CRATER CREATIVES: ALESSANDRO COSTANTINI

Welcome to Crater Creatives, a biweekly artist profile series offering a unique look into the artists that call Sudbury home! There’s certain type of creativity that’s born up here in Northern Ontario, maybe it’s the wilderness that surrounds us, or maybe it’s just our resourceful spirit. Whatever the case may be we’re here to shine a spot light on the innovative artists of all sorts in this big old crater! Have an artist you’d like to recommend for a future Crater Creatives profile? Shoot an email to jessica@ourcrater.com and tell us all about it!

Alessandro Costantini is a Sudbury raised actor and graduate of George Brown’s prestigious Theatre Arts Performance program. No stranger to the stage around here he’s been featured in numerous productions and never passes up an opportunity to grab the mic at community events. His passion for theatre led him to start up YES Theatre at 17 years old, with the company now entering its 8^th season with a production of Billy Elliot to come this summer. Costantini has been making this crater proud having just wrapped a successful run in the lead role of Prom Queen – an all new Canadian musical retelling the true story of Marc Hall, a teenager who wound up taking on the Catholic school board to take his boyfriend to prom.  We went right to the source for all the details on this exciting opportunity!

*All photos provided by Andree Lanthier

Tell us about the new musical Prom Queen? 

Prom Queen is the true story of Canadian Teenager Marc Hall, who in 2002 took the Catholic school board to court for his right to bring his boyfriend to his high school prom. It has been in development for 3 years now. There was a documentary made called Prom Fight. Then in 2004 a made for tv movie called Prom Queen. The producer of that film then got the ball rolling on the musical. Hired this incredible composing duo of Colleen Dauncy and Akiva Rover-Segal and they wrote a really gorgeous score! A couple of workshops and the right people pushing the project and that led to the world premiere in Montreal!

How has the experience been working on a brand new show? How has the response been to the production? 

The response has been overwhelmingly positive. I feel very fortunate to be working on this piece at this time. Its a story of love, tolerance and change. People young and old have been leaving the theatre feeling very moved and inspired and just with a great sense of joy. Working on a brand new show is really wild. Things change so often during the rehearsal process and you need to be ready to just roll with it. Luckily our production team is super dope and they kept us on track! It’s a great honour getting to originate a role and knowing that as an actor you are somewhat leaving a piece of yourself on the DNA of the character.

Tell us about Marc Hall’s story and what inspired you to take on this role? 

He really just wanted to go to his prom. At the time, he didn’t think it would be an issue at all. He was sort of thrust into the spotlight and became this overnight international news story. He was 17 and suddenly was a human rights activist. You can imagine how stressful and overwhelming that all would be. What made me so excited about this project was that its a story about a young person who ignites a deep and passionate movement. So many of us feel like we can take on the world when we are young. We all have this wild furious energy, but rarely does an individual actually use that make a significant and important change for their community. Marc did that. He was able to shine light onto something that his community needed to hear so that it could progress. There is a really beautiful song in the show called “Only A Boy”. It takes place in the court room scene near the end of the play. He articulates in that moment, quite beautifully that he isn’t trying to change the world. He is just in love, and that love deserves the same respect and opportunity to flourish as any other love. I have a deep passion for young voices and youth driven stories. So this piece is very special for me.

What artists locally or beyond keep you inspired? 

SO MANY. Oh dude! SO MANY! I can start by saying the plethora of artists that I’ve worked with through YES Theatre have all been incredibly inspiring to me in so many ways. We are bursting at the seams with amazing artists all throughout our city. Everywhere I go I talk about Sudbury and the incredible artistic community that we have. Actually some of my cast-mates the other day were kinda poking fun at me because I met someone new and they asked where I was from…I told them Sudbury and then they asked about the Arts scene and I totally went off and started professing my grand love for the Nickel City!

What is your favourite thing about being part of the Sudbury artistic community? 

Sudbury has such a deep sense of cultural identity. Whenever something happens in our community, it is special. I love doing work in Sudbury because the community has given me so much. The artists I am, and the things I consider important in my work are all because of the experiences my home has given me. We have an abundance of joy, love, and wonderfully gifted artists. I look forward to the day when there are so many artistic events happening that we start to miss out because there is too much to see!!!!!

What would be your best advice to a new artist looking to get involved in our local art community? 

Find the work that ignites passion within you, and jam with them! If that work doesn’t exist…make it happen! We are mighty, but we are young still. There is room for it all and each voice needs to be heard. Collaboration is key. Find the people whose heart beats on the same time as yours and MAKE GOOD ART!!!

What’s next for you, and where can we follow your work? 

I am currently writing my first play called “Strega”. It is a story about an old Italian woman and how she looks back on her life and the moments that shaped her…and food. How food plays its part in our life and how it influences those profound moments. I am hoping to get it up in a production by the end of the year or beginning of 2018! In the new year I will be working on a new musical called “OFFLINE” with Talk Is Free Theatre in Barrie, then back to Sudbury for Hockey Dreams, a co-pro between YES Theatre and Sudbury Theatre Centre, then directing Billy Elliot for our August production! Lots of dope stuff happening. Feeling very blessed! 🙂 …..Follow YES Theatre on Facebook, Twitter, and check out our website! Or just straight up add me on Facebook! If you’re a human looking to get involved in the happenings, please reach out. I would be more than happy to connect.

Jessica Lovelace

Jessica Lovelace is a Public Relations and Communications grad, musical theatre enthusiast, lover of live music and part-time unicorn tamer. Some have said that the Big Dripper from Sub City is a regional delicacy and the perfect end to a Sudbury Saturday Night – Jessica is definitely one of those people. No, the hair is not a perm.

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