When it comes to actor Tim Hildebrand’s career, things have a way of working themselves out. Hildebrand left a successful stage career here in Saskatchewan to take a chance on  a film career two and a half years ago.  He received a scholarship at the prestigious New York Film Academy’s school in Los Angeles. “I auditioned on a whim,” he says. “I ended up winning the competition, for the scholarship, and I had this door open for me that I hadn’t anticipated at all.”

His time in Los Angeles has led to several roles including writing and producing a short film called Embrace that was accepted to the Cannes Film Festival in 2016. Hildebrand was also cast in a television pilot called Declassified Encounters, a supernatural detective show that is being considered by the SyFy Network.

Although he has steady work and several projects lined up for the fall, Hildebrand’s film career is currently in limbo. He’s been forced to return home to Canada to await approval of his O1 work visa, so he can continue work in the United States.

As luck would have it, Hildebrand’s homecoming was just in time for director Sky Brandon. Brandon’s artist collective Shakespeare Lab is staging a reading of Princes Kill, an adaptation of the bard’s Henry VI plays by Johnna Wright. Brandon knew Hildebrand would be perfect for the title role. “He was an easy choice,” says Brandon. “Tim was hungry to do some Shakespeare and this is a way to bring his talent back to the Saskatoon stage.”

“Tim was hungry to do some Shakespeare and this is a way to bring his talent back to the Saskatoon stage.”

Princes Kill is a story of power and revenge and is actually three of Shakespeare’s plays condensed into one.. It follows the reign of Henry VI, an ineffective king who is challenged for the throne by Richard, Duke of York. Brandon says a staged reading is the perfect way to introduce audiences to these history plays. “In this adaptation we have 15 actors playing multiple parts.” Brandon explains, “It’s something that is done all the time at the Stratford Festival but rarely anywhere else because of casting and cost.” Brandon says this reading leads nicely into Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan’s presentation of Richard III opening in July.

For Hildebrand, this has been a wonderful welcome home. “It’s so nice to be able to jump back into Saskatoon’s arts scene,” he says. “You go to L.A. and everyone is an actor. Here in Saskatoon, people who call themselves actors have gone to school, trained and are true professionals.”

This is a pay what you can event. all proceeds go to the Actors Fund of Canada, an organization that provides financial support to artists.

Princes Kill

June 1

7:30p.m.

The Refinery

Tickets: Pay What You Can

Click here for more details.