Theatrical engagement

Two actors in the P.E.I. production of Boeing Boeing are getting married – but not to each other

What do you get when you mix actors with a romantic comedy?

At the Watermark Theatre, you get marriage.

‘Boeing Boeing’ has been onstage at the North Rustico venue this summer. Jenna Marie plays Gloria, who is engaged to Bernard, played by Warren Bain. Marie and Bernard are engaged in real life as well – just not to each other.

“It’s one of those situations where art imitates life or viceversa.” says artistic director Robert Tsonos. “The cast are all in their 20s and early 30s so I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised.”

P.E.I. actress Marie is engaged to Landon Holmes. The two are being married at the end of August. They met when they were 16 years old at Cows Creamery at the North River Causeway. Marie was a tour guide and Holmes worked as a “scoopervisor”. They became fast best friends, with a little help from the ice cream he would sneak to her. But the summer ended without any spark of romance and when Holmes left the Creamery they drifted apart.

Over the next seven years they kept in touch very little while Marie moved all over Canada, but when she returned to P.E.I. they decided to reconnect over a bowling game which quickly turned into their first date.

One month after the bowling game, Marie moved to Italy for seven months. They talked every day, and despite the time change, Holmes on would make sure to Skype her as she fell asleep almost every night. At the end of her time there, Holmes decided to join her in Italy. As they travelled, the two fell deeper in love and became inseparable.

The other other off-stage romance began in Ontario.

Toronto-based actor Bain is engaged to Katie Ryerson. The two will be married in January.

Bain and Ryerson met after an evening performance of Macbeth in Prescott, Ont., while Bain was working at the St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival. They hit it off. Turned out, they both went to the same theatre school, Bain was in his fourth year while Ryerson was in her first. They had seen each other in the hallways but had never really chatted. The two had an enjoyable conversation and parted, having made no plans to ever see each other again.

The world works in mysterious ways, though, and a few weeks later they ran into each other at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. This time, they planned a date for the following week. They saw a show, dined at a local restaurant, then wandered the streets of Toronto, lost in thought, conversation and the romantic atmosphere that only warm nights and street lights bring.

Playing characters that were also in love and ready to take the next step made both Bain and Marie think about their own journeys.

“Playing a fiancé in Boeing Boeing is so much fun, and it’s easy to be excited about being engaged to Bernard because I just think of how excited I am to marry Landon,” said Marie.

“Gloria is definitely a little more headstrong then I am, but Landon says that Gloria’s love of all food (and weird food combinations) is something that isn’t too far off from my tastes and I would have to agree!”

Bain’s role has prompted him to reflect on how he is handling his own situation.

“Katie and I also both work as actors and our careers take us away from each other for long stretches of time. Spending the summer on the Island is wonderful, but it’s three months away from Katie, absence really does make the heart grow fonder.”