Living theatre

By Chris Putnam

Like many actors, one of Jimena Larraguivel’s (BA’07) longstanding dreams was to perform at Stratford-upon-Avon with the world-famous Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).

She fulfilled that dream this month with her debut in Day of the Living, an original production featured in the RSC’s spring Mischief Festival.

Born in Mexico and now living in England, Larraguivel earned her BA in drama from the University of Saskatchewan. As Day of the Living ended its three-week run in June, she reconnected with the College of Arts and Science to talk about what it’s been like performing on the legendary Stratford stage and to share some advice for aspiring actors.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Can you tell me about your role in Day of the Living?

Day of the Living is an ensemble-devised 70-minute piece which pays tribute to 43 students who were forcefully disappeared in the city of Iguala, Mexico in 2014. Although the show deals with very dark content, it is flavoured with a massive dose of live music, dance, lucha libre (Mexican wrestling), masks and verbatim. So my role... well, I do a little bit of everything: I share the voice of some of the surviving students through verbatim, I sing, dance, rap and play the role of a 10-year-old Mexican girl called Chavela.

What has it been like being part of a Royal Shakespeare Company production?

To be honest, I can’t quite believe it yet, even if we‘re almost at the end of the run. I‘ve had so many “pinch me” moments since starting this job. I remember visiting the RSC as a tourist about six years ago. My parents were with me and my dad asked me if I could imagine working here. I remember telling him that “it would be a dream”; and back then, it truly felt like an absolute—almost impossible—dream as I was just about to start my career as a professional actor. And now, here I am!

Working at the RSC has been incredible. It’s a huge and very well-established company, yet everyone seems to know each other and there is a very strong sense of community here. I think everyone in the world associates the RSC with Shakespeare, of course, but the fact that they wanted Day of the Living to be part of their Mischief Festival this year says a lot about what the RSC stands for: being open, bold and radical. Something I’ve also noticed is that every single show I’ve seen here in the past two months has been directed by a woman, including Day of the Living; also, our cast is 50 per cent female and 50 per cent male. The RSC is so on it in terms of both equality and diversity.

How did you get from the U of S Department of Drama to where you are today?

My dream of becoming an actor hasn’t been straightforward. I completed a BA in education in Mexico City before moving to Saskatoon in 2005, and when I left for England in 2007, I did it to do a master’s in philosophy of education. My original plan was to come back to Canada, but things changed and I got the opportunity to stay in London with a work visa. I did all sorts of temporary jobs whilst booking the odd acting gig here and there. It was difficult—as most actors will understand—to balance it all. I felt like giving up a few times but always realized that I was happiest when I was performing, so I knew I just had to keep going. In time, I started to understand how the entertainment industry in the UK worked, I started to have more contacts, and very slowly I started to get used to the uncertainty of not knowing when the next job was going to land.

In 2012, I got my first professional job touring around England and Wales for nine months with award-winning theatre company Ten Ten Theatre. I got my first acting agent from that job and started getting experience working in different media. In 2015, I auditioned for Day of the Living, which back then was just programmed as an R&D (workshop) type project. Three years later, we are where we are! It’s mad.

Can you tell me about your experience in the College of Arts and Science?

Well, I loved my time studying at the U of S. I evidently loved all drama subjects and met so many talented and wonderful people in the drama department with whom I’m still in touch; but I also loved university life there in general. To date, some of my closest and truest friends come from my time studying at the U of S. I can’t wait to be back for a visit. I just need to make sure it’s not winter, because I’ve definitely forgotten what minus 30 feels like!

Do you have any advice to U of S students currently studying drama?

I once attended an awards ceremony in London where British actor Kenneth Cranham was guest of honour. A recent drama school graduate asked him if he had any tips for actors just starting their career and I will never forget his answer: “Go get a life.”

I’ve met extremely talented people in my career, yet many still struggle to find work. The industry is crazy competitive and uncertainty and rejection are a constant. I think that you really need to want to be an actor to carry on, but to carry on you really need to go and live your life. Don’t wait to book that holiday, or study abroad, or plan that trip with your best friend, or fall in love and have babies if that’s what you want. Some things can wait, but not life.

I became a mum three years ago, and I thought that that would probably mean I’d work less. Interestingly, although it’s come with its challenges, I’ve never been busier. So, I’d say: be ready (read plays, go to the theatre, write your own scripts, look after yourself), but also go and take some risks, make mistakes, have a blast and live your life.

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