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Royal Bay student-actress delivers gutsy performance in Colwood

Actress Makyla Charlie suffers serious injury, takes to the stage anyway
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Makyla Charlie (as Little Sally) is pictured with co-star Diego Fisher during a rehearsal for Royal Bay secondary’s musical Urinetown. Charlie suffered a broken ankle during rehearsal but was remarkably able to perform her role from a wheelchair. Joel Tansey/News Gazette staff

If you think Sidney Crosby’s tough, wait until you hear about Royal Bay secondary’s Makyla Charlie, a budding young actress with a starring role in the school’s current production of Urinetown.

Charlie suffered an injury last week while performing a dance scene in a dress rehearsal, just two days before the production’s five-show run was set to begin.

“She kind of tripped and slid … we got her seated and gave her first-aid,” said the school’s theatre director, Melissa Young. “We originally thought that it was a bad sprain, but it started to swell up and she ended up going to the emergency.”

“It was a little bit painful, but I was mostly in shock,” Charlie recalled.

Just after midnight Young got the bad news: Charlie’s ankle was broken and would soon require surgery.

The diagnosis was a crushing blow for the Grade 12 student, who has been accepted into the Oak Bay-based Canadian College of Performing Arts. Charlie auditioned for the role way back in September and has been keenly preparing for the part ever since.

“I was devastated. I thought there was no way I was going to be able to do it anymore and that just made me really, really upset because I’ve worked so hard on it and I was really looking forward to it,” she said.

And with Charlie cast in the key role of Little Sally, Young had to come up with a back-up plan as the show’s premiere neared.

“It was going to be me having to go on,” Young said. “I really didn’t want to do it by any means.”

On May 3, the night after the injury, Charlie returned to the set and performed her role from a wheelchair for the musical’s final dress rehearsal. The part was modified slightly to explain away her injury, but Young said Charlie took everything in stride and performed admirably.

The saga took another turn following that show, as Charlie was unexpectedly called in for surgery for the next day.

With the premiere scheduled for 7:00 Thursday night, it was touch-and-go as to when Charlie would be released from hospital and whether she’d be able to perform. She woke up at 5 p.m.

“I was so out of it, but as soon as I woke up (I said) ‘get me upstairs, I need to get my mom so I can get my makeup and start getting ready,’” she said.

She was discharged from Victoria General at 6:45 p.m., frantically finished her makeup in the car, and was on stage roughly 30 minutes later.

“We all know that she is an incredible young lady and incredibly committed to the process and committed to the show, but we were a little bit surprised,” Young said. “To just come out of surgery and to do a show like that, it’s pretty remarkable.

“She went out and gave a fantastic performance. You would never know that she had just had surgery.”

Young could also sense how much it meant to Charlie’s castmates to have her there.

“They were so excited when we came in and said that she was on her way … A big cheer erupted in the theatre,” she said.

Charlie is grateful for everyone’s help and support, from her friends and family to teachers, castmates and hospital staff.

She’ll remain in a cast for two to three months and admitted the timing of the injury could have been better.

“It’s really bad, because prom is coming up and grad … I really need to work over the summer to pay for school, but I can’t work until June or July, so that’s a little hard, but it is what it is,” she said.

Charlie and the rest of the Urinetown cast will be on stage for two more performances at Royal Bay’s Teechamitsa Theatre, Thursday and Friday night at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the door or from the school office.

joel.tansey@goldstreamgazette.com

Twitter: @joelgazette