Actor Eva Tavares has grown accustomed to life on the road – having recently finished two years of a North American Broadway tour of The Phantom of the Opera, in the role of Christine – but things have become decidedly quieter, and that’s okay with her. Her parents purchased some land and started a permaculture farm, just outside of Sorrento, about seven years ago. Tavares decided to invest in the area herself, purchasing what she thought would be a rental property near Blind Bay. Little did she know, it would soon become her primary residence.

Originally from the Lower Mainland, Eva was in New York City, auditioning for upcoming shows when the pandemic hit. She had been building momentum, and it was down to her and one other actor for a major role, but the pandemic started to make things uncertain. She returned to BC, and, one day later, Broadway went dark, and now, almost a year later, the production she was auditioning for remains in limbo - as is the case with productions of all sizes across the.

Not to be discouraged, Tavares has been making the most of her time getting to know the Shuswap better, and taking in all the things that the area has to offer. She is grateful to have a place where she can get out for hikes, explore, and be close to her family. She’s already started to get to know some of her neighbours and find a few favourite local businesses. She says one of her favourites is The Fridge Light, a small business that offers artisan desserts and charcuterie boxes to go. What more could you ask for? So many of her friends live in places like Toronto and New York, and they’ve been stuck in tiny apartments, so she considers herself very fortunate.

Multiple Evas in From The Sagebrush, With Love

Just because she hasn’t been moving around as much doesn’t mean she hasn’t kept herself busy. She has been taking part in online play workshops and readings and  auditioning for film and television. She has already shot three movies-of-the-week – two of which filmed in the Interior of BC – and landed a role in Turner & Hooch on Disney +.

She also clearly hasn’t let her singing and performing talents grow any cobwebs. She teamed up with a group of friends, spread out across BC, to create BC's Backyard White Christmas one of the most popular segments in Western Canada Theatre's The Snow Must Go On series in December. Using songs from Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Eva, Gaelan Beatty, Kate Blackburn, and Jonathon Winsby showcased the parts of the province they had all spread out to, including Invermere, Blind Bay, Kamloops, and The Sunshine Coast. As the driving force behind the video, as well as a performer and choreographer, it was clear that Eva would have to come back for future video projects at WCT.

Kate Blackburn, Eva Tavares, Jonathon Winsby and Gaelan Beatty in BC's Backyard White Christmas for WCT's The Snow Must Go On series

Tavares is currently starring in From The Sagebrush, With Love, a new video production from WCT, and her performance is absolutely stunning. Once again she has put her own stamp on the video as a co-creator and choreographer, and she brought along Karen Lee-Morlang, the pianist  from the original video, who appears on-stage in this one. This video production runs about 20 minutes, and it can be viewed for free online until February 20^th, and she participated in a Live! Virtual Watch Party for the show on Saturday the 13^th at 7:30pm. As part of that broadcast, Tavares and Artistic Director, James MacDonald talked about the creation of the show, answered questions from viewers and hosted Musical Theatre Trivia, which included a few Name-That-Tune clips, sung live by Eva.

Asked what the first thing is that she will do when life returns to somewhat normal, she doesn’t go straight for the stage. She says that she will hug her family and re-connect with those far-flung friends that she’s met in her journeys. With talent like hers, you can rest assured that she will be back on the stage, and next time you’re able to travel to Broadway, you’ll be able to buy a ticket to see her in a show. 

Click Here to watch From The Sagebrush, With Love, and the Live! Virtual Watch Party until February 20th 1th 11pm.