Capturing 20 years of the performing arts in photos

Theatre is an ephemeral art, but there’s one artist who makes sure the memories of what you experience onstage continue: the photographer.

And one of the best is Racheal McCaig, whose exhibit 50/20 is up at the El Mocambo until May 20 as part of the Contact Photography Festival.

The exhibit celebrates 50 years of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association as seen through 20 years of McCaig’s photos, which include production shots, backstage glimpses and gala and red carpet moments.

As someone who saw most of the major productions during that time, the show is literally a trip down theatre memory lane.

There’s Dan Chameroy sparkling as Plumbum in one of the Ross Petty pantos; there’s Daren A. Herbert and Cara Ricketts smouldering in The Wild Party (the photo sums up the vibe of the show perfectly); there’s the cast of Passing Strange, co-produced by Obsidian and Acting Up Stage (now Musical Stage Company), including a very young Vanessa Sears.

“I love that in many cases I’ve been able to watch and capture people from the very starts of their careers,” says McCaig, when I point out that Sears’ image is now plastered on banners and posters throughout the city for & Juliet. “I could see she was a star back then through my lens.”

Good photographers need to have a second sense about when to capture a moment in a show, one that will end up representing that work for posterity — or at least for a batch of reviews online and in print.

“With musicals, but even with dramas, you can feel those moments coming,” says McCaig. “You can feel the swell. And with musicals especially, I know what vowel sounds are going to make singers look their best.”

Red carpet moments and curtain calls are high stakes situations that can’t be recreated later on. One of the most striking photos features Elton John at the Billy Elliott opening, standing in front of the tutu’d Billies.

“I learned all of this old-school where you had 36 frames in your camera,” says McCaig about such moments. “You have to have set it all up, frame it all — do everything before you depress the trigger. I don’t want to waste anything, because I know how long it takes to edit afterwards.”

One of her favourite photos captures Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara performing as their iconic SCTV characters Bobby Bittman and Lola Heatherton at a fundraiser for Gilda’s Toronto, a cancer support charity named after the late Gilda Radner.

“Including this photo was a no-brainer,” she says. “This moment encapsulates these performers so well.”

Also included are the legendary women in the all-female sketch troupe Women Fully Clothed.

“These are people that I knew and loved before I even met them,” she says about figures like Robin Duke and Jayne Eastwood. “So to have the opportunity to now articulate my love in this art form is pretty amazing.”

Some of the loveliest photos capture artists backstage: Brent Carver signing in for a performance of the musical Angélique at the Charlottetown Festival, for instance, or Paul Gross and Kim Cattrall captured in atmospheric black and white for the 2011 revival of Private Lives.

The Carver photo captures the essence of the man, a playful glint in his eyes, the energy of a show suggested by the figures around him.

“He was so revered and adored and just such an incredible performer,” says McCaig. “And so to capture him in such a candid, open moment was so satisfying. This is Brent Carver, he’s not a character, he’s not playing a role. It’s just him signing in for the show.”

The exhibit also includes a digital gallery, a sort of slide show of the entire theatrical process, from auditions to rehearsals to wardrobe and makeup to performance.

“There’s an entire section devoted to the production design, so you see costume designers, prop makers, the set crew,” says McCaig. “The digital gallery gives the general public a view of the experience of putting on a show that they would never see. And that’s really wonderful to be able to share.”

While the exhibit wraps up on the 20th, McCaig’s work will live on in a permanent way at the historic venue. Photos of female musicians captured in performance now line the walls along a staircase; these include icons like Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan and Jackie Richardson.

“And I snuck a couple of great musical theatre performers in there, too, like Louise Camilleri and Sara Farb,” she says. “Because that makes me happy.”

50/20 continues until May 20 at the El Mocambo (464 Spadina Ave). The exhibit is free. Hours and more info available here