Zachary Comeau once vowed to keep his distance from 鈥渢heatre kids,鈥� a cohort he believed to be melodramatic and self-important. Now that he鈥檚 thriving in the Fountain School of Performing Arts, he looks back on his preconceptions with sheepish amusement.
鈥淚 hang out with 鈥榯heatre kids鈥� every single day. They鈥檙e good people. It鈥檚 a good sense of community.鈥�
Zachary鈥檚 evolving perspective on theatre and actors ought not to come as a major surprise, however. After all, he himself has been a natural performer from an early age. Growing up in Dartmouth, N.S., he recalls attending camps at Neptune Theatre. In high school, he began to study drama and appeared in nine different school productions over the span of three years.
鈥淚 kept going for it, I kept auditioning, I kept trying to grow my skill set,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 learned musical instruments, I learned how to dance鈥揳nything to perform.鈥�
The variety of skills he acquired in high school has served Zachary well in the Fountain School of Performing Arts, where he has taken the stage in productions such as Shakespeare鈥檚 A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream, The Oresteia and, most recently, the late-March run of Coram Boy.
He鈥檒l also be appearing on-camera for a video series as part of the Dal Originals project, profiling some of 91短视频鈥檚 most prominent figures for the university鈥檚 upcoming 200th anniversary.
Embracing the physical side of acting
Zachary credits Fountain School faculty members such as Margot Dionne with helping him hone and diversify his skills. 鈥淚鈥檝e gotten to do a lot of work with Margot in physical theatre, which is the kind of theatre that I鈥檓 most passionate about.
鈥淚 learned so much from my time with Margot that I鈥檓 confident in what I can do with my body. And in the coming summer, I get to do some more physical theatre work with Transitus: Speaking in Silence, which is a new performing company.鈥�
Summer is indeed shaping up to be a busy time for Zachary. In addition to working with Transitus, he鈥檒l dedicate himself to launching a French-language improvisation league in Nova Scotia. La Ligue Acadienne d鈥橧mprovisation de la Nouvelle-Ecosse (LAINE) is based on a format that originated in Quebec, wherein teams of improvisers compete in hockey jerseys on a fake ice rink, creating spontaneous sketches for an audience that determines which team 鈥渨ins鈥� each sketch.
Zachary in A Midsummer Night鈥檚 Dream.
The hockey theme is further illustrated through the use of referees and penalties, the latter of which are applied when performers use clich茅s, break character, rely on vulgar jokes or fail to respect the imagined world of the scene.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the coolest thing ever,鈥� says Zachary, who spent the first few years of his life in Quispampsis, New Brunswick and brings a love of both improv and the French language to the project.
He also brings competitive experience, having coached teams from Nova Scotia in national Francophone improv competitions.
鈥淚t was interesting seeing the different styles that the different provinces have. New Brunswick, Ontario and Quebec are very focused on wordplay. British Columbia had very good singing. Nova Scotia was focused on absurdity.
鈥淚t was interesting seeing my kids figure out different ways to add something to the story in a way that could kind of make sense.鈥�
Sharing a love of theatre
Working in tandem with the francophone youth organization Conseil Jeunesse Provincial de la Nouvelle-Ecosse (CJPNE), Zachary plans to launch LAINE in French-speaking high schools across Nova Scotia. The high school setting will be familiar to Zachary, who works in Halifax鈥檚 l鈥橢cole Secondaire du Sommet, using improv to improve students鈥� skill and confidence with the French language.
鈥淭he big goal is to have one big weekend of improv competitions with every school,鈥� he says.
Zachary sees the opportunity to build something new and unique in the province by sharing his love of the improv form. 鈥淔rench improv is heavily story-based. You need a beginning, middle and an end. You need a dramatic situation, emotional context and characters.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all about fun. And once it gets ingrained, it gets easier.鈥�
Zachary鈥檚 own performing philosophy is sure to shine through as well.
鈥淚 know some people who take acting really seriously,鈥� he explains. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 fine, but I like to take the approach that it鈥檚 completely ridiculous 鈥� because it is!鈥�