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29 October, 09:46
Asia Radko

RAY HOULE on Breaking Gender Norms Through Inclusive Casting, Play 'White Christmas' and Working with Sutton Foster

Ray Houle is an American theater actress who believes that theater should challenge traditional views of gender and sexuality, creating more opportunities for people regardless of their gender. Ray’s passion for performing began in childhood, but her first major production came after she graduated from high school. Since then, she has actively participated in various theatrical productions, including one of Chelsea Theatre’s most atmospheric shows, White Christmas. One of the designers behind the production is Theo Harris, an American artist, costume designer, and sewist with a distinctive perspective on historical and fairytale style's with a talent for naturally combining unconventional materials to create costumes. He was the one who made the dress Ray wore during her performance. Ray considers her role as Elektra in House of Atreus one of the most meaningful roles of her career. The character allowed her to channel many of her own emotions and aspects of her personality, despite the significant differences between her personal goals and those driving the characters in this Greek tragedy. On October 3, Ray performed in one of the most significant shows for her career, An Evening with Sutton Foster. Ray spoke with Asya Radko, founder of Drive Music Media, about the importance of gender-inclusive casting, theater productions, and her experience working with Sutton Foster.

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10 September, 11:23
Asia Radko

KELSEY FALCONER on Portraying Mothers' Mental Health, Filming The Way Home, and Woodworking

Kelsey Falconer is a Canadian actress and wood worker whose role as Tessa Cooper in The Way Home was not fully revealed on screen, but it shaped the actress’s portrayal of the character. What was important to Kelsey was that she never perceived Tessa through the lens of her mistakes. The character itself is, in fact, very deep and very real — there is no performative heroism in her, but rather the feeling of a real person moving through her own pain and love, making decisions in circumstances she could never have anticipated. An important part of her story is that the writers do not romanticize motherhood, but instead show it for what it can be — and the only thing you feel while watching is an inability to understand how anyone could treat a woman that way when she was not ready for it. Kelsey’s perception of the character and her empathy for her complexity played an important role in the Tessa we ultimately saw on screen. Beyond The Way Home, Kelsey has had roles in several TV shows, including Lenore Hunk on Fargo, Nurse Zoe on DOC, and she plays the title role in the upcoming film Celia as well as the lead role in the feature film Fortescue. Kelsey shared with our founder, Asya Radko, her own perspective on Tessa, the characters she personally connects with in The Way Home, woodworking, creative risk, and the roles she questions whether she would take on.

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