Izzy Eryavec has an older sister who was interested in taking drama classes. Because she’s a little sister, she wanted to do whatever her sister was doing. At around 8 or 9 Izzy joined a week long drama intensive with her sister. It’s funny because she had intense stage freight and didn’t want to go back to the second day of the intensive. With my mom’s convincing she ended up going back and she’s happy that she did. It turned out to be so much fun and she decided to continue with theatre.
Experience
Izzy Eryavec (she/her) is an actor, dancer, singer and musician. She is going into her third year at Sheridan College in their Honours Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance Program. She grew up an hour north of Toronto and spent a lot of her childhood in dance and vocal classes. She also took part in many musicals as a child and she discovered her love for theatre at a young age. She loves the collaborative aspects of putting on a show and working as an ensemble. It brings her immense joy to perform theatre for an audience. Izzy is also very passionate about writing music. She is currently working on releasing her debut EP this summer.
Education
In elementary school Izzy spent a lot of time in musicals, dance lessons and voice lessons. In high school she continued dance lessons and vocal lessons as well as take part in school music productions. Currently Izzy is going into her third year at Sheridan College in their Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance Program. She has many different classes weekly such as dance, singing, acting, text analysis, music theory, ear training, pop performance, musical theatre workshopping and more.
Past Theatre Experience: Izzy has loved theatre for a long time. She started participating in theatre intensives and shows when she was around 9 years old. What solidified her love for theatre was when she played Tessie in the Drayton Entertainment production of Annie. Izzy has also taken dance and singing lessons for many years. In grade 9 she decided to take up playing guitar and discovered her passion for music. She began writing her own songs in grade 11 and finds so much joy in creating, playing and performing her original music.
Izzy Eryavec
Summer Ensemble in One Sentence: Summer Ensemble is community and collaboration. Connecting with fellow artists has to be my favourite part. Everyone in the Ensemble is very gifted and brings different views and experiences to the table.
Summer Ensemble Member 2022
Izzy Eryavec is a member of Crane Creations Theatre Company’s 2022 Summer Ensemble. This was Crane Creations Fourth Annual Summer Ensemble.
Who is Izzy Eryavec? An Interview with Izzy
Where are you from?
I was born in Toronto and spent a lot of my childhood in the Barrie area as well as Tiny.
What is your favourite thing about your hometown?
I think my favourite part about Tiny is the nature. The sunsets and the beach are so beautiful. It is one of my favourite places in the world. I spent a lot of the summers as a child here and ended up moving here which is why I would consider it my hometown.
What are your favourite plays and why?
I feel like it changes all the time, but right now my favourite musical is Hadestown. The music is unlike anything I’ve heard before and the story is so interesting. It inspires me as a writer and I think it is pushing the boundaries on what a musical can be. I hope to see it live one day.
Do you have any hobbies?
I love playing instruments! I’m very passionate about playing guitar and writing music.
What is your favourite food?
I love Mexican food. I love it all.
What is your favourite place to eat?
Recently I ate at a restaurant called Rosalinda located in Toronto. It’s a vegan restaurant and I have never had anything like it before. Very good.
What languages do you speak?
I speak English and a little bit of French.
Are there any new skills you would want to learn?
I’ve always wanted to learn how to speak Croatian and/or Dutch. I am both Croatian and Dutch and I think it would be great to connect to that part of myself. I’ve always wanted to learn how to play the drums. I think drums are one of the coolest instruments and I would absolutely love to learn one day.
Where would you travel if you could go anywhere?
There are so many places I want to go. I’ve always found that Greece, Amsterdam, Spain and Italy are very interesting places and they’re definitely on my list of places to see.
What is one fun fact about yourself?
I have an accordion that I’m trying to learn how play but, it’s not going very well.
Why do you love theatre?
I love theatre because it gives you permission to play. There is no set guidelines on how to do/make/perform theatre. It can be whatever you want it to be and that makes it so powerful. I feel like there is so much left to learn about theatre and that is very exciting. You can go in so many different directions with theatre as it is constantly evolving and growing.
How did you get into theatre?
I have an older sister who was interested in taking drama classes. Because I’m a little sister, I wanted to do whatever she was doing. I was around 8 or 9 at this time and I joined a week long drama intensive with her. It’s funny because I had intense stage freight and didn’t want to go back to the second day of the intensive. With my mom’s convincing I ended up going back and I’m so happy that I did. It turned out to be so much fun and I decided to continue with theatre.
Why is theatre important?
I think theatre is important because of the audience connection. Because movies are pre-filmed, there is a lack of outside reaction and connection as a whole. I love how theatre exists because of an audience. It sets it apart from other art forms since the performance takes place in real time and unravels itself as the audience continues to watch.
What is one project you worked on that you are proud of?
Recently I was part of a cabaret performance with Icarus Theatre that was performed at Buddies in Bad Times. That was my first theatre performance with a live audience since the pandemic. It reminded me of why I love theatre and why I am doing this. I forgot how amazing it is having an audience to bounce energy off of. I had so much fun!
Do you have any advice for aspiring theatre artists?
My advice for aspiring theatre artists would be to dig into what makes you, you. I think it is easy to compare yourself to others as well as forget what you have to offer, especially in a field like this. Bringing your best self to the table is very important, even if you feel like you don’t have a lot to bring that day. I also think enforcing a supportive environment is key. My best work has been when I feel like I am working in a safe space. It is a collaborative art form and thrives when people feel comfortable to make solid choices in their creations, explorations and performances.
