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International Fringe Theatre Festival
Various locations
Thursday, August 13 - Sunday, August 23

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THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING
Directed by Wayne Paquette. Written by David Hare, based on the book by Joan Didion. Starring Holly Turner. Stage 1 (Westbury Theatre, Arts Barns). Aug 14-22.

It sounds like the set up to a classic joke: what’s the difference between an actor and a tax expert?

Some might say the actor knows more loopholes. But local performer Holly Turner will tell you: not much. Because Holly Turner is both a Broadway-bred actor and lawyer cum Federal Department of Justice tax expert.

And interestingly, in her mind, her two careers are not unrelated. “Tax is all about the puzzle,” she says. “All about figuring it out.” Not unlike unlocking a character’s inner intentions.

But Turner’s keen and attractive eyes light up at the mere mention of most people’s least favorite subject. “Oh, tax is fascinating,” she says. “It was my favorite subject in law school.” Which prompted her to also get her masters in tax in the mid-’80s.

But Turner’s first and enduring love has always been the theatre. She was partway through an English lit degree when she announced to her parents that she wanted to move to New York and study acting. “My parents took it well,” she says with a smile. “Well, my father did. My mother was fortunately out of the country at the time.”

And before anyone could talk her out of it, Turner moved to New York City and enrolled in the famed Neighborhood Playhouse. The school had turned out such greats as Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton, and Turner was thrilled to study under Sanford Meisner, a legend in New York theatre scene.

Turner’s training paid off. Immediately upon graduation from the Neighborhood Playhouse, Turner landed the role of Henry Fonda’s daughter in the Broadway show Generations. “It was the oddest, flukiest, craziest thing,” says Turner. “It just so happened that they were looking for a upper-middle-class, slightly hippie-ish girl, and I was that girl.” So, the first time Turner was ever paid to act was opposite Henry Fonda. On Broadway.

The show ran for nine months, which perhaps lent a sense of security that a career in theatre doesn’t usually provide. And after that initial success, Turner had a string of decent roles in regional and touring companies. It was her role in Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park that caught the eye of Bob Glenn, who was Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre’s first artistic director. He offered her a role in Hedda Gabler, which was enough to bring her to Edmonton for the first time.

“I’ll never forget my first winter here,” she says, shivering involuntarily despite the summer heat. “The weather didn’t get above minus-30 Fahrenheit for three weeks. I was sure I’d die.”

And Turner came to a city with an equally cold theatre scene. At the time, the only theatre companies in town were Walterdale Playhouse, Studio Theatre, and The Citadel. But the now-defunct Theatre Three soon opened its doors, and Turner attempted to continue acting here, as she found she had a vested interest. She had fallen in love in Edmonton, and had children here. She put down roots.

But she soon found that the rigours of self-promotion and the acting lifestyle weren’t particularly conducive to family life. So, seeking a steady paycheque, she decided to go back to school. To law school. And back again to study the intricacies of tax law, leaving her life in the theatre behind. Thus bloomed a satisfying 20-odd year career with the Federal Department of Justice, as a manager, and then regional manager, in the tax department.

Now, in her retirement, Turner is reviving her theatre career. “I think I’m the only actor to have taken a 35-year hiatus from Equity,” she jokes. After a successful run in Northern Light’s The Busy World Is Hushed a couple of seasons back, Turner has been turning the heads of Edmonton audiences and reviewers alike. And now, she’s making her Fringe debut in the stage version of Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking.

“I’m a Fringe virgin,” she admits. “I can’t help but say that the idea of doing a tech rehearsal once, and then not seeing the theatre you’re going to perform in for another week is a little scary.” But she’s looking forward to the festival and all the craziness and foofaraw that Fringe has to offer.

And she can’t say enough good about the play. The Year of Magical Thinking is based on Joan Didion’s book about the death of her husband and the illness of her daughter. “The play is just so universal in the experience of grief,” says Turner. “Didion puts into words the kinds of things we all feel when a loved one dies.”

But it’s not just bleakness and death. The idea of “magical thinking” refers to the sense that if a person hopes hard enough, and performs the right actions, an unavoidable event can be averted. Didion’s book has become one of the preeminent pieces in the canon of grief literature, and the play, which starred Vanessa Redgrave in its Broadway incarnation, explores the ideas of grief and hope in Didion’s inimitable style.

Which gives an actor like Turner a lot to play with. And with perennial Sterling winner Wayne Paquette on board as director, not to mention a great venue in the Westbury space, Turner has the recipe for a Fringe hit on her hands.

As for what she’s up to after Fringe, Turner smiles and shrugs. “I’m open,” she says. “Would you like to print my phone number?”