Black Harbour star back on old midtown stomping grounds for masterclass
Rebecca Jenkins is mum on her upcoming project with Sarah Polley, but ask enough questions and she’ll open up about her reuniting with the Canadian actress.
The lead on the 1990s CBC drama Black Harbour is seated demurely at Spacco, sipping on a Bloody Caesar and revealing her curious side, asking questions about archaeology, name changes and food.
The former North Toronto resident, who lived with her mom on Oriole Parkway and Soudan Avenue, was back in town, via Vancouver, to take the Lindy Davies Masterclass at the Canadian Film Centre on Bayview Avenue.
It’s there where she workshopped her craft with Polley.
“It’ll be a long, intensive four days and it’s all about process,” she says. “I’ll absolutely be in the moment. It’s not pre-meditated.
“You’re not already going to be deciding what to do with a scene. You just examine each line and should just fall out.”
Jenkins has previously worked with Polley on a more intimate level. Jenkins played her mom, Diane, in the documentary film, Stories We Tell, which was a challenging role as she played a mother who hid a secret from her kids. Polley’s autobiographical script opened the viewers up to the fact she was not raised by her biological father and finding out in 2007.
Playing Polley’s mom has its roots in serendipity, as she was always picked to portray the family matriarch.
“Her brother, John Buchan, the casting director, said years ago, ‘If anyone could ever play our mom, it should be Rebecca Jenkins’, way back then,” she said. “That happened years ago.”
But the talk of collaborating once again with Polley is very hush-hush. When pressed a little further about the theme, she agreed it works well with the message behind International Day of the Girl, which was Oct. 11.
“We’re developing a series. We’ve been talking about it for years. She’s got all other female characters. After (the Master Class) we’ll start in earnest,” Jenkins admits. “[Polley] writes like she breathes.”
That means she writes aplenty and Jenkins is eager to get started on her future role.
“At this point it’s hush-hush … But it’s going to be great. It’s going to be multicultural. I shouldn’t … It’s so hard not to say anything,” she adds, humming melodically afterward. “I’m extremely excited about it.”