Guest Artist Spotlight: Adrien Whan
As we draw closer to our end-of-year shows featuring the Fourth Year Acting Class, we’re delighted to be shining the spotlight on all the magnificent guest artists who are making it all happen. Check out our prior articles on Logan Cracknell, Aaron Jan, Nancy Perrin, Sam Ferguson, Melanie McNeill, Erin Brandenburg, and Patrick Lavender!
Photo by Ali Eisner
Adrien Whan (he/they) has had a multi facetted career as a professional technical theatre artist. For the past 30 years, Adrien has been working as a freelance technician, Lighting Designer, Stage Manager, Technical Director, Production Manager and Touring Technical Director in the worlds of theatre, dance, performance art, live music and events and film and video production.
In addition to his current position as Production Manager for Spring Awakening, Knives in Hens, and Hookman, Adrien was a student at the Theatre School when it was still a Polytechnical Institute, and has now returned to complete his BFA in Production + Design!
“Coming back as a professional to work on a student production has been a very steep learning curve so far,” Adrien shares. “Nothing is familiar. When I was a student, the theatre program was located in the old haunted pharmacy building on Gerrard St, it was like the movie FAME in there, actors and dancers and technicians all jammed together sharing spaces and putting lunch time shows on in the studio theatre for each other. It was good times.”
Adrien feels the energy and excitement has remained at the School of Performance, despite the difficulties of COVID. “I can’t imagine how difficult it has been for the current full time students and staff to try and learn and teach how to do the things that we as theatre artists do, when we can’t actually physically be in a space together.”
“I am definitely a better student now than I was the first time. I had a look at my grades when I was doing all the admin work for getting enrolled, and my marks were terrible! I mean, I passed everything, but I think I was too busy figuring out who I was as a young queer and trans person transitioning out of high school to a more independent style of learning. I was clearly distracted. Now I feel I am more interested and engaged in my studies. And my grades have been much better, so far. My parents are proud of my grades.”
Adrien is inspired by creative problem solving. “I really like getting to use my creativity to come up with solutions needed to make magic happen. I like that we are putting on shows and events that make people feel and think about the ideas being presented through the work.”
“I think the world needs the reminder to be open to hearing and understanding other people’s stories,” Adrien highlights. “And theatre, dance and performance art are really great ways to share and learn about those experiences together. The future seems uncertain at times, especially as we are trying to figure out how to keep doing what we do during this pandemic. In some ways we have adapted in huge leaps and bounds, with online streaming and finding other ways to make work accessible, but in other ways it has been a bit disheartening to think that we might have to make this new way of putting on shows and watching them separately a new normal. I am hoping that we will figure out some hybrid of the two that will allow for in person connection and for accessibility for people that can’t come to the physical theatre.”