BF26: Brontae Hunter is back for more after 'Christmas Carol' success

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Originally from Kincardine but now Montreal-based, Brontae Hunter has taken an interesting path to the Blyth Festival - performing here before, but not as part of its iconic summer company.

 

Hunter had been a member of the company for the most recent production of A Huron County Christmas Carol, making her professional theatre debut in Blyth last winter. This summer, she will be part of the Dry Streak and Last Mayor of Rusty River casts and she says she feels “wonderful” about returning to Huron County.

 

Hunter grew up in the area, with her family farming in the Kincardine area. In fact, she says that in addition to making her professional theatre debut at the Blyth Festival, it was also at Memorial Hall that she saw her first-ever professional play. She says that because her parents were frequent patrons of the Festival, she can’t be exactly sure which the first one was, but she knows that the show that made the most impact at a young age was Innocence Lost: A Play About Steven Truscott, which was produced by the Festival in the 2008 and 2009 seasons, written by Beverley Cooper and directed by Miles Potter.

 

Seeing that show on stage was a definite turning point for her and she then threw herself even deeper into acting, taking her all the way to Montreal to attend the National Theatre School. There, the city certainly made an impression on her - so much so that she has yet to leave.

 

Hunter fell in love with the city and has remained there, working in theatre and in music - releasing her own singles - and doing some vocal coaching on the side. However, as comfortable as she is in le belle province, returning to Huron County to be part of the Blyth Festival was an opportunity she knew she couldn’t pass up.

 

And then, once she was attached to the season, her interest grew and she said she was proud to be part of not just her productions, but of the entire season. The shows tell the stories of rural resilience, the strength of rural women and unions and the enchantment of the region, all of which she feels are strong themes to which anyone with a connection to the area can relate.

 

One aspect of her return that she finds particularly exciting is that she’ll again be working with local musician John Powers. He wrote and composed the music for A Huron County Christmas Carol and is doing the same for The Last Mayor of Rusty River, only this time with a bit of a bluegrass theme. She said she found his artistry so magical, so to have him back as part of the team, she said, is great.

 

Off of the theatre stage and on the musical stage, Hunter can be found as part of the thriving jazz scene in Montreal and as part of the alternative rock project known as Gardenia Blue.