Holder and Older Cousin (and Olive the Family Dog)
 |
| Sierra Holder the dancer in orange |
YOUNG CARIBBEAN
CANADIAN ACTRESS SIERRA HOLDER IS OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD STARTING TONIGHT
By Stephen Weir
When the curtain rises
tonight at the Elgin Theatre for the official opening of the Pantomime Wizard
of Oz, two cousins, and their dog will be performing together for the very
first time. Sierra Holder, an Ottawa
actress with strong Caribbean ties (her mother is from St Lucia and her father
from the Bahamas), is making her debut on the big stage – the first role since finishing
Sheridan’s Musical
Theatre Performance programme just a few
months ago.
Sierra Holder
plays multiple supporting roles in the Pantomime and is the understudy for
Dorothy – which means she has to be ready to fill in for the star, Camille
Eanga-Selenge, if she can’t perform. It
is a sure bet that Sierra isn’t hoping that Camille literally breaks a leg out
on stage.
“ She is my
cousin! I just so excited to be out there with her, ” explains the Ottawa
actress. “She
is six year older than me and was the first in our family that has made it in
the Arts. She is a tremendous inspiration for us all. It is just too cool to be on stage with her
(and her dog Olive as Toto)!”
Cousin Camille
is also a Sheridan Theatre Studies alumnus.
For the past few six year she has been on the road starring in both
Australia and Broadway's 'The Book of Mormon'. She will be moving on to act in
Stratford’s 2019 season after this production closes.
“ I was still in
school at Sheridan when I landed Wizard of Oz,” said Holder. “I had done a number
of theatre productions while in Toronto
(and I had few movie and TV parts as well), but I wasn’t expecting the
call that I got from my agent telling me I got a part in this big show. It
happened all so quickly! I screamed an
awful lot – I just feel so very lucky”.
Holder had just
come off stage when she talked to the Caribbean Camera. “We are still doing
previews, the grand-opening is Thursday (tonight). We had a lot of children in the seats today. They loved it. Did they get the jokes?
Absolutely, children are way smarter then I think we adults realize.”
Toronto
actor Ross Petty produces the annual Christmas pantomime. This is his 23rd year
for staging family-friendly comedic musicals.
It is playing daily at the Yonge St. Elgin Theatre and runs until
January 5th.
Based
on the Wizard of Oz story, Petty jokes that he turned the classic story into a
“Toto-ly Twistered Family musical”. This
version of Oz has dog-walker Dorothy (from Toronto) landing in Oz and quickly becoming the
enemy of the Wicked Witch of the West.
This pantomime encourages loud cheering and equally noisy boos. The dancing, pop songs and jokes on stage guarantee every generation will laugh from start till curtain fall.
When the play’s run ends Holder is going to start prepping for her next major role. She is in Freaky Friday, a comedy being staged by Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton in April.
“ After that I am going to be working
in a restaurant!” said Sierra Holder. “I have to make some money. I support the
charity Diva Day and plan to travel with them to Kenya next year.” (The Charity provides menstrual cups to young African women to
make sure they never miss school because of their periods).
Comments