Hello, my name is William Baldoni and I have been a Co-op student at Roseneath theatre for just over a month. I am a grade eleven student at Richview Collegiate Institute. I enjoy the arts, my favourite medium being film. Before getting a placement at Roseneath I had seen one of their plays before. Last year Outside was performed at my school and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
The question I get asked the most is what made me choose Roseneath. In the spirit of full transparency, I was trying to get a placement at a movie studio and after a month of trying I had no luck! My Co-op teacher then asked me how I felt about theatre and told me about Roseneath. Before I knew it I was all dressed up and on my way to an interview. I have so far enjoyed my time here.
If I had to sum it up with one word, it’d be “different”, let me explain what I mean by that. The first week or two was getting to know everyone that I’d be working with and what their role is at the company. I did simple tasks like posting flyers in the neighbourhood, taking brochure inventory, etc. However after that I had the pleasure of going to Young People’s Theatre where I watched the Roseneath production Spirit Horse. Not too long after that, Andrew Lamb (Roseneath’s Artistic Director) brought me to a TAC (Toronto Arts Council) meeting he was attending. I was able to meet many other people in this field, watch them interact with their peers, discuss the problems they are facing and see how they worked together to find possible solutions. The following week, I was given the opportunity to see the Theatre Gargantua show Reflector which was a style of theatre that I had never seen before. I found it quite fascinating the way they did theatre with elements I would consider non-traditional. Finally, this week I was able to see a dress rehearsal of Second Nature which is a school touring show from the Canadian Opera Company. It was my first ever opera. It was interesting to see the way they adapted the extravagance of opera to the minimalist requirements of a show that tours schools.
In my short time here at Roseneath I have met many kind and interesting people and have had experiences that I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere else. It has been a real pleasure and I look forward to these fun experiences continuing.
William Baldoni