Paulina Luciani

Paulina, your career spans theatre, film, and television. How do you navigate these different worlds as both an actor and a singer?

I love both, theatre is where I started and what drew me to the performing arts in the first place and it’s really where I got most of my training and experience from. Unfortunately, I don’t believe that the theatre industry has recovered from the effects of the pandemic and there are a lot of scars and holes that need tending to. We need to be putting more money and resources into the live performing arts industry, there need to be more opportunities and support systems for the performers. Film and TV offer a whole new world of opportunity and navigating both really means making decisions on the go about what’s best for you logistically and artistically. Theatre takes up a lot more of your time so I won’t audition for any and every theatre production, because I want to be available for film/TV roles that may be more fruitful financially or career-wise. It’s a give and take and that’s just what makes sense for me, every artist is entitled to navigating either or both industries as they see fit for their own needs and wants. I like taking ownership of my career by saying “I don’t think I’m a good fit for this show” and leaving myself open for something else.

You’ve played iconic roles like Belle in Beauty and the Beast and Wendy in Peter Pan. What draws you to these kinds of characters, and how do you make them your own?

I think when you get to play a character that is so well-known and loved you almost feel like you’re doing it for your own inner child, at least that’s what drew me to them. I love embodying characters I grew up admiring and singing songs that were a huge part of my upbringing because you also see that influence on the younger audience members. You become part of their experience with those characters that they love and I think that’s what makes them really special. You feel like you’re part of something, like part of a community or contributing to a fandom. Even playing Eleven made me feel a sense of responsibility, that I had to deliver what the fans of the TV show would expect from the character. How I make them my own is how I make any character my own, my own worldview and life experience influences how the character will experience the world. What they say and do has to make sense to me on a personal level in whatever way possible. That’s what makes interpretation such an essential part of creation.

Your performance as Eleven/Nancy in Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical received a lot of praise. What was that experience like for you, especially being part of the original Canadian cast?

Originating a role that’s never been done before on stage in Canada was a bucket list moment and I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of it. We actually originated the production in Oshawa in 2024 before remounting in Toronto with a few different cast members. I had so much fun, it was one of those shows where you really get to let loose creatively. I didn’t watch the TV show before I signed on but I fell in love with Eleven specifically after playing her for a little over 4 months. The parody musical’s version of her actually stayed pretty true to the TV show version which I was really happy about because it allowed me to switch between Nancy’s lighthearted comedic personality and Eleven’s brooding/trauma-filled state. Probably the most demanding and dynamic track I’ve had on stage as an actor, and incredibly rewarding.

On screen, you’ve appeared in projects like Repossessed, See No Evil, and All Is Fine in ’89. How does your approach to screen acting differ from your work on stage?

The two mediums are very different and as someone who originally came from theatre, it did take me some time to adjust to the technicalities and style of acting for the camera. Truthfully I have so much love for both of them and I just see it as flexing different muscles. It took years of hard work and training to get to a point where I can really just switch between the needs of the different mediums. But I also think a curious actor who loves the craft would want to explore and attain that kind of flexibility in their work because even within the mediums the styles change. You may need to be theatrical and exaggerated for a big musical in a 500-seat theatre but you may also need to be subtle and grounded for a drama in a small 100-seat theatre. Some film/TV genres also require you to be a little more energetic while some genres require you to be extremely subtle. At the end of the day it’s all about being truthful and committed to the situations the characters are in. I love feeding off of the energy of the audience on a stage and the spontaneity of live performance, but I also love being on a film/TV set and Toronto’s film/TV community is the friendliest and most supportive in the world I think!

Winning Best Actress for A Deadly Recording must have been a special moment. How did that role challenge you as a performer?

I wish I had some glamorous answer about how the role for that project changed my life but truthfully, I had it so far off my radar that the win was such a surprise. And honestly I think that’s film and TV work in a nutshell. You work on a set for a few days, collect your money, move on to other projects and years go by until you see that old project of yours pop up in the world and you go “oh yeah, that thing I did years ago!” Haha, it’s almost better to forget about the projects you work on until they make themselves known because sometimes they just never do. I shot a big commercial last year that still hasn’t seen the light of day, no idea if it ever will. A Deadly Recording was one of the first film/TV gigs I ever did and I do remember being proud of my performance so it was very rewarding to be recognized. Also wanted to shout out my co-star Laura Sbordone who also won Best Supporting Actress, she’s just fantastic.

You’ve also worked as a singer alongside Scott Alan. What does music bring to your creative expression that perhaps acting doesn’t?

The Scott Alan concert was interesting because at the time I was working as a social media manager for a theatre producer, and after seeing me in Stranger Sings in Oshawa he asked me to also sing in the concert. All the people who were involved in that performance were incredible but it does bring mixed feelings. It was a concert-masterclass 2-for-1 event and the days of bullying performers to get them to emote are long gone and unwelcome. Absolutely no one is ever important enough to tear down another person, especially a fellow artist, who is so vulnerable already. I was also sick for that performance and almost didn’t do it. I was glad I went on and did it anyway because I felt so transported by the music that it didn’t even matter that my voice box was physically inflamed, my body relaxed to the music and let the sound come out. That experience just proved that singing is healing. (On a technical note I don’t recommend singing while sick, take care of yourself and consult a vocal health expert haha).

Beyond performing, you’ve explored directing, production, and content creation for arts organizations. What motivated you to expand into these other areas of creativity?

It was really a combination of curiosity and necessity. I fell in love with theatre because I love the process of creating it, that meant that I wanted to get to know all of what makes it tick. I trained at York University’s School of Arts, Media, Performance and Design (AMPD) and in the first year they make all the theatre students take courses in all faculties. So regardless of where you wanted to be in the industry we all had to take acting classes, production classes, theatre management, carpentry, costuming, theatre history. They did this because they wanted us to have an appreciation and understanding of every moving part that makes theatre what it is. That aspect of the program is hit or miss for people, not many people liked or understood it, but I am so grateful for it because I think it made me a more flexible and informed artist. Even in content creation (which I discovered during the pandemic as another skill I possess, because every artist needs what we call a survival job), I am able to use my vast knowledge of the various moving parts in theatre in all the work that I do. It’s because of that that my survival job gets to be in the heart of the performing arts industry.

You’re starting a new entertainment company with your partner, Zac Mansfield. What’s the vision behind this collaboration, and how did your experience on Stranger Sings! inspire it?

For a bit of background and context, Zac and I met and began our relationship while working on Stranger Sings. It was one of those connections that was just really natural and instant. I was attached to this project for a long time, 10 months to be exact, it was originally a one month contract with a 6 month period in-between the Toronto contract. It was in that 6- month in-between period that our friendship blossomed and turned into something more. We really wanted to avoid gossip and scrutiny for our return with the Toronto contract, nothing really worked. I like to think that our chemistry and love was just so strong and undeniable that it couldn’t go unnoticed. I was also truthfully naive in thinking that the cast would just be happy for us and supportive of our relationship, some definitely were, but some really weren’t. I always prefer assuming the best of everyone and when people assume the worst of me before even getting to know me or listening to me it makes me angry and defensive. I’m at peace with the fact that we were professional and did nothing categorically wrong. In the workplace we talked mostly about work and shared stories occasionally, once in a while I’d sit beside him or shake his hand. Crazy stuff. The exclusion really just brought us closer together. Many relationships begin at work, especially in the arts industries where short-term gig work allows for things that permanent traditional jobs don’t.

Zac has been working as a producer for many many years and he had this idea to revive The Confidential Musical Theatre Project (created by Marion Abbott) and produce solo, of course I think he’s brilliant at what he does and encouraged it. He asked me to produce with him because of that multi-disciplinary knowledge I mentioned earlier, it appealed to me because I wanted to have more agency over the environment that I work in. Vita Bella means beautiful life and with Vita Bella Entertainment we want to create beauty on stage and backstage. My philosophy with any project I work on, is that we are privileged to do what we love so we should strive to always love what we do and put our energy into having a good time. Our experience on Stranger Sings didn’t inspire this venture at all, Zac was going to do it whether I was part of it or not. But it definitely brought us together as the dynamic duo that we are and for that the experience will always hold a special place in my heart.

The revival of The Confidential Musical Theatre Project sounds exciting and mysterious. What do you hope audiences take away from this one-night-only event?

For me The Confidential Musical Theatre Project is what live theatre is really all about. With the bells and whistles stripped away, it’s performers taking a risk, using their instincts, making choices while playing off of each other, being in the moment, playful and spontaneous. The cast is experiencing the show for the first time with the audience so the audience will have that strong connection with them. And this cast is great, audiences will fall in love with each and every one of them. We hope people have lots of fun and expand their perception of what’s possible on stage.

Looking ahead, what kinds of stories or roles do you feel most passionate about exploring in the next chapter of your career?

I don’t like to think of my career as having chapters but it’s kind of like an endless scroll that just keeps rolling down haha! I always keep myself open-minded. I’ve played a lot of kids (even still now) but I’m excited to age into more mature roles, would love to play people in their 20s rather than teenagers. Jokes aside, whenever those roles come I’ll be ready for them, I won’t rush the natural progression of things. We are in a bit of a scary age where unregulated technology advancements are invading the space of human connection and artistry, and I am more and more hungry to do work that really connects people to their emotions and inner world. I recently did The Seagull in a Chekhov Play Festival and Chekhov’s work really reminded me how the human condition transcends time, and it felt like this man lived in my head and put every thought and feeling I had on paper in a way that brought me closer to myself and humankind as a whole. Those are the stories I want to tell, that’s the power of good art and that’s a feeling synthetic generated avatars cannot replicate.