Georgian Bay Musical Theatre Company

Getting to Know… Nate Lacroix

Getting to Know… Nate Lacroix

11855728_10155968325665002_607329530501041910_nWell, it’s been awhile since we’ve posted a blog entry, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to shed some light on another one of our board members. Today I’m going to give you a little background on Promotions and Marketing Director, Nathan Lacroix – or “Nate” as he’s better known around town.

Nate was born and raised right here in Midland, Ontario. His interest in theatre started at an early age, when his parents brought him to see Cats in Toronto when he was 5. But even though it was a moving experience for him, it was also around the same time that his family bought their first VCR. From then on his reel passion for movies emerged.

Growing up, Nate wanted to be a film actor. But living in Midland, with no access to any film studios, that’s a little difficult to do. The only way to get any kind of acting experience was to do plays and at that time, the idea of performing in front of a live audience was terrifying for Nate. It wasn’t until high school, when a very tenacious teacher urged Nate to try out for the school musical. It was a daunting challenge for Nate, but he managed to muster up the courage to audition. His nerves were shot, his voice was squeeky, but the director – a new drama teacher at the school named Ms. Clancy – must have seen through the nerves and gave him two small roles in the Wizard of Oz. Sure, they might have been small parts, but it was enough to give Nate a taste of the wonderful rush that comes from performing on stage. From then on drama became a larger part of Nate’s high school life, finding him roles in numerous productions including West Side Story and the Fifteen Minute Hamlet.

Nate in high school

After high school Nate attended Sheridan College to study Media Arts. Drawing on his drama experiences in high school would serve him well as he trained to become a filmmaker. From a directing standpoint, it gave him a better understanding of his actors and how to motivate their performances.

Years later, Nate found his way back home to Midland to start his own family. His education lead to the creation of his own video production company, Midland Film Club, in 2012. Interestingly enough, Nate’s work with Midland Film Club would eventually lead him to cross paths once again with Lori-Ann Clancy. As luck would have it, Lori-Ann was in the beginning stages of producing a large musical production called RENT. Having remembered Nate’s overwhelming talent from years earlier she decided to reach out to him in hopes that he would audition. Thankfully, it didn’t take much pleading before Nate agreed, and with that Nate was once again thrown into the world of theatre.

Naturally, Nate’s involvement with the production grew, with his many talents in filmmaking and photography being utylized for the production. The production was a resounding success! But little did Nate know that it was only the tip of the iceburg when it came to Lori-Ann’s plans, and a little over a year later Lori-Ann contacted Nate again. This time it wasn’t to audition for a role (although that would also happen again…), this time it was to join the board of Georgian Bay Musical Theatre Company and help bring Broadway to Georgian Bay. Again, without much pleading, Nate agreed and has ever since been the creative force behind the GBMTC brand as well as creating all of the marketing materials, photos, and video support for Legally Blonde the Musical.

Nate wearing a hat.

Most recently Nate has completed a film entitled Start Local, which features a segment about his experience in RENT, that has been shown on television and is available to watch online, and has just incorporated Midland Film Company Inc. to produce short and feature-length films in a variety of genrés.