#403 – Mariel Kathryn Hunter
This week on Stageworthy, host Phil Rickaby speaks with actor, director, and casting professional Mariel Kathryn Hunter. Based in Saint John, New Brunswick, Mariel has worked extensively in theatre, film, and television, both as a performer and behind the scenes.
Mariel shares her journey from Saint John to Vancouver and back, discussing how an unexpected dream pushed her to pursue acting. She also talks about her work in casting, her approach to directing, and why storytelling is essential in regional theatre.
This episode explores:
- How a vivid dream convinced Mariel to become an actor.
- Her experiences in Vancouver’s theatre and film industry.
- Why she chose to return to Saint John to continue her work in the arts.
- The challenges and rewards of directing in a smaller theatre community.
- The importance of mentorship and supporting emerging artists.
- Her insights into casting and helping actors bring their best performances.
Guest:
🎭 Mariel Kathryn Hunter
With a versatile resume in film, television, and theatre, Mariel Kathryn Hunter brings a dynamic blend of production expertise and artistic vision to every project. With credits ranging from casting director to production roles on projects of every scale from commercials and corporate videos to MOWs, documentaries, animated series, broadcast television, short and feature films her diverse industry experience in all stages of production reflects her love of all facets of creating. Mariel has honed her craft across diverse genres over the last decade plus and has taken advantage of any training opportunities available to her to widen her skill sets. She’s worked on projects for Paramount +, MTV, CBC, APTN, and Just For Laughs.
Through her theatre company, Fort Heart Productions, founded in 2017 she has served as Artistic Director and has produced and directed dozens of pieces for stage all while providing training opportunities in the form of acting workshops. As the founder of Bicoastal Casting, Mariel has connected talent to opportunity, most notably for the sci-fi series Revival shot in the Greater Saint John Region. Mariel is looking forward to holding more community oriented events in 2025, including monthly acting workouts.
Connect with Mariel:
Instagram: @unknownmariel
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marielkathryn
Instagram: @fortheartprods
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fortheartprods
Instagram: @bicoastalcastingnb
Support Stageworthy
If you love the show, consider supporting on Patreon: patreon.com/stageworthy
Subscribe & Follow:
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Your favourite podcast app
📺 Watch on YouTube – Like, subscribe & hit the notification bell!
Transcript
Transcript is auto-generated and may contain minor errors.
Phil Rickaby: I’m your host and the producer of Stageworthy. Phil Rickaby. Just a little bit of Housekeeping before we get going. If you’re watching on YouTube, it would be great if you could hit the like and subscribe button, hit the little bell to get alerts and all that sort of stuff. The things that YouTubers always say. If you are listening on Apple podcasts or Spotify or any of the other places where you get podcasts, I would love it if you would subscribe if you haven’t already. That way every episode will be delivered right to you and you will never miss an episode of Stage Worthy. And believe me, I have a lot of exciting things planned for the future of this podcast today. My guest is Mariel K. Hunter. I first met Mariel a couple of years ago, well pre pandemic years ago, so I guess more than a couple. I was in Saint John, New Brunswick for the Fundy Fringe and uh, Mariel was there getting ready to take her show to the Halifax Fringe and I was going there. So we got to meet there and then did the Halifax Phring and became really good friends. At the time that I met Mariel, she, uh, being a, ah, Saint John native but was living in Vancouver, having gone there for theatre school and then stayed there for a number of years and is now back in Saint John. They’re teaching and uh, also doing some casting locally. Mariel is an incredible performer and director. Extremely insightful as a director and show creator. Mariel is one of those directors who could just sort of like see into the heart of a scene and drop that little tidbit of knowledge that the performer needs to make it come to life. And I won’t keep you any longer because here’s my conversation with Mariel Hunter. So Mariel, I want to start just jumping in. I would like to start by talking about uh, your cross country journey that you’ve had.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Transition.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, I mean, so first off, um, you had um, ah, you were, when I met you, you were living in Vancouver and now you’re back in Saint John, which is ah, where you grew up. Um, so what was the journey that took you from. From, okay, first off, from Saint John to Vancouver, then from Vancouver to Saint John.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah, let’s cover both leaps. So when I was a kid growing up in Saint John, I knew I wanted to be an actor. I knew I wanted to be involved in film and television and theatre and I grew up in that age where um, when you tried to go online it still made those really funny sounds.
Phil Rickaby: Do do, do, do oh, I know those sounds.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah’ll uh, have to explain it to your younger audience. But, um, I remember sitting at my ancient computer and dialling up to the Internet and looking for how do I get an agent, how do I get into a movie, how do I go on tv? All of these things. And it was like, you go to Toronto or you go to LA or you go to New York. There was nothing on the east coast, um, at my age to go and do. And so I knew that at some point I was probably going to have to make a leap somewhere. Life comes at you, you end up in school. I went to do a little bit of university and I was about. I, um, was. I have like a semester left of my university degree to this day because I got to the point of, like, if I don’t go and do something about this dream I have now, I’m never going to do it. And I have to.
Phil Rickaby: I have to interrupt you because one of my. One of the things that I’m always curious about is, is for people who came to the realization that this is what they wanted to do. Um, what was it that you were doing at the time that you were like, I can’t do this anymore?
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Um, so I was doing a double major, um, arts degree, uh, in poli sci and philosophy with a minor in business. And I was, you know, in a relationship that wasn’t going terribly well. And, uh, I had this dream one night that, you know, I ended up married and in Saint John and, you know, 2.5 kids and whatnot. And, uh, I had this little girl in the dream who ran up to me who looked just like me and she said, mommy, Mommy, what did you want to be when you grew up? And I said, I wanted to be an actor. She was like, why aren’t you? And I was like, gut shot.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, okay.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah. And so it was just this reality check of, like, you know, someday I wanted the family and I wanted to be able to say, you can go and do whatever you want to do, but you have to go and you have to try. And so that kind of was a call to action for me to go and try. And I have literally no regrets. I would have regretted it forever had I not gone. Um, and I always knew that ending up back here would be a part of that journey. I actually wrote in my journal the day that I left Saint John in earnest. So I went out to Vancouver in 2012 to do a year of school. And, uh, in January 2013, I got on a plane to like, all right, here we go. Career time. And I wrote in my journal as the plane took off in Saint John, you’ve got 10 years. You’ve got 10 years to get everything you want out of this. Um, meet all the people you want to meet, work all the work you want to work, do all the things that you got to do that aren’t here in this region, uh, because somebody’s going to need you to come back. And Phil, I swear to God, um, my dad called me up in January of 2023 and said to me, hey, uh, I’ve got a surgery coming up. I really need you to come home, spend a few days here, help me out. Can you do it? I said, yeah, I just picked a day out of the thin air. And I got on the plane, I was checking my Facebook memories and it was 10 years to the day since I have less Saint Johny Brunswick. No, seriously, 10 years to the day. And I just kind of sat there flabbergasted. And um, I was with my lovely husband who, uh, was at the time my fiance. And he came a few days after me and uh, we were staying in my parents basement helping out for a few days and we looked at each other and we were like, yep, it’s time to make the leap back, you know, And I really feel like I got what I wanted out of Vancouver. I made incredible friends in all of these industries, um, and had incredible experiences and it’s just time for, for the next chapter.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, so you kind of skirted around the like, you know, you said that when you were kid, you like, wanted to be, uh, in television, that sort of thing. When do you remember when it occurred to you that this was a thing that somebody could do?
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Oh my gosh. I think I played Barbie in my kindergarten, uh, Christmas play and Sananta and I got to save Christmas. And I think that from that moment on there was nothing that was going to stop me. Um, I’ve since found, ah, I’m an adopted kid. And so I found a book from my foster family that was given to my adoptive parents about what I was like in their care. And uh, I only found this when I moved back here in the last couple of years. And it said, you know, Mariel’s quite the entertainer. She mimics anybody she can mimic. She puts on a show for anyone who’s willing to watch. Da d da. I, uh, have pictures of myself like setting up all my toys and performing to them in my living room as a kid. I think it’s just, you know, something I was born with to a certain degree of like, I gotta entertain somebody doing something.
Phil Rickaby: I think that there is because, you know, in my years doing stage really, I’ve talked to little, a lot of people and uh, some people have a very distinct memory of like, this is the moment when I saw this play, I was like, I want to do that. That’s the thing. And some other people like yourself just sort of started entertaining. Yeah, like, that’s the thing. For me, I don’t remember a moment. I just remember like gathering the kids together when a, uh, bunch of people were over and I was like, all right, we’re putting on a plane.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yes, I did the same. All my poor cousins, my brother. Oh my God, I remember the rehearsals over like while everybody was cleaning up Christmas dinner.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, so you spent some time in like 10 years in Vancouver. Um, now, as somebody who grew up in, there’s two culture shocks that I kind of want to discuss. You grew up in Saint John and then you went to Vancouver, which is very different than Saint John. Um, so I want to talk about what that was like. But then your, your husband came back to Saint John with you having, I think, grown up in Vancouver.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: He grew up in Toronto, actually. Oh, yeah.
Phil Rickaby: Okay.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah, he’s a Thorn Hill boy.
Phil Rickaby: But like, um, uh, for him it must have also been like a bit of a culture shock going to Saint John, which again is a very different place than Toronto or Vancouver. So what were those culture shocks? Like, both like for yourself, but also like culturally for the theatre scene.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah, um, it’s funny because I was just discussing this the other night, um, going out to Vancouver from Saint John. It was this whole different world in so many ways. Um, obviously like a huge city compared to my hometown. Um, lots of nuance. I know you saw my friende show a million years ago, uh, where I kind of do that walkthrough as a culture shocked person new to the big city. Um, and that’s truly what it was like. I woke up in my apartment. Ah, I had gotten there in the dark of night. The night before I had my first like, day of school and uh, I had to walk through East Hastings to get to our campus and uh, right away, yeah, that was a culture shock. That was, that was something, um, and difficult, I think, to see and process and very much became a part of artistic things that I wanted to stage in the future. Uh, I wanted to bring things like that into my work that people wouldn’t necessarily have been exposed to another Places and bring my Saints John life into my Vancouver work in a similar way. Um, and so yeah, landing there and finally getting to be a part of things I think was just terrific because coming from Saint John at that time, um, Saint John had at one point, kind of, I think just before I was really old enough to be involved, had some film sort of stuff going on. Um, it’s always had a local theatre company, like community theatre, um, and a provincial theatre company. Um, but that was really it and I found some of those things really hard to get into. Uh, it was kind of like an established, you know, thing that s, ah, you know, there wasn’t that much going on. There were a few shows a year and not my roles for an 11 year old. Um, and going out uh, west, it was just like, oh my God, I can go take a dance class on a Tuesday afternoon. You know, I can go and I can get singing lessons or join any type of choir that possibly exists or you know, I can book a rehearsal studio somewhere and go roll around on a floor for no reason with other people who feel completely fine rolling around on floors with strangers for no reason. Um, and I think that was just like a really incredible thing to experience. Uh, and it’s just such a community of artists. Everywhere you go, you get on the bus and I always make the joke, you know, there’s 20 people on the same bus with the same sides going to the same audition. Um, and we’re different auditions and it’s not anything like you would see where I’m from. Um, certainly not in the time I was from here. And so huge culture shock. Absolutely. But so, so wonderful. And then in the shift back to Saint John de Brunswick, I mean, yeah, absolutely. Culture shock all over again. And definitely one for my husband, uh, who has always been a big city war and it’s been incredible in so many ways. Um, I started my theaterre company here in May of last year. So we’re just going on our first full year. Yay. Um, and I planned out like a full month long social media campaign to launch my first like free workshop here I um, am, here’s Fort Hart. You know, like come out and give us a chance. Check us out. And it was like this day long free workshop, lunch provided. And I really thought it was going toa be an uphill battle to get anybody to come out. I had 20 spots, uh, and I was like, you know, if somehow I get enough people, you know, maybe, maybe I can throw another one or whatever. And by the end of the first week I had filled the workshop and I had 40 people on a waitlist, so I was thrilled with that. That was amazing. Um, and so there’s definitely a demand here. That said, it’s difficult to get people into the flow of things. So I run mostly monthly workshops, and obviously that’s a big commitment for a lot of folks. So we’re also doing things like, um, actor workouts once a month, and we’re trying to launch, um, youth workshops once a month for. For people aged like, 14 to 18, which has become really important to me because that’s, you know, little Mariel wanted to exist back then and didn’t really have that opportunity. And how I would have loved to have just been able to work with somebody who had some industry experience and could know, tell me where to go and what to do, because I really didn’t have anywhere I felt I could find that guidance.
Phil Rickaby: It’s really hard, uh, to find that when you are young, especially if you are a Canadian performer, because if you look up, um, how to break into the movie or whatever it is that kids might search for, um, it’s going to show you stuff largely about going to the States, going to Los Angeles and going to New York, that sort of thing. Um, and so it can be hard to find that information and actually to get it from people who’ve lived that which is so valuable. It’s so valuable to be able to just sort of talk to somebody who’s done or is doing the thing that you want to do.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah, hugely. And I think that we need more of that here in New Brunswick. A big dream of mine is bringing in some people that I’ve had the good fortune to meet, whether that’s online or otherwise in person, uh, to hopefully host some workshops down the road, and they can come in and work with some of the more advanced troop that I’m working with. And those people can get a bit more coaching from industry professionals who. You turn on your TV and you see them, and wouldn’t that be great, just to feel that sense of. I don’t want to say legitimacy, because. And actors. And actors. And actors. My perspective, uh, the lucky ones are the ones on our TV and in our films. But it does give that sense of, like, okay, this person, like, has a trajectory that I want to follow. And, yeah, to be able to have the opportunity to speak to somebody like that, I think means the world to so many.
Phil Rickaby: It’s also so valuable to be able to just get the stories from someone who’s done it, like when, uh, I was in, in Theatres School, I went to George Brow and all of our faculty were full time performers. So except for two, we had two full timers. And everybody else would come in their teacher stuff and they would have the best stories. You know, we had a music teacher, I think he’s passed on. Um, but when he was not feeling well, he would just sit there and we’re not going to sing today. And he’d just tell us stories. Uh, uh, and just to date myself for when this happened, he would sit there with a cigarette going in an ashtray as he told the stories. Because you could do that in those.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Dayse back in the good old days. Right.
Phil Rickaby: I don’t know if they’re good, but.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah, um, yeah, no, uh, I had some great teachers along the way who I really, really adore. I’ve been lucky enough to study a number of times with Matthew Lillard. Uh, one of my dearest friends and mentors is Bill Marchchant. Uh, and the entire staff at, uh, Vancouver Film School, where I went at the time I went there were all working actors. And so, you know, like, we’d frequently have classes rescheduled because people were on set that day and what a wonderful thing that was because then they were bringing that knowledge back to us.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Um, and it’s always great when some performers not only have great stories, but because they’re performers, they tell them really well.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah, yeah. There is a service that always helps too. Entertainment value.
Phil Rickaby: Yes.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Ye.
Phil Rickaby: Ah. Um, you mean you kind of met, you mentioned your theatre company. You mentioned your company, uh, Fort Hart. And I am curiousus. I. That’s your theatre company there, but it was also your theatre company in Vancouver. Um, that’s the company that you performed your friends show under. Um, what was the impetus for creating that company? And please tell me the story about choosing the name.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Oh, great. Yeah, I will. Um, so. Oh, gosh. Uh, the impetus for creating the theatre company was I was out in Vancouver. I was doing the thing, I was living the dream, you know, struggling to get into auditions despite having to work that day. And you know, just all the things that we go through is starving wannabes. Um, and I started looking at, you know, some of my friends who are also going to all these auditions and you know, they were really talented people, incredibly talented people. Um, people who, having enormous respect for. And it’s the Canadian curse, you know, it’s Hollywood north, you’re going to get a day play role and that’s kind of where it lives, know. And so they Were going out for girl number two or person in toilet paper commercial. And at some point I realised that I was killing myself even to be at that level. And it was just like, this is not what, know, a little Mariel dreamed of doing. I wanted to tell stories and I just felt this calling to the stage. And so I had, um. I had some inspiration from a couple of teachers of mine. Um, and I just felt like, you know what? I’ve got to make something happen for myself. It’s. It’s me or it’s no one, you know? And so I decided I would put on shows. And I think my goal was, like, I wanted to do 20 shows in a year, which is insane. But, you know, they say shoot for the moon.
Phil Rickaby: That. That is not just shooting for the moon. That is like. That’s like. That’s shooting for like, Saturn or something, because that is a lot of shows’s.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: A lot of shows. I think it came from a story Matt Lord told me where he said he had. He went to Circle Square and they said that they did, um. They did like 24 shows in like a year or a couple. I don’t know what it was. It was very impressive, though, and it was a launch point for me. Um, I just.
Phil Rickaby: I just want to stop and say that’s great for them because they have resources, probably more than one stage. That’s stuff they can do.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah. Yeah. Well, I didn’t take that into consideration the way I probably should have.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: But I will say that, like, we launched in 2017 and by the time the pandemic rolled around, we had done about 20 shows. So it was pretty good. Bad.
Phil Rickaby: Good.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: It wasn’t bad. I, um, was pretty proud of it. Uh, and they were stories I wanted to tell. They were projects I was really excited about every single one of them. I look back and I’m proud of, you know. Um. And so it’s just something that, like, really made me feel empowered in my own career, in a career where so much of it is in other people’s hands for reasons you will never know or understand. It’s amazing to hold some of that responsibility yourself and say, uh, I wanted to do this and I did it.
Phil Rickaby: It’s one of the hardest things about the industry. I think that certainly young, um, actors going into the industry don’t know because nobody really gets across to them. And if they. I don’t even know. When I was at theatre school, maybe somebody said it, but I was young and stupid, so I didn’t hear it. Um, but, like, that if you don’t get a roll, you m. Are never gonna know why.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yep. Ever.
Phil Rickaby: You are never gonna know what it was. And it could be, um, the shirt you were wearing didn’t go with the shirt with the person they already had in mind for the role had been wearing that day. You don’t know. And so it takes a lot of fortitude to be able to go into the industry and just let things go.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Ye. I always use the example with my students. I always say, um, you’re never going to know why. And it could be that you look like, you look like their ex girlfriend or, you know, you look like that guy that pissed the moss on the subway on the way in today. You know, you’re never going to know. And so it’s not your job. The other thing I always share with them is there’s a brilliant Brian Cranston quote. He was interviewed backstage at the Oscars years ago and he. I can’t remember what the question is. Uh, but it’s something about like, what advice would you give to younger actors? And it’s like, know what your job is. And your job is not to go to the audition to book the role. Your job is to go to the audition and show them what you do and put together the most well rounded version of the character that you can, uh, deliver that, leave it there, walk out and go to the next thing. Um, that’s your job.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah. It’s so hard to keep that in perspective though. And I don’t think a lot of people do manage that because once you start doing a lot of auditions, it’s like, it feels like that’s the grind. The audition to get the role, the audition to get the role. And it’s, uh, sometimes it’s so hard to keep and keep that fact position in your mind because you’re just thinking about this audition and then that next audition rather than like, what do I bring to this role?
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah, yeah, right. Yeah. And it’s about making the role your own. Right. Like, if it’s. It’s something I say often, um, in our workshops, it’s just like there’s never going to be another version of your, you know, um, I don’t know, Stanley, you know, there’s never going to be another version of your blanche. It’s you and what you bring to it. And your blanche today is going to be different than your blanche is tomorrow.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: You know, and it’s going to depend on so many factors that you can’t even quantify the important key part of Your job in this audition and this performance and whatever it is you’re doing is to be there presently and authentically and to, uh, know your lines and get the job done.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: You know, uh, by connecting with the other person, then working well, especially you can.
Phil Rickaby: Cause sometimes it’s hard to. I mean, if it’s a film audition, it can be really hard to connect with that casting director who’s just reading in a monotone, but you have to fake it.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah. Yeah. And, I mean, I don’t know. For me, I think I can land in connection pretty solidly and quickly with my readers. Um, I just. I’m always kind of aware of, like, I don’t know if you’re coming with me or not, but I’m going. You’ve been invited to this journey, and, uh, here we go. Good luck.
Phil Rickaby: Sometimes that’s what you gotta do, though. I mean, it’s like you hear these stories of an actor who’s been like, a casting director sees something in them, and they’re not right for this role, but they’re like. I know. But then you also hear, like, stories, um, about somebody who walks in, they’re auditioning for this show, they’re not right for that role, but suddenly they’re like, I like this actor. We’re gonna create a thing for them. Yep. Like, one of my favourite stories, the character on Cheers, uh, Cliff Clavin, um, that didn’t exist until that actor walked in. He was auditioning for Norm, and they were like, uh, we already. We’ve already cast him. Uh, so we’ve already got our bar fly. And he said, but do you have a bar? Know it all. And they said, uh, what? He said, well, there’s a long tradition. He launched this long thing. Very Clif Klavin, describing the history of the bar. Know it all. And they were like, well, we have to hire this guy.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: I love that he knew it all. To the extent that he knew he needed a role on the show, and he convinced them of that. Yeah, that’s beautiful.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, exactly. Exactly.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: No, I love stories like that, and I think it’s true. I think you do. I think when you make the choice to take responsibility for your own trajectory and take your career in your own hands, like, he shot his shot, you know, and he, uh, certainly got what. What he wanted out of it.
Phil Rickaby: Listen, I think sometimes we’I. Think you can shoot your. You shot too far. Right. You can, like, go so far with shooting your shot that they’re like, I need this person out of this room. So you have to be able to judge what your shot is and feel what that’s going to be. But the worst they can say is no and that it’s two letters and it’s not the end of the world and tomorrow you’ll go to another audition. Uh, the worst they can say is no. And that’s as long as you keep that in mind that that’s not the end of the world, you can keep going.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah. And I think it’s just that, you know, there’s going to be another audition, there’s going to be another role and if there isn’t, go make one. You know, uh, Jason Siegel, I’ve been kind of obsessed with like lately. Um, love him first off. And secondly, talk about creating your own opportunities. Um, y forgetting Sarah Marshall, you know, like, and there’s a great uh, interview where he talks about his have you seen forgetting Sarah Marshall? It’s relevant to the story. No, um, it’s not my type of film. It’s a totally a dude comedy. Um, that said, moments of absolute brilliance. Yes. Uh, and so he sings in the film a really weird song from a vampire musical that his character is written.
Phil Rickaby: Right. Isn’t it a vampire puppet musical?
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yes, okay. Yes, yes it is. And the story behind that is that he actually wrote that musical. And he went over to Jed apo’house one night because he wasn’t getting any roles. You know, he was this talul, awkward, lanky, kind of goofy looking guy. And uh, he went over to his buddy Jud’place who was like his industry friend at the time. And uh, he played it for him and he was like, this is it man, this is it. And Jude was like lovingly, you can never show anyone this. Like, you can never bring this stff. Like don’t do it man. Um, and then when they, you kind of made a bit down the road and they did forgetting Sarah Marshall, Jason was like, oh, I know how the film end’s vampire pop up musical. And Joe was like, it’s your film man. More power to you. Um, and it worked out beautifully. It was amazing. There’s a great video of the table read where he plays the song in the table read and the room lights up. And I just think its such a great example of creating from what might not have been a great idea or concept, something that comes to life later down the road. I always say whatever you do as an artist is going to serve you somewhere someday. And so thats true. Maybe that audition choice doesnt work for his character. The casting Director hates it, whatever. But then you go to another audition, they give you a redirect and somehow that choice becomes something brilliant that. Yeah. Uh, the next casting director is like, oh, my God. That is so this character. And the only reason you were able to go there is because you’ve gone there before.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: And so I just think it, for me evolves into this thing of like, try the thing, do the thing, make the choice, go for it and see where it lands. Because “us that’s out of your hands. What other people think about it is that of your hands.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, no, that’s true. I think a lot of times, um, we worry a lot about getting it right. Um, I remember back when I was in theatre school or acting teacher would often say, there’s no right and there’s no wrong. And then occasionally when we were getting ready, it’d do something. He’d be like, get it right. And we’d be like, which is it?
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: That’s the most theaterater still story I’ve ever heard.
Phil Rickaby: Which is it? Like, we’re like, spinning around. But also now I’m like, you just have to make the choice. Like, you gotta make. You gotta fail.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yes.
Phil Rickaby: You know, and sometimes it feels like you can’t, especially in the theatre. Like, a reviewer is coming to see the show. Uh, and if they hate it, they’re gonna. That is going to exist forever. My first play got one of the worst reviews I’ve ever gotten with the line that haunts me to this day. The phrase was uttered that the play has the impact of a feather duster.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Oh. Oh, Phil.
Phil Rickaby: Uh, no, but, like, listen, they were not wrong m about that play. But again, you have to fail and understand it’s not the end of the world.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: No, I know. And like, you also have to understand that one night or one scene or one whatever, doesn’t define anything. I’ve had my own bad review experience where, um, someone who was co producing a play with me, uh, and who was in the play invited a reviewer without me knowing, to our opening night. And it was really more of a dress rehearsal than it was an opening night. Uh, yeah, it did not. It did not go terribly well. Uh, the reviewer was very kind. Um, but. O o o It hurt. Um, and so, like, yeah, that’s out there somewhere. It is, and that’s a fact. But the rest of that run I loved. You know what I mean? And the people that came to the rest of the run were very, uh, Very, uh. They received the show quite well. And so’no one’s ever going to know the story of that day, that performance, that whatever that happened. And they’re not going to see everything that went into it. They’re left with one impression. And all that matters, all that matters is that you show up the next day and you continue to do your job.
Phil Rickaby: I mean, this is the thing. And first off for theatre, that play, that performance, that moment, it only exists, um, right in that moment. And then tomorrow’s another opportunity to go at it, you know, and that’s one of the beautiful things about it, is that it’s ephemeral. It lasts for one moment and then it’s over.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: And you learn from it is key.
Phil Rickaby: Oh, yeah.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: There was so much we learned from that night’s performance and not even from the review, but from that night’s performance and then the review that we carry forward into the work for the rest of the week that made it all stronger. So as long as you can take from failure the stuff that bolsters you to success next time, you’re doing it, right?
Phil Rickaby: Absolutely, absolutely. And also, you know, people can really get hung up on reviews, but it is only one person’s opinion.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah, yeah. I had a review written my, uh, about my friends show that broke my heart for a moment. But ultimately the criticism was this play didn’t reflect my experience at theatre school. I was like, okay, well, about my experience at theater’s goal, you know.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah. So wr your play, about your experience at theatre.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: I’d love to see it. I’d love to come and see it.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah. Um, I want to come back to your theatre company because the one thing we I didn’t get toh is the name. Where does the name come from?
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: All right, so Fort Hart. You know what’s so funny is I packed up my life and moved back to Saint John. And of course we’ve been digging through boxes as we settle into our Stillen renovations house. And I came across a, uh, project I wrote for school when I was in theatre school. And it was uh, essentially the outline of Fort Harte Productions. I found it scribbled on so many different pages from different classes. Uh, so the roots of it were somewhere before I even realised it. Uh, but Fort Hart, uh, is a bit of an homage to my hometown, which has many forts. We were the first incorporated city in Canada. I will have you now. Uh, and so we have Martello Tower, we have Fort how we have Fort Latour. Uh, we have a strong history in the region and it was a way of me celebrating that sort of part of my history. Uh, it’s also my father’s initials, F.H. and so that was very important to me to put in there. He’s the hugest supporter I’ve ever, ever had. He took me to every play that was anywhere and uh, has flew out to Vancouver for my plays and for my graduation and just what a wonderful man he is. Um, and it’s also something that spells out for the art. So that’s a big part of why I want to do what I’m doing is I really want to explore the boundaries of storytelling. I want to challenge audiences. I of course want to entertain people, I want to make people laugh. But I also want to make us all look in the mirror and look at what the world is going through.
Phil Rickaby: Yeahah. Um, with this, uh, move back to Saint John and sort of like restarting Fort, uh Hart here in Saint John. Um, you’ve been teaching now. Were you teaching in Vancouver? Is this a new thing for you?
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah, no, I was teaching in Vancouver. Um, I think I launched my workshops in Vancouver in 2018. Um, and before that I had been running an alumni group at the school I went to, uh, which wasn’t me formally teaching but it was, um, I found that there was this need among a lot of my graduate friends who we got out of school and we went yay. Wait, what, what, where do I, what do I. You know? And so I just, I felt the need to want to like cleave on to others for that support in that community. And we built one and that was an amazing thing. Uh, and we all kind of taught each other. It was very like Neighbourhood Playhouse sort of thing. Uh, and then uh, it kind of evolved into. Once I created Poor Heart and me eventually teaching and I just love it. I love it so much. And so I knew when I moved here there’s not much arts education available. Um, when, when there is it’s one off workshops which can be great. Uh, but it’s not something that’s going to build and sustain. So something that I’ve always wanted to see happen in the Atlantic region and particularly in New Brunswick is a massive boost to our filmamen and TV industry. And some of those opportunities are starting to come here. It’s really exciting. But again we’re going to end up in this weird area where we’re bringing in all of our talent and I really want to see those opportunities created and given to people who are from here. The only way to do that is make sure that we have a strongly trained workforce ready to Go. And so a huge goal of mine is to be able to provide these opportunities to people, opportunities that weren’t here when I was, you know, growing up here. And to see them have the opportunity to get into a role on a film, get into a role on a TV show, even if it’s a day player role from here. It’s such a huge thing to put on your resume and then to continue to build your resume throughout the Atlantic region, into the wider region of Canada and who knows where after that.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah. One of my big pet peeves, as I see shows and movies that are filmed in Canada, um, is that fact that, sure, it was filmed here. Not a single lead character is from here. Um, uh, for the most part, like, occasionally there’s somebody who manages to luck out and they have a role that like goes through the show or the film, but that’s very rare. Usually they’re bringing in all of the actors from the U.S. and then, uh, uh, you get to be a, uh, waiter number two or something like that. And I really feel like that s First off, it does a disservice to the talent that we have here.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Huge.
Phil Rickaby: But also it also serves to perpetuate the feeling that a lot of Canadians have that our product is inferior to the American product. Um, because, well, if it was any good, then our actors would be in the leads in this show.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Mhm.
Phil Rickaby: Right.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah. No, I know so many incredibly talented people here. I know people who I would put up against any American actor. Um, and they’re brilliant. They’re so good. They’re so good. And it’s heartbreaking, you know, to see them not get opportunities in their own country, um, because they are essentially Canadian. Um, and so, you know, I’ve had friends who have had really big meaty roles on some really great projects, but the running joke in Vancouver really was that, you know, if you turn on an episode is Supernatural, you’re going toa see three people who are crossing the street with you today. Everybody was on Supernatural. It was kind of like, um, it was Vancouver’s Law and order. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, yeah. And it’s great that they’re getting work. But that was everyone from people who are very, very green to people who have been doing this 40, 50 years without exaggeration, still booking the same calibre of roles simply because they’re going to bring in most of the leads. Oh, you’re muted again.
Phil Rickaby: Thank you. Um, I got. There are very few shows. Thank you. There are very few shows that I can think of that were shott in Canada that had Canadians in the leagues, I could really only think of one, and that was Battlest Star Galactica, which in its time had a bunch of Canadians in either lead roles or series regulars, which again, almost never happens. So it’s always like, once you found out. Oh, that I was always rooting for the Canadians on the show. Get more screen time. Get more screen time. Um, and it was, it’s so amazing when that happens. But again, so rare.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: So rare. And I mean it’s absolutely the exception, not the rule. But I mean it’s. You would think over this, this long a time span that would have shifted by now. Um, and I think we’re still very much in the infancy of that shift with everything that’s currently happening in the world. Uh, who knows what’s around the corner. Um, but I don’t see, I don’t see it changing without us changing it. You know what I mean? I come back to that idea of like, let’s make our own thing.
Phil Rickaby: I think that’s super important that, that the change will happen, but we have to make it like, uh, there has to be an effort here in Canada as it’s great that people are boycotting stuff from the US and they’re trying to buy Canadian groceries and uh, things like that. But there needs to be like, the industry needs to start turnurning out great shit. Like great shit.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah.
Phil Rickaby: Um, and putting it on TV in a way that puts it on the same footing as American stuff so that we can really show off.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yeah. I mean we have a lot to show off.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: But we need to create the same equal opportunities, at least for ourselves here. And I mean that’s part of a much larger conversation in, around distribution and marketing and just straight up money. Um, yeah. Which is hard to come by in this industry anyway. Uh, unless you’ve got a big name behind you. And even with those big names, they usually have to be an American name to bring that draw in, you know.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: And it is what it is to a certain extent, but it’ll be that way until somebody takes the torch and changes it.
Phil Rickaby: Yeaheah. And uh, this applies to film, television and theatre. People will line up to see the latest, um, musical coming in from the States at one of the big theatres. Um, but we have stuff that is as good or better in some of our smaller theatres. So like, this is something that we have to learn how to talk about it in a way that gets people to come out. And I think we’re really bad at Talking about.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Oh, we stop at talking about it. Oh, were so terrible at talking about it. And in the Atlantic region, I think something Ive been struggling with is that I think we are the most polite people on the planet. Um, but it comes at the cost of honest criticism sometimes. And so we kind of, we kind of missed the opportunity to level up sometimes, you know. And I was saying them, um, to a few my students the other day, we were talking about it. You know, they were asking me what one of the biggest differences is from Vancouver to Saint John. And I said, you know, there’s such a spirit of collaboration out west. It’s really like you can’t, you can’t go for a coffee with it. Running into somebody who says, hey, um, did you want to collaborate on like a play or did you want to put something up? Do you have something going on that I can promote? Like, it’s just, it’s, everybody’s all in on, like, let’s do the thing. And it’s a very collective experience. Um, and here I have just not found that same sense. We’re a hugely community oriented region, uh, which is a wonderful thing, but it seems really hard to find people who, who want to take the thing and run with it, you know what I mean? Or try new things.
Phil Rickaby: Well, yeah, I mean, I think that it is easier to be in a pond with a lot of fish than where everybody is like just sort of running around doing stuff, um, that you work together more in a pond with very few fish. Um, it can be more about, uh, I have my piece of the pie and, um, uh, you’ll come to me if you want, uh, want to take a bite. It can be really difficult, um, because somebody may be fought really hard to get where they are and um, other people, because there isn’t that whole, like, oh, there’s always, always, always people, always people doing stuff and making stuff. They can be a little bit harder, uh, in a place with a smaller pooleah.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: And I think what I want to, you know, shift in that narrative, uh, is that all art is collaboration at the end of the day, you know what I mean? Um, me creating something makes your creations awesomer. You know, you creating something makes my creations awesomer. It’s just about that sense if, like all art should be fuel for other art and you know, I have no one that I wouldn’t want to like, get together and throw something at the wall with. You know, if you’re creative and I’m, uh, a creative, then let’s create. And I think that that’s really what it comes down to for me is like, I just want to play, man. You know, I want to tell the stories, I want to. I wanna do the exercises, Inna. Find new ways of working that, like, really light something up. And why not try?
Phil Rickaby: Why not try it’I? Mean, theatre is not. It cannot be created in a vacuum. It is a collaboration. The only place that it might not be a collaboration is when the author is writing the first draught. And after that, it’s always gonna be some form of collaboration. And more and more people come into it all the time.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yes.
Phil Rickaby: Even a performance of a solo show, even, is a collaboration with an audience.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Absolutely, absolutely. Um. Because if you don’t have that, like, what are you doing?
Phil Rickaby: I mean, I’ve seen a show before where it was a solo show where the performer clearly did not need or care if the audience was there. And it showed in that the audience was like, why am I here? And, you know, but, like, until you realise that you’re collaborating with everybody, from the director to the producer to the costume designer to the set designer to the stage men, like everybody who comes into contact with this play is one of your collaborators. And at that point, so many magical things can happen.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Oh, my God. Yes. All you have to do is allow it. You know, it’s really. Your example makes me think that, you know, whoever this person was doing this solo show or the audience didn’t matter, might as well have put a mirror out there for them to work off of. Um, because if. If you’re not taking in the energy of the audience, at the very least, whether it’s an interactive show or not, if you’re not letting that at least affect you, then you’re not performing authentically to what’s happening in the room you’re in.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: And then what are you doing but gesticulating?
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I have had. Years ago, I worked, uh, at one of the big theatres here. This is a long time ago. Les Mis was playing in Toronto. It tells you about how long ago that was. And I was working at the theatre and one of the actor, uh, who was, uh, playingtonardier, was a genius. You know, sometimes a joke won’t land. Sometimes a joke won’t land. And maybe it’s because it’s a frighteneing out audience or a Wednesday, not an audience or whatever it is, they’re tired, the audience is not feeling it. It’s snowing, it’s raining, whatever it is, and they just don’t feel it. He was a master of knowing he could feel what the audience needed at the moment and he would, like, deliver the line or whatever it was in a way that suddenly they were, like, alive.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yep.
Phil Rickaby: And when you, uh, have a sense of the audience, you can. When you feel the audience, you can do that.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Yep. And you have to. You have to be in theatre, you have to be acutely aware of it. It’s a whole nother beast in film and television. Um, it’s still very relevant, but in a nuanced way. Um, and so I feel like with theatre, to develop that sensibility, to really have your. You have to sensationally be able to experience what the audience is going through with you. And if you’ve got them and if you don’t, and if you don’t, you have to make the fight, you know, and the fight is just to be present. It’s not. I’ve seen, you know, uh, performances where it’s one thing when someone’s trying to go for it to, like, date the line and, like, reel them in. And it’s very different when you’re just present and authentic and that’s what they need.
Phil Rickaby: Not. There’s nothing worse than watching the show where the audience is not there and the actors go, oh, well, now that we can do. And they kind of throw in the towel and they’re just marking time to the end of the show. I think we’ve all seen that. But it’s like the audience paid money. They came there to be entertained.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Oh, absolutely. I think you have a responsibility. You’ve created the poster, you’ve promoted the show, you’ve invited them in, you’ve taken their money, you’ve sat them down and, you know, often too warm or too cold for space in the dark. And at that point, it is your responsibility to crack your heart open, let these people in and challenge them to experience something with you. Whether it’s a comedy or drama, you have to be taking them on that Ride with youe. And if you’re not earnestly willing to collaborate with everybody in that space, your fellow actors, everyone on the stage crew, the tech crew and the audience, then you’re not doing the thing.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Um, just as we’re starting to reach the end of our time together, um, I wanted to ask a little bit about, um, Saint John as a theatre town. Now, I know there’s a Saint John Theatre Company and, uh, Saint John Theatre Company does the Fundy Fringe, um, or there’s a partnership there. Um, but of course, I’m in Toronto and I’ve only seen St John during the Fringe. So as somebody from St John who’s living in St John, um, can you tell me a little bit about the theatre scene in St John?
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Actually, I was just going to ask you if I could give a massive shout out. So, um, there is another theatre company that has started up here, um, and they do musical theatre. Uh, they just wrapped their second production and it was stellar, um, Sparkall productions. And uh, they’re really committed local artists. Um, excellent production value. They did Firebringer last year and they did Rent this year and both productions just blew me away. Nothing like anything I’ve seen in St John entire life. And so I just wanted to give a huge congratulations to them on their run. Um, wow, what a job well done. And uh, it’s exciting to see more and more things like that coming to the region. Soeah they’ve started up and Fort Hart, we have our showcase coming up, uh, in about a month’time so we’re really excited about that. That will be our first little foray onto the stage, uh, and then hopefully we’be watching a full season for next year.
Phil Rickaby: Amazing. Amazing. Um, now for you, what does a full season look like? Many. How many shows is a full season?
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: So what my hopes and dreams would be for 2026 would, uh, be that as the year comes on we’ll have a first production sort of in the spring through the summer. I’d love to bring back in Vancouver I did something called the Summer Shorties, uh, which was usually anthology pieces that we would launch, um, and have, you know, two hander, three hander plays, uh, that are really the length of scenes and just an awesome opportunity to get a lot of artists involved collaborating and on stage and telling stories and then roll into the fall with, uh, another piece. If I can get more done than that, I would love to do, uh, a few monologue competitions, community events, things to really bring people in and make sure that, uh, we’re bolstering the scene locally.
Phil Rickaby: Yeah, absolutely. That’s awesome. That’s awesome. Now Mariel, I’m going to link all of your social media for uh, uh, the casting and your theatre company and all that sort of stuff. But where could people find you online?
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Little me. Um, so on Instagram I am Unknown Mariel. Uh, and on Facebook I am Mariel Katherine Hunter. I think those are my only socials currently.
Phil Rickaby: Well, Miel, it is so good to sit down and chat with you. I really appreciate you making the time for me and uh, uh, uh, yeah, than. Thank you so much for sharing, uh, an hour with me.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Oh, I’m so glad we were able to do it. I’ve missed you. And it’s just always such a joy to speak with you and to talk. Theatre with you is so rewarding.
Phil Rickaby: Thanks, Mario.
Mariel Kathryn Hunter: Thanks.
