Unraveling the Mystery: A chat with Monica Dottor, mastermind director of County Stage’s ‘The 39 Steps’

Monica Dottor is a multi-talented force who can boast outstanding contributions as an actor, choreographer, and director. Her work has been recognized with 10 Dora Mavor Moore Award nominations and one win, as a member of Nightwood Theatre’s ensemble of The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. As a truly global artist, Dottor’s projects have spanned continents, having been featured at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, the Chiang Kai-Shek National Theatre in Taipei, and the Chekhov International Theatre Festival in Moscow. 

Dottor’s journey into the world of theatre was sparked by a quaint, yet formative childhood moment: “In my grade 4 Enrichment class, we got to put on a play. It was called Mr. Groundhog’s Day Off. I played Mr. Porcupine,” she fondly recalls. “We got to eat a real rhubarb pie onstage, and it wasn’t even recess! I was hooked on the magic of theatre instantly, and have been ever since.” 

Her latest (and pie-less) venture is the County Stage Company’s production of The 39 Steps, an award-winning parody of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic film, which has been adapted by Patrick Barlow and features more than 150 characters played by just four actors: Helen Belay, Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster, Brandon McGibbon and Courtenay Stevens. “This is the kind of play where the creativity of the actors generates moments of magic and playful connection with the audience – and with each other,” observes an animated Dottor: “I’m especially keen for audiences to experience the joy that these actors create onstage!”

The story starts when leading man Richard Hannay (played by Brandon McGibbon) gets caught up in a deadly conspiracy after Annabella (Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster), whom he has just met, is killed in his apartment. Drawn into espionage, he races to clear his name, while dodging the authorities and a shadowy group known as “The 39 Steps.” Helen Belay and Courtenay Stevens round out the cast playing diverse roles, including a vaudeville duo, spies, assassins, traveling salesmen, politicians, constables, and innkeepers. This film noir (or should it be play noir) masterpiece blends comedy, creative staging, lightning-fast changes and iconic moments from the original movie. For those who know the source film, these include the thrilling chase on the Flying Scotsman, the daring escape on the Forth Bridge, a bi-plane crash, and the nail-biting finale!

When it comes to directing this fast-paced comedy, Dottor decided to incorporate modern choreography . . . married with a little vaudeville stage magic: “Because the play requires so many quick little changes and quirky little moments, I applied a vaudeville aesthetic to the piece, in which the audience is invited to see a lot of the ‘mechanisms’ that make things work.” The source of this inspired choice? “I’m very inspired by contemporary circus and modern dance, and I often turn to whimsical possibilities to weave scenes together.” Overall, the production blends numerous of Dottor’s passions – including vaudeville, dance, comedy, and film noir – into an exciting and eclectic artistic composite.

Dottor’s experience as an actor informs her directorial approach, which places actors at the heart of her creative vision: “I love acting. I love everything about it: the detective work, the discovery, and the offering to the audience of those findings. I have so much respect and admiration for the art of acting and for actors/interpreters, and I believe in putting actors at the centre of the work.” Deliberately and explicitly, she grants actors the creative freedom her own actor self values – by empowering them to explore, uncover and create.

And beyond the stage, Dottor is a font of helpful advice. As one example, she swears by an endearing – and altogether unexpected – hack for dealing with a creative lull: “Whenever I feel stuck as an artist, I watch YouTube videos of meerkats in their natural habitats,” she chuckles. “Never fails! I am instantly re-inspired. I’m obsessed with meerkats.”

Given the fullness of her calendar, it is difficult to envision her creative well running even close to dry. At present, in addition to The 39 Steps, she is serving as Movement Director of another summer staple: A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Canadian Stage’s Dream in High Park. And freshly graduated with an MFA in Theatre from York University, Dottor is looking forward to a busy autumn. “Next up, I’m acting in a film in August, then I’m playing Karen Kain in a play in September, and then I’m working with Femmes du Feu Creations on a few Contemporary Circus projects, as a creator and director.”

In the meantime and while they can, audiences should plan to see Dottor’s inventive and hilarious interpretation of The 39 Steps at the Eddie Outdoor Pavilion in picturesque Bloomfield, Prince Edward County. The show runs until August 6, 2023. Reserve tickets on countystage.ca.

Connect with Monica Dottor on monicadottor.com.

© Arpita Ghosal, Sesayarts Magazine, 2023