Holiday tradition sees Nutcracker return to P.G.

First they were Anne, now they are Clara.

Makenna Thiffault and Kate McGowan shared the title role in this past summer’s production of Anne of Green Gables at the Prince George Playhouse. Now director-choreographer Judy Russell has set them up in tandem once again as the protagonist Clara in The Nutcracker, opening Friday at Vanier Hall.

It shows that the two are each strong enough in their talent and training to carry lead roles and it also showcases their diversity as performers. This summer, they led a musical theatre production demanding strong acting and singing skills, with dance as a side-skill. But The Nutcracker is a pure ballet, impossible to perform without fundamental dance skills, with acting now on the side.

“I try to showcase the people who have earned the role,” said Russell. “Makenna and Kate have both dedicated most of their young lives to this. They have worked hard to put themselves in a position to be considered, and they both deserve this opportunity. It’s partially something I can give them as an acknowledgment of their skills, and it is partially something they deserve to have in their credits for the future.”

In past versions of The Nutcracker, which Russell presents biennially, whomever shares the Clara role is also cast as the Sugar Plum Fairy. This year, that habit was altered. Shayla Dyble will occupy that confectionary role, with Thiffault and McGowan alternating instead between Clara and another prominent supporting character The Snow Queen. It was a move Russell made, she said, due to body type.

Thiffault and McGowan are similar and better suited to the Queen whereas Dyble is suited best to the Fairy.

“I love switching off between these two roles because it allows us to work with all the (leading) men in the cast. It’s good experience to have that diversity,” said Thiffault, who is making her debut as Clara this year.

McGowan was cast as one of the Clara dancers in the 2015 production (Madison Hill was the other) and agreed that different partners made for strong skill development.

“I did Clara last time with Kieran (Yip, who is back this year in a few prominent roles) and this time it’s with Owen (Selkirk, back in his hometown after turning professional), so in many ways it is all new,” McGowan said. “It’s the same part, but a different partner makes it a different experience. It helps that I’m older, I’ve done the part before, so I understand it better. I’m so excited to get to do it again.”

Thiffault and McGowan have a particularly strong working relationship after years of dancing together at Enchainement Dance Centre, and forged by the Anne of Green Gables experience. It has been a decidedly busy year for them both.

“It has been hard balancing it all,” Thiffault said. “I’m still in high school and Kate is taking courses as well. We also both work. So being in these roles and trying to balance mental health and just get enough sleep is not easy. And it’s a different kind of workload: Anne and Clara.”

“This role you have to strive for perfection in your movements. Anne was more forgiving in that sense,” McGowan agreed. “In musical theatre, you can just be yourself a little bit more within the character. Things are more free-going. With ballet, you don’t have to learn lines but you have to almost obsess over exact movements.”