Spotlight on Alumni: Stephanie Barclay
We wanted to celebrate the new year by celebrating one of our alumni: Stephanie Barclay.
Stephanie graduated from the Technical Theatre program in 2021, and went on to complete a degree at the University of British Columbia. Since then, Stephanie has been busy building props and stage managing.
Stephanie with her creation, Toto, inspired by puppet designer Rachael Canning from the Curve Theatre production of Wizard of Oz.
Bio: Selected prop credits include: The Wizard of Oz (CTORA), Matilda, The Prom , Something Rotten!, and We Will Rock You(TUTS); A Midsummer Night's Dream & Romeo and Juliet (Bard on the Beach); Oil (UBC), Done/Undone (Bard on the Beach), Secret in the Wings (CapU). Stephanie is now head of props at Theatre Under the Stars, Vancouver’s outdoor musical theatre festival that performs every summer in Stanley Park.
Selected stage manager credits include: Little Shop of Horrors (Arts Club), Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (Arts Club), The Birds (UBC), and Into the Woods (CapU).
Stephanie is grateful for the recognition she has received, including the Mike Jarvis Memorial Scholarship, the Irving K Barber Scholarship, the Trek Excellence Scholarship and the Rising Star Internship Award from TUTS. She is also thankful for the endless support from friends, family and teachers, including Heidi Wilkinson, who helped her emerge in the Vancouver theatre scene.
Follow Stephanie on Instagram at @propsbysteph
Stephanie helping construct a set piece while at CapU.
QUESTIONS FOR STEPHANIE*
How did school (CapU and/or UBC) affect what you wanted to do?
>>>Before CapU, I actually had no idea what I wanted to do in life, let alone in theatre, but I knew I loved the live entertainment, so I applied.
In my very first year, I assistant stage managed Macbeth, which felt like a big scary show to start off with, but all the teachers made sure that it was a positive experience. I got to work with professional designers, directors, and learn from the older students in my program. It wasn’t until I was working on A Chorus Line at the end of my first year that I felt like, “Yeah, I can do this!” That show got canceled due to covid, but I continued and got to be the stage manager for three other shows. If it wasn’t for Sparky Lawrence pushing me to go out of my comfort zone, I would have never known I like to stage manage.
Along with that, I had my first class with Heidi Wilkinson building food props. I made fake meatballs. I wasn’t sure how to build props—in fact, I didn’t even pick up a screw gun before CapU—but the teachers helped me learn. In no time I was building some of the bigger props for the mainstage shows, and started to feel like I knew what I was doing. If it wasn’t for the teachers encouraging me to try new things, I wouldn’t be working in theater.
If you could go back in time and give advice to your younger, first-year self, what would it be?
>>>The first thing I would tell my first year self is never compare yourself to others. Don't get down on yourself if you're not immediately good at something. Always be on time, it makes everything less stressful. Talk about your goals, you’re with people who can help you, but they can’t help you if they don’t know what you are trying to accomplish. Be kind to everyone.
The last thing I would say to myself, and everyone in the theatre is, have fun! Theatre is wacky and strange, even when things get stressful, look around, remember where you are, and enjoy putting art together.
A huge thank you to Stephanie for taking the time to answer our questions and sending us photos of your work!
*Answers have been edited for length.