‘The Self-Isolated Artist Series’: Corey Agnew
Joe Szekeres
I’m going to introduce Corey Agnew’s profile in a different manner. As a retired teacher, I’m always still amazed at the impact teachers can have on a young person’s life, especially if that young person makes it to the professional theatre circuit.
Now, I never taught Corey but I was approached by one of his former high school teachers from Whitby, Ontario’s Anderson Collegiate (Mike Trites). Mike believed Corey would be a wonderful individual to be profiled.
And I’m glad Mike approached and pleased that Corey agreed. Corey even told me in an interview he owes a great deal of thanks to two individuals whom I know – Mike Trites and Margo Rodgers.
Director/Acting Coach and Resident Director (Mirvish Productions) and Australia, Corey Agnew is one busy guy. He is the Associate Director of the Broadway tour of ‘Les Miserables’ (which was to have been in Toronto right now) Corey also directed the Mexico City production of ‘Les Mis’.
Corey is also the Resident Director of the Broadway company and tours of ‘Matilda’ and ‘Mary Poppins’ (also Australia).
Oh, and you’ll see from one of his answers, he and his wife, Heather, are expecting their first child in October. Wonderful news.
We’ve passed the three-month mark in isolation and now, with fingers crossed, might enter Stage 3 very soon. How have you been faring? How has your immediate family been doing during this time?
We’re all safe and healthy, although the pandemic has certainly been wearing on everybody emotionally. My wife Heather and I are expecting our first baby in October, so that’s given us a major boost. I think it’s been important for us to have something truly positive to focus on in this unusual time.
As a performer, what has been the most difficult and challenging for you professionally and personally?
When the pandemic hit and the theatres closed, I shifted my focus almost immediately to offering online acting lessons for kids, teens and college students. I feel quite fortunate since I’m equally as passionate about teaching as I am about directing, so on the whole I have managed to stay fulfilled artistically. Working with so many creative young people has been inspiring.
I am, of course, missing live theatre terribly. To begin with, I miss the social and community aspect of the theatre enormously. I never realized just how much I relied on the theatre in that way. And as an actor and a director, nothing compares to the feeling of working with human beings in the same space!
Personally, it has been hard for Heather and I not to be able to share this pregnancy with many of our closest friends and family. Simple things make us very sad. All of our parents should be able to feel the baby moving around in her belly, for instance, but they can’t and while that may seem like a small thing, it’s been very difficult.
Were you in preparation, rehearsals, or any planning stages of productions before everything was shut down? What has become of those projects? Will they see the light of day anytime soon?
We were just getting ready to move the Broadway tour of ‘Les Miserables’ to Toronto for an extended sit-down. In fact, the show was supposed to be here now! The production has officially closed but we are all hopeful that we’ll get it up and running again sometime later in 2021.
What have you been doing to keep yourself busy during this time?
Since the end of March, I have been keeping very busy building my acting studio (virtual at the moment). It’s been quite a learning curve for me but surprisingly, and perhaps ironically, I feel more connected to my community here in Waterloo, Ontario, than I ever have before. I have put a lot of effort into planning for the studio’s fall term. We’re offering online scene study classes for teens and even producing a livestream performance of Charlotte’s Web for kids ages 9-13.
I’ve also been finishing up my master’s degree (online now) and, like many people, I have been on my fair share of distanced walks! Oh, and eating! My wife’s taken up baking since the quarantine… maybe the best thing about this entire experience.
Any words of wisdom or advice you might /could give to fellow performers and colleagues? What message would you deliver to recent theatre school graduates who have now been set free into this unknown and uncertainty given the fact live theaters and studios might be closed for 1 ½ - 2 years?
From what I can see, most of my colleagues are already following the advice I would give, but from my experience, I’d say, “get creative and find ways to keep working”. I think it is very difficult for humans to stay healthy mentally without staying stimulated or without some sense of purpose. If you are able to get some artistic fulfillment out of what you are doing, all the better, but keeping busy has been the very best thing for my mental health without question.
In my experience, theatre people understand as well as anyone that if you want to do something you can’t wait around and hope that someone will offer you that opportunity. I’ve found that even though theatres aren’t open, there is still a huge appetite out there for some kind of connection to that special world. We just need to be creative!
Do you see anything positive stemming from Covid 19?
I’m not trying to be profound when I say this, but I think as much as Covid 19 has distanced us from each other it has also brought us together in a way. When you watch the news, it’s hard not to feel like our world is becoming more and more polarized but I have to say that that hasn’t been my experience when dealing with people over Zoom each and every day.
I think everyone is doing their best to support one another and to take care of each other. Even our different levels of government in Canada seem to be trying to work together and while it might be naive to imagine that will continue post-COVID-19, I do find it refreshing. I hope we might live in a kinder society at the end of all of this.
Do you think Covid 19 will have some lasting impact on the Canadian/North American performing arts scene?
I do, in the sense that I truly believe that everyone will be changed, in some way, by the pandemic. This experience will undoubtedly continue to raise questions about humanity, and the theatre is the best place to explore such questions. I am hopeful that the theatre will come back in full force at some point in the next 2 years. That hope is very important for me personally.
Some artists have turned to YouTube and online streaming to showcase their work. What are your comments and thoughts about streaming? Is this something that the actor/theatre may have to utilize going forward into the unknown?
I feel that the ability to stream content during this pandemic has been a wonderful thing. Anything that helps us stay connected right now it is a good thing. My experience with live-streaming has been mostly positive. Of course, it will never replace live theatre but it gives us the ability to continue to discuss important issues and share stories in a time when we otherwise wouldn’t be able to.
Once it is safe to be back in a theatre, I don’t imagine live streaming will be nearly as popular but I could be wrong!
Despite all this fraught tension and confusion, what is it about performing that Covid will never destroy for you?
I’ve never really felt like COVID is destroying theatre, so much as it is postponing it. Things are very difficult artistically right now but we’re all trying to make do. No, it’s not the same as doing live theatre but it’s something and I feel confident we’ll all get through it.
Perhaps others feel differently but I’ve never worried that I will be destroyed by this pandemic. If anything, I feel like I’ll emerge knowing a little more about myself and ready to take on the next project!
With a respectful acknowledgment to ‘Inside the Actors’ Studio’ and the late James Lipton here are the ten questions he used to ask his guests:
1. What is your favourite word? Home
2. What is your least favourite word? “100 %” (I know it’s two)
3. What turns you on? Running
4. What turns you off? Phones
5. What sound or noise do you love? Silence before a show
6. What sound or noise bothers you? Papers rubbing together (I know it’s odd)
7. What is your favourite curse word? What is your least favourite curse word? Bloody… and I shouldn’t say.
8. Other than your own, what other career profession could you see yourself doing? Teaching elementary school.
9. What career choice could you not see yourself doing? Anything in an office.
10. If Heaven exists, what do you hope God will say to you as you approach the Pearly Gates? “Everyone you love is here”. Oh and “it’s OK you didn’t go to church!”
Corey Agnew’s headshot by Pierre Gautreau
To learn more about Corey’s acting lessons, please visit his Facebook page: Corey Agnew Acting Lessons