At 31 years old, Sabrina Evertt is generations removed from the First World War.
But the stories of its soldiers, and in particular those who took part in the defining battle of Vimy Ridge, have become very real to her over the past couple of months.
Evertt is the costume designer for VIMY, which is being presented by the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver from Nov. 2 to 19.
The play, by Governor General's Award-winning playwright Vern Thiessen, tells the story of the battle through the eyes of a young nurse as she cares for wounded soldiers after the battle.
It's directed by Donna Spencer and stars Sasa Brown, Ryan Cunningham, Mack Gordon, Daryl King, Sebastian Kroon and Sean Harris Oliver.
Evertt notes that the play is not so much realistic as memorybased, shifting through time to trace the stories of the nurse and four individual soldiers.
"It becomes not just a story of war and World War I, but a story of love, bravery and courage, and that to me is a very powerful thing," she explains.
Treating the characters' stories with respect was important to her, she says, because although the play itself is fiction, it's reflecting the real lives of Canadian soldiers.
"Donna and I felt it was important to be accurate to history," Evertt explains.
That meant that much of her work has centred around research and working with the Seaforth Highlanders to produce historically accurate costumes. Even the small details haven't been overlooked - for instance, soldiers had a particular way of wearing leg wrappings called puttees; a representative from the Seaforth Highlanders worked with Evertt and the cast to show them how to properly wrap the puttees.
"It's been a collaborative process in that way, which is nice," Evertt says.
Evertt came on board the project at the end of August and has been spending the intervening time working on the costumes for both VIMY and a Trinity Western University production of Romeo and Juliet.
It's been a busy time for the designer, who also runs her own theatre company, Twenty-Something Theatre, which is devoted to producing contemporary theatre that's relevant to her generation.
But Evertt isn't complaining about the long hours.
"It's a great play, and it's a great project, so I'm happy to put the time in," she says.
And work is always a good thing for someone who's chosen to make her life in the theatre - as Evertt long ago decided to do.
The Toronto-born Evertt moved to New West with her family when she was just a toddler, attending Herbert Spencer Elementary and New Westminster Secondary.
Even when she was a student at NWSS, theatre was already consuming her life.
"I was heavily involved in anything drama-related that I could get my hands on," she says with a laugh.
She was a member of the school's award-winning improv team - one school memories was placing third in B.C. - and got involved in high school drama productions whenever possible, trying her hand at acting, directing and stage managing.
It was a small role in Christopher Marlowe's Dr. Faustus that got her hooked on the stage, she says, and from there her love of drama grew out into community theatre as well - she got involved with Vagabond Players in her teen years.
After high school, she pursued her bachelor of fine arts in theatre at the University of Victoria, with a specialization in directing. It was at university, during a course in design esthetics, that she discovered her love of design.
What she particularly enjoys about being the costume designer, she says, is having a chance to work with the actors to help shape their characters through each detail and nuance of what they're wearing.
"I get to flesh out individual characters," she says, adding there's a level of one-on-one interaction with the actors that you don't get in any other design role.
She has used her design talents with a number of theatre groups, including Victoria's Shakespeare in the Summer festival and Vancouver's United Players, Pi Theatre, Presentation House Theatre and Glass City Theatre.
With opening night of VIMY just ahead, Evertt's work with the production is nearly done.
But she's hoping that people from all backgrounds will take the time to see the production.
"If you've had any kind of connection to war or not, this play will speak to you," she says. "It's a really powerful piece of theatre."
? Firehall Arts Centre is at 280 East Cordova St. in Vancouver. VIMY is on Nov. 2 to 19, with 8 p.m. evening shows, 2 p.m. weekend matinees and 1 p.m. Wednesday matinees. Talkback sessions will be held after the Thursday performances on Nov. 3, 10 and 17.
Tickets range from $12 to $30. For information, call 604-689-0926 or see www. firehallartscentre.ca.
For more about Evertt, check out www.sabrinaevertt. com and www.twentysome thingtheatre.com.
