Jennifer Copping knew she wanted to be a performer while she was still a student at Chatelech Secondary School in Sechelt 25 years ago.
She studied dance at Boothroyd's dance school when it was situated over theformer Twilight Cinema in Gibsons, and she took part in local productions.
Copping had an agent at the age of 14 when her family moved from the Coast to give her a head start in the Vancouver entertainment scene.
As a singer, dancer and actor, she has since appeared in Les Miserables on tour in Alaska and with Donny Osmond in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. She's also tried her hand at directing a play produced in Vancouver called In the Boom Boom Room.
Her most recent starring role was a career maker. She has just finished live theatre in Toronto, performing in eight shows a week during a 15-month period, playing the part of Mary Delgado, Frankie Valli's wife, in the award-winning Jersey Boys, a musical production based on the lives of the singing group the Four Seasons. Though a hit in Toronto, this particular production of Jersey Boys did not tour.
The show closed last August and Copping returned to her home in Vancouver where she has not been idle. Her five-year-old son would have kept her busy enough, but she also won a part in the play Almost, Maine at a theatre on Granville Island, Studio 1398. The grand opening is tonight, Feb. 11, and it runs until Feb. 26. The play is produced by the Jeezum Crow Equity Co-op, and it is directed by Stellina Rusich, a friend of Copping's with whom she has previously co-directed.
Playwright John Cariani wrote the acclaimed play in 2006 when it opened off Broadway. It is billed as a romantic tragic comedy set in the mythical, remote town of Almost in Maine where it seems the townspeople tend to fall in and out of love with regularity.
"It's not light hearted; the issues are life and death," Copping said. "Every scene has a twist and you don't see it coming."
In one vignette, Copping plays a woman whose husband has just died and she wants to say goodbye to him while gazing up at the northern lights.
Copping's next project will likely be a role in a film, Becoming Redwood, written by her husband, Jesse James Miller. You might also see her around Sechelt where she travels occasionally to visit her brother and some other family members.
Theatre, singing, directing and film - she's happy doing all of it.
"You have to create your own work to stay busy in this business," she said.
Tickets for $25 to Almost, Maine can be had for cash only at the door, or you can reserve for $20 by phoning 1-604-338-4710. Seniors, equity and students are also $20. Show is at 8 p.m. with a special production on Valentine's Day. There are two matinées on Feb. 19 and 26 at 2 p.m.
