SesayArts in conversation with Hallie Seline about Howland Company’s new adaptation of THREE SISTERS

A new production by the Howland Company is always welcome news. Last year’s THE HOME PROJECT, produced in partnership with Native Earth Performing Arts and presented by Soulpepper, was a triple meditation of “home” that went on to earn five Dora Mavor Moore nominations. Their 2018 production of THE WOLVES resonates still. Each time the company announces a new production, the news brings excitement and curiosity: what skilled ensemble have they assembled, and how will their bold interpretation mainline the zeitgeist?

It’s time to ask these questions of Chekhov’s THREE SISTERS, which Howland is mounting at Hart House Theatre. In addition to being the company’s first large-scale production since the pandemic closure, THREE SISTERS is the first major show at Hart House Theatre since it closed in 2020. The joint production marks a year-long partnership between the two companies, and is offering U of T students the opportunity for mentorship by U of T and Hart House Theatre alumni found in the cast and creative team, including Howland Company founding members Hallie Seline, Paolo Santalucia and Cameron Laurie. 

Written in 1900, THREE SISTERS explores love, loneliness, and the search for courage and optimism – themes that struck the actors as uncannily “present and alive” during this post-pandemic time. The play’s director Santalucia has adapted and updated Chekhov’s original to be set in modern-day North America. 

THREE SISTERS centers on the four Prozorov siblings: Irina (Shauna Thompson), Masha (Caroline Toal), Olga (Hallie Seline), and their brother Andrei (Ben Yoganathan). The four are coping with the death of their father, while yearning to escape the ennui of life in a small military town. Stifled by their surroundings, the Prozorovs yearn to return to the home they left eleven years ago. However, worn down by disappointment, debt, and the malaise of their daily lives, they are unsure of how they will manage it.

SesayArts Magazine had the pleasure of speaking with Seline about the relatable contemporaneity of Santalucia’s adaptation, her characterization of Olga, and the “backstage soundtrack” that keeps the company grounded.

SM: The question that I keep returning to is why THREE SISTERS and why now, especially since The Howland Company has (so far) produced mostly contemporary works?

HS: THREE SISTERS is about love, loneliness, and where you find your hope and courage to go on while the world around you is crumbling, all aspects that feel very alive for us right now.

When we were looking at different plays over the pandemic, we were struck by how present and alive THREE SISTERS felt for us. It’s a group of people gathered together that we watch over a period of a few years asking big questions about purpose and meaning in their lives. 

The Howland Company is dedicated to producing electric stories that speak to the world and the times in which we live, whether it’s a hot new Pulitzer-Prize winning play like Sarah DeLappe’s THE WOLVES, or a fresh adaptation of a classic as we did with Ödön von Horváth’s CASIMIR AND CAROLINE, if the play resonates strongly to our lives now, we want to share that with our audiences. 

SM: What attracts you to the role of Olga, and what’s your approach to portraying her? 

HS: Olga is quite something. She has a huge heart and an unwavering sense of loyalty. She gives everything she has to her family and those around her to try to take care of them, so much so that she finds herself lost within her duty and commitments with very little to call her own. I would say my approach to portraying her is to focus on love and an understanding of what it means for someone to be so focused on surviving the day-to-day and taking care of others, that you suddenly find yourself selling yourself short. 

SM: And I’m curious…if you were to meet her, would you be friends?

HS: I think she would be an excellent friend to have, the kind you want in your corner. I would take her out for a much-needed spa day!

SM: This production, adapted and directed by Paolo Santalucia, “highlights the tension between the bright future we all long for and the harsh realities of our current and radically changing world”. This sounds highly topical and relatable. What would you like us to know about the adaptation? And how do you feel that Toronto audiences will be able to connect to it?

HS: This is a light adaptation in that it is still the play those who know and love THREE SISTERS will expect, just set here and now for our audiences. We’ve updated some language in a way that sometimes Chekhov adaptations can lack. We wanted the words and what these characters are wrestling with to feel very immediate to our Toronto audiences. We didn’t need to change much, honestly, especially in the current state of the world. 

SM: How has the process of working on THREE SISTERS been for you so far? Has anything surprised you? Have there been any challenges?

HS: The process has been hugely rewarding and also quite intense. Chekhov requires such bravery and truth. These characters are engaging with massively human questions about their purpose, love, and how to survive immense heartbreak from the world. It was always told to me that Chekhov’s work holds a thin line between humour and heartbreak. 

It surprised me how present that duality resonated after what we have been experiencing with this global pandemic. Everyone has been asking big questions about ourselves and our lives and what truly matters in life. These are exactly the circumstances the characters in THREE SISTERS are in, and I found it very relatable. 

With that said, to engage with the honesty and heartbreak of this play and the burden of what Olga, my character, takes on, a nice healthy release of this play at the end of the day is definitely needed. I put on some good music and have a little dance party backstage.

SM: Many of the cast members are U of T graduates (as am I), so the partnership between Howland and U of T’s Hart House Theatre seems natural and strategic. How did this collaboration come about, and where do you hope that it might lead, going forward?

HS: It has been really exciting to come back to our U of T roots for those of us who are alumni, and we’re thrilled about this educational collaboration with Hart House Theatre. The Howland Company is passionate about giving opportunity to emerging artists and providing mentorship opportunities. And what better place to start than with the next generation of theatremakers at U of T? 

We’re hoping this can continue to build a bridge between students, educational facilities, and professional artists making work in the city in more meaningful, accessible ways. 

SM: What question do you wish I had asked you that I didn’t (and what is the answer)?

HS: What is your backstage soundtrack for this show?

Preshow: Nostalgic “Dad Music” – Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen

During: Rose Riebl’s album “Do Not Move Stones”

Post-Show Dance Party: Charlotte Cardin, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé

Reserve tickets to THREE SISTERS on harthouse.ca.

© Arpita Ghosal, SesayArts Magazine, 2022