London native master of the stage

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: CHRIS YOUNG/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Melissa O’Neil (centre left) and Mark Uhre (centre right) star as Eponine and Enjolras in Les Misérables, which ends its stint at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto December 22.

Do you hear the people sing? Singing the song of angry men. It is the music of the people who will not be slaves again.

It would be hard for any child, whose parents were (and still are) enamoured with the arts, to stray from it all.

London native Mark Uhre found himself immersed in the arts, thanks to his family. With a lot of nurturing and trips to Stratford and Toronto, who could say no?

Uhre is now playing Enjolras, on a short stint, in the wildly acclaimed musical Les Misérables in Toronto. But aside from his musical and Broadway work, Uhre is also an artist, drawing and painting regularly — all of which started at a young age.

“My mom was a kindergarten teacher and my dad owned a barbershop. [They] loved the arts and still do,” Uhre wrote via email in efforts to save his voice. “We were at the theatre a great deal when I was young. Trips to Toronto and Stratford happened often.”

Uhre's first encounter with the fine arts was at the age of four, when he found himself drawing under his parents' coffee table. “No one knew I had made a ‘mess' under there until we moved seven years later,” he said.

His first memory of the theatre was at the age of five. “My grandmother took me to see Barnum (the musical) at The Grand,” he recalled. “I remember bits and pieces, but apparently I sat very still and was mesmerized.”

Uhre said he always had support from his family, and “after the coffee table incident, I was encouraged to develop an artistic relationship with paper.”

When the Lester B. Pearson School for the Arts opened in London in 1989, Uhre was accepted into the first Grade 4 class. He attributes Pearson's nurturing and inspiring environment that helped him and a lot of his peers.

“I was thrilled to be included in this selected group of enthusiastic kids,” he said. “It was a really safe place to explore the arts with passionate teachers.”

Aside from school, Uhre spent nearly a decade with the Theatre School in London, which was run by Kip Longstaff — whom he deemed a “great mentor.”

“The Theatre School was a huge part of my growth as an artist,” Uhre said. “Eventually I started teaching there and designing/painting sets/props for their shows.”

At the age of 12, Uhre was cast in his first professional show, A Christmas Carol, at The Grand Theatre. “The experience was amazing,” he said. “Working with industry professionals was eye-opening and inspiring.”

It wasn't until the age of 16 that Uhre started to work on his voice. The youngster began taking private lessons with Bevan Keating at the Victoria Academy of Music here in London, and met with Keating twice a week for four years.

Uhre said it was the combination of all these experiences that pushed him to pursue the arts. “I was very lucky. I grew up looking up to actors who were working pros nearby,” he said.

“I was always interested in music, theatre and visual art [and] I found the most inspiration in the artists who I could actually see perform in theatre.”

While he was in high school, Uhre knew he wanted to pursue a career in arts, but it wasn't until his art teacher saw him play Tony in West Side Story that he decided theatre was the right path.

“When I asked [my teacher] what she thought, she said she felt I needed to pursue theatre and could always do visual art on the side,” he said. She said if the roles were reversed, it would have been more challenging. “She ended up being right. I work as an actor now, but have always kept my visual interests throughout training and my career.”

Following high school, Uhre moved to England to study at the Guildford School of Acting for three years. He then returned to the Great White North and was cast in Mama Mia! as Sky.

Uhre said he's kept drawing and painting on the side. “I am always creating art and greatly influenced by fellow artists in the theatre,” he said. “I have a sketchbook that I open and work in daily.”

He doesn't have a regular 9-to-5 job, as you can imagine. He explained that during rehearsals for a theatre piece he will work 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday. “There can sometimes be a great deal of work to do outside of rehearsal in terms of memorization and prepping for the next day,” he said.

During the performance run, he said actors work six days a week and perform eight shows within the same week. “Keeping fit and staying healthy is important, especially in the long run,” he said.

“As an artist, it's important to be open and honest with yourself regarding your strengths and weaknesses,” he advised. “There is always something to work on. In the arts, preparation meets opportunity. We have to be open to collaboration and other peoples' artistic views and ways of working.”

He admitted that any career path in the arts can be challenging, but also incredibly rewarding. “If someone has already decided to pursue the arts, I say first of all, congrats for heading into something creative,” he said.

To learn more about Uhre's artwork, visit markuhre.com. See him starring with Canadian Idol winner Melissa O'Neil as Eponine and Richmond Hill native Ramin Karimloo as Jean Valjean in Les Misérables at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto before the final curtain call on December 22.


Photo credit: Courtesy of Mark Uhre
A painting based on Ambrose Small, ghost of The Grand Theatre. Acrylic on canvas, 2008.