Awesome Local Artist: A Chat with Rebecca Merkley
- Mar 30, 2019
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 8, 2019
Before leaving to attend a rehearsal, Rebecca Merkley, known as Becky by many, took the time to sit and chat with me at the bustling Remedy Café downtown, a short trip away from the Citadel Theatre, where she has been spending her time preparing for the production, Slight of Mind. Standing at 4’11”, she may not be tall enough for the Rockettes kick line, but her kind and magnetic personality alone could get her a spot high kicking with the best. She is a firecracker, exuding such raw energy and joy, especially when expressing her love for the Edmonton arts community. After ordering a London Fog, which Merkley highly recommended, she discussed her history with theatre, current and upcoming projects, and her hopes for the arts community in the future.
Theatre Journey
Her journey to the stage was not a traditional path, but her stories can teach us all a thing or two about acceptance, being proud of your skills, and just having fun. Before taking part in theatre, Merkley was a youth pastor in a church. She does not regret her work in ministry, but due to a serious decline in her mental health, she stepped away. “I was always really honest with them, and I was quite calm minded. I was able to really communicate what was going on, but they just didn’t want anything to do with it. So, it’s actually a blessing in disguise.” The day after getting out of the hospital, one of her friends invited her to audition for Oklahoma at a community theatre in Grand Prairie. Though she was not prepared, the audition went well, and she was cast in the production. “And that's where I started. After that production my director wrote me a card. I still have it. Basically, he's like, you're a natural. I know you don't realize it, you've never done this before, but it looks like you've been doing it your whole life and said, you can make a career out of this.” Though she didn’t think much of those comments back then, the positive encouragement from the director and others inspired her to pursue training in theatre. “I always need people to encourage me. I realize that, cause I don't always know what I have. I'm so fortunate that I've had those people cause I wouldn't be here. It was really them saying ‘Becky, look in this mirror, see what I see, go do this.’” Three years later, she auditioned for MacEwan. She still vividly recalls her dance audition and apparently, those who were there still remember it as well, “I had no idea; I was just goofing off. I mean, I was learning, and I was respectful, but I was just having so much fun. I was laughing. Joy. It was pure joy.”
Current Work
Moving into the present, Merkley is currently working on two productions. The first is part of the Beyond the Stage Series with the Citadel, known as Slight of Mind, written by Beth Graham. Merkley describes it as a “found space installment show, and it’s pretty damn cool.” The audience, guided by flight attendants, move around the Citadel, seeing theatre in area that not even usual attendees get to see, like the loading docks. “It’s about flight, failed flight, love, and loss. The success but also the tragedy that comes with your dreams, and the tragedy that comes with flight.”
As well, Merkley is currently working on a local collective project with Jake Tkacyzk and other local creators in a found-space production called Post, Like, Share – Beware! With influences from The Crucible and 1984, this show discusses the current social media culture, addressing what happens when it goes too far. Merkley is arranging the music for the production, which features a “medley mashup of musical theatre songs and Christian hymns all in one.” This production runs from April 5 to the 7th in the basement of the X-Therapy Fitness Studio downtown.
Upcoming Projects
In addition to her current work, she has three upcoming projects. The first is as a director for an upcoming musical at NextFest, created by Matt Graham and Sue Goberdhan, called Marnie Day. NextFest is a local festival created to assist in the development of emerging artists and features over 100 shows across nine venues in 10 days. This upcoming festival will be from May 30th to June 9th.
Merkley will also be performing in two different shows in this year’s upcoming Edmonton Fringe Festival. “I do something different every Fringe,” she remarked, “I want to keep challenging myself, so I’m doing a solo show.” She got into the lottery for this year, which means the production will be staged in one of the main theatre spaces of the Fringe. This production is going to be personal, discussing her experiences of admitting herself to a psych ward. “I’m not afraid to tell that story,” she remarked, “10 years ago, 100% I’d be afraid.” She recalled her experiences with mental health and the story she will be telling, “it’s a mild story as far as mental health goes. Some people have had really intense experiences. Mine is: ‘You know what? I’m very sick. I’m going to go to the hospital.’ It was a very responsible decision going ‘I’m not feeling myself. This is not okay. I hate feeling this way.’” She described being, “incredibly excited and incredibly scared. I’m not scared about telling the story, I’m scared about memorizing an hour show by myself.”
The other Fringe production is a revamping of the crazy circus cabaret Merk du Soleil, now named Merk de Soleil, featuring Merkley, Josh Travnik, and Jake Tkacyzk. This production will be at the Sewing Machine Factory, one of the BYOV’s (Bring Your Own Venues) during the festival, which runs from August 15th to 25th.
Theatre Highlights
Merkley’s taste for theatre is as unique as the productions she creates. When asked about shows she loved, as an audience member, creator, and performer, she was quick to provide many shows. “I've had a lot of wonderful experiences, and I've worked with some lovely people. I'm lucky, I feel like Edmonton is such a beautiful place to make new work.”
After coming to Edmonton, she still remarks on the first show she saw in Edmonton, Homeless, which was written and performed by Jeremy Baumung, “I’ll never forget it. It was so incredible.” Among the shows she has seen this past year, she highlighted Minerva: Queen of the Handcuffs, Northern Light Theatre’s The Cardiac Shadow, Ins Choi: Songs, Stories and Spoken Words at the Chinook Series, and Workshop West Playwrights’ Theatre’s Matara as some personal highlights.
As a director for a Fringe production, Bountiful, Merkley remarked on the process fondly, “I loved working with the Bountiful girls. I loved it. Just working with that team was a highlight of my life because they were such a good group of people, and there was no drama, there were no egos. It was perfect, and we just built that show with such passion. It was a highlight for me as a creator and just as a collaborator.” Emma Wilmott, who was in the cast for Bountiful, will also be directing Merkley in her upcoming Fringe show.
Christmas Play, written by Calla Wright, was “a delicious experience” for Merkley, and among show’s she’s performed in, Punctuate! Theatre’s Bone Wars and Guys in Disguise’s production of Klondykes were highlights.
For the Future
Although she had so many positive experiences, it was valuable to hear of her personal challenges and difficulties with the current atmosphere of the arts. Regarding the casting process in general, she said “I'm so sick and tired of seeing the same person on stage, the same silhouette. I want to be represented, and I'm rarely represented. I'm four foot eleven and a goofball. And it's hard, so I want to change that.” Kayla Gorman, one of the actors who was in Bountiful, “is one of the best actors I’ve ever seen, and she’s a curvy babe, she’s not the typical look, but she’s just so genuine. That’s a gift, and people are missing out if they’re going to be so closed minded in how they cast.”
For the future she hopes to see more diversity and support in theatre scene, “we need fresh eyes on things we do. I would love to see that because art's gonna stay stale if you don't have that fresh eye. There’s always stuff I can learn, and I'm always going to keep learning. If you get complacent, you're screwed.”
As a major supporter of new work and work by younger artists, she offered advice for anyone wanting to create theatre, “you should never wait for something to be perfect. You should just put it out there and then that's how you get better. It's not about perfection. It's about doing it and caring. You don't need a lot of money to make art. If you have a good script and you have good actors that is all you need. Honestly, you could do a show in a school gym, lights on, with no props, and in regular clothes. If they're committed, and that script is good, that's all you need.”
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