Young actors shine in White Christmas at Shaw Festival

Shaw Festival patrons taking in the Kate Hennig-directed production of White Christmas a second or third time this month may have noticed two very different young actors portraying the role of Susan Waverly. 

Fifteen-year-old Catherine Dubois of Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines resident Payton MIlls, 11, both make their professional theatre debuts in the holiday production that is currently earning rave reviews across the board. They alternate as the general’s granddaughter on a day-to-day basis, each making her own mark on the Shaw stage.

“Payton is amazing,” Dubois enthuses, “she’s a firecracker. We’re very different as individuals, and I find that we play our Susans very differently. Because she is younger, she plays it younger. I do it a little bit older, a little more chill. That’s what Kate wanted, she pushed that individuality in finding our Susans and not just emulating each other.”

That might seem like an overly mature explanation coming from the Grade 10 student at Laura Secord Secondary School. But Dubois has been singing, dancing and acting on stages for a number of years with NOTL’s Yellow Door Theatre Project. 

Dubois credits her vocal and performance coach, YDTP’s founder and artistic producer Andorlie Hillstrom, for giving her the confidence to audition for the Shaw this winter. Dubois has performed in about 10 YDTP productions, and was part of the ensemble for her high school’s long-awaited production of Mamma Mia! last spring. 

At only 11, Mills also has a number of theatre productions on her resume. Inspired by her babysitter’s daughter, the Grade six student at Prince Phillip Public School first signed up for a summer camp with Linus Hand Productions when she was six years old. She has appeared in High School Musical, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and more with the Niagara Falls-based organization. 

“I’m obsessed with musical theatre,” laughs Mills. “Since I was little I would always run around the house singing and dancing. And when my sister took me to see Matilda in Toronto I knew that was what I wanted to do.”

Mills had earned a role in Linus Hand’s December production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat when she was encouraged by her vocal coach, Tenja Hagenberg of Performance on Point Talent Management, to audition for Shaw. She had to step away from that musical to take on the Waverly role in White Christmas. 

Similarly, Dubois was scheduled to play Mary in YDTP’s production of an original play, Nobody’s Children, which just wrapped up four nights at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre this past weekend. 

“It was really hard to leave Nobody’s Children,” admits Dubois. “I was Mary, which is a prominent role. The people are great. And it was going so well, and I love the music. But it’s been worth it. I got to see the show last week, and it was amazing.”

Dubois has relished the chance to work with the large group of experienced performers and creative people involved in White Christmas. Since day one of rehearsals she has been soaking up as much knowledge as possible from director Hennig, music director Paul Sportelli and her co-stars in the play. 

“I’ve seen many shows at the Shaw,” Dubois says. ”I never imagined it would be me on the stage. From the first time we read the script, everyone was so prepared and ready, they knew how they wanted to come at this. It’s been amazing to see their process. I’ve taken a lot of that with me.”

Rehearsals began in October, and ramped up when they moved to the large rehearsal space in November. Since then, Dubois says it’s been challenging to balance the demands of school with her schedule at the Shaw. Recently, her drama teacher at Laura Secord, Tracy Thorpe, brought a bus load of students to see her in White Christmas. 

“It was nerve-wracking, but amazing,” laughs Dubois. “But the applause after my song, and at the end when we took our bows, was a little bit louder that day. They were so supportive. And I got to say hi to them all after.”

Mills says finding out she got the role in White Christmas felt like a dream. Any nerves she may have had at the start were dissipated almost immediately during the first few rehearsals.

“The cast is really amazing,” says Mills. “They made everything so easy for us. Kate Hennig didn’t use a lot of crazy technical terms. Catherine and I could pause and ask questions any time. They made it so easy for us, and the other actors made it such a great experience.”

Beginning with the first read-throughs of the script, Payton and Catherine attended all rehearsals together. The company would run through each scene twice, with Catherine playing Susan first and Payton following, or vice versa. During the current run the girls each perform every second day. 

Though they never appear on stage together, their work on White Christmas is a true collaboration. They have become each other’s biggest fans. As they share a dressing room, they write notes daily and leave them for the other girl to find the next day.

Though both have been performing from a very young age, neither has done so in such a professional setting before, in front of audiences the size of the often sold-out houses at the Festival Theatre this month. 

Mills got over any jitters quite early in the process.

“I actually start on-stage,” she explains. “The curtain rises and I’m there. It’s a lot easier that way than having to push yourself to take that first step onto the stage. You can’t really see the audience, and if you do, you realize they are paying to come and see you.”

And the youngest of four kids wasn’t too daunted by the fact that she has to sing a solo during the production. 

“You have to step into your character a lot when you sing,” adds Mills. “You have to step into the role of Susan, and ask yourself, ‘would Susan be nervous?’ The answer is no, she’s having a lot of fun. You have to feel the happiness, or the sadness that Susan is feeling.”

Dubois remains as much of a fan of the Shaw Festival as she has become a part of it. She saw this season’s production of Damn Yankees twice, and finds it hard to believe she is now sharing the stage with the likes of Drew Plummer and Kevin McLachlan, both of whom appeared in that production. 

“It’s crazy to think that they now know my name,” marvels Dubois. “I mean, they’re celebrities! They’ve seen me do something. Three months later, we’re now on a first-name basis.”

And she’s even been recognized on the streets of NOTL. 

“It was a couple of hours after a show,” says Dubois. “I went out to get coffee with my friend Lucy. We were walking down the street, and these parents with their kid stopped me and asked me if I was in a play today.”

For these two mature young actors, if they decide to keep at their craft, it’s quite certain that it won’t be long before more and more people know their names. 

White Christmas is onstage at the Shaw Festival Theatre until Dec. 23. For information or tickets visit shawfest.com