30 Under 30: Andrew Wade

Andrew Wade has fingers in acting, stage managing, play writing and more.

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Age: 26

High school: Hugh McRoberts

Andrew Wade has fingers in acting, stage managing, writing plays, science and even police work.

Wade grew up in Richmond before heading to University of Victoria to complete a degrees in theatre and writing. He’s now back, working part-time at Science World while pursuing his true love of the arts. And the police work? He’s also an actor for police simulations at the Justice Institute.

Last year a condensed version of his first full-length play, The Romantics, saw the stage for the first time at the IGNITE! Youth Arts Festival at the Cultch. The script previously earned him first place at the Vancouver Young Playwrights Competition.

This year Wade was nominated for an Ovation Award for his acting. In 2013 he has already performed in two musicals, is rehearsing for another production and is preparing to take one of his own shows to four Fringe festivals across Canada this summer.

Inspiration? “I get inspired by anyone who is eagerly and happily pursuing what excites them. With some, these are artistic visions of specific projects. With others, it is their relentless drive towards self-improvement. With others, it is their loyal commitment to family and friends.”

Most proud of? “Times when I have been able to help people through emotional crisis points, either as a peer helper at UVic, or with my art. I wrote a play called Hullaboo, about an invisible friend being left behind. After a performance at UVic, a friend of mine came out of the theatre and bawled into my shoulder. Something in what I wrote was helping her confront and address issues she had had with leaving childhood and growing up. I was able to help enable that moment of personal growth.”

Advice? “It’s true for acting, for writing, and for every other area I have ventured into, that for every 15 attempts, be they auditions or contests or projects or scripts, perhaps two or three will pan out. But the ones that do can snowball for years to come. So my advice is to become an eager opportunist, confident that you can take on the world, and to go for all 15 of those opportunities.”