Alana Paré's decision to double major was easy. She’s always loved theatre, and she’s been in French immersion since kindergarten.
Coming to U of T Scarborough for these programs was an easy choice too. She knew the programs were smaller, and this has remained her favourite part of her experience in both departments.
“I’ll be with the same group of people the entire four years, so I have two little families going on, a community in each.” She appreciates her close relationships with her professors too, feeling they really know her, and that her classes are more enjoyable because of that.
“I’ll be with the same group of people the entire four years, so I have two little families going on, a community in each.”
Paré was deeply influenced by some great high school teachers. One of her French teachers shared stories of her time in Paris and made her realize that pursuing French can open doors to opportunities across our country and across the globe. She also had a theatre teacher who really believed in her, and had her direct multiple plays, one of which made it to the local Sears Drama Festival where she won an Award of Distinction in Directing. That experience made her want to pursue theatre for the rest of her life.
Paré says of course she loves her performance classes, and the French classes where she gets to practise the language with her classmates, but she's surprised by how much she loves the academic side of both too. For example, she’s currently taking two French literature classes and has a large stack of novels to read this semester, and last year she enjoyed “The Actor and the Script” where they critically analysed scripts.
Outside the classroom, she gets involved with theatre on campus any way she can.
“Theatre is my heart my soul my passion and I put everything into it,” Paré says. She has a work-study position with the Leigha Lee Brown Theatre, she specializes in lighting for shows, and works with the Drama Society. This month she’s playing Molly “a super hard-core driven stage manager” for the production 10 out of 12, directed by Assistant Professor Barry Freeman, with six show dates on campus between March 15 to 24. Since so much of her time is spent on theatre, she finds it refreshing to use French to “take a break.”
When she tells people about her two majors, she says they usually assume that one of the few career paths for her would be to teach. But she’s got a different plan. Her dream job is to direct professionally, write a novel on the side and to have her career take her abroad.
