COMMUNITY FOCUS
A stage in the life of a local actor
that they’d never discovered before, than it is absolutely rewarding.” Boyer chose to go into teaching because he wanted to inspire young people; much like many of his teachers inspired him when he was a growing up. “I think if you can get a child’s attention, and bring something to the table that impacts them in some lasting way, then that is truly amazing” states Boyer. Boyer feels to date his greatest accom- plishment has been achieving some sense of balance. He and his wife, Melissa, are both full time students, with kids. They commute an hour and a half to and from school each day. Between the kids, assign- ments and any other outside activities they have, they somehow manage to make it work. “Not perfectly,” Boyer admits, “but it does work. People ask us how we do it, and we just tell them we get a lot of help! My wife’s family has been instru- mental in our success. We owe them a great deal.” Boyer defines success as, “If you can wake up every morning and go to work, feeling like it isn’t work, then you’re successful.” Most feel Boyer’s best quality is his sense of humour. “Whenever my best friend vis- its from Toronto, it is one humorous com- ment or story after another from the two of us. Our wives, who have also become great friends, just sit back and roll their eyes.” What holds Boyer’s interest is a great story or at least, a great introduction. He often applies this when listening to new music. “If it doesn’t grab me in the first 10 seconds or so, I’ll skip over it “quips Boyer. When it’s time to relax, Boyer loves just spending time with his wife and kids. My son and I have a nightly ritual of spending time together after my daughter goes to sleep. “I value my family above all else. They are the people I am doing all of this for and, at the end of the day, they are the ones I am accountable to.”
By Lisa Etherington-Runions
Richard Boyer would be well described as a renaissance man. A man of the writ- ten word, music and the stage, he is no stranger to the stage. At age 30, this veteran actor has logged close to 20 years in theatre (taking short breaks to get married and have a family). Performing everywhere from festivals to the local stage at Aultsville Theatre play- ing a gangster in the musical Annie. In addition to acting, Boyer frequently takes on the role of director. He is also an accomplished musician, stage manager, and lighting designer. Boyer’s work has been seen in several Ot- tawa productions including “Bitter Sauce”, “Cocaine”, Anton Chekov’s “Three Sisters”, Daniel MacIvor’s “This is a Play” (in which he also performed), and Norm Foster’s “My Narrator.” Offstage, Boyer has worked in the educa- tion field, and holds degrees in theatre and history from The University of Ot- tawa. He also did work at the Upper Canada Play house, and The Great Cana- dian Theatre Company. When Boyer was 10 he got involved with Dream Maker Productions, where he worked with Ryan Gosling, Stephanie True, Tyler Murree, and many other young people who went off into the pro- fessional world of stage and film. “Dream Maker gave us all a solid foun- dation in the arts,” said Boyer. “They went over things with us once or twice and we were expected to know it. Much like life, when you think about it. I learnt a lot from this group.” “We were young, but treated with re- spect. They would never put microphones on us when we were doing straight dia- logue. They taught us how to project. This came in handy later whenever I had to speak in front of an audience.” “When I came back to Cornwall, I
Special photo
Richard Boyer is pictured with his two-year-old daughter Emily.
wanted to give something back, so I have been acting as director for the last few
Boyer will also be seen next month, in the movie “Dark Cuts” by Reel Thing Films. When Boyer returned to
years. Without my experi- ence with this group, my life would be very different, and not in a good way.” Boyer is also working at starting this area’s first pro- fessional theatre company that deals with productions that are a little outside the conventional format. The first production is “Murder at the Comedy House.” “Basically” explains Boyer, “It is a murder mystery, in-
school, he felt the most dif- ficult part of all of this was been returning to school at this stage in his life. “There is a reason why people go to university when they’re 17 or 18 years old. I went to university at 28; I was married, and had two children. Anyone who’s done it will tell you it is much, much harder. At times I would walk into a
“There is a reason why people go to university when they’re 17 or 18 years old. I went to university at 28; I was married, and had two children.” Richard Boyer
side a play inside a comedy club. It has to be one of the funniest productions I have ever been involved with.”
classroom, and students thought I was the teacher. If you can teach somebody some- thing, if you can open a door to something
GUIDING FUTURE LEADERS
CHEQUE FOR SPECIAL OLYMPICS
Photo by Greg Kielec Cornwall city councillor Bernadette Clement implores local girl guides to seek leader- ship roles in society during an advancement ceremony at Eamer’s Corners Public School last Wednesday. More than 60 girls were in attendance for the 17th Cornwall Sparks, Brownies, Guides, Pathfinders & Rangers Advancement 2012.
Special photo Benson Auto Parts raised $375 during a barbecue at the Cornwall Community Police Service Open House recently. All proceeds were donated to the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Ontario Spring Games. David Murphy of Benson Auto Parts is pictured presenting a cheque to Const. Melanie Labelle of the Cornwall
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