. I don’t know if they’re around anymore. I don’t know. And it was kind of I think it was kind of a co pro with a fear coaster and Barry for a while and then we were in Fort Holt. So we did the show there and then transferred to the rest of them.

Phil Rickaby
Yeah. You’ve been working like as an actor without a day job for like, a little while now. Yeah. And that’s, that’s pretty that’s a pretty cool opportunity to be able to do that. Did I mean, obviously, everybody’s sorting away falls into that kind of work. Right. Did you? I mean, you’ve obviously you have had a few ups and down periods where you haven’t been able to work that much.

Mark Allan
Yeah, for sure. For sure. And what have you done? Like what kind of day jobs only ever worked for Mirvis? Oh, really two different ways. I worked. first started in the ticketing offices. But ticket King and then did Front of House stuff at the theatres. And I love you know, I mean I love that job. There is

Phil Rickaby
a lot of there’s a lot of, there’s a lot of good in being

Mark Allan
able to do that. It’s nice what I like about what I like cuz the ticket King was okay but that was like a day job like you had the day hours. What I like about that Mirvish job is that you basically live your same hours as when you’re an actor, you know, and you have your days free to go to auditions. And you can, you know, do pretty much everything is when you’re performing actor hours. So that’s what I like about that. That’s

Phil Rickaby
cool. That’s really cool. And how long have you have you done that? On and off?

Mark Allan
I, I think that I started 2001. But I that was a really short little stint with them. I only did two shows with them. And then I left again for like a good. It might have been three or four years. And then and then came back and then it was more like steady off and on kind of a job. Because when the first time it worked for the Mirvish. I’ve actually been really lucky. And I worked for a long time without a job without a day job. And so when I had to do that, it was that weird ego prideful thing like, Oh, my God, I have to be like a real person. Yeah, and I guess it’s more to just like the uncertainness of it. Like I didn’t know like what I was, because I’d never done it. So it was like the weird and Mirvish. Like it’s easy, fun job. Yeah, but not knowing I was just like, Oh, God, this is gonna be like, stressful and hard. And yeah, things like that. So yeah, I really love it. They’re

Phil Rickaby
cool. Yeah. And it’s good to see shows, I mean, you see, so

Mark Allan
good to see so good to be able to see things and like, learn again, but if you, if you you can take that job and be like, I’m so bored, I have to watch the show a million times. Or you can learn to watch it

Phil Rickaby
because you can because now you’re able to see you’re seeing a show, as it evolves over a long period of time and seeing how the cast goes from Oh, God, I’m so nervous to kind of how we keep the show alive and figuring it out.

Mark Allan
So fast. And even there was one the one the best one that was I worked was when Martin Short did his show there. He did like it was like pre Broadway. And so it would it was evolving as we were watching it like it would change on a daily basis. Like there were sections of the show that were written that way like he he would bring people up and and you know, be his Jiminy Glick character? Yeah, but also just chunks would change or be moved or taken out or added in? And that was like, I soaked that and like, I couldn’t be in house. I wanted to be in house to see that because it was a master watching a masterclass in comedy with people you know, I’m just learning and seeing how that goes. So yeah, that’s great.

Phil Rickaby
Have you done any like, I mean, right now you have the advantage of doing a tour where you sort of you leave your home and you come back in the evening? Have you done a like a tour out of the city where you’re on the road for a while, or

Mark Allan
um, I did one of Ross Petty’s pantomimes one year and it was when they decided to ticket across Canada. So we started off I think we started off in Vancouver and worked our way back across. But we didn’t go east we only went as far as Toronto, okay, worked our way back to Toronto. Did that take? I want to say like I feel like it was maybe two months. Like we’re never somewhere. We were never somewhere for like long. We did the show. We do the show maybe for like a week and then Coover and then like for a week wherever like we I think it was like almost like a week every time all the way across. So maybe it was even like a month and a half that we were doing that show.

Phil Rickaby
Yeah. But did. I mean there’s this tourism that you’ve enjoyed, or is it just something that you’d rather not do?

Mark Allan
Um it’s fun. I’m not a great flier. Yeah, but you kind of get used to it when you do it that often. It was actually not so bad by the end. But I would you know, I don’t know you have to leave home though. You can never really unless you’re doing like a Marvel show here. Yeah, this month. Yeah, there’s your I you know, I haven’t worked in Toronto. I don’t even know when the last show that was actually in Toronto, like some fringe stuff. Yeah. But like to do a bigger show. It’s you’re always gone. You know, like I was in Halifax last year. I was in where I was. I was gone last year. Almost like for for a good six months. out. And Halifax can never remember what I do.

Phil Rickaby
Yeah. Well, I mean

Mark Allan
it’s a blur. Yeah. But I was gone for like six off and on for six months last year. Which is, which is great. But it but you know, I mean, you just get used to it like that’s that’s how it is kind of just the life

Phil Rickaby
of an actor. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I know. I mean I’ve I’ve talked about people on fringe tours and things like that, but and there that’s you say, you know, you know, good flyer and everybody most people that I’m talking to, it’s like, they’re driving, right from, like across Canada. Oh, yeah. into a car.

Mark Allan
That’d be hard. Yeah, I’ve never had to do that. This this one, this show that I’m doing now we will go up. The farthest we go up is Ottawa and we’re doing a week up there. But I’m from there. So yes. Friends and family. Yeah. And then we go as far south as like, London area. And but that’s like a two only a two night thing that we’re staying over. So mostly every night.

Phil Rickaby
So you know, you’re not really going that far. It’s all it’s all Ontario. All Ontario.

Mark Allan
Yeah. Like we were like yesterday, we were in Hamilton to do that one thing. Yeah.

Phil Rickaby
That was that was 300 people. Yeah. That’s a cool. Yeah. With that show. You were talking about the gentleman who you hear about, again, this guy hasn’t talked anything like that. It do you find? Is there a difference for you in performing for an more elderly audience than there is for, like doing doing other shows?

Mark Allan
I’m not really. I don’t think so. I mean, you definitely get more of, I guess more of a rush when there’s more people I can say yesterday when we weren’t do we didn’t expect that. 300 people? Yeah, like we definitely were a little bit more obviously pumped up. Yeah, just because it was like and, and also depends on the type of audience because some audience is for smile. Like, some of them are like, we have like, non responsive audience. Yes. You know, where they’re just like, they don’t move. Right. They Yeah, you can tell that they’re engaged or listening. Yeah. And then you have like, then you have like, you know, like any other audience. And so we were like, fortunate enough that this like, big group of 300 people were like, very rowdy. That’s good. Yeah.

Phil Rickaby
I hadn’t thought it was only I wanted to ask you about with you know, as as somebody who is, I mean, you primarily are doing musicals now. Yeah. How how do you obviously working keeps your voice in shape. How do you keep your your voice in shape when you’re not doing a show?

Mark Allan
Up? Um, I’m not like the best that like I don’t like really have like a set routine. I mean, just like some singing I do like a good shower concerts for sure. When no one’s home. Pretty much that like, I mean, I guess what I’m always kind of humming and stuff, though to like, just I think I’m always kind of like, even at Mirvish. Like if I’m doing that, and you’re working lobby and there’s like a million people making noise you can get away with having to yourself the whole time. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, I guess I guess just like naturally just kind of always doing something. Do you

Phil Rickaby
do like, cabaret performances or? There’s I know there’s there’s a thing of settlers that I know a lot of Yeah, too.

Mark Allan
i If my arm is twisted, I am that, like, my hands are sweating. Just thinking about that. I’m not so great with those kinds of things. I don’t I love my two and a half week three week rehearsal, right? Yeah. Being prepared. Like people are always like opening night. They’re like, I’m so nervous. I’m deserve so you nervous? I’m like, No, I’m excited. Yeah, I’m not nervous. Because the preparation and the work. I feel so at ease and relax, cabarets when it’s like something thrown together, or I have to like go up and they’re like, just go up there and talk about something. I hate being myself. Okay. You know, like, it’s just, it’s so stressful to me. Like, I’m like, you know, that’s why I’m an actor. I want to be other people.

Phil Rickaby
Yeah. Well, that’s not I mean, that’s not uncommon for people to have difficulty as actors, you know, just be yourself. I don’t even know what that

Mark Allan
is. Yeah. What does I know?

Phil Rickaby
Is there something that that you wanted to do that you haven’t yet?

Mark Allan
Like, show wise? Yeah. I always wanted to do into the woods. I was like, I saw that show. And it was one of the like, you know, when I was younger, it was like, Phantom. The opera was out like cat so it was like All injured. They were like Les Mills and all that stuff. And so like, I really got into like, those musicals and that was when I really was like, I want to be musical theatre performer was listening to like, you know, Colm Wilkinson and being like, amazing. You know, like, I thought amazing Michael Ball like all these guys voices that I was just like I want to be like them. But then like, you know, Angelou, whoever, you know, good. But then like Sondheim Yeah. And like it was like the PBS into the woods. Oh,

Phil Rickaby
I remember I remember that.

Mark Allan
I remember that. It’s Yeah, amazing. Yeah. And that was like, blew my mind away. Like, I was like, Oh my gosh, because just like, you know, like, musical theatre, and you really had to act. Like sometimes stuff. You can’t fake that, you know, you gotta like, you gotta act as well. Yeah. So the community theatre that I was in, when I was a kid, I was like, pressuring them, like, into the woods, into the woods, into the woods into the woods. And so then finally, by the time they got it together was the year I was leaving to go to show no. And the show keeps eluding me. It’s like one of those things that all my life like, there was a company that basically looked at, they wanted me to do it, and I just booked a trip to Europe. And I was like, I just booked a trip to Europe. Timing Oh, it’s like those little things, things that just slip away from you. But that happens all the time. That just happened to me again, with a show out in Calgary. I thought that I kind of missed the opportunity. I I was working there. Last year, I was doing spam a lot with sage West. And they were doing Young Frankenstein. And I was like, I really want to do that next year. I really want to play with Frederick. Yeah. And so like, took all of these top classes throughout the year to prepare for it. And then I was talking to the stage manager one day, she’s like, Oh, what are you going to be around in December? I’m like, I’m in Halifax. She’s, oh, we’re having the auditions. I was like, great. So I had to put that on my mic. So like, I missed it. Yeah. And then the breakdown came out, and they had already cast that was the only road that was already cast. So I said, okay, they already knew who they wanted. Well, then anyways, cut to like last week, because the Matilda auditions the guy that they had got Matilda. So they call me they’re like, can you do Frankenstein? Can you play? I’m doing a show now until the end of April 2. So it was like, again, one of those things were just like, Yeah, this is a funny business.

Phil Rickaby
Yeah. Yeah. How is how is spam a lot out there.

Mark Allan
Amazing. I had so much fun. I had so much fun. And you were playing nice playing Robin. Okay. And yeah, it was great time. It was like one of those dream casts it was, it was a huge cast. Yet, you know, there was like zero backstage drama. Everybody got along. You know, that’s yeah, if something was going on, we all made sure we were gonna go out together and do that. But it was a lot of fun. It was a good time.

Phil Rickaby
That’s good. Yeah, they were number that you got to do from Babylon. Well, Robin

Mark Allan
song clearly. I loved that that patter song was a lot. But I mean, the whole show like, just like, and we had such good cast. So just like one of those things where like, if you weren’t on stage, you wanted to listen to what was happening

Phil Rickaby
or changing. I love being in the show when like everybody is so enjoying the show that you’re just everybody’s like hanging out backstage just to watch what’s going Yeah, so much. Yeah, yeah.

Mark Allan
So if you weren’t busy, like changing madly into another costume, you wanted to hear what was going on? It was going on. But it was nice that that was a show. I don’t have much paraphernalia up in the house. But I have my I won an award for the show. Oh, nice. And it was these Calgary critic awards. And I didn’t know anything about it. And I sort of getting these texts for like the nomination. So like, congratulations, you’ve been nominated for the things I have no idea what it is. Yeah. So I kind of thought, Well, that’s nice. And I kind of put it out in my mind because I literally thought well, I’m not from Calgary. Maybe they just need like, every category is up for names. Yeah. So I’m gonna put it out of my head. And I totally got it was nice. And then the night that was the big award, we all went because the show was nominated. I was nominated. The Girl Who Played our lady was like, wasn’t nominated. So there’s enough of us, the director was nominated. So there’s enough of us that we all again, our whole cast went

Phil Rickaby
Did you were you already were you still in cap still there which I still want to

Mark Allan
and my sister so happened to be visiting and so she was all excited and she’s like, you’re gonna win it’s gonna be so great. I was like, I’m not this is so yeah, don’t just let’s go have fun. You know, let’s get into Yeah, but then they they did the announcements and then all sudden was my name. And it was like one of those weird like, Blackout like, could see my name up there. And like the noise of people screaming Yes. Yeah. But it was 100 muted. And like then turning and seeing people like trying to get rid of and then I definitely learned to that if you go to an awards thing and you think you have no chance still fucking have something prepared because like I don’t even remember I said while I was up there was like, I don’t even know what I’m saying right now. My sister recorded it. So I got to watch it afterwards because I left. I was like, I have no idea what just happened. Yeah, but it was nice. You know, it’s like, and when you’re like, doing a show that you love, and then you kind of get, like, any kind of recognition like that. I mean, what else can you really asked for? Because I don’t know, like I’ve said to people, again, like, younger people starting out in this business and like, if you have asked us aspirations, yeah, of like fame and fortune, that’s great. But like, that’s not like really reality of what happens here in Canadian theatre, especially,

Phil Rickaby
when really the reality of what happens in American Real? No, really, there’s maybe like, a few people whose names you could say that they’re famous in theatre doesn’t happen

Mark Allan
totally. But so I would say to them, I said the best thing and the most you can maybe that sounds like you’re shooting low, but I always say like to get the respect of your peers in the industry is probably the highest honour I can think of. Yeah, you know, having people to say like, oh, yeah, he’s a really good solid performer. He’s great to work with, you know, over like,

Phil Rickaby
you know,

Mark Allan
Lamborghini any day? Well,

Phil Rickaby
I mean, Lamborghinis break down, exactly, you know, realise that you’re in debt, because you’re maintaining theatre relationships and having an attractive Yeah, goes, you know, goes a long way. Yeah. And you have I think, that, I mean, once you have that, it’s, you can think back on that, you know, and it’s the thing that you’ve got, and like you say, it’s like, your one piece of theatre paraphernalia that Yeah, yeah. Which is like, you know, speaks to speaks to that. All right. Um, once you’re done, I mean, this smile show is it’s going for, it’ll go till the end of April.

Mark Allan
Do you know what you’re doing after that? Or do you go to the Burlington Art Centre? They’re doing a production spelling bee that I’m doing.

Phil Rickaby
Oh, nice. Nice. already. And can you say what role you’re having lif Coney bear? Yeah. That’ll be fun. How long is it? How long is that going for?

Mark Allan
I think that’s starts the end of the end of June and runs till the end of July. That’s cool. Yeah. So short strip and sweet. Sweet, but I mean,

Phil Rickaby
there aren’t really any long running shows right anymore. Yeah. I mean, I have friend she she was living in New York. And when she left Toronto, she It was when, you know they MS was running for years. And Phantom was running for years. And like every show was around for years. Yeah. And that’s when she left to go to New York. When she came back. She was expecting it would still be that way. And now. I think Kinky Boots is the longest running show. Yeah, right now. It’s, I guess it’s gonna be closing in the summer. But yeah, like we don’t have long running shows

Mark Allan
in Toronto has, yeah, Toronto. I mean, it had like that heyday of stuff, right? And it was funny. It was like when I when I first started it was like all those shows. And I was too young to be in anything. Yeah. And then it kind of kind of swung back around again, but then it was like they’re all like trying to cast like, you know, rent I’m not like rent but like, that was like early on, I guess but then there was like other shows. But then they were really trying to cast like truly cast only teenagers. Yes. Yeah, you’re like okay, so I was too You were too young and now I’m too old. Yeah, yeah. So

Phil Rickaby
it’s funny that I mean, we’ve gotten to this this place this point here where New York Theatre the show’s run for years yeah years and years like wicked still playing and you know, a Phantom of the Opera is still fighting and here maybe it’s because we just don’t have the theatres to support a long run because I know subscribers won’t settle for like a show that runs for years because they want show shows right? And you know, there’s only a finite amount of space you need to ticket sales don’t go that for that long.

Mark Allan
Yeah. Well it’ll be interesting to see what like Kinky Boots is closing in May they say I don’t know and I don’t know if there’s if that’s like set in stone because of the American dollar like yeah, all those Americans coming in again. Like that’s when

Phil Rickaby
that’s that’s true because because I think that when they MS and Phantom were running for a long time the dollar was not awesome and tour reps are coming in droves.

Mark Allan
Yeah. Yeah. So and it was really like I can say because the when I was working at ticket king I put the emphasis on ticket King the whole SARS ridiculousness that was blown out of proportion. Killed Theatre in Toronto. Yeah. American stops coming. Like we I saw it I was on the phones. Yeah. And we had all of that time there was all the shows. Like the Lion King, everything that was going on and it just like dropped, and it’s and then what they tried to do was then it was like, Okay, well to get people we’re going to now we’re going to do all these package deals. So like come and pay this amount and you can get the show and and two nights at a hotel and a meal. Well then then people got used to that. And then they didn’t want to pay. Yeah, more without getting all that. Yeah, you know, so then it was like, you know, it just kind of spiralled in that way. My understanding of what I was seeing.

Phil Rickaby
Yeah, yeah.

Mark Allan
So it’s yeah, we would, we would do good getting Americans back.

Phil Rickaby
I mean, that’s I mean, that literally, I think that’s been the bread and butter of the like the big show the murmurs theatre. That’s been the what’s kept it going right now, there’s great to have have locals but we need to tour groups. Yeah, I think yeah. And same for like Stratford. And hope for sure. And, and Shaw as well. Yeah. tour groups are what? What pay the bills?

Mark Allan
For sure. Yeah.

Phil Rickaby
And sometimes I don’t know if that if I think that that’s necessarily a good idea that, you know, we can’t do it ourselves. But then who can? Yeah, like? Yeah, we are. We are, in essence, a small country. Yeah. You know, and we’re doing the best we can what we have. Yeah. So you’re doing you’ve got a spelling bee? No. And are you able to look beyond that yet? Or is it? Like how far

Mark Allan
as a not yet? Well, it just depends like some years. You know what you’re doing all year long with last year, I knew I was like, booked up all year. But like right now, that’s all I know, is spelling bee. And then I’m like hoping to all Murray and get my job. But yeah, Ed Mirvish back,

Phil Rickaby
are you Are you auditioning for stuff right now? Or is it like, what’s the audition landscape? Like right now? Is it generally things auditioning or no?

Mark Allan
I? I don’t know. I don’t know. Like the the last little the last stretch of things, too. I’ve been lucky that it’s just been like, I’ve been asked to do this thing. Yeah. And so then you’re kind of like, when you’re already booked for something. You’re obviously your agents not gonna send you out. So I’ve kind of I’m kind of out of sync of what’s actually auditioning right now. Or what’s going on. But like, I think, I think like January and February, usually really busy time. So assuming that all of that is all done. Yeah. You know, for I think pretty much people are all set up for their summers. But I guess like it’s later on. Yeah. So maybe in the summer, there’ll be more things for the fall, which are coming up. So yeah,

Phil Rickaby
we’re basically at the end of our time, but thank you. Thanks so much for talking to me today.

Mark Allan

Thank you. It’s been great.