Father-daughter acting duo delve into community theatre in Brantford
A 13-year-old Brantford girl is following her father’s footsteps into the acting business.
Ainsley Perras Diaz began voice acting at around the age of six. She landed voice acting roles on animated children’s shows such as Agent Binky and the Pets of the Universe where she played junior Agent Si Si, a very energetic chihuahua. She also played a young Celia Cruz and sang in Spanish in an episode of Xavier Riddle and the Secret Museum.
“Her first job was a GO Transit radio commercial where I auditioned to be the dad,” said her father, Carlo Diaz. “I didn’t get it, but one of my friends did. She was the annoying kid in the back seat.”
“I still am,” Ainsley added with a chuckle.
“Since she could talk, I was putting her in front of the microphone to do what we call slates where she would say ‘Carlos Diaz’ and then I would do my audition and end it with ‘I’m done’ and send that, just for something unique,” Carlos explained. “She had quite a little personality.”
The family moved to Brantford from Toronto when Ainsley was eight years old, just as the pandemic hit in 2020. That necessitated the creation of a sound-proofed recording booth in a closet of their home so both she and her father could continue to work remotely.
Carlos — an actor, director, coach, and writer — noted that because there are savings in production costs by having actors work remotely, it’s rare for them to travel to a recording studio even though the pandemic has ended.
“Studios are now pushing to get more people to come in more,” he added. “There’s no replacing the human element, the connection.”
The human connection blossomed after a fortuitous summertime encounter at a yard sale in Brantford’s Henderson Survey with Lorna Stratton, artistic director of ICHTHYS Theatre. The community theatre company has recently rebranded to become It Productions.
“Actors? I needed you last fall,” Stratton exclaimed before inviting them to audition for the fall 2024 production of The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood. Carlos was cast in the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham, while Ainsley portrayed a woman fawning over the prince.
Ainsley said her introduction to the community theatre stage was a fun and entirely new experience.
“Instead of being alone in one room, you’re with a whole bunch of other people,” she said. “We’re all there to have fun, and you get to meet a bunch of new people.”
The Grade 8 student at James Hillier School looks forward to entering St. John’s College in September and becoming involved in the school’s dramatic arts program.
“I want to keep going with acting, but I’d like to do some musical stuff as well,” she said, noting that she plays guitar, drums, and occasionally takes vocal lessons from an opera singer in Toronto.
Meantime, Carlos caught the acting bug while in a high school drama program at a school for the arts in the Toronto suburb of Unionville. Afterward he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, whose alumni list includes Robert Redford and Danny DeVito.
“There was no turning back after that,” he said. “When I moved back (to Toronto) I did a lot of Japanese dubbing, sketch comedy, and stand up back in the 90s.”
Since then, he’s had numerous appearances in television shows, small parts in big movies, radio commercials, along with animation and video game voice-overs. Fully fluent in English and Spanish, he directs commercials done in both languages.
Over his 25-year career, his worked has earned him three Gemini Award nominations and an ACTRA Award nomination for outstanding performance. His latest acting role was on Law and Order Toronto: Criminal Intent that will air in Season 3, Episode 2 this fall.
Since his community theatre debut last fall, Carlos has joined the board of directors at It Productions as a way to give back to the community.
The father-daughter duo looks forward to their upcoming roles in Sherlock Holmes: The Baker Street Irregulars with It Productions in June of this year.
But you don’t have to wait that long to see Ainsley perform, as she has a role in the It Productions’ presentation of The Other Noise – A Fantastical Dramedy written and directed by Brantford’s Martin Smith.
The show runs March 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, March 23 at Sydenham-Heritage United Church Hall, 120 Sydenham Street in Brantford.
Tickets are $20 and available at ichthystheatre.ca
By Brian Thompson, Brantford The Expositor
