Jake’s Gift

    The award winning play Jake's Gift is coming to the Maclab Theatre in Leduc for one matinee performance only on January 20th, at 2:00 pm. If you appreciate live theatre with a great storyline, touching content, and a theme that can resonate with almost every Canadian alive today, then this really is one play you should not miss.
    Written and performed by Julia Mackey, and Directed by Dirk Van Stralen, Jake's Gift is about a Canadian WWII veteran that reluctantly returns to where he landed on Juno Beach in Normandy, France on the 60th anniversary of D-Day. There he meets Isabelle, a precocious local 10 year old girl who challenges Jake to lay some old ghosts to rest, namely his brother Chester who was killed in the war.
    All four characters in the play are portrayed by Julia who has an intimate connection with each one. "Jake took form ten years ago while I was doing a workshop, and I spent three weeks creating his character." said Julia. "Jake's character really struck a chord with me and I made a decision to go to Normandy just prior to the 60th Anniversary of D-Day where I spent a week walking the beaches where the invasion happened, and speaking with some of the veterans who had actually been there. It was incredibly beautiful and moving." 
    From this trip came the play. There are a lot of real life references within Jake's Gift that Julia pulled directly from her experiences on her trip to Normandy, and some almost spooky parallels that she didn't find out about until years later! For instance, Jake's deceased brother in the play is named Chester, whom she wrote as a musician, and this name was actually taken from a gravestone she had been drawn to in one of the cemeteries she visited in Normandy because someone had stuck a small Canadian flag on the grave. 
    She wrote down Chester's real life name and upon her return to Canada managed to search down Chester's family, who it turns out live in Alberta, and whom she had the honour of finally meeting in person two years ago. Upon meeting them, Julia was shown a photograph of the real Chester and discovered that he was indeed a musician, and there was also a marriage within the family in that time frame of the war years, to a girl named Isabelle!
    Julia completed Jake's Gift in August of 2006, and the first official production was launched on January 13, 2007. The January 20th production in Leduc will be the 619th performance. Jake's Gift has travelled across Canada and back again, making stops in over 200 communities along the way. Julia credits it's 2008 debut at the Edmonton Fringe Festival for really kicking things into high gear. "We actually got in at the last second because another play cancelled out." she shared. "The first night we played to about 80 people and then every performance after that for the rest of the week was sold out!" Jake's Gift is still in high demand as immediately after the Leduc performance Julia travels to Morinville, Drayton Valley, Holden and then on to Burlington, Ontario. Recently, interest has also been expressed by parties wanting to show the play internationally.
    When asked if she had any particularly memorable performances Julia was quick to respond that, "Yes. One of the most beautiful experiences I have had was putting the play on at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa on the 65th Anniversary of D-Day. It was a little intimidating but entirely touching to see almost the whole front row filled with veteran's uniforms." 
    True to the nature of the play, Julia also contributes to the Legion's Poppy Fund in each of the communities that hosts Jake's Gift. The Leduc Legion is actually one of the sponsors of the event here and in return, on the afternoon of the play, there will be a set of three buttons for sale at the Maclab, and the proceeds from their sale will go directly back to the Leduc Legion's Poppy Fund. So far Jake's Gift has raised more than $14,000.00 for the Canadian fund.
    Julia also takes the time after every performance to do a meet and greet with the audience so that they have the opportunity to ask any questions they might have about the play. "For me," said Julia, "the essence of the story is how we help each other deal with loss. Jake's Gift is an emotional roller coaster with some funny and joyful moments as well as moments of sadness, guilt and anger. I feel very blessed when I have someone approach me after seeing Jake's Gift and they tell me that they feel like they have just spent an hour in France. I hope this play inspires people to look through their own family histories and find the "Jakes" in their lives. I want it to inspire discussion and get families talking. I receive a lot of emails every year around Remembrance Day and it makes me very emotional to hear how my work has actually impacted people's lives. People tell me how they hope Jake's Gift continues on for years and years and years, which makes me laugh a little, but I actually hope that's true. As long as people keep asking for Jake's Gift I will keep performing it."