Michele LeTourneau
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (Mar 26/01) - At 11 years old, Kira Elkin-Hall is a seasoned performer.
You may have seen her in The Music Man, Fiddler on the Roof or Carousel. Or perhaps in one of several school plays. In April she appears as Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird.
 Kira Elkin-Hall |
Yellowknifelife: Obviously, you like theatre. Can you tell me why?
Kira Elkin-Hall: It's fun. You get to meet a lot of interesting people who have the same interests as you.
Yellowknifelife: What is Mockingbird about?
KEH: Mockingbird is a play about a young girl and her brother Jim. They're growing up in a small town and a man has been falsely accused of raping Mr. Ewell's daughter.What actually happened is that the black man who is accused - his name is Tom Robinson - he told the true story that Mr. Ewell's daughter was trying to be his friend. And it couldn't have been done by Tom, and he should be left free. But he wasn't. They said he was guilty.
And all the time the children are wondering about Boo Radley. They try to figure out who he is. And another young boy comes along and his name is Dill. In the end, Mr. Ewell tries to kill the children but Boo Radley saves them. Mr. Ewell is found with a knife in his chest... It's very interesting.
Yellowknifelife: It sounds interesting, but pretty complicated...rape, killing...do you find that difficult in terms of subject matter?
KEH: It sort of is a little difficult to deal with.
Yellowknifelife: But your fellow actors, are they supportive? If you have questions, do they answer them?
KEH: Yes. Especially our director, Heather Ross, who's really nice.
Yellowknifelife: So Scout, your character, she's the main character, isn't she?
KEH: In the book, yes, and she's six years old, but in the play she's nine .
Yellowknifelife: What's your favourite scene in the play?
KEH: My favourite scenes are with Dill when we're trying to figure out how to get Boo to come out of the Radley house, and he's telling his tall tales and stuff. Jim doesn't believe him, but I do. His parents don't care about him too much and he ran away from home but he spins this big yarn about how he was trapped in the basement. I actually believe him.
Yellowknifelife: How do you play a character? Do you imagine you are that person, or do you stay yourself and just do what the character is supposed to do?
KEH: I study the history a little bit. And usually my mom helps me a little bit. She tells me what kind of character it is.
Yellowknifelife: Give me an example with Scout.
KEH: She told me Scout is a very inquisitive girl, that she asks a lot of questions. She has a very good relationship with her father, Atticus. (The lawyer who defends Tom Robinson.) She tells me what kind of place she lives in, what kind of attitude she has.
Yellowknifelife: If I remember correctly, Scout and Dill have a good friendship. How do they get along on stage?
KEH: They're just really good friends. Not like boyfriend or anything. They talk to each other. Dill knows how to deal with Atticus cause...well, Scout and Jim think Atticus is really boring because he doesn't help them with their rifles and he doesn't play football with Jim. But Dill realizes that Atticus is a very good man. He's more of a quiet person. He's very smart. He does the right thing.
Yellowknifelife: When you get into rehearsal, are you Kira or Scout?
KEH: When we're actually doing it, and doing the blocking, I'm Scout. Other than that, when we're relaxing, I'm pretty much Kira. Unless I have to go and get something, then I have the Scout attitude.
Yellowknifelife: Do you find, that when you're working on a show, that in your daily life you start taking on the characteristics of the character?
KEH: Sort of a little bit.
Yellowknifelife: So it sort of influences you a little?
KEH: I once played a snotty brat and I started acting like one at home.
Yellowknifelife: Mmm. How did mom feel about that?
KEH: (giggling) She wasn't very happy.
Yellowknifelife: I know it isn't really the time for you to make the big decisions, but I'll ask you anyway...Is this the sort of thing you'd like to do with your life?
KEH: Actually, I want to open a movie company.
Yellowknifelife: Ah. Direct movies or --
KEH: Like Steven Spielberg. It would be an interesting thing to do with your life. And I would like to be an actress.
Yellowknifelife: What kind of movies do you want to make?
KEH: Science fiction.
Yellowknifelife: Favourite movie?
KEH: Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I really like that movie. It's so creepy.
Yellowknifelife: Is that why you like it? Cause it creeps you out?
KEH: Sort of. And I like the idea that it has...getting obsessed with a shape and how it leads to the alien.
Yellowknifelife: What are some of your other interests?
KEH: My basic interests are in the arts. I like dancing, writing. I like painting. I write stories at school. I'm in Ukrainian dancing. And I like sports. I like soccer and swimming. And curling, though you might not exactly consider that a sport.
Yellowknifelife: Where do you think you got your interest in the arts?
KEH: Probably I'd have to say my great aunt.
Yellowknifelife: Your great aunt?
KEH: Yeah. Her name is Marnie. She's my grandma's sister-in-law. Actually, this summer she helped me make a really nice doll. It was like a fairy. It was really nice. She has dolls all over her house. It's very beautiful. And she also has artistic oddities all over her house, like little sculptures and stuff. And my great-grandpa Hub. He's a really good artist and he makes really beautiful paintings.
Yellowknifelife: You said you like writing? What do you write?
KEH: I'd really like to write novels, but I just don't have much sense of how to do that.
Yellowknifelife: Do you have any interest in writing a play?
KEH: Yeah, me and my friends are writing a play...but unfortunately we start it and then we forget all about it.
Yellowknifelife: That sounds familiar. Do you have sisters? Brothers?
KEH: I have two brothers, Devon and Brad. Devon is 13 and Brad is 15, and Brad is autistic.
Yellowknifelife: How does that affect you, as a sister, having an autistic brother?
KEH: I've learned a lot. I've learned how to cope with him. He's very, very smart. He knows a lot of stuff. He helps me with my homework.
Yellowknifelife: And your mom? She's artistic?
KEH: Uh huh. My mom works with plays.
Yellowknifelife: Has that encouraged you in that direction?
KEH: Actually, I was doing plays before her.
Yellowknifelife: Do you learn things in plays that are helpful in your own life? A life lesson that you carry away with you?
KEH: There's one quote in the play that's important to remember. 'You'll never understand anybody until you see life from their point of view, until you get into their skin and walk around in it.' That's a quotation from Atticus.
Yellowknifelife: He does seem like smart man.
KEH: He is.
