Marianne Brorup Weston: obsessed with creativity. Terrace Review — Wednesday, April 17, 1991 B15 Marianne Brorup Weston? ~ by Betty Barton Marianne Brorup Weston is an artist for the. Terrace Review, 4 mother, an actor and a person “obsessed with creativity". "One of the reasons I went into theatre was because people said | was really dramatic," she says. a f never thought of myself that way.” Marianne, mother of four, is the eldest of four girls herself. She was born in Copenhagen to cre- families. ves |~ Who’s eligible? Any child normally eligible for ed ist and 2nd Year Primary knowledge of French is not a requirement. * KIT] K’SHAN PRIMARY 4730 Graham Avenue, Terrace, B.C. 635-3115 ative parents and ancestors. Her mother Grethe is an actress (with professional credentials) and an ar- list. Her father Eric is a photo- gtapher. Marianne remembers her mother describing her grandfather, a carpenter and an artist himself. During World War Il, he even painted murals on the blackout curtains in the family home. Mari- anne’s grandfather on her father’s side was also an artisan who designed furniture. DO YOU HAVE A CHILD TURNING 5 ON OR BEFORE. APRIL 30, 19927 then your child is eligible for KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION | (First Year Primary)! Have you thought about FRENCH IMMERSION? 1 This program enables your child to learn a second language while study- ing the same subjects offered in the regular English program. Does it matter if no one at home speaks French? No. This program was designed for children of non-French speaking | You may register your child for ~ FRENCH IMMERSION at: * JOHN FIELD ELEMENTARY ‘Hazelton, B.C. | or For more information on the French immersion Program please contact: Joan Norman 635-7461 or Patti Barnes 638-1713 (THIS AD PAID FOR BY CANADIAN PARENTS FOR FRENCH — TERRACE CHAPTER) English Kindergarten or Grade 1 (now call- | ) is eligible for French Immersion. Prior Marianne remembers always drawing pictures as a youngster. When she was five her father Eric, a bush pilot, moved the family from Copenhagen to Yellowknife. They lived very simply, with no water and in the woods, from Yellowknife to Gander, Newfound- land via Alberta, for three years. "We kids loved the adventure!" says Marianne. After three years, her mother said "enough" and the family moved back to Copenhagen. Marianne spent her middle school years in Copenhagen, Ger- many and France. She remembers it as a much tougher schoo! system than her children experience today. In Grade 8, she was doing oral Latin exams. The Sisters in the Catholic School encouraged her artistic ability and even introduced her to drama, which she hated. Grade 8 and 9 were spent in an experimental class at a Boys’ School (6 girls and 300 boys) run by Jesuit priests. It was very liber- al, recalls Marianne. "They didn’t quite know what to do with us (girls), so we had more freedom. It was a very enlightened atmos- phere, but academically quite dif- ficult." Although there were no art classes available, Marianne became interested in writing at the Jesuit school. When she was 15, Eric Brorup moved the family back to Canada, "We whined and whined until mum gave in," Marianne remem- bers with a laugh. They arrived in Port Arthur, Ontario and relocated three times that first year, "with only a working knowledge of English". Marianne says. Partly as a result of restricted verbal com- munication, art became even more important to her. She was always interested in things “off-centre, so my sisters thought I was weird". A high school art teacher, Priscilla Hutchings, became Marianne’s mentor, encouraging her to pursue art as a profession. Her mother wanted her to become an airline stewardess, as an alternative to becoming a pilot (which she felt wasn’t appropriate for a woman)! Her guidance teacher thought she should become a teacher. Marianne has always been grateful to her art teacher for having different notions in this regard. They kept in touch over ihe years. Her first summer out of high school, Marianne worked as a sign painter for $1 per hour and then went off to Toronto to attend the Ontario College of Art. At the same time, her parents and three sisters moved to Terrace to finally live in the mountains. Marianne continued doing arts- relaied jobs during her college years, while she pursued life, drawing with Eric Freefield, and other art subjects, She quit college in third year and went on to become presentation coordinator for the Eaton Design Group. They did interior design concepts for air- ports, hotels and conference centres. On the side, and again through her high school art teacher, Marianne did children’s school book illustrations for Gage & Ginn Publishing. She met her husband Alan while she was living in Toronto and gaining an interest in vegetarian cooking — Alan managed a veg- etarian restaurant. "At the time, I thought theatre people were really strange", she laughs. . In 1977, when Alan and Maria- nne visited Terrace for a family reunion, they were so impressed with three weeks of sunshine, no. mosquitoes, and small town friend- liness that they decided the next summer to move. Alan had been hired to manage the new Wint- erland Restaurant, owned by Win- terland General Store. While they were on the road, Winterland burned down and the job with it. That first year, Marianne had their eldest daughter Sarah, in what she describes as "a negative birth experience". As a result of this, she dropped art and “became obsessed with childbirth advocacy and teaching." Four children and 10 years later, Marianne is in the last phases of childbirth involve- ment. She still has 10 months to serve as Director of Publications of the International Childbirth Educa- tion Association. She may continue — with illustrations and writing on childbirth. In 1987, Alan got back into theatre with the Terrace Little Theatre’s production of Heavens to Betsy. Marianne illustrated the poster and was astounded at the quality of the performance when she saw it. She went on to costume design and the job of wardrobe mistress for The Wiz. It was Mari- anne’s first time backstage and it made her realize she wanted to get into the limelight. Marianne is one of 10 actors in Talking With, one of Terrace Litile Theatre’s entries in this week’s Skeena Zone Drama Festival at the R.E.M. Lee Theatre. Marianne explains, "It’s the first time I’ve felt real ensemble since Curse. We're non-competitive, so that takes some of the pressure off. I'm hoping I can really learn from it."