Karen Lazar: Who’s / whose
professional: the actor in English Canada
This
paper will examine the status of the actor in English Canada as s/he
transitioned from amateur to professional in the years between 1946 and
1955. These seemingly innocuous terms of
classification are characteristically laden with echoes: connotations
that
fuel, for some, the need to positively identify the “Canadian-ness” of
the
actor, and for others, to own a status which can be used as an
international
measuring stick, moving beyond prescribed borders. Values of
“professional”
differ per culture, and incorporate issues such as reception, the
critical/aesthetic frame, remuneration for the creative act, and
finally
training, vis-à-vis our historical connection to the
British and
American theatre systems. These values point to the possible
“hybridization” of
the professional actor in English Canada, or conversely, point to the
evolution
of a Canadian professional actor, a discussion that has been and still
remains divisive
and controversial.