Despite starting out from the unlikeliest of places a few past Hanley School graduates have found success in the field of drama thanks to a little bit of determination, some luck and a great learning opportunity through the Hanley Drama Club.

Former Drama Club members Addison Pauli and Aren Buchholz of Dundurn and Hanley’s Kyle Burgess have all realized accomplishment in the drama scene after high school. Pauli and Buchholz are currently living and working towards a film and television career in Vancouver, while Burgess has built a life for himself behind the camera at his own production company in Saskatoon.

“I got to work on my first movie a year ago now,” said Burgess, who previously worked as a member of the stage crew with the Hanley Drama Club from 1996 to his graduation in 2001. “It was called Big Muddy. It was filmed in Saskatoon and Assiniboia and I had to work with the grip department at one point, which is responsible for setting up all the stands and lighting and running electric. That made me have to reflect back on my days from high school drama on how lighting worked and what names for things were and (through) having that experience working with soundboards and lighting boards I was able to quickly help out the team.”

Burgess said his role now as owner of Saskatoon’s Coal Media gives him the opportunity to support local productions in both film and television including currently serving as an assistant editor for City TV’s documentary series NightClub Confidential. He said getting involved in the entertainment industry may seem like an impossible dream to a kid growing up in Hanley or Dundurn, but with a little luck anything can happen.

“It’s kind of a fluke almost I even got into it,” he said. “I had gone on to get a degree in marketing never really thinking that I would end up being here and then when I was living in Vancouver I randomly got a job offer from NBC to work in their studios during the Olympics. Using that experience of doing transport logistics, I quickly bridged into doing other management related things in the film industry.”

Pauli said he gained a confidence to try new things through working with the Hanley Drama Club from 2006 to 2011, which was turned into a pursuit for a career in the film industry in Vancouver. He said taking a risk at moving West soon after graduation helped him gain and excel at his current job as a facility production assistant at Sony Pictures Imageworks.

“I may be from a small town in Saskatchewan, but everything I learned from back home has really helped me become the person I am today,” said Pauli, noting he is going to continue learning about and pursuing work in the visual effects industry.

Buchholz, who recently finished filming a guest-starring role on Showcase’s Lost Girl in Toronto before heading back to his base in Vancouver, said the time he spent with the Hanley Drama Club from 2004 to 2009 helped him gain a passion for the arts and for the craft of acting. He said the provincial government eliminating the film tax credit a couple years ago destroyed any chance of actors finding work in Saskatchewan and people looking to pursue it as a career have to move, but having things like the Drama Club at least gives kids an opportunity to learn the basics.

“The developmental part there is high class (and) high quality,” said Buchholz. Hanley Drama Club director “Leanne Griffin is an amazing coach and amazing teacher. She has her (Master’s Degree) in Drama and she was amazing to us. We weren’t cut short on the actual developmental side.”

He said the Hanley Drama Club being an extracurricular activity and not a regular school program makes the experience extra important for the kids who take part because they have to give up their own time to pursue the arts. Buchholz said this helps them realize a passion and desire to go to whatever lengths needed to make drama a part of their everyday life.

“Coming from Saskatchewan it seems like it’s a far off dream, but tons of people can make a living doing it,” he said. “Not everyone is going to be a famous movie star, but you can definitely make a living doing the work of acting. You just have to go for it. I think the drama program in Hanley is integral to that (by) instilling a passion into young folks.”

Griffin said there are a couple kids in the Hanley Drama Club this past year that seem to be leaning towards pursuing a career in the arts and the goal is to make that possible for them in a place where work experience is not very easy to come by. She said when kids like Burgess, Pauli and Buchholz do make it in the field of drama despite these challenges, it makes the work she does with the Drama Club very pleasing.

“That is something that I feel very proud of,” said Griffin. “Hopefully (kids today) see that as a positive influence.”