{"id":55868,"date":"2019-01-29T12:25:08","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T17:25:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=55868"},"modified":"2019-01-29T15:58:27","modified_gmt":"2019-01-29T20:58:27","slug":"brock-profs-share-the-stage-in-upcoming-port-colborne-musical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2019\/01\/brock-profs-share-the-stage-in-upcoming-port-colborne-musical\/","title":{"rendered":"Brock profs share the stage in upcoming Port Colborne musical"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although they worked on the same campus and shared a love of musical theatre, Brock professors Joffre Mercier and Alison Braley Rattai didn\u2019t know each other. That changed, however, when they became husband and wife.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t meet until we were already married,\u201d says Braley-Rattai, who plays the queen opposite Mercier\u2019s king in the Port Colborne Operatic Society (PCOS) production of the musical comedy <\/span>Once Upon a Mattress<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Since the end of September, Braley Rattai, Assistant Professor of Labour Studies, and Mercier, Professor of Biology, have attended two rehearsals a week to prepare for the show\u2019s February opening.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs we get closer to the production, we\u2019ve thrown in a couple of extra rehearsals to work on dancing,\u201d Mercier says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Braley-Rattai says the schedule has been \u201cfairly easy\u201d compared to other shows she\u2019s been a part of. By focusing on only one show a year and spreading the rehearsals over several months, the Operatic Society tries to accommodate people\u2019s family and professional commitments, she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

The schedule also allows more time to \u201cdevelop good friendships\u201d with fellow players, Mercier adds. \u201cOne of the things I really look forward to at rehearsal is just being with my friends.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Braley-Rattai has performed in several community theatre productions but <\/span>Once Upon a Mattress<\/span><\/em> is her first with the Port Colborne group. (\u201cShe was wonderful as Morticia in the Addams Family,\u201d says Mercier of last year\u2019s show by Garden City Productions.)<\/span><\/p>\n

This is Mercier\u2019s third season with the PCOS, but his involvement nearly didn\u2019t happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

During high school and through his undergraduate and graduate studies, he was in theatre. \u201cThen I decided it was time to grow up,\u201d he says. \u201cI got married and started my PhD. I walked away from theatre.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI went through awful withdrawal symptoms,\u201d says Mercier, \u201cand it was very painful for me even to go to watch a show.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Through it all, the love of music and theatre never left him. Playing in a couple of bands and continuing to sing in choirs and study voice occasionally was particularly therapeutic when he was serving in administrative roles at the University.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mercier and Braley-Rattai both acknowledge the personal benefits of being engaged in artistic pursuits, whatever forms those might take. \u201cWhen work is frustrating, you have another thing that you can trade it off with,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would encourage any faculty members to pursue whatever artistic love they have,\u201d says Mercier. \u201cNever stop following your love. I kept that with music and it finally brought me back to theatre.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When a fellow choir member got the lead in a PCOS production, Mercier agreed to watch her perform. With that inspiration \u2014 and encouragement from his real-life wife, Sharon \u2014 he auditioned for the company the following year.<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s something special about community theatre, he says, emphasizing the word \u2018community.\u2019 \u201cI really feel that I\u2019m a member of a community organization.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mercier describes Once<\/em><\/span> Upon a Mattress<\/span><\/em> as a \u201chysterically funny\u201d retelling of the classic fairy tale, the Princess and the Pea<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI will go so far as to say that there is not one person on stage that doesn\u2019t get a laugh,” he says.\u201cIt\u2019s the funniest show that I\u2019ve ever been in.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For much of the musical, Mercier is silent on stage, as his character is cursed and unable to speak. Instead, he has to communicate without words, at one point even miming \u201cthe story of the birds and the bees\u201d for his son. \u201cNow, that\u2019s a challenge,\u201d he says with a laugh.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mercier is quick to add that the production is \u201cdefinitely family-friendly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt takes a special skill to communicate ideas without words,\u201d says Braley-Rattai. \u201cThe only downside is that Joff doesn\u2019t get to do a lot of singing and he has a lovely voice.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough it\u2019s not as well known a show as some others, people shouldn\u2019t let that stop them from coming out for a fun evening,\u201d she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Braley-Rattai and Mercier are not the only members of the production with Brock connections. In addition to several current and former students who are involved in the show, alumna Melissa Heil (BA \u201992, BEd \u201993) is President of the Operatic Society and alumnus Kevin Proulx (BA \u201911) is First Vice-President.<\/span><\/p>\n

Seven performances of <\/span>Once Upon a Mattress<\/span><\/em> are scheduled from Feb. 16 to March 3. Tickets can be purchased for $25 through the Roselawn Box Office<\/a>\u00a0at 905-834-7572. More information is available on the <\/span>Port Colborne Operatic Society website<\/span>.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although they worked on the same campus and shared a love of musical theatre, Brock professors Joffre Mercier and Alison Braley Rattai didn\u2019t know each other. That changed, however, when they became husband and wife.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50,"featured_media":55865,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[119,7,41,1,4,38],"tags":[7114,221,110,3465,4199,7495,3328,7494,7492,7493,31],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55868"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/50"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55868"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55868\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55870,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55868\/revisions\/55870"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55865"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}