Shining Star

Owen Lapsley

Owen Lapsley in Stage 3 Young Company’s 2019 production of Seussical the Musical

Owen Lapsley has been a part of Theatre Ancaster since before he officially joined this world (see fun facts below)! He is the youngest son of Nupi Gokhale and Colin Lapsley – who need no introduction if you are familiar with Theatre Ancaster. Nupi is President of Theatre Ancaster, Colin is the Vice President and they have been a part of most shows in some capacity since TA began (on-stage, back-stage, directing, producing, etc). Owen seems to be carrying on the family tradition with his passion for all things theatre!

Owen has been attending TA programs and camps since the age of four. He made his stage debut at the age of 10 in the Stage 2 Jr Broadway’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat before moving on to Stage 3 Young Company (more on that in a minute). He even had a lead role as Sky for one school matinee in this Fall’s Main Stage production of Mamma Mia!. He has done lights, stage crew, ushering, and costumes. He has run the sound booth, and so much more. Did we mention he is 16 years old?!

Today, Owen is part of our Stage 3 Young Company and he is excitedly preparing for his role in Pippin: The Musical. With his impeccable leadership skills and his years of experience, Owen was the perfect pick for the leading role, who is also named Pippin. The role, he says, is probably the most difficult one he’s taken on so far. “It’s very physically and vocally demanding,” he says. “It requires a lot of dancing and a lot of singing.” Not only that, the acting is tough as well. This didn’t deter him—instead he sees it as a fun challenge. Owen says he has high hopes for the show and that it has a fantastic soundtrack. It may be a little bizarre to some, but that is what makes it so funny and exciting. There are so many different sets and the cast has worked so hard. It’s truly a unique show like no other, and it’s one that you don’t want to miss! Pippin opens Feb 21.

But Owen is not only an incredible actor and performer – just a few months ago he directed Footloose for his high school and even starred in it as the main character, Ren.

Owen credits his passion for theatre to his parents and he says they make him strive to be better each and every day.

After high school, Owen has plans to step down from performing for a while as he hopes to pursue a degree in Management in Arts from either the University of Toronto or Ryerson University. He’d like to set his sights on the industry side of things, such as producing and directing rather than performing.

You can next see Owen running the sound board for our upcoming Stage 2 Jr Broadway show Willy Wonka Jr. and as the lead in Pippin: The Musical.

Fun Facts…

  1. Nupi was pregnant with Owen when she was producing TA’s production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Colin was Joseph.
  2. Owen was born on the final night of the TA Christmas concert which his mom and dad ran and participated in. Colin managed to make it to the hospital on time – but only after he finished playing in the show’s band.

Written by Dawson Nyffenegger