Long-time islander and actor Susan Hogan has done her community proud with a Jessie nomination. The nominations were announced in May and the affable, uber-talented, and hard-working Hogan has been nominated for her role in Alley Theatre’s 2013 production of Kayak.
The Jessie Richardson Awards have been around since 1982 and are given for excellence in Vancouver theatre and Hogan said she’s thrilled to get consideration for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role in the small theatre category.
Kayak is an environmental drama from playwright Jordan Hall that played in Vancouver in May 2013 at the rEvolver Festival at The Cultch. The play was the winner of the 2010 Samuel French Canadian Playwrights Award and its
environmental message, combined with a strong story and compelling characters, made it easy for Hogan to say yes when offered the role.
“I think this is an incredibly timely piece,” says Hogan. “It is one woman’s perspective on global warming, seen through the prism of the loss of her son - and her realized culpability.This play will change the way you think of climate change and how easy it is to make it someone else’s problem. It becomes personal. It’s a story of catastrophic global proportions, told through the heart, for the love of her son. It is a love story. It is a story of regret.”
A minor problem for Hogan in preparing her character, Annie Iversen, was that Annie is unaccustomed to kayaks, yet spends the entire play in one. So after 15 years on Bowen in a family that possesses a veritable fleet of kayaks (which Hogan and her family spend time in as often as their schedules allow) Hogan had to play a neophyte paddler.
Indeed, Annie begins the play saying that she doesn’t like kayaks and that “one second you’re sitting there, the next you’re upside down and underwater,” but her view is an ocean apart from that of the woman portraying her.
“I was constantly having to remind myself in rehearsal that I don’t know how to hold the paddle correctly and should feel insecure and tippy,” says Hogan
She noted that an even bigger challenge was that the kayak was suspended four feet off the floor on a wooden stand - for the entire show. Hogan adds that it didn’t deter her enjoyment of the play, and the rehearsal process and run of Kayak was among the finest theatre experiences she’s had.
“It really was so much fun; I had great co stars in Marisa Smith and Sebastian Kroon, who were fabulous to work with every night,” she said. “And the extraordinary Rachel Peake directing, she is forever bringing such creative offerings to the rehearsal hall. All of that and the amazing words, courtesy of Jordan Hall. What a joy.”
Despite years of acting in great Vancouver productions that received fantastic reviews, this is Hogan’s first Jessie nomination. Originally from Ontario, she graduated from the National Theatre School in Montreal where she met her husband and biggest fan, Michael, 35 years ago. She did five seasons at the Shaw Festival and another at Stratford before moving West.
Her list of play credits is lengthy and includes Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen (co-starring with Brent Carver) at the Playhouse Theatre, King Lear with Toronto’s renowned Necessary Angel Theatre Co. and Age of Arousal for Touchstone Theatre. Her TV and films credits number more than a hundred and include multiple episodes on Battlestar Galactica, which Michael had a leading role on.
Hogan, along with director Peake and co-actors Kroon and Smith (who’s Alley Theatre’s Artistic Producer) got great reviews for their production from a bevy of local papers including The Georgia Straight, Vancouver Courier, Gay Vancouver, WE Vancouver, and the North Shore News.
Does all this make you regret not seeing it? Well, you still can see Kayak as the play has been picked up by Donna Spencer and the Firehall Theatre Centre in Vancouver and runs there from Jan. 8-17. So come winter it will be back into rehearsal for Hogan - and back into a kayak suspended 4 feet in the air.
Before that though, the Jessie Award ceremonies go June 23 at the Commodore and one of Bowen’s finest thespians will happily play her part.
“As you get older, it’s not something you think about much, to be nominated or win an award,” she said. “You just get on with the work. So the call came right out of left field and I feel so humbled and so honoured. So, yes, I will definitely be there.”
