No retirement for this teacher

By Dan Hilborn
Published Jan. 14, 2006


For 30 years she was the guiding light of one of the most prolific acting circles in the city of Burnaby - the drama department at Burnaby North secondary, which is well-known for its extravagant annual musical productions.

But this winter, less than one year after her well-deserved retirement, Alison Schamberger is back behind the curtain working with one of the Lower Mainland's most ambitious amateur theatre companies.

Schamberger is producing Lost in Yonkers, the Pulitzer Prize- winning production by Neil Simon, which is now playing at Vancouver's Metro Theatre until Feb. 11.

While some people might expect Schamberger to be happy to turn her attention to her first non-student production, there is a bit of trepidation that comes with her venture into new territory.

"This is my rite of passage - it is the first time I've directed adults," said Schamberger. "I guess I hadn't realized how hard it is working with 55 kids, until I have to work with eight adults.

"When they come to rehearsal, they don't forget their scripts in their lockers. It's wonderful," she said. "I'm able to do the job without all the disciplining stuff that I have to do working with kids.

"I guess I never realized how much of a mother hen I had to be," she said.

But Schamberger is not completely leaving her school roots behind. One of the stars of Lost in Yonkers is in fact one of her former star pupils - Daniel Siracusa, who previously played lead roles in Burnaby North's productions of Guys and Dolls and Grease.

Lost in Yonkers is the heart-rending tale of two young brothers who are forced to live with their "dragon-like grandmother" and an emotionally arrested aunt after their father leaves town to find a job to pay back the loan sharks who helped pay for their mother's hospital bills.

Siracusa is the brother Jay, Doran Satenove is Arty and Lyza Ulrych plays Aunt Bella.

"There's a lot of fairly gut-wrenching drama, but the humour comes from the boys getting caught in the middle of it," Schamberger said. "Their grandmother accuses them of stealing pretzels and they have to eat this terrible German soup, but their Aunt Bella makes it good - she mothers them, but she also treats them like they were her own age."

The play has enough depth and breadth to appeal to anyone, said Schamberger, who acted in 28 different Metro Theatre production before taking over the reins as a director this year.

"There's lots of drama for the actors to dig their teeth into, but it also has a comedic tone to make it more accessible to the audience," said the director.

Schamberger said she took the unusual step of inviting Siracusa to audition for the part because of his impressive talents at school. Besides being a terrific actor, Siracusa is also one of the top academics at North, winning second place, a trip to Hungary and a $2,000 scholarship at last year's Great Canadian Geography Challenge.

Schamberger said there is a hint of irony in the fact that a top geography whiz has a lead role in a play called Lost in Yonkers. "You could say the national geography challenge winner got lost," his former teacher laughed.

But with the good-natured ribbing comes a whole lot of accolades.

"He really was the choice from among all the actors who came out to audition," Schamberger said. "Of course, I know his work and that I can rely on him. He is a good actor who memorizes his lines and listens and develops the character himself without having to be told everything."

Lost in Yonkers plays until Feb. 11 at 8 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday nights at the Metropolitan Cooperative Theatre Society playhouse, 1371 SW Marine Dr., Vancouver. Tickets are $16 and $13 and are available at the door, by calling 604-266-7191 or online at www.metrotheatre.org.