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Music theatre ‘veteran‘ rolls out of bed singing By KATHY YANCHUS Oakville Beaver Staff People have the impression that successes come easy to Mark Fercuson, but he gently disagrees. _"When I get something I‘ve realâ€" ly earned it," says Ferguson, the 31â€" yearâ€"old spirited graduate of Sheridan College‘s Performance Studies program, who has blazed a path of success since his graduation with roles in most of the major musicals which have passed through Toronto in the last few years â€" Cats, Joseph and the Amazin« Technicolor Dreameoat, * SHELVES * WOODEN TOYS * STORAGE CHESTS * BLANKET BOXES * DEACON‘S BENCHES * GRANNY TRUNKS fi!g. DOUBTFIRE (PG) Eves. 7:00. Sat.â€"Thurs Mat. 1:30 IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (AA) Eves. 9:30 GREEDY (AA) Eves. 7:00 9:45 ERNEST RIDES AGAIN (PG) Violence. Sat Thurs. Mat. 2:15. THE THE CHASE (AA) Frightening Scenes. Eves 7:20 8 930. MY GIRL 2 (F) Sat.â€"Thurs. Mats. 2:00 THE CHASE (AA) Frightening Scenes (Dolby Stereo) Eves. 7:10 9:15. Sat.â€"Thurs. Mat. 2:00. READY â€" TO â€" FINISH FINISHED FURNITURE MRS. DOUBTFIRE (PG) (Dolby Stereo) Eves 7:00 9:20. Sat.â€"Thurs. Mat. 1:45. SCHINDLER‘S LIST (AA) (Dolby Stereo) Eves 8:00. Sat.â€"Thurs. Mat. 1:30. GREEDY (AA) (Dolby Stereo) Eves. 7:20 9:30 Sat. Sun. Mat. 1:30. No passes accepted. GUARDING TESS (PG) (Dolby Stereo) Eves. 7:00 9:20. Sat. Sun. Mat. 2:15. No passes accepted REALITY BITES (PG) Mature Theme. Eves. 7 9:20. Sat.â€"Thurs. Mat. 1:45 PHILADELPHIA (PG) Eves. 7:00 9:30. Sat Thurs. Mat. 1:30. MY FATHER THE HERO (PG) Eves. 7:10 9:00 Sat.â€"Thurs. Mat. 1:45. SHADOWLANDS (PG) Eves. 7:10 9:35. Sat.â€" Thurs. Mat. 1:30. THE PIANO (R) Eves. 7:00 9:25 BEETHOVEN (PG) Sat.â€"Thurs. Mat. 1:30 GRUMPY OLD MEN (PG) Eves. 7:15 8:9:15 Sat.â€"Thurs. Mat. 1:45. * ROCKING CHAIRS * SPOON RACKS * WINDSOR BENCHES * CORNER CABINETS * SECRETARY DESKS * WARDROBES * BOOK CASES * ARMOIRES * ENTERTAINMENT UNITS * DRESSERS * ROLL TOP DESKS * TABLES CHAIRS CUSTOM ORDERS FINISHING AVAILABLE 825â€"9665 2425 MARINE DR Shenandoah and most recently, Miss Saigon. His talent is undeniable; it knows no bounds. He has not been doused with fame, his name is not yet a household one, but he carries an air of success as comfortably and conâ€" fidently as his well defined dancer‘s body. It is perhaps these qualities plus his easy going style, his ready smile and his calmness in a competâ€" itive cutâ€"throat business that sets him apart. 7 "I can honestly say 1 roll out of bed singing," says Ferguson whom longtime Theatre Sheridan patrons will remember for his numerous GREEDY® IS RIOTOUSLY FUNNY!" IGHT on, sURE THEY‘RE TWOâ€"FACED, BACKâ€"STABBING, BUCK: CHASING, BROWNâ€"NOSING, SNIVELING WEASELS. BUT, HEY... THEYRE FAMILY, CGGREELCY A SAVOY PICTURES RELEASE OPEN SUNDAYS WE DELIVER TO HALTON PEEL Sn PICIURES NO PASSFS qi memorable roles, not the least of which was Pseudales in A Funny Thing Happened Happened on the Way to the Forum. "I have not yet found a better way for my heart to soar. I have an effect on people I think. I really reach people through that medium. It‘s a life‘s work of some kind." It has been eight years since Ferguson graduated from Sheridan‘s remarkable Performance Studies program, and even longer since he came to Canada from Trinidad to pursue his studies and his dream of being a singer, more precisely, a performer. His strongest influence in his native country was classical music â€" "my mother has a glorious soprano voice" â€" and he had "some opportuâ€" nity and many notions to study opera," but music theatre stole his heart. "There‘s something that happens when you look into an audience and people respond to a story that‘s being told in song." Despite parental wishes that he study something other than music, it was a yearning inside him that could not be squelched and he decided to explore what Canada had to offer. After a successful stint at Sheridan, Ferguson was tossed out At Kerr /Next Door to Valdi 134 Lakeshore Rd W. Family Restaurant X lllSCI ad Eat In â€" Take Out Or All Day Deliver _ With Minimum $10.00 Order Eat In or Take Out into the real world where the realiâ€" ties of making a living acting and singing hit home. He quickly landed roles at the Orillia Opera House and Canada‘s Wonderland but decided to take a position as a standby flight attendant as security. Gradually, he got involved in cabarets and coaching, developing a "little following of students" because he laughs, his rates at the time "were very reasonable." In April of the following year the call from Cats came. He was swing for three leads including Rum Tum Tiger and he "got a chance to perâ€" form them all a lot." â€""It was my first professional job and got me my equity card," a debut Offer valld to Oakville Beaver "Shop Locally" Garlic Fingers card holders 323 Church St. Church Rexnoldi contract which "at that point couldn‘t set much better than that." Cats earned him a reputation as a dancer, something he still finds incredulous because "I was an awkâ€" ward boy with bad feet that were orthopedically altered as a toddler." Ferguson left Cats in 1988 after accompanying the troupe on its first national tour, landed himself an agent with Talent House in Toronto and subsequent jobs as dance capâ€" tain for the Broadwayâ€"bound Shenandoah and as understudy for nine of the 11 brothers in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as well as a TV role in David Cronenburg‘s Scales of Justice. Some may see Ferguson‘s relaâ€" tively swift escalation through the competition as effortless but there have been bumps and bruises along the way. Through it all, Ferguson has maintained a stoic and enviable selfâ€"confidence. "If they didn‘t hire me, then they didn‘t want what I‘ve got and that doesn‘t mean that what I‘ve got isn‘t good," says Ferguson with a broad grin. Ferguson simply reminds himself when someone gives him an unnecâ€" essarily difficult time, "Hey you‘re not part of my journey. This is one instance, one part of my life, I may not have control now but when this job‘s over, I regain it. I post mortem as much as I can and try to figure out what positive I can take to the next situation." On the "selfish, creative side" Ferguson is frustrated in the role of understudy but he is breaking from those ranks, having performed the role of all nine brothers in Joseph eventually, and the part of John in Miss Saigon. After the death of a regular in Joseph, Ferguson filled in for the last two months of the show. ‘Up until then (the death of his fellow actor), I had seen my exisâ€" tence as timeless," says Ferguson, who says the death affected him profoundly but he used the experiâ€" ence to strengthen his resilience against the "power people" who have provided him with most of his onâ€"theâ€"job grief. Although he takes "great pride" in ensemble work â€" which he also does for Miss Saigon â€" watching (See ‘Trying‘ page 14) *1st, 2nd 3rd mortgages *Residential Commercial *Plazas/Apt./Office Bldgs. *Up to 95% Financing *NO Upâ€"Front Fees *Inâ€"Home or Office Consultation *6 Days, 9 a.m.â€"9 p.m. Loans * Lines of Credit (in Miller Mews) Ring‘ s 845â€"1010