We had the pleasure of sitting down with Natasha Korney, narrator and dancer is Juliet and Romeo during a short break between rehearsals to discuss her experience in this dynamic role.

Check out our back and forth below:

Question: How does adding the role of narrator change your experience as an artist?

Natasha explained that as DJD artist this is a whole new adventure. Everything is different in her preparation for this show as opposed to the other productions she has been a part of with DJD. From getting ready, (think non-stop reciting plus everything else it takes to create her glowing character), learning to count her steps while speaking her lines, and focusing on breathing exercises to make sure she can do it all; it’s all a bit of a change of pace that she is taking in stride (and killing it). Natasha added that using her voice as part of her performance also allowed her to feel connected to the band on a whole new level verbally and vocally. She says thanks to the role she now has an even deeper respect for musician’s intuition.

Question: Have you had theatre or acting experience previously? If so, what was it like; and if no, How did you prepare for this role?

Other than a good old student written play in junior high, Natasha admits that she has never had acting experience before this so to prepare she worked with Denise Clarke. Denise is an actress, choreographer, director, teacher, performer extraordinaire, who among other things also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Arts, she is One Yellow Rabbit’s Associate Artist. Natasha says working with her was a crucial component of the performance that she is able to give Juliet & Romeo. From her, Natasha learned about the art of speaking of stage and mastering tonality which plays such a huge part in the rendering of her role. So we all thank you Denise. Natasha also enlisted the help of her son Malcolm to run lines, over and over and over again; He’s basically ready to take over her job she says.

Question: This script has a clearly feminist undertone within it, how did you feel being the first female narrator to represent the script?

Natasha took a minute with this question as she said she wanted to give it the answer it deserved. She decided to share with us that for her it was an honour to represent this script as a female and it allowed her to speak from a deeper place, she was able to draw inspiration from her own gender and race based struggles and the opportunity to play this role both empowered her and fuelled her performance. Which we certainly both hear and see in her presence on stage.

So excited to have had the opportunity to catch up with Natasha during her intense prep schedule. You can come check out her fantastic performance during Juliet & Romeo’s 2020 run until January 26th!