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th ei fp .c a Th e IF P -H al to n H ill s | T hu rs da y, F eb ru ar y 8, 20 18 | 10 As a comedic actress in the mid-1980s looking to es- tablish her career, Sandra Shamas's unique one-wom- an act initially didn't re- ceive much recognition in the Canadian theatrical community. The eldest of three daughters of Lebanese de- scent, Shamas at first was considered a standup co- median and wasn't even re- viewed by media, when in fact her subsequent award- winning shows would later be referred to as different unto themselves. Shama, who resides on a farm in Halton Hills, was among 23 people named as Order of Ontario recipients last week. Her first show, My Boy- friend's Back and There's Gonna Be Laundry, launched in 1987 at an Ed- monton festival to rave re- views, leading to a trilogy that was nominated for a Stephen Leacock Award for Humour. She was also inspired af- ter attending a Lily Tomlin show at the Plymouth The- atre in New York City - a ticket she received as a 30th birthday gift. "That was the first time I'd seen a woman command an audience alone," said Shamas, who turned 60 last year. "The one-man show had been established in Ameri- ca, but not in Canada under a theatrical umbrella. My work was autobiographical and no one was mining their life and putting it on- stage, so I had to create a show for myself that was self-produced." Shamas, who had earli- er performed with the Sec- ond City theatre troupe and earned other credits, such as a puppeteer on the CBC Television series Fraggle Rock, was always encour- aged by the largely positive response her two-hour per- formances received from audiences, despite the in- stitutional indifference she experienced early on. Over those three de- cades, Shamas has pro- duced, written, directed and starred in seven shows, with the most recent being last year's The Big "What Now?" - sharing her cultur- al experiences of being a woman "on the other side" of age 50. Among the accolades she's received during her career are a Gemini Award in 1991 for Best Perfor- mance in Comedy and the Best Theatre Award at the HBO U.S. Comedy Arts Fes- tival in 2003. Shamas explained that on average it requires about four years of develop- ment to bring the shows from the formative stages to fruition, not unlike the performance cycle pursued by Olympians. "It's very much like be- ing an athlete," she re- marked. "I write my own materi- al and then direct it so it takes a lot of time and then every four years I venture out with it. You're really preparing all day to do that one thing and if it looks ef- fortless from the audience's perspective, then you're do- ing your job correctly. A lot of energy goes into making it look that relaxed." Shamas was born in Sudbury but says she "didn't really grow up" un- til she bought the Green- belt farm here in 1995 and now "plants most of my gro- ceries," while keeping a close eye on rural and farmland protection is- sues. She'll receive the Order of Canada on Feb. 27 in To- ronto alongside Canadian comedic legend Dan Ayk- royd and "might be embold- ened enough to go over and say hello." But her greatest satis- faction is to hear through social media that her fans from the beginning days who loved her work so much brought their daugh- ters to the shows and are now bringing their grand- daughters along as well. "(The Order of Ontario) seems lofty, to be honest," she said. "I don't live my life in a high-octane way and awards and ceremonies of a higher echelon just seem so like another level of life. I'm not saying I'm not worthy, but it was pleasantly sur- prising. My Facebook and Twitter blew up. The inter- net makes the world so much smaller." NEWS Shamas' career in entertainment storied, diverse EAMONN MAHER emaher@theifp.ca Winter Event Active and veteran Military personnel receive up to $1,500 in price adjustments± Military.HyundaiCanada.com No-Charge All-Wheel Drive‡ Onmost SUVmodels. $2,000 value. Year††5 Warranty Lovewinter longer. Don't pay for 90 days^ On select finance offers. Based onmonthly payment frequency. On select finance purchases of new Hyundai vehicles, with the exception of the down payment, if applicable^^. Restrictions apply. Ultimate model shown ♦ Limited model shown ♦ 2.0T Limited model shown ♦ Financing for up to 84 months†0% On select models. Blind Spot Detection with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert Heated Front Seats Heated Leather Steering Wheel 5" 5.0" touch-screen with rear-view camera Heated Front Seats Wiper De-Icer 2018 Elantra GL Manual Finance for only At With Down†Weekly 0.9% $0$59 Selling price: $21,605 Delivery, Destination & Fees Included. 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