L-R: Isis Burnett looks on as Lily Burden plays the piano in the July 2021 production of Twelfth Night. This was Lily’s first production with Pine Tree Players.
It is if you’re Lily Burden who just won a volunteer award through the Rotary Club for the hours she clocked during her time at the Canmore Collegiate High School. Although many of us will recognize Burden from past performances — in Friends of the Deceased, Birdcage, The Coming out Monologues and Dracula a Feminist Revenge Fantasy — get ready to be dazzled by her interpretation of Dorothy in this summer’s The Wizard of Oz.
You better see this young talent while you can because this fall Burden is off to Toronto’s Randolph College for The Performing Arts to pursue a two-year diploma in Performing Arts and Musical Theatre. She attributes the experience she gleaned at Pine Tree Players with securing a coveted spot at this private college.
I have gone from the shy, insecure, kid that I was when I joined Pine Tree Players — in fact, so petrified to do my first audition that I broke down in tears — to the confident, outgoing person I am today,” explains Burden. “I must thank Jen Tweddell who has given me so many opportunities in the five years I’ve volunteered with Pine Tree as well as my amazing vocal coach Michelle Todd, who has helped train my voice into the powerhouse that I am now so proud of. And to my high school drama teacher, Ms Grecu, who was able to pull out my deep love for theatre even more than I could possibly have imagined.
As for any advice Burden may have for other aspiring actors you may see on stage at this summer’s theatre festival: “You will find many people say that theatre is too hard to pursue a career in, that you should go for a “safer job”, that acting is just a dream… Don’t listen to them,” she says. “I am going to the school of my dreams, to pursue the career that I have wanted since I was in the seventh grade, and this is because I listened to the people around me who supported me endlessly, who celebrated with me, who helped me through the challenges. Find your people and you will go further than you ever thought possible. Don’t stop chasing the dream, because sooner than you know, it could be your reality.”
told to and abridged by Deb Cummings
About the Author: Deb Cummings is a retired journalist (mostly) who is terrified to sit in the front row of any theatre for fear of being called up on stage. She does, however, have aspirations to be a doo- wop girl (although she can’t sing) and spends a surprising amount of time watching plays or reading books that normalize the mortifying experience of being human.