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33| The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,O ctober 25,2018 theifp.ca Rehearsals began in Au- gust for Georgetown Little Theatre's production of Steel Magnolias, which will open at the John Elliott Theatre in Georgetown on Nov. 2. The Robert Harling play, inspired by his own tragic circumstances in- volving his sister, is cen- tred on a young woman named Shelby who is in the midst of getting married and starting a family, while dealing with health com- plications caused by diabe- tes. Georgetown Little The- atre's (GLT) Cat Wilkinson spoke to the Independent about her experience pre- paring to play the lead role. Georgetown Little Theatre is calling this show "the funniest play that will make you cry." What does that mean to you? The show just has so much heart. You ex- press so many emotions. It is a comedy, but there are some deep, emotional issues that come up. It is just women having a lot of fun, dealing with life and taking the good with the bad. Talk to me a little about Shelby. What do you find most interest- ing about getting into the character? Shelby is a lot of fun. She loves fashion; she's a fashionista. She's a little firecracker, she has sass and she loves the colour pink. She lives in a world of pink. So I didn't really have a hard time getting into her character. She's just a lot of fun to work with. How do you prepare for your emotional scenes? The writing was so well done that it gave me the ammunition I needed for it. I connect a lot with the words I suppose, and then when I got up on my feet working with the other actors, I think we just all got into it; we brought it to life. Generally, I see myself in those characters' shoes and I make It real. Why do you think it's impor- tant to stage this show here and now? We are always going have to deal with parts of life that are going to be hard and I don't think it's a bad thing to talk about it. The world is definitely not in a great place as it is, so I think seeing people having a strong bond with other people is always go- ing to make you feel good. I think it's important to take time away from your life and laugh and - not for- get - but just put your prob- lems on the back burner for a while. What do you hope for audi- ences to take away from the show? I just want them to have fun, because we have a lot of fun on stage and so I just hope they can al- so have a good time with us. I hope they connect with what we're feeling and they want to come back and see our oth- er shows. Steel Magnolias will be on stage at the John Elliott Theatre on Nov. 2, 3, 8, 9, 10 at 8 p.m., and on Nov. 4 and 11 at 2 p.m. For further informa- tion, visit www.george- townlittletheatre.ca. COMMUNITY CAT WILKINSON ON PLAYING THE LEAD IN GLT'S PRODUCTION OF 'STEEL MAGNOLIAS' "The show just has so much heart," lead actress Cat Wilkinson said. "It is a comedy, but there are some deep, emotional issues that come up." Michael Halsall/Photo WILKINSON WILL BE PLAYING SHELBY IN THE SHOW, WHICH OPENS ON NOV. 2 VERONICA APPIA vappia@metroland.com 312 GUELPH ST., GEORGETOWN 905-877-2296 www.georgetowntoyota.com Saturday Oct. 27th, 2018 7:30 pm at Mold-Masters SportsPlex Georgetown Raiders vs. Oakville Blades GEORGETOWN CHEVROLET HOSTS GRAND REOPENING CELEBRATION On Oct. 19, Georgetown Chevrolet Buick GMC hosted a grand reopening celebration, showcasing its recently revamped showroom. The dealership, which has been in the community for over 30 years, began renovations in June 2017. The renovations were completed early this year. Pictured are, from left: Guests in the showroom; From left, Glen MacDonald, Trevor Stroeder, Sadie Stroeder, Jacob Stroeder, Alana Stroeder, Mayor Rick Bonnette and councillors Moya Johnson and Ted Brown; Ally Jed and Derek McGowan of Whisky Dust provided live entertainment for the evening. Veronica Appia/Metroland