Ahead of their January 2023 curtain call, young thespians at Lloydminster Comprehensive are getting some improv pointers from a former Border City resident with a growing acting portfolio.
His resume lists appearances in Netflix’s Lucifer, Amazon Prime’s Upload and the Apple+ musical Schmigadoon. His voice work includes characters in both editions of Sonic the Hedgehog as well as an episode of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.
Scott Patey graduated from Holy Rosary High School and furthered his acting studies at the Vancouver Academy of Dramatic Arts. Along with his partner Stephanie Webster, they are spending a couple days sharing their performing knowledge.
Grade 12’s Parker Gladue is looking forward to the school production next year.
“This one will take place on Jan. 16 and 17. The production is called “Puffs.” It’s a parody of Harry Potter. It’s linear to the Harry Potter timeline from the perspective of a Hufflepuff named Wayne. It’s a satirical comedy.”
The young actors worked on breaking out of their shells, warm up exercises, vocal inflections and character building ahead of looking at the scenes for next year’s production and getting some acting tools from the pros.
Stephanie Webster who grew up on a farm outside Regina describes herself as being the class clown who has turned that around into a career in the arts. She says she used to see her school antics as a “bad thing”, but now refers to that part of her life as “a charming gift.”
“Although it can be disruptive in a school setting – it’s a character trait and I think a lot of kids think that’s the mischievous side of myself that I should repress a bit. But I think if you lean into it a bit more you can find – and it doesn’t necessarily need to be acting or comedy, but I think that personality type fits well in so many industries.”
Over the years, Patey has been bringing his peers back home to share their knowledge. Those exchanges were held up over the COVID-restrictions, but going forward he wants to do regular workshops in Lloydminster.
“I think it’s always rewarding to give back, especially for me coming from this community, where maybe it doesn’t feel like pursuing the arts is within reach. So it’s nice to come back and just build students’ confidence – that is a possibility to earn a living at something like this,” says Patey.
He hopes to return next year to do more workshops and shows.