Adam Charbonneau may not be a professional actor by definition, but he displays all of the qualities of one: commitment, attentiveness, preparation and passion.

Charbonneau, a fourth year honours theatre student at the University of Winnipeg, landed his first role in a professional production as Dennis Dutton, a wealthy, arrogant and opinionated Yale student in Prairie Theatre Exchange’s production of The Vertical Hour.

“He’s a very present actor, and a very focused actor – and totally prepared from day one,” said fellow cast member Amy Rutherford in an interview during a media call last Wednesday. “He seems like a pro to me.”

Charbonneau got the role of Dennis after being asked to audition by director Robert Metcalfe, who saw Charbonneau perform in the U of W film and theatre department’s production of H5: The Life of King Henry the Fifth in the fall.

“It was my first audition,” Charbonneau said during an interview last Monday. “I had never really put myself out there before.”

“ I’ve never done a play, or read a play, quite like it.

Adam Charbonneau, actor

Another novelty for Charbonneau was the nature of the script for The Vertical Hour.

“I’ve never done a play, or read a play, quite like it,” he said.

It’s a political commentary about Nadia Blye, a former war correspondent turned Yale academic (played by Amy Rutherford), who travels to England with her boyfriend Phillip Lucas (Eric Blais) to visit his father Oliver (Norman Browning). Charbonneau and Lisa Bell play Blye’s students.

By revealing different perspectives on world events and injustices, such as the war in Iraq, the characters highlight the disengagement many people feel from current events.

“[The Vertical Hour] will challenge the audience to think about how they feel about these injustices that are going on, and about the way that our governments instruct us to act and feel,” Charbonneau said.

Charbonneau got his start in acting as a member of the improv group at Kelvin High School. After completing high school, he began studying theatre at U of W. Since then, he’s had two major roles in theatre department productions: last year he played Rich in the third year honours production The Distance from Here, and this past November he played Henry in the aforementioned H5.

Charbonneau describes his involvement in The Vertical Hour as “a massive learning experience.” Not only has he learned a great deal from interacting with and observing the cast members, he feels the experience has also resulted in personal growth.

“It’s really just given me better confidence,” he said. “I am trusting myself a lot more than I ever did before.”

He credits the U of W’s theatre department for the success he’s had.

“It’s just outstanding,” he said. “I definitely wouldn’t be involved in this play…if I wasn’t involved in this theatre program.”

As for plans to act professionally, Charbonneau remains open.

“I’ll just kind of ride the rollercoaster and see how it goes,” he said. “A lot can change…a lot has changed.”

The Vertical Hour is on at PTE until Feb. 8. Visit www.pte.mb.ca.

Published in Volume 63, Number 18 of The Uniter (January 29, 2009)