On this fun episode of Second Act Actors, I interview my friend, colleague and second act actor Natasha Paquin. She’s a qualified x-ray technician who grew up with a love of acting but decided to keep theatre as a passion project instead of a career.

Natasha and I compare notes on what it’s like to have a foot in both medicine and acting and Natasha explains how she finds the heightened emotions of acting to be a release from the constraints of working in medicine. Natasha goes on to talk about her experience of working in musical theatre productions and the preparation that she puts into developing her characters before her show.

Listen out for Natasha’s hilarious on-stage story of a wardrobe mishap in a musical number and don’t forget to subscribe to the Second Act Actors podcast to hear more interviews with actors who are breaking the mould.

Timestamps

[0:30] How Natasha’s mum got her into acting as a teenager

[3:07] Making the decision to not pursue theatre as a career and how that enabled Natasha to keep the love of acting

[4:27] What it’s like to study and become an x-ray technician

[7:22] How Natasha rediscovered acting in Barrie

[8:36] What Natasha’s medical background brings to her acting

[9:40] The interplay between the emotional constraints of medicine and the therapeutic release of acting

[12:41] What Natasha loves about community theatre

[14:20] “When they come into the show, they’re basically signing a contract”: Natasha on the support of the audience in community theatre

[15:37] What are the differences between theatre and musical theatre?

[16:51] The character prep that Natasha does before a show

[17:50] An unexpected pants drop in a musical number

[19:24] Advice from Natasha on how to dip your toe into community theatre and transitioning from acting as a hobby to acting as a profession

[22:29] Do Natasha’s parents think that acting is part of her career?

[23:00] What Natasha’s looking forward to in 2022

[24:01] Natasha’s final words of wisdom

Links

Natasha on Instagram

Natasha on Facebook

Second Act Actors website

Second Act Actors on Instagram

Second Act Actors on Facebook

Second Act Actors on YouTube

Janet McMordie website

Janet McMordie on Instagram

Janet McMordie on LinkedIn

Janet McMordie on Twitter

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.