Getting to know Julia Guy,
Starring as Marianne Dashwood in
Sense and Sensibility
Citadel Theatre: What is your character, Marianne Dashwood, like?
Julia Guy
Julia Guy: Marianne is the “sensibility” to Elinor’s “sense.” She’s a
little bit younger and she just feels everything. She’s a very raw,
sensitive person. She’s easily thrilled, easily [full of] rage. She’s
kind of at the whims of her own feelings. She’s also quite
self-involved, as probably a lot of teenagers are. But she has a kind
spirit and she’s very romantic.
CT: Your character probably has the most growth in this story. Has it been interesting going on
that journey with her?
JG: It is really interesting. She does go through a huge
change; she kind of grows up during the course of the
play. She has a brush with serious illness and potential
death, which I think is enough to really change anybody.
She loses her father, she gets her heart broken and she
almost dies, all in the course of less than a year. She
faces some pretty huge things in a short period of time.
“It’s a play about flawed
people trying to make it in a
complex world of rules.”
-Julia Guy
CT: How did your time in the Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program help prepare
you for this production?
JG: It was very useful. I think that this character, in particular, is a bit of a workout, kind of an
emotional workout. Having that prep time, getting a really good relationship with the cast,
exploring range and how far you can dive into one thing and then switch quickly to another thing
has all been really helpful to kind of exercise all of those muscles before coming into the show,
so you’re ready to be vulnerable and connect with all of the things that you need for something
this hectic. So it’s extremely useful.
CT: What’s it like rehearsing with the cast?
JG: It’s been good. It’s been pretty full on. It’s three books. To be able to tell stories concisely,
heartfelt but really clearly, and to keep audiences and each other engaged is really challenging.
It’s been full days. Lots of working [on] moments and clarifying relationships and lots of details.
CT: Is this your first time working with Bob Baker, the director?
JG: No, I do A Christmas Carol, as well. I’ve done it the last couple of years and I’m coming
back this year, so I’ve worked with Bob through that. And, it’s my second time doing Banff/
Citadel Professional Theatre Program, so I did The Program in 2015, so we did Arcadia. Tom
Wood directed that show but I worked with Bob in Banff that year.
CT: How would you describe the show to someone who’s not familiar with it?
JG: It’s a Jane Austen adaptation. It’s a little different than what I thought of Jane Austen
before working on this show. It’s a play about flawed people trying to make it in a complex
world of rules. So many of them have really good intentions – not all of them but definitely a lot
of them – so it’s facing personal trials within the conventions of a really strict society. Especially
for women, your options were so limited. It really focuses on the women of the time with so
many restrictions on what they were able to do and so much pressure to find a husband, and
also balancing that with all their desires for love and a connection and family and obligations.
“This show is going to be visually amazing.”
-Julia Guy
CT: How do you think diehard fans of the novel will react to the adaptation?
JG: I think the heart of the story is there. There are certain characters or locations that had to
be changed just slightly because it’s such a long novel, so we had to have certain things happen
[in the play] at locations where they don’t happen in the novel. But the heart of it is all there.
Tom’s adaptation is really well done. You read the novel and a lot of the lines are exactly the
same in the play, so he stayed very true to the heart of the story, so I think they’ll be pleased.
CT: What do you hope patrons will take away from seeing the show?
JG: I hope they’ll take away a sense of happiness that it does – spoiler alert – all work out in the
end. But it comes really close to some things getting really unhinged, so it’s actually quite
suspenseful. If they aren’t familiar with the story, I hope they’ll go along for the ride with us.
And, if they are, I hope they’ll take away a reminder of what a great story it is.
CT: What’s been your favourite scene to work on?
JG: My character gets to fall in love twice in the show, and I love those [scenes] best. They’re
just so much fun compared to some of the dark things that happen in the show. It’s romantic.
CT: Have you tried on a lot of your costumes yet?
JG: Yes, I just came from a fitting. They are gorgeous. Leslie Frankish is our costume and set
designer. She knows the period better than anyone, and the costumes are all really accurate and
really beautiful – and we’re able to change in and out of them in 10 seconds, so they are pretty
brilliant. We have so many costume changes. This show is going to be visually amazing. There
are different dresses for all the different scenes and it’s gorgeous. It’s going to be really fun.
Sense and Sensibility runs April 22 to May 14, 2017, at Citadel Theatre. For more information or to purchase
tickets, call 780.425.1820 or visit www.citadeltheatre.com.