There ought to be posters of Hailey Gillis all over the Young Centre for the Performing Arts these days, proclaiming 鈥淲anted: dead or alive.鈥
The vibrant 23-year-old from Grimsby is currently involved with three Soulpepper projects. In one, she鈥檚 defiantly dead; in another, she鈥檚 vibrantly alive; in the third, she鈥檚 caught between both worlds.
When last fall鈥檚 Spoon River is revived on March 7, Gillis will once again play the deceased young woman whose burial serves as the framework for the inspirational musical put together by Mike Ross and Albert Schultz.
Before that she鈥檒l be part of American Pie 鈥 A Songbook Investigation (starting Feb. 27), belting her way through the rock catalogue that lurks between the lines of Don McLean鈥檚 masterwork, including a scorching version of Joan Baez鈥檚 classic 鈥淒iamonds and Rust鈥 that will leave you wondering how someone so young could know so much.
While juggling those two, she鈥檒l be in rehearsal for a May opening with The Dybbuk, playing a young virgin possessed by an evil spirit from beyond the grave.
鈥淎lbert (Schultz) told me it鈥檚 just like Romeo and Juliet meets The Exorcist,鈥 laughs Gillis on a break from rehearsals, 鈥渟o I guess I鈥檝e got a lot to look forward to.鈥
Looking at (and listening to) the ethereal Gillis, one is reminded of a great trio of women from the early days of folk: Baez, Judy Collins and Joni Mitchell, which isn鈥檛 totally accidental because, as she admits, 鈥渢hat鈥檚 the kind of music I grew up with.鈥
Her mother is a poet and 鈥渕y dad鈥檚 side of the family are all musical,鈥 so it鈥檚 not surprising she gravitated toward a career in that field, although she resisted two early opportunities to break into show business and is glad she did.
鈥淲hen I was 14, I came to the attention of some recording industry people who wanted to tunnel vision me into being a certain kind of singer they could promote. A lot was happening to me too quickly and I was a shy kid. It was all kind of a blur in retrospect.
鈥淏ut I鈥檝e always had such amazing friends and family and mentors, and they all said, 鈥楴o, not this, not just yet.鈥欌
She continued going to high school in Grimsby, shuttling into Hamilton for the youth theatre program at Theatre Aquarius and, at 17, found herself thrust into the limelight again as one of the final six contestants on the second season of Triple Sensation, Garth Drabinsky鈥檚 CBC-TV talent hunt.
鈥淕arth, Marvin Hamlisch, Cynthia Dale, Sergio Trujillo, Adrian Noble . . . all these people just dazzled me with the generous things they鈥檇 keep saying.
鈥淏ut once again, my family and my solid small-town roots kept me down to earth and I鈥檓 happy they did.鈥
She earned her diploma in the theatre and studies program at Sheridan College then moved onto a Bachelor of Arts honours degree at the University of 海角社区官网Mississauga.
But fame could no longer be held at bay and when she auditioned for the Soulpepper Academy she was selected instantly and set on her current path, where it seems the sky is the limit.
She takes great joy in working with Soulpepper鈥檚 resident musical genius, Ross, for whom she鈥檚 even coined her own adjective.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 mysterical. That means both mysterious and magical, and I love working with him.鈥
Those who aren鈥檛 lucky enough to hear Gillis in person will be able to savour her sound once the original cast recording of Spoon River, being made live during the first performances of this revival run, is released late in March.
All Gillis can do is take a breath and hold on to her small-town roots.
鈥淚t鈥檚 all been happening so fast,鈥 she sighs, 鈥渢hat all I can feel is lucky.鈥
Correction 鈥 February 26, 2015: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the opening date of Spoon River.
Go to soulpepper.caEND or call 416-866-8666 for tickets to American Pie and Spoon River.
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