GFF 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995
(submitted 2021)
After doing 4 Gold Fever Follies shows (1992 – 1995), Lisa graduated from the Theatre Arts program at Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton. She performed theatre in multiple Edmonton theatre companies and at the Edmonton and Vancouver Fringe Festivals. She travelled for years doing dinner theatre for Celebrations/ Jubilations in Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary. Lisa is currently living in Winnipeg with her husband and 2 daughters.
“The Gold Fever Follies was a huge part of my childhood in the Kootenays. I was born and raised in Montrose. I was always an artistic kid that loved to sing and dance. [But my community] was a very sports town and I never felt like I truly fit in. I was known as the ‘Oh Canada Girl’; not a bad thing, but I wanted more. When I was 15 years old, I auditioned for the Follies and it changed my life. [As soon as] I started rehearsals for the Follies, I realized that I had finally found my people. I ended up doing the Follies for 4 summers before graduating from the Theatre Arts program at Grant MacEwan Community College in Edmonton, Alberta.
Doing the Gold Fever Follies helped develop my skills onstage and gave me the confidence to pursue the arts full time for many years. It is such a great experience for kids growing up in the Kootenays to have that opportunity at their fingertips. It has been developing and teaching creative youth since 1987 and I truly hope that it continues on for many more years to come.”
– Lisa De Witt Cranwill