'Step into someone else's shoes,' Inclusive theatre group urges with new show

Windsor's theatre scene is rich with options, but there's a new kid on the block with a particular motivation: To bring original plays to life through the voices of the historically marginalized.

Rebecca S. Mickle is the artistic director of Threshold Theatre Movement, a group that says it aims to create "transformative, inclusive theatre." Mickle is both the playwright and one of the performers in the group's inaugural play, She Will, which opens Thursday night.

"Inclusive theatre is this beautiful space where everybody can come together and step into someone else's shoes, into someone else's life," says Mickle.

The play is set with just three actors, all portraying the same woman at different stages of her life. Actor Mary Grace Weir plays the 'crone,' Chantel Pare plays the 'maiden' and Mickle plays the 'mother.' 

The stage set is dressed to appear as a young girl's bedroom, filled with boxes of memories, photos, journals and costumes. As memories pop up, so do traumas and complex emotions which must be explored with the character at different phases of life. 

The three women interact with one another as the 'crone' sorts through her past after the death of her mother. 

"I must say I'm not in love with the name 'crone' for somebody under 60," jokes Weir, an experienced actress in the Windsor circuit. 

But age did play a role in her choice to get involved with the group. 

"For me, it's not just being a woman, but actually an older woman," she said. "There are times when I feel invisible.

 "The number of roles for women my age and older [is] tiny. You really need to find a theatre company that will deliberately choose things for that." 

On the opposite end of the age spectrum is Gen Z actor Chantel Pare, whose character navigates the onslaught of the internet. 

"I didn't grow up in exactly the time of this character, but it still resonates with me, growing up as a woman and trying to figure yourself out and dealing with creeps online," she says. 

The three actresses spent significant time together, learning each other's mannerisms and speech patterns so that they could accurately portray the same character, but in different forms.

Behind the sound board is Camryn Kingsley, a board member for Threshold who has been watching the rehearsals and is also an actor. 

"There [are] not a lot of roles for young brown women that occur naturally," she says.

Afternoon Drive7:22New theatre group in Windsor amplifies stories from marginalized communities

Threshold Theatre Movement is a new theatre group in Windsor. CBC's Josiah Sinanan takes a peek behind the curtain ahead of their inaugural play, She Will.

"There's this underlying feeling of 'oh, this role is written for a young woman in her twenties, my personality naturally could fit that role.' But when you go into an audition, you may sense that someone has a picture of what this character looks like in their mind, and that's not you." 

For Mickle, the inaugural play will put its money where its mouth is: proceeds from their ticket sales will go to Hiatus House, a women's crisis support centre and shelter in Windsor.

"Writing [this] came from a place of overcoming some of my own trauma and also [hearing about how] Hiatus House helps women in these traumatic situations."

She Will runs June 19 to 22 at Windsor's Shadowbox Theatre.