These days, the tranquil arts valley of Rosebud is home to one of the busiest actors in central Alberta.
With up to three performances a day of Cotton Patch Gospel and Underneath the Lintel, four days a week, Rosebud Theatre actor, musician and entrepreneur Nathan Schmidt is ‘busier than a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs’—to quote a line from one of the plays.
“This is about the third time I’ve done a summer show with the Studio show in the middle,” says Schmidt. “I took it on in part because Lintel is such a great opportunity for me to stretch some muscles as an actor—in terms of a one-man show, in terms of a character-type role, and in terms of getting to tell a unique, interesting story,” said Schmidt.
Rosebud Theatre’s Under the Lintel opens on July 3 and is starring NathanSchmidt. He is also Rosebud’s summer musical Cotton Patch Gospel.
When asked about the physical stamina this busy schedule requires, Schmidt points out that the fatigue is more mental than physical. “I just put my head down and do it,” he says. “When I get active in my off-hours my mind rejuvenates as well.”
Underneath the Lintel tells the story of an eccentric librarian who ventures from the safe and orderly confines of his workplace in pursuit of a 2,000 year-old mystery.
“He steps outside of what’s comfortable and what’s normal, taking a risk,” says Schmidt. “His whole world gets turned upside down as he goes deeper and deeper down the rabbit-hole.”
Many would agree that the casual interactions between performers and theatre-goers—whether at a B&B, on the streets of Rosebud or at the Mercantile dining room—are part of what make the Rosebud Experience so special. “People want connection,” says Schmidt. “The actor mystique is not nearly as interesting as actually getting to talk to people.”
And it appears the connection they want is with Schmidt especially.
“Nathan is as close as we get to having a ‘star’ in Rosebud,” says Morris Ertman, artistic director of Rosebud Theatre. “His presence on our stage is always met with anticipation by our audience. He’s a man of rare conviction who always brings his transparent heart to performances.” Audience members often wait for him after the show to compliment him and share their personal thoughts on the play they’ve just seen.
“The biggest compliments I’ve ever gotten as a performer are times when somebody says ‘You were just my uncle so-and-so,’” says Schmidt, “and you know that you’ve connected to their life and spoken into it somehow.”
He describes an interaction with a woman in 2005 who saw his performance of Daddy Sherry, the oldest man in the world, in Rosebud Theatre’s production of The Kite.
“She came up to me after the show and talked about how looking after her 80-year-old mother had been such a struggle; just fighting all the time. The Kite is about this old guy who fights all the time with the daughter who’s looking after him, because everything is being taken away. He can’t do the things he used to and it makes him angry. This woman said, ‘I get it. I understand now why we fight all the time. I understand what my mother’s lost.’ In the midst of this comedy. And it mattered to her. I didn’t expect that. I was just trying to be believable as a 114-yearold guy.”
Lintel director Paul F. Muir says Schmidt was a natural choice to portray the librarian who catalogues and collects evidence on a quest that spans several centuries and continents.
“Nathan is a guy who loves mysteries and figuring out puzzles and conundrums. What better conundrum to unravel than the possibility of a man who has been alive and roaming the earth for 2000 years? This story is like a stage version of a Dan Brown novel. The story, the mystery, and this actor will take you on one of the most incredible, moving, and humourous adventures of your life. Underneath the Lintel is 75 minutes well spent!”
Underneath the Lintel opens July 3 and runs to August 24 at 5:00 pm Wednesdays to Saturdays on the Rosebud Studio Stage.
