EP 24: Natasha Paquin: Medical Radiation Technologist & Actor

On this fun episode of Second Act Actors, I interview my friend, colleague and second act actor Natasha Paquin. She’s a qualified x-ray technician who grew up with a love of acting but decided to keep theatre as a passion project instead of a career.

Natasha and I compare notes on what it’s like to have a foot in both medicine and acting and Natasha explains how she finds the heightened emotions of acting to be a release from the constraints of working in medicine. Natasha goes on to talk about her experience of working in musical theatre productions and the preparation that she puts into developing her characters before her show.

Listen out for Natasha’s hilarious on-stage story of a wardrobe mishap in a musical number and don’t forget to subscribe to the Second Act Actors podcast to hear more interviews with actors who are breaking the mould.

Timestamps

[0:30] How Natasha’s mum got her into acting as a teenager

[3:07] Making the decision to not pursue theatre as a career and how that enabled Natasha to keep the love of acting

[4:27] What it’s like to study and become an x-ray technician

[7:22] How Natasha rediscovered acting in Barrie

[8:36] What Natasha’s medical background brings to her acting

[9:40] The interplay between the emotional constraints of medicine and the therapeutic release of acting

[12:41] What Natasha loves about community theatre

[14:20] “When they come into the show, they’re basically signing a contract”: Natasha on the support of the audience in community theatre

[15:37] What are the differences between theatre and musical theatre?

[16:51] The character prep that Natasha does before a show

[17:50] An unexpected pants drop in a musical number