By: Yasmin Hassan, Staff Writer
Shakespeare’s work lives on in plays, adaptations, and apparently the fictional town of Middleburg? Running from November 19 to 20 at the Metro Theatre, Bound! The Musical inspired by Shakespeare’s Love’s Labour’s Lost will bring plenty of laughs, catchy songs, and heart. Two SFU alumni, Mugasha Rutega and Sophia Pollock, will be playing the characters Cameron and Jasmine. The Peak had the chance to speak with them to find out more about this upbeat show.
The story kicks off when the townspeople of Middleburg accidentally turn their home into a new country under a wacky president. Four athletes are recruited as the country’s Olympians and soon clash with a group of four curious researchers who study them. On the surface it may look like nothing serious, but there is a strict rule against fraternizing — something that leads to a whole mess of problems and rule-breaking. The musical uses “classic Shakespearean tropes like forbidden love, disguises, and wordplay.” Through these elements, co-writers Wayne Morris and Glen Freedman bring relatable characters, humour, and charm to this story navigating life’s twists and turns.
Rutega is a fourth year student in the School of Communication, finishing his final year at SFU with two years of videography under his belt. He grew up around music and theatre, and continues to be, saying he “never stopped singing,” by continuing to play guitar and go to open mics.
“Right now it’s more-so just mixing the acting and the singing together, because the song is a story,” Rutega noted about his preparation for the musical. “Honestly, it has been a bit of a learning curve.”
His character, Cameron, who Rutega describes as the “pseudo-leader,” is a supposed hotshot who “suffers from high confidence, low self esteem,” and doesn’t necessarily value monogamy. For a character that has “always wanted more,” the pledge against fraternizing stands as a test of which he becomes a catalyst, as he’s the first one to give in. Rutega states that Cameron’s “personal transformation comes when he realizes that he doesn’t need more” than his lover — a mindset that he, himself, had to confront to play the character.
Starting off as a general science student, Pollock is now a third year English major with hopes of becoming a high school English and drama teacher. “I grew up in theatre and was trained at Lindbjerg Academy, which was a truly transformational place in my development as an artist and as a human being,” Pollock said. She also noted that her training in New York at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, with the Arts Club’s Actor’s Intensive in Vancouver, as well as her involvement in SFU’s University Christian Ministries, helped her pursue her passion for theatre.
Pollock’s character, Jasmine, is a quiet wallflower who has been stripped of her self confidence. She moves the plot along as her lover, Antonio, creates the pledge, setting the plot in motion. “It is a super empowering role to play and has taught me a lot about what it means to be resilient,” Pollock said as, in the musical, Jasmine gradually “steps into her own” and takes her voice back.
The audience can expect to see themselves in these characters, while also seeing the humour and Shakespearean charm translated into a modern show. Musical theatre is something that is so special when seen live, and as Pollock says, “get out there and support artists in your community!”
Catch Bound! The Musical at the Metro Theatre (1370 S.W. Marine Dr., Vancouver). Tickets can be purchased at tickets.metrotheatre.com for $25.
