With the ability to cry on cue and sing a show tune, Francoise Varnes had the makings of a fine community theatre performer.
“I was so good at playing Little Red Riding Hood. I could cry with real tears, nobody else could do that. That’s why they wanted me to go to the next village and perform,” says Varnes with a laugh. “I think I was in Grade 5,” she recalls of her childhood growing up in the small, mainly French-speaking valley town of Merzelier, Switzerland.
Theatre was in her blood at a very young age, so it’s no wonder Varnes, now 67, has spent the past 29 years volunteering at Richmond’s Gateway Theatre.
“It’s amazing to think of where the years went,” says Varnes who started lending her time to Gateway about a year after it first opened its doors to the public. “I was looking at ways of getting more involved with the community and a friend suggested I try the theatre.”
From the moment she walked through the theatre’s front doors, Varnes knew a perfect match had been made as she went about her multi-faceted role greeting visitors, ensuring they found their seats, and just about whatever else came up during a performance.
“I just love the theatre,” Varnes says. “It’s such a nice place. People dress up when they come to a show, they are happy. And it’s my job to make sure they enjoy themselves because we want them to come back.”
While she started out in theatre as a youngster, Varnes’ career in the hotel industry took her on a hop-scotch around numerous cities after she moved to Canada in 1967, leaving little opportunity to become a regular patron of the arts.
Starting out on the east coast, she stopped off in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Banff and finally Vancouver.
But then her husband eventually got her back in touch with the footlights with a trip to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Downtown Vancouver, where the relationship was re-established.
“That made me think that I’d love to be part of the theatre in some way again,” she says, adding her friend’s suggestion later cemented what has been a near three-decade commitment to Gateway Theatre.
“I may not be in the play on stage, but I can be part of the overall production and experience theatre fans have when they come to Gateway,” Varnes says.
Still, the performing bug remains strong in her home as her middle child, daughter, Astride, 37, just completed a Masters in Theatre at UVIC.
“I would help her with the costumes and was always watching her shows, supporting her in whatever way I could.”
And her oldest child, daughter Sabine, 40, works as a stunt woman in the film and TV industry.
Son Collyn, 35, excelled on different stages — the baseball diamond and hockey ice —and now works in the aerospace industry.
Asked what her favourite shows have been during her time at the theatre, Varnes says it undoubtedly has to be the winter holiday season specials.
“All Christmas shows are wonderful,” she says, adding the best part of what she does as a volunteer is the way her efforts are recognized by theatre staff
“I know they appreciate what we do. They are all so nice to you, and that makes you feel really good about yourself,” Varnes says.
