Talking with Peter Dickhout about All The Shows
by Chris McKerracher
Eo60: We are talking with Peter Dickhout, who is going to be appearing in East of 60’s fall presentation in a play called Gossamer Feast.
Before we get to that production, let’s talk to Peter about his background a bit. So Peter, when did you start in theatre? What was your very first role?
Peter: Well, pretty much like everybody, probably I was the Christmas tree in grade one, right? You know, everybody had to hold up a letter. I don’t remember what mine was.
One I do remember was in grade three at Pipestone School. They had the gym with the stage there where they had set up for the play including a microphone. I don’t think it had any use, but they set this microphone up for all us kids who were playing elves. All us elves were sharing desks and so I was sharing one with Robbie Chapin. I made him sit away from the microphone, so that way, when I stood up, I was closer to the microphone than Robbie. That’s what I really remember mostly about beginning acting.
Eo60: When was your first acting experience as an adult in community theatre?
Peter: Community theatre? Well, actually, the church I go to did a couple of Easter shows years ago. I don’t recall when exactly.
They were musicals, but the pastor didn’t have enough actors, since these plays were supposed to have huge casts. So the pastor rewrote it. These were like hour and a half Easter plays and I would do those.
So that was probably 2003, 2004 and then I auditioned for the Leduc Drama Society, I answered an ad for an audition call in the paper.
Eo60: What made you do that?
Peter: I just always wanted to. I’d learned I really liked acting. There were times when I’d see ads to be in Alberta film and TV and just different things. II would go and audition but never got anything, right? So when I saw the Leduc ad I was like, yeah, maybe this is my opportunity. I’ve always enjoyed acting so why not? I had worked in radio for a short time, so entertainment, I guess, is in my blood. Whether I’m good at it or not, I don’t know, but I’ve always been interested in it.
Eo60: I’ve heard you characterize yourself as an introvert.
How do you circle that square that you love to perform, but yet you’re introverted. How does that work, exactly?
It seems to be counterintuitive.
Peter: Yes. You know, it is kind of a thing where actually, a lot of people who act will say that they’re introverts as well. And I think that the word, ‘introvert’ kind of gets mischaracterized, like, it has sort of a level of autism to it. It’s more like you can be overwhelmed and you just sort of need to be away from the crowd. That type of thing. But at some point, I just have to be a bull in the china shop, right? I have to go ahead and get in there because I really like being on stage, I like performing.
Eo60: How many plays as an adult do you think you’ve been in now? In Calmar, I know, we did call you our ‘theatre slut’ as you would take any roll offered at any point.
Peter: (Chuckling) Yes. I was that. I think in 2020, just before COVID, I think the count was at 45.
Eo60: 45! My goodness. That’s amazing.
Peter: Yes, but that was still a while ago so it’s probably around 50 something since 2006, when I first got involved in community theatres.
Eo60: What would you say was your favourite role you ever played?
Peter: Oh, man. There’s been so many and they were all different, you know, each one has a unique substance about them. It’s like each cast is unique, and the set is unique, and direction is unique. and they’re all fun. It’s like all the characters on the shows that you wrote, you know? It was always kind of fun because I got to make my own unique original character, right? Like in the Crimson Cap Ladies Take on Vegas, where I’m supposed to be a hotel maid and I come in and I got the big sidies (sideburns) and the moustache and stuff.
Eo60: For sure.That was awesome!
Peter: Oh, yeah! I mean, that’s the fun, right? And I enjoyed working with those women, too. When we did Self Help in Devon, that was also a ton of fun and the audience was so responsive. It was almost as if they would be laughing even before we were actually doing the funny stuff. They were anticipating what was going to happen and it was awesome.
E60: It was such a fun show and the audience added so much to it.
Peter: Absolutely! How the crowd reacts to make a show is really hard to, you know, really define. It’s like the second show I did, with the Leduc group. It was called The Mumly Inheritance and it was a Klondike melodrama, so the audience, of course, is encouraged to boo the villain and cheer the good guys. They really get into it and the actors feed off that. I’m so glad I did some of those types of plays.
Of course, when I auditioned, I wanted to be the bad guy, but it was only my second show, so the director chose another actor. It bothered me then but now I realize the reason.
Instead, I played a character called Crispin Cringe, and I always got a kick out of that role. This was because, again, I got to create the character basically on my own and just sort of do fun stuff with him. So the villain would walk into the room and I’d start raw; grabbing my hat and holding it in front of me while rocking back and forth.
And I rehearsed it enough that it became instinctual, right? So they’re all fun in their own way but to really characterize one role or one play as my favourite is really hard to do.
Eo60: So was Self Help the first play you did in Devon?
Peter: No, it was ‘You Can’t Get There From Here’, I think. It was a show Judy Beler was directing.
Eo60: So you’ve done, what, four or five plays with Devon now?
Peter: Probably more than that, actually. Well, five would be the minimum. More like six or seven.
Eo60: Now you’re in the Devon fall show with Gossamer Feast by Gerald Osborne which is being directed by Sharon Reichert. Tell us about your role in that.
Peter: I play the Maitre D’ of a very upscale restaurant. My character has actually retired at this point, but he returns to host once a year because he has a regular customer, a woman who comes in to celebrate her birthday, and he has enjoyed her company over the years. So, finally, he’s at the point where he’s going to ask her out but then the whole thing kind of falls apart for her.
Eo60: How do you feel about being in a romance on stage? Have you been in that role in many plays in the past? How’s it worked out for you?
Peter: I don’t know if I’ve really been a romantic lead before. I would say, this is probably the first one where I’ve kind of gone in that direction. I mean, I’ve been a husband or a boyfriend, that type of thing, but the relationship was already established. So it’s fun because it’s interesting playing a romantic role. There are dynamics to it.
There’s a certain poignancy to this play, as well. It’s a bit of a comedy, it’s a bit of drama, but there’s also poignant moments, you know, when she arrives at the conclusion of what has happened during the course of dinner.
Eo60: Well, it must be a pretty effective play. It wasn’t just done once at the Alberta Drama Festival in Devon, but it actually proceeded from there as you got to go to the ADFA provincials in Medicine Hat with it. That’s a pretty good feather in your cap.
Peter: Yes! It’s always been on my bucket list to go and do that, to make it to the provincials.
Eo60: What kind of experience was that like?
Peter: Oh, it was a ton of fun. We’re kind of small here, right? You know, like, there’s Leduc and of course, the Calmar Prairie Players, for a time, plus Devon. We kind of have our own little circle, but you get to the provincials and there’s 10 regions in Alberta, and all 10 regions were represented at this. We saw all kinds of different shows. Some of them were original material and some were timeless classics. There was one by the Russian playwright…
Eo60: Anton Chekhov?
Peter: Yes, I think that was the guy
Eo60: He ended up getting a good role in Star Trek.
Peter: No. That was his younger brother, Pavel. Seriously though, going to the provincials was a really good experience.
Eo60: Did you get to meet some of the other actors there? Were there functions where you had a chance to talk to them?
Peter: Yeah, they always had breaks between the shows, so then you could go and hang out in the lobby with everyone, so you could meet people there. They also had a Hawaiian mixer on the Saturday night. That was definitely cool.
Eo60: So you got to check off a bucket list item. Very nice. What else is on your acting bucket list?
Peter: Well, winning a major prize as an actor maybe. (Laughter.)
I don’t really have anything left on my acting bucket list. Maybe to perform in a serious theatrical venue, someplace like the Jubilee Auditorium or the Citadel Theatre. That would be amazing with the acoustics and having a much bigger audience.
Eo60: All the high-end tech stuff would be there too, I’d imagine.
Peter: Yeah, definitely. I actually got to enjoy some of that stuff doing fringe shows. Some of the different venues at the fringe were kind of like that. We did one in the Metropolitan Music Society Theatre which was pretty awesome. It had really good acoustics, too. Backstage was kind of trashy but nobody sees backstage.
Eo60: What’s the biggest crowd you ever played to?
Peter: I don’t know. One of the things about the McLab Theatre in Leduc is it doesn’t feel like we draw really great crowds there because it’s such a big venue. Actually, probably the dinner theatre ones in Devon, when they would sell maybe 220 or so tickets to the show.
Still you appreciate every audience. You appreciate them regardless of the size. They deserve the best performance that you can give them. You want them to feel they got their money’s worth.
Eo60: You’ve done more than just acting. You’ve directed at least once as well with Women Playing Hamlet. How was that for you?
Peter: Actually, I have directed twice. The first time was in 2009, I believe. It was called The Murder Room. It was kind of a murder mystery comedy back when Leduc Drama Society used to do the travelling dinner theatre shows. It was a challenging learning experience, being my first time, so it took me a while to be interested in directing again. But then I directed my second show which was Women Playing Hamlet and that was, oh. so good. It would be fantastic to bottle that feeling but, you know, you can never go back, right? I managed to have such a great cast… all women, and they really bonded and came together so well. My stage manager, Lee-anna Semenyna, was so amazing. She’s doing a show in the fringe this year called Hearts Left Open which she wrote.
Anyway, she was my stage manager, and she was phenomenal. Everything that I needed, it was done. I mean, the play wasn’t full of complicated stuff but if I needed props or a PowerPoint show… just different things… and she would be like, “I got this for you.”
“Look at this!” “You don’t want to think of this.” So that was really good.
Cindy Wagner also helped because, at that time, it was just my second show and LDS has a rule about having a mentor for new directors and Cindy was mine. I think she showed up for the auditions and a couple of rehearsals until she saw I had things well in hand. She never would say I was doing anything wrong, but she would be like, “What’s your opinion to this?” That kind of thing and I really appreciated that.
Eo60: Are you thinking of directing again sometime or are you now just happy to act?
Peter: Well, I actually went for an interview last night for Leduc Drama Society, for their Winter Show, called Knickers. I don’t want to direct just any show, though. It need to be a script I really believe in.
Eo60: If you knew that somebody listening to this or reading this interview was considering getting into community theatre, what would you tell them?
Peter: I’d say, “Cool! Go audition!”
You have nothing to lose by getting involved, particularly if you’re already interested in theatre. I have a friend in Leduc and they came out for one show. Their experience wasn’t great, but they had found a place and since then, they have really grown as an actor and as a person. Now, when I see them, they always say to me, “You know, this is really my place.”
I think for the most part, theatre is very accepting of people. It’s just regular people who want to put on a play, do some acting, and hang out, you know? Maybe get a free meal, have a drink with friends. It’s about being part of a group that’s got a goal where they have to rely on each other to accomplish it.
Eo60: So it’s as much about acting as it is belonging to an accepting group?
Peter: Exactly. It’s like, in Devon, you know, it’s a drinking group with an acting problem. (Chuckles.)
Eo60: Is there anything else you want the acting curious to know?
Peter: Lots of people wonder where they can get acting training. I believe community theatre is a good place to start. You can’t take yourself too seriously. It’s not like a Hollywood type is gonna “discover” you, but you have an opportunity to create characters, memorize dialogue and just go through the whole experience. Theatre is very different than television or film because in those, you get 10 chances to get it right. In theatre it’s all in real time so you get comfortable with actually performing.