SHAKESPEARE’S SECRETS
November 13, 2020
TUESDAYS TEA
December 15, 2020
Meet Luna
Luna is a powerhouse that created a platform “Showtoons” to connect with Broadway stars, do you understand how incredible that is? She inspired us by showcasing the level of agency she has as an artist. She strives to make connections in the industry, and her passion for the arts can be seen from miles away. We are so excited to be featuring her this week as our featured Emerging Artist.
Luna Sinclair is a theatre, film and voice actor currently in her first year of studies at the University of Alberta. She recently graduated from the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts at Central Memorial High School in their Theatre Arts Stream. Luna has also trained at Six Degrees Studios and has been performing with Calgary Young People’s Theatre for the past five years. Select past credits include: SNOW WHITE and RUNS IN THE FAMILY (Calgary Young People’s Theatre), SHAKESPEARE’S DOG and MAMMA MIA (Central Memorial High School). Luna also voices in the podcast THEY SAY A LOT OF THINGS, rated five stars on iTunes. Luna would like to express her gratitude for her family and mentors who continually support and encourage her passion for performing and her love for the arts.
I want to be a performer.
This kind of sounds funny, but I started to do little shows with my sister, and we would perform for our parents. Also, at my elementary school, we had a lot of artists in residence opportunities. Companies like Trickster Theatre would come in, and we get to like to create a piece of art together. I think the first time we did, it was in grade 3 – so much fun! I guess I was introduced to the theatre at a young age, and it was something that I discovered I was passionate about. When the time for high school, I decided to audition for Central Memorial’s performing and visual arts program (A Calgary based highschool). You get to spend an hour each day in your chosen discipline at that school, and you do full productions. I was excited by that, and then when I got in, I think that’s what solidified “Okay, I want to do this.”
Calgary Young People’s Theatre (CYPT)
My mom had a co-worker’s daughter who is a part of one of the shows, and I went to see them perform Richard the 3rd. It was the first time I’d seen kids my age on a stage that wasn’t at school. I was like, that’s so cool, I want to do that! I got my mom to sign me up for classes, and I went to an audition, and I was so excited. I didn’t get in the first time, but then the next time, I got in. The program has so many cool opportunities because not only do they have their mainstage shows, they also have the cannonball festival. The festival is completely youth written, youth-directed, organize and performed. A great opportunity for people who want to write or director anything; It was awesome. I think I did a total of six productions at CYPT, from grade 9 to grade 12. CYPT was an awesome experience, and I definitely recommend it. They have such an awesome community and was a great place to grow as an artist because there’s so much support.
Podcast – THEY SAY A LOT OF THINGS
The podcast was written by a girl I met from CYPT, and she went to my high school as well. She asked me if I would be interested in auditioning for a role, so I read some headlines and sent it in. It was cool because they cast people from all over, so it was a lot of recording yourself and submitting it. Then they would edit it into the episodes. The podcast follows the story of a ghost – my character was one of the teens who lived in Lake City, where the ghost was haunting. It’s a cool story. You can find it on iTunes. It was one of the first experiences I had with voiceover, and that’s a cool thing to do just from your own house and get comfortable with. You have to act differently when you can’t show your whole body, so it was really cool to explore.
Approaching Theatre, Film, & Voiceover
It comes down to the degree of specificity required (for each discipline). Theatre, it’s a lot more open because there’s a live audience you get to playoff. You get a different energy every time you do it, and there’s a lot more room to play. It’s not like film, where it’s close up, and you can’t make too many big movements because it shows up “jarring” on the screen. Because of that, I think that theatre is cool, there’s so much room to play and room to try new things. If (the acting choices you pick) works, it works, and if it doesn’t, you have like ten more shows to figure it out. On the other hand, film shows really specific emotion, and you have room to play with little hints of what you are trying to express. Voice over is one more step where you have to inflict everything based on your tone. Voiceover is usually restricted a lot time-wise as well – “you have 30 seconds to do this,” so you have to fit it all in that time. You are making sure that it is still genuine and true to the text.
Showtoons – Instagram Account
Showtoons is almost like a Broadway fan page. I post stuff about different musicals and different shows on Broadway or on tour in the West End. I started doing that at the beginning of 11th grade and gained a pretty significant following. I actually had just seen “The Book of Mormon” at the Jubilee, and I was like, “this is cool. I’d love to talk to Broadway across Canada” – maybe I can get a social media internship or something? I liked doing the Showtoons stuff, so I emailed them (Broadway across Canada), and I was like, “hey do you guys have any openings for social media internship?” Is there anything that we can work on together? They messaged back and said, we’d love to have you as a social media ambassador – I forget the exact word that they used. Since then, they started giving me tickets to shows that would come to Calgary. Then I posted about them on the Showtoons page. I think I’ve seen five shows with them. It’s really sweet that they’ll send me to these shows, and then I share them on my page, and it’s been a really cool experience. It’s a level of professionalism while sharing what I’m super passionate about. I love performing, but I also love watching other performances and learning from actors on stage. I was invited to the first preview of “Six” on Broadway, so I got to go. I got free tickets to that, and my stepmom was super awesome, and we went to New York together. It was a really cool experience to be invited to something like that. Also, my online friends (who I had met online through my Broadway account) were invited, so I got to see them for the first time too.
Adjusting to COVID – Showtoons: From Home
I knew a lot of people were like missing theatre and that connection that comes with it. I decided to start a concert series on Showtoons called “From Home.” Where I’d have three to four performers do a song and do some question and answer. It was a fundraiser for the Actors Fund. At first, it was on Instagram live, and it was optional to donate, and it was awesome. The first time we raised over $300. The last two (concerts) have been over zoomed, so there’s a minimum donation of $3 to the Actors Fund. Then they get the link to see the Zoom show, and it’s so much more intimate of an experience. Instead of it being like 2000 people watching on Instagram, it’s 20 to 30 people. You get to ask the performers questions, and there were a lot less technical difficulties over zoom, which was really nice. It’s just been a cool opportunity to one, meet performers and two, meet actors who are on Broadway. Getting to see them do what they love and then getting to share in the magical Theatre experience again. I think it’s really important to be supporting the Actors Fund and different charities like that right now who are helping people who don’t have jobs because of COVID. Showtoons is a cool mix of things that I’m passionate about that I get to share with people.
Closing Thoughts
Believe in yourself and take as many opportunities as you can. Even if it’s not what’s right for you, there’s always the possibility that you’ll make a connection that you’ll need. Or that you’ll use later. For example, when I got the email from my Drama Department for this opportunity (Shakespeare’s Hunnies interview). I thought, “of course, I want to talk to people about what’s going on with my artistic career!” Even if at first, I was like, “oh, I don’t know if they’ll be interested”- I don’t know if I have that much exciting stuff to say, but I thought; might as well reach out. The worst that’s going to happen is you replying, “oh, that’s not really what we’re looking for right now.” Then I’d be like, “okay. ” I think that it’s important just to take as many opportunities that you can and not let the fear of rejection rule what you’re going to do.
