It was the best 29th birthday gift a perfect stranger could ever give Kristine McCallum.

The March 25 email asked if the Walnut Grove paralegal would like to audition for 91原创 Players next play.

Two days later, she landed the role of Abby Rothstein in John Lazarus鈥檚 The Grandkid, opposite Surrey鈥檚 Marko Hohlbein (playing Julius Rothstein) and the very same day started five weeks of intense rehearsing.

Eleven years has passed since McCallum was last on the stage, but the acting bug had never left.

鈥淢y love for theatre started in the third grade, when I was cast as Charlie in the school production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,鈥� she recounted.

鈥淎fter that I was heavily involved in the theatre program and acted in many more plays throughout elementary and high school, and also studied some theatre at University of the Fraser Valley,鈥� she added.

But like for many, the world of theatre was set aside once she transition from academia to the working world. Actually the switch happened even before she left school.

鈥淎fter graduation from high school, I originally wanted to be a theatre teacher,鈥� she recalled.

But, she had a change of heart two years into her post-secondary schooling and switched career paths.

鈥淪ince then I have been absent from the theatre scene while pursuing my career as a paralegal,鈥� McCallum explained.

Commuting from 91原创 to her full-time job at a downtown Vancouver law firm, and attending school part-time, left her no time for hobbies such as theatre 鈥� until recently that is.

Recently graduating and switching to a Surrey law firm, she eliminated her three-hour daily commute and allowed her to again pursue her thespian 鈥減assion,鈥� she shared with the 91原创 Advance.

鈥淚 thought maybe I could land a small supporting role in a small community theatre and here I am starring in a two-hander 鈥� talk about jumping back into it with both feet!鈥� she said, admitting with just two actors there was a whopping lot of lines to learn in her first adventure with 91原创 Players.

鈥淚t was a bit over-whelming at first, and still is at times. But it鈥檚 been fun,鈥� McCallum said. 鈥淚t has been an incredible challenge, one that I wasn鈥檛 sure I would be able to overcome 鈥� I still have my doubts. I am certainly rusty after not having been on stage for 11 years, and five weeks is a really short time period to wrap your head around any play, but The Grandkid is a particularly challenging production.鈥�

Hohlbein and director Cathie Young are seasoned veterans with many credits to their names. But, McCallum quickly proved a natural, said Young.

Similarities to her character

鈥淎bby is strong-headed, stubborn, figuring out who she is, rather than what鈥檚 expected of her,鈥� McCallum said, sees several parallels to her own life and to what many young people encounter as they mature.

The play, which was written in 2014, is what Young calls 鈥渁 love story鈥� in which two people 鈥� the Ontario college professor and the granddaughter who moves in with him 鈥� have to find ways to meld their lives yet respect their differences, while not being afraid to challenge each other.

Abby appears mainly as an 18-year-old (going on 19). She has scenes with the audience, in which she is about 30, and in flash backs she is a girl of five.

McCallum, who had lead roles in school plays from elementary (Peterson Road) through high school (D.W. Poppy), loves the challenge. In the play, she has an unseen boyfriend, Noah, whose influence leads to some fierce exchanges between granddaughter and grandfather.

McCallum again sees parallels to her own life; she is getting married next February to someone she credits with being her steadying influence.

As the two Rothsteins demonstrate the chemistry between them, so too do newly acquainted McCallum and Hohlbein.

鈥淓verybody knows a Julius Rothstein!鈥� said McCallum.

鈥淪he鈥檚 my ninth grandkid!鈥� cracked Hohlbein, who already has eight of his own.

The Grandkid, which will also be the 91原创 Player鈥檚 entry for this year鈥檚 regional theatre competition, opens April 28 and runs to May 20, with 8 p.m. performances Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays.

There is some coarse language in this production, in keeping with a student-college milieu, so Young wished to warn audience members who might be offended.

Tickets are $15.

For further information, people can visit langleyplayers.com.

Extending an invitation

鈥淚t has just been nice to be able to be involved in a production again, I forgot how much I missed it,鈥� McCallum added, extending an invite to friends, family, and strangers alike to take in the upcoming production.

Asked what she鈥檇 say to convince some of those new and old friends alike to attend her show, McCallum pondered before replying.

鈥淭he Grandkid has some universal themes everyone can relate to. As children we can sometime idolize our elders and look at them as these perfect people, when in fact they have flaws and secrets just like the rest of us. As we grow older and learn of these flaws, it can sometimes be akin to learning that Santa Claus doesn鈥檛 exist 鈥� it tarnishes some deeply-rooted respect and admiration for a person you think of as a role model. The two characters in the play, though separated by gender and a generation are so similar that they share the same name (they refer to each other by their mutual last name, Rothstein,鈥� she said.

鈥淭hey could be considered 鈥榮oul-mates,鈥� and yet have many differences that cause friction. At the end of the day, despite differences, they continue to love and support one another. It鈥檚 something I think the world could learn from, especially in today鈥檚 political climate. You don鈥檛 have to have the [same] views on sex, religion and politics in order to love and respect a person, and you never know what you might learn from them or what they might open your eyes to. We are all human.鈥�

Asked what鈥檚 next, after The Grandkid, McCallum is insistent she鈥檒l remain active in theatre.

鈥淚 can carry a tune and love musical theatre, I think I would like to be part of a musical next,鈥� she said.