Much ado about acting: Islander accepted to Stratford Festival prep school

Devin MacKinnon had never acted before he arrived at UPEI.

By the time his studies were complete, he had a minor in theatre studies, performed in a production each of the four years he attended, and became involved with a community theatre group in Charlottetown.

He also spent a summer at the Victoria Playhouse his first paidjob. That, he says, is when he really caughtthe acting bug.

"When I realized that you could make a living from it, that's kind of when I decided to pursue it more full time," MacKinnonsaid.

Getting ahead

MacKinnon,along with nine others, was recently selected to attend the Birmingham Conservatory for Classical Theatre.

It prepares actors for a full seasonat the Stratford Festival, with three six-week terms with movement and voice classes as well as presenting several plays.

MacKinnon said the experience is essential because of the differences in the size of venues from what most people are used to and the scripts they are working from.

You put the work in and you prepare for your auditions and stuff but there's nothing really that can prepare you for getting accepted into an opportunity like this.- Devin MacKinnon

"There's a lot of work done to connect you with your voice and with your body and with the hugeness of the thoughts that often come with these classical texts. Cause you know you can have a chunk of Shakespeare and one thought takes seven or eight lines," he said.

"It's really nice to kind of get that head start ... it's a good little introduction to the company so that you're not arriving on the first day of rehearsal in February or March and are just kind of totally thrown off guard."

Getting the call

MacKinnon said he was one of hundreds of people across the country who auditioned for the opportunity to join the conservatory, and one of 30 that got a callback.

He got thecall from his agent telling him he had been chosenwhile on break at a rehearsal.

"I got the news and I held all the excitement in and then I just sat on the floor for about five minutes letting it all wash over me ... you never really expect those calls," he said.

"You put the work in and you prepare for your auditions and stuff but there's nothing really that can prepare you for getting accepted into an opportunity like this."

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