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OT alum joins War Horse cast By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Having been met with great and continued on-stage success in London and New York, the people behind the Toronto production of War Horse are hoping for a similar reception. Oakville Trafalgar High School alum Christy Adamson is one of those people. Adamson is a puppeteer in the show and one of those tasked with bringing the full-sized horses to life on stage. "We're all very committed to it and love the show. For us, we're very invested in it because we love what we're doing. We certainly hope it will run for a while," she said. If the London and Broadway productions are any indication, the show is likely to have a lengthy run. War Horse premiered on stage in London's South Bank in October 2007, moving to a West End theatre where it is still on stage, while the Broadway show premiered in April of last year and is still on. Now, that same U.K. creative team has helped bring the play to Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre. The show, a Mirvish Productions presentation, premiered on Tuesday, Feb. 28. The allure of watching these lifesize horses seems to be part of what is drawing people to the show. There are two main horses, Joey and Tophorn, each controlled by three puppeteers, who rotate between the parts. Adamson has the task of being the hind of both the main horses, and some ensemble ones as well. Besides the horses, Adamson said the story itself, told from the perspective of Joey, is compelling on its own. "Part of it is that it's just a beautiful story between a boy and a horse. It's ways but... when it goes well, it's really gratifying because you have such a strong connection with two other people. It really takes three people working together to give these characters -- the horses -- motion and life." Learning to control the horses is a lesson in teamwork. In fact, the puppeteers had two extra weeks of rehearsals to prepare for the task. During those two weeks, they learned about horse behavior and how to communicate with each other through breathing and horse noises. Controlling the horses involves two puppeteers inside the horse (the hind and heart) and a third outside controlling the head. Adamson, being in the rear, controls the tail and hind legs, as well as makes the breath and horse noises. Part of the puppetry training was improv, which is essential because of the puppeteer rotation. From show to show, the operators change puppets, making no two shows identical. The rotation was done to help reduce the number of injuries to the performers, which have about eight shows a week. "They did that specifically to make sure that puppeteers don't develop overuse injuries," Adamson said. "It's extremely athletic. The horses themselves weigh between 120 and 150 pounds (54-68 kilograms). We're supporting the weight between the two of us who are inside the horse." Furthermore, the actors also hop on the back and ride the horses, adding more weight. "It's very physically challenging," Adamson said, adding, so far, there have not been any serious injuries. For more information on War Horse, show dates and times, or tickets, visit www.mirvish.com. 25 · Wednesday, March 7, 2012 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.insideHALTON.com SUBMITTED PHOTO `I love sharing my music' Continued from page 24 old Amati violin. The 15-year-old performs at Carnegi Hall Saturday. PLUCKING THE STRINGS: Leslie Ashworth practises on her 400-year- RIZIERO VERTOLLI / OAKVILLE BEAVER WORKING LIKE A HORSE: Oakville Trafalgar H.S. alum, Christy Adamson joins the cast of the Toronto production of War Horse on stage at the Princess of Wales Theatre. The established musician also has a recorded CD of her work called Precious Musical Moments, half of the proceeds of which were donated to Toronto-based Free the Children. Ashworth has also composed a piece for the organization, which she intends to include in her upcoming CD recording. The piece, titled For the Children, was composed for the piano and vocals -- later, she added violin to the song. "I love music. I love sharing my music with others. I think it's very important to give back to the community," she said. In that spirit, Ashworth will be doing a number of community performances in the coming weeks. Later this month, she'll be doing a recital along with her piano teacher at an ArtHouse concert and will join a selection of players from the Oakville Symphony Orchestra for its Viva Vivaldi mini-concert. She will be performing Spring from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. She also has an upcoming recital for Free the Children and will be playing in a young people's concert with the Oakville Symphony Orchestra, as well as a line up of performances for the summer. In addition, Ashworth will be travelling to Lublin, Poland, where she will participate in the International Competition for Young Violinists. She cites one of her musical inspirations as her violin teacher, Alec Hou -- also noting the Royal Conservatory has been supportive of her. The music organization has loaned her the Nicolò Amati violin. The last of the Amati violinmakers, Nicolò was also the mentor of Antonio Stradivari and Andrea Guarneri. "I really love my violin," Ashworth said. "It's got an older, more mature sound. The Amatis are known for their very sweet and mellow sounds." Performance videos of the young musician are available on Ashworth's website at www.leslieashworth.com. Dominik Kurek can be reached at dkurek@oakvillebeaver.com or can be followed on Twitter at @ DominikKurek. really interesting that Michael Morpurgo -- who wrote the children's book that it's based on -- wanted to tell a story about the First World War but he wanted it to be from a neutral perspective," she said. "I think that definitely draws people in." Originally from Oakville, the now Toronto-based Adamson did not begin as an actor. She attended the Oakville School of Dance and was a member of OT's school choir and performed in the school's musicals. However, somewhere along the way, the acting bug bit her, leading her to perform with Oakville's West End Studio Theatre, as well as in film and television. Being well-rounded is vital to her career, Adamson said. "The more skills you have, the more likely that you will work. So it's very important... to be able to do a lot of different things." And being a part of War Horse is definitely a new and different adventure for Adamson. 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