Charlottetown - Kara Purdy has always had a love for being on the stage. When she was five years old she began dancing, and in grade six she performed in her first musical. Now a graduate of Ryerson University’s Theatre Dance program, Purdy is enjoying spending her summer in Charlottetown performing in the Charlottetown Festival’s Anne of Green Gables- The Musical™ and British Invasion II: America Strikes Back!
This summer Purdy loves playing the role of Prissy Andrews in Anne of Green Gables- The Musical™.
“In my role as Prissy Andrews I get to work alongside Wade Lynch, which is always entertaining, and it is also fun wearing a pregnant suit!” she says.
Originally from Waterloo, Ontario, Purdy now lives in Toronto. Her theatre credits include Beauty and the Beast, 42nd Street, The Mikado, Swing, Carousel, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, A Chorus Line, Guys and Dolls, Cabaret, Oklahoma and her favourite, We Will Rock You.
Purdy can also be seen onstage performing in Fleetwood Mac and as Sheena Easton in British Invasion II: America Strikes Back! On Saturday nights she can usually be found performing onstage at Late Night at The Mack.
“Late Night is a great opportunity for the cast to get up and try new material. Everyone has a lot of fun, and with part of the proceeds from the show going to the soup kitchen, it feels great to be involved.”
Purdy’s volunteer work with non-profit organizations is her other focus this summer. She says she got involved four years ago when a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has been lending a helping hand to a variety of groups ever since.
“It occurred to me that I have all these contacts in the theatre business so I started getting musical theatre people involved,” she explains. In Toronto, they volunteer with Feed the Homeless, a program of Project 417. “For three hours on Monday nights we take packed lunches to homeless people and check on them, make sure they are all right.”
“When I got here, I bicycled by the soup kitchen and thought, wow, here I can continue this work.” For the past two months, Purdy has volunteered at the soup kitchen every Thursday morning. When she found out that the kitchen does not provide dinners on Tuesdays and Thursdays unless someone supplies the food and prepares the meal, she saw an opportunity for the Charlottetown Festival cast and crew to become involved.
The cast and crew donated some of the food for a dinner, and with the proceeds from Late Night at the Mack, which has so far raised $400 for the soup kitchen, they bought the rest. Twelve Festival members prepared and served their first Tuesday meal on August 5 to more than 70 people. Their next dinner is planned for August 26.
“We are hoping to do one or two in September,” Purdy adds. She is also organizing a Think Pink fund-raiser for cancer research with a special performance of America Strikes Back! for September 18.
Anne of Green Gables -The Musical™ plays on selected dates on the Mainstage until September 27. British Invasion II: America Strikes Back! plays on selected dates on the Mainstage until September 26. Tickets to both shows are available at the Confederation Centre’s box office at 1-800-565-0278 or online at www.charlottetownfestival.com.
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Media contact: Dan Wall, publicist, Confederation Centre of the Arts, phone (902) 628-6135
Email: confederationcentre.com, web www.confederationcentre.com