Ford's Focus: Heather Markgraf

A journey of self-discovery
From Stonehenge to a little train station and beyond...
by Barbara Ford

In our quests to understand and grow, to come to terms with ourselves and our lives, every step we take is somehow reflected in the people and events around us. We can’t realistically gauge the scope of our influence; we can only continue to walk our paths, hopefully with the best intentions. Like the rest of us, Heather Markgraf’s journey has had some expected as well as unexpected turns, and though she has had an indelible impact on the community where she lives, on the theatre community and on those she has helped near and far, she continually strives for greater truth and self-awareness in both her work and her private life.   

Markgraf was born in Salisbury, England (close to Stonehenge) but her father’s work relocated the family to various places such as Lancashire and Lincoln before they settled down (by the time she was twelve) in Wimbledon in the south west of Greater London.  During this part of her life, Markgraf had only a passing fancy with theatre: a boyfriend took her to see plays from time to time and occasionally she would take on a small role in the chorus of school plays.  

The cast of Till We Meet Again

(l-r, Jane Hackett, Pierre Lenoir, Stephanie McNamara, 

Michael Murphy, Amanda Leblanc - photo: Shane Kelley)

“In my day, there were only two choices for a woman: become a nurse or a teacher.  I couldn’t stand the sight of blood, so …”


She attended Loughborough College (in the midlands) to become an elementary school teacher.  “In my day, there were only two choices for a woman: become a nurse or a teacher.  I couldn’t stand the sight of blood, so …” Though there was no doubt in her mind that she was studying to become a teacher, there was a definite lean towards the arts in her electives.

Before settling down to reading, writing and arithmetic after graduation, she decided to see the world working with the VSO (Voluntary Services Overseas).  She worked in Uganda first but had to leave when Idi Amin’s reign of terror made things a tad touchy for outsiders.  She then went to Akwanga, Nigeria where she worked in an all-girls facility, teaching them how to be teachers.

While in Nigeria, Markgraf met Bert, a Canadian working with CUSO.  Together they crossed the Sahara, paying for rides on relief trucks bringing food to drought-affected areas, only by this point the rains had come and many of the roads had turned into rivers, making travel slow and treacherous.  The final leg of their trip home through northern Africa was by Landover- quite the intrepid adventurer our young Ms Markgraf!  “It wasn’t as harrowing a Paul’s [Van Dyck’s] trip through the Sahara, we didn’t get sick but we lost a lot of weight.”

She taught in an East London school, receiving extra ‘hazard’ pay for braving the tough neighbourhood and students.


Markgraf returned to England while Bert headed back to Canada. She taught in an East London school, receiving extra ‘hazard’ pay for braving the tough neighbourhood and students. She kept in touch with Bert and decided to take one of her school breaks in Canada. She came, loved it, and never went back.

As a McGill student, she upgraded her teaching certificate to a diploma, but once her student status was no longer valid, she was going to have to return to the UK.  There was a surplus of teachers at the time and she didn’t speak French, factors that made staying problematic, so the two did what any hot-blooded couple from opposite sides of ‘the pond’ would do, they got hitched. 

In the late ‘70’s, Markgraf got a job teaching at Miss Edgar’s and Miss Cramp’s private school for girls.  At first she taught only drama and art and eventually the grade four classes.  Between 1981 and ’84, she gave birth to three kids, two girls and a boy, but the energetic Markgraf wasn’t homebound for long.  

When her youngest was eighteen months, she began teaching drama classes for teens and kids, influenced by the work of Peter Slade. When the third child went off to kindergarten, Markgraf went back to school, earning a BFA with a major in theatre at Concordia University.  Some of her notable professors were Brian Doubt (movement), Joel Miller (text), Stratford’s Ann Skinner (voice) and Barbara Poggemiller (now in Victoria) who taught the first years.

She took full advantage, studying the soup to nuts of theatre production, though she now regrets skipping over courses in lighting design and stage writing.


Because she already had a degree and diploma from McGill, Markgraf only needed sixty credits instead of ninety. She took full advantage, studying the soup to nuts of theatre production, though she now regrets skipping over courses in lighting design and stage writing. Being a mature student with valuable life experience and transferable skills from her teaching background, her directing talents naturally emerged.  

(Shirley Valentine, photo: Deborah Goudreau)

When she graduated at the beginning of the ‘90’s, Markgraf set about to start a theatre group in Hudson, where she lived.  The for-profit Hudson Productions started out with Colleen Curran’s Sacred Hearts in a two hundred seat tent in a field next to the popular Mon Village restaurant.  The second year Markgraf produced three plays: Same Time Next Year, Love Letters and The Gin Game.  She followed up with a third blockbuster year featuring David French’s Salt-Water Moon from his definitive Mercer series.  

For the first five years (’93 to ’97), Markgraf persevered with highway noise, thunderstorms, mischievous raccoons, pesky mosquitos and the customary seesaw Canadian summer temperatures that either overheated the tent or called for blankets.  Despite the drawbacks, the company’s popularity grew steadily with season two and three making a profit, but as Markgraf mounted more ambitious work, the theatre then began to lose money.  

The Hudson Historical Society, in the midst of fighting to keep the abandoned train station at the centre of town from being demolished, was looking for an occupant.


Markgraf had morphed the company into a non-profit organization dubbed Village Theatre West in order to qualify for government grants, (which they never received) but by the fifth year she was ready to throw in the towel. However local residents weren’t about to let that happen so the search was on for a permanent home with a solid floor and a real roof over their heads. The Hudson Historical Society, in the midst of fighting to keep the abandoned train station at the centre of town from being demolished, was looking for an occupant.  Village Theatre West was looking for a home … BINGO! The Hudson Village Theatre was born, paying the astronomical price of one dollar, a windfall considering the future costs to convert the space into a performance venue. 

Season six in the train station was a triumphant sell-out despite air fans rather than air conditioning, Porta-Potties and makeshift risers.  “They came out in droves because they had a personal stake in the theatre,” said Markgraf.  Now the fundraising began in earnest.  Markgraf applied for and received charitable status to get things going and CP (Canadian Pacific) came through in spades with one hundred thousand dollars, a huge single chunk of the three quarters of a million eventually spent, the remainder coming from local residents as well as corporations and foundations. The project took two years to complete:  the first floor in year one and the raked seating and second story in year two. Markgraf left no stone unturned with a long string of special fundraising events featuring singers (such as Bowser & Blue), magic shows, murder mysteries nights and auctions. 

The incessant grind, working seven days a week without vacations, producing, directing and sometimes acting, was taking a toll on Markgraf’s health.


“Some complained about the small stage but there was an upside to it: royalties were cheaper, smaller sets to build and the actor and designer pay scales were lower: it all helped with the budgets.”  From 1997 to 2003 Hudson Village Theatre presented annual ‘crowd-pleasing’ summer seasons with more serious and challenging shows during the fall and winter via Village Theatre West, with Markgraf running the entire outfit.  

The incessant grind, working seven days a week without vacations, producing, directing and sometimes acting, was taking a toll on Markgraf’s health. “You know what it’s like.  It’s always the same; it never gets easier.  You never get a chance to build on what you’ve done before.  It’s like you’re starting from scratch with every new production.” Her family wanted her to stop but she paid no heed until a medical emergency landed Markgraf in the hospital where she was diagnosed with chronic Guillain-Barré. “My body was being very clear on what I needed to do, so I left to recuperate.”

"I kept things as stress-free as possible; everything was on my terms."


Once she gained her strength back she slowly began to take on more, first by teaching part time at Lower Canada College.  When she was fully back on her feet, she embarked on a different theatrical path, launching Theatre Panache. “Learning from past experience, I handled this differently. It was not a charity. I had no venue to worry about, no board of directors to report to and no season to schedule. I kept things as stress-free as possible; everything was on my terms.”

Since 2003 Theatre Panache has produced two new Canadian musical theatre productions: Brigit's Reel by Marc Desormeaux and Trish Barclay (Centaur Theatre and The Piggery, North Hatley) and Till We Meet Again by David Langlois, which enjoyed five remounts, including two tours of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.  

Theatre Panache (along with several other organizations) has been partnering with the Greenwood Centre for Living History to present the Hudson StoryFest, an annual fall event celebrating writers, readers and storytellers.  Some past authors who have participated in the event are Margaret Trudeau, M.G. Vassanji, Mordecai’s son Noah Richler, The Gazette’s Jeff Heinrich, Jane Urquhart, Claire Mowat, Karen Molson, Barry Callaghan and Claire Holden Rothman.

As many as seventeen actors re-enact different episodes of the story in the historic Riversmead house.


For the past three years, as the Stories on Stage segment, Theatre Panache has created a novel interactive series called The Riversmead Affair, chronicling the faux-history of the Maxwell Clarke Family.  As many as seventeen actors re-enact different episodes of the story in the historic Riversmead house, (now a B&B) with the audience following the action from room to room (hence the need for such a large cast).  Afterwards, spectators savour tea, coffee and sweet treats in the dining room- all part of the admission.  

Hudson Productions has developed a secondary arm as an acting agency.  About ten years ago The Canadian Border Service Agency contacted Markgraf to help them upgrade their training.  Markgraf rose to the challenge by supplying trained actors to the Canadian Customs and Excise College where Canadian customs officers are trained. Professional actors pose as travellers coming into Canada to teach the officers-in-training how to deal with various situations- role playing at its best.  

(Shirley Valentine, photo: Deborah Goudreau)

To keep the initiative going, Markgraf must bid to renew her contract every three years. “The lowest bidder always gets the contract, regardless of their ability to provide experienced people for the job. It’s a tricky balancing act to keep the contract and still pay everyone fairly.” Variables outside of Markgraf’s control make the work unpredictable; one day this month and five days the next, but she and co-ordinator Rebecca Croll spring into action when they get the call, arranging rides for those traveling from downtown to Rigaud where the facility is located. “Because the schedule is always changing it can be a bit stressful but it’s great experience for the actors- all improv- and they get paid by the hour starting early in the morning. It’s also good networking for them.”

Markgraf stepped in to save the day by offering to resurrect Shirley, a character very close to her heart.


Theatre Panache is re-emerging this spring with Markgraf onstage as the unforgettable Shirley Valentine (for the fifth time). Last year, a friend of Markgraf’s opened a dinner theatre in the Rideau Lakes area of Ontario but was having difficulty getting the rights to the play she had scheduled for her launch. Markgraf stepped in to save the day by offering to resurrect Shirley, a character very close to her heart. In the past, Markgraf has had various directors for the piece but this time she is relying on feedback from her husband and Louis Spritzer.  

After going through all the work to remount the two-hour solo show in 2010, she figured she may as well get some mileage out of it and decided to do it here in Montreal as well.  Shirley Valentine hits the Hudson stage from May 19 to 28, 2011. “Doing Shirley is very personal for me. The small lives we lead when inside there is so much … the play reminds us of that but to live more fully we have to get going now! And with the other things I’m doing right now, this production has even more meaning this time around.”

The recent turn of events which Markgraf is referring to came about coincidentally.  She had been having difficulties with a work colleague and felt uncomfortable with how the relationship ended. She confided in one of her two daughters who responded by turning her onto some CD’s (that blew Markgraf away) by Marshall B. Rosenberg. She went out and got his book, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. Steamrolling forward, she then bought the NVC workbook, completed it and shortly after signed up for the nine-day intensive workshop with Rosenberg.

"When our needs aren’t being met, we get stressed and if the situation persists, depression can set in."


“It’s all about getting the tools to communicate in a way that acknowledges both parties and resolves conflict.  To do that we need to be more aware of our needs and which ones aren’t being met, rather than pointing out what others are doing ‘wrong’, actions that we feel make them the ‘enemy’. When our needs aren’t being met, we get stressed and if the situation persists, depression can set in. Sometimes it’s our lack of presence and mindfulness which make it difficult to identify our needs, other times it can be our sociocultural upbringing.  Many of us are brought up to do what we’re told, regardless of whether our needs are being met.  A mother consoling her child says, ‘Stop crying; it doesn’t hurt’; that negates the child’s emotions.  A constant diet of that will make it tough for the child to recognize its needs as it grows and you can’t get your needs met if you don’t know what they are.”

The workshops employ several theatre devices such as role-playing and active listening, which is a cinch for Markgraf, who can’t get enough of the NVC technique.  Even though the method is known and taught in Toronto and further west as well as in Europe, it’s still very new in Quebec with only a few Francophone teachers, but no English trainers at all. Last fall the enthusiastic Markgraf took things into her own hands by facilitating a small workshop at the West Island Women’s Centre. Very positive reactions prompted her to offer a second session in Hudson next fall.  “The groups are small, ten people or so. I’m not certified yet so I charge very little but it helps to subsidize the completion of my NVC education.”  Training is expensive between the workshops and travel costs, Markgraf sometimes having to journey as far as Albuquerque to study directly with Rosenberg.

Till We Meet Again team (Top row from the left: Marion Siminski musical director and accompanist playing Dixie, Amanda Leblanc playing Maxine, Pierre Lenoir playing Gerald, Stephanie McNamara playing Alice, Michael Murphy playing Ron, Jane Hackett playing May Bottom row from the left: Lorna Wayne choreographer, Karen Pearce costume designer, Heather Markgraf director, Daveen Garland SM, Shamus Ryan ASM - photo: Shane Kelley)

"I am constantly changing, learning, growing … reinventing myself."

The NVC technique is taught at UBC and is used by Fortune 500 corporations as an integral part of business conflict resolution.  “It’s perfect for parents and their kids … of all ages, the workplace, teachers, in-laws, healthcare professionals. I think it’s amazing; I can’t get enough.  I enjoy teaching and meeting people and this allows me to do that. It’s doing wonders for my own life too. I am constantly changing, learning, growing … reinventing myself.”

(Shirley Valentine, photo Deborah Goudreau)

The energy and excitement in Markgraf’s voice as she talks about the latest segment of her journey is unmistakeable.  The innate business acumen that created the organic grassroots model she used to build her other ventures- word of mouth fostering a steady, growing interest and loyal followers- will no doubt prove fruitful with this endeavour too.  On the road to becoming a certified trainer, by the time she has her credentials she will very likely have yet another successful enterprise on her hands, one that fulfils her personally and professionally and will benefit others as well.  You can’t ask for better than that.

Shirley Valentine is playing at the Hudson Village Theatre (28 Wharf Road) until May 28, 2011.  For tickets call (450) 458-5281 or order online. To receive info about other Theatre Panache events, you can subscribe to their newsletter

Next week in Ford’s Focus: ‘lyrical’ musical director Bob Bachelor.