If you enjoy Good Witch on the Hallmark Channel as I do, you may recognize Courtney Deelen, who has played Lisa Gold in the season five finale and the season six premiere of the show. Recently, I had the opportunity to virtually chat with Courtney, and even though we won’t see her character for the remainder of the season, I am honored to be able to share our conversation with all my readers.
RH: Why/How did you decide to pursue a career in entertainment? What kind of training have you had to prepare you for this career?
CD: Honestly I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to have a career in entertainment. I have loved performing for crowds (of any size) since I was three years old. My career has changed quite significantly
since then, but I’ve always known that I wanted to be involved in storytelling of some sort. I grew up
dancing and singing competitively, performing in community theatre, and eventually studying Musical
Theatre Performance at St. Clair College in Windsor. It’s funny how things come full circle, as three years ago I became a faculty member of my Alma Mater teaching the Film/TV curriculum.
How did you make the transition from stage to TV/film?
behind-the-scenes
365 Months
It was a natural transition that I think a lot of actors eventually go through. I completed two dance contracts right out of school, at Diamond Tooth Gerties Casino in Dawson City, Yukon (a truly fascinating place to check out) and moved to Toronto in 2010. My first agent basically said that if I
wanted to make any money in the industry, I’d have to be open to auditioning for Film/TV gigs, so I said
“sure, send me out for anything” and started on-camera training with The Actor’s Foundry. I fell in love
with the realism and subtly of on-camera performance, and made Film/TV my priority. That same year I
joined ACTRA (the Canadian actors union) and started to build my acting resume. I have, and will
continue to produce and act in live theatre, but it’s a lot of work, usually without a huge payoff. So if
and when I take on a theatre project of my own, I make sure that it’s a play/role that I absolutely love.
What was your first professional on-screen role and what are your memories of it?
Ha-ha-ha! My first on-screen credit was a music video for the Hamilton band, Monster Truck. The video is called “The Lion” and it’s set in the 1980s. I play Paul Spence (Deaner in Fubar) ’s cheating wife, who
has a freakout when he walks in and ruins her date. I got to smash wine bottles, and throw a guitar out
the window, and it was an absolute blast to film. The entire production team did a phenomenal job
creating the aesthetic, and the video has over a million views on YouTube. I laugh every time I watch it
because I wore these hideous clip-in bangs that made me look like the character Linda (who also
happens to be the cheating girlfriend) in The Wedding Singer.
Murdoch Mysteries
You’ve worked on a couple of period shows–Reign and Murdoch Mysteries. What was special/memorable about working on those shows?
The wardrobe!!! I love working on period productions because it allows you to be fully immersed in
another world. I think that clothing is a very important aspect of creating a fully-realized character. It
literally allows you to walk in someone else’s shoes and is the finishing detail that takes you one step
further from yourself as the actor, and into the character that you are creating. I am very grateful to have
been dressed by the incredibly talented designers that I have, because not only did they make sure
that I felt fabulous in whatever I was wearing, they made sure that I was comfortable, as a lot of period
clothing is not the easiest to wear. This way I was able to focus on the character without fighting a corset or awkward shoes.
Reign
Please tell us about your production company and what projects have been released and any others coming up that you can mention. What do you enjoy about this aspect of filmmaking? What are the benefits and challenges?
My husband, Michael T. Burgess, and I started our production company, DEELEN with TROUBLE, Inc. in 2015 because he was focusing on writing, and I was starting to transition into more producing and
directing work. In order to retain the ownership of a lot of our own projects, and in order to service
produce for other artists, we decided to incorporate our company and join the CMPA (Canadian Media
Producers Association). We have produced several short films (a handful of which I also direct), a short
documentary about sexism in Geek Culture, two PSAs, concept commercials, and are currently
developing two features and our first original web series.
Good Witch
I will always be a performer at heart and will continue to seek out roles that excite me an as artist, but my true love has transitioned to directing. There’s a certain responsibility that comes with the title of director that I have a great respect and love for. I take pride in my ability to create a safe space for actors to play, where each and every crew member feels respected and heard, and where writers trust that I honour their story. There is a level of control that comes with being the director as well, that you don’t always get as an actor. For me that extra little bit of control allows me to truly trust my instincts and give everything that I can to each and every project that I take on without being confined to someone else’s vision.
Your first Hallmark work appears to be on Good Witch. What did you know about Hallmark and Good Witch before booking this role?
Full disclosure: I didn’t know much about Hallmark or Good Witch before my work on the show, aside
from the Hallmark Christmas movies which my grandmothers LOVE. When I found out that I booked
the role, I watched as many episodes as I could in order to prepare for my time in Middleton. I think
that the best aspect however was the Hallmark fandom, and how welcoming and supportive they have
been even to someone who is so new to, and fairly small within the franchise.
Good Witch
As Lisa Gold, we’ve seen you in a couple of episodes. What was it like working on this set? What do you enjoy about your character? Any chance we will see you again?
I had a fantastic time working on this show. The entire cast and crew were welcoming and it felt like my
days flew by, because it didn’t feel like work. Most of my time was spent with Kylee {Evans}, and Catherine {Bell}, so I didn’t get to spend much time with any of the other actors. I’ve known Scott {Calvalheiro} for a long time, and we are friends outside of Good Witch, so we had a lot of fun in-between setups. My biggest regret was not being able to work with Catherine Disher though; I think Martha is fabulous!
I love Lisa’s confidence and gusto. She is outspoken and goes with her gut when she is passionate
about something. I think we both have that in common. Even though she doesn’t have much business
experience, her intentions do come from the right place. I just think her vision is a little too big for her
level of experience at this point. Unfortunately, Lisa’s time in Middleton is complete for this season, but
she is still blogging and could always drop back in in the future.
Hunter’s Chance
Any other upcoming works you can mention?
I have three short films that I produced and directed currently in the film festival circuit. Hunter’s Chance is a psychological thriller. 365 Months is a Black-Mirror-esque Sy-Fy piece, and The Last of Ian Campbell is a dramatic film with heart. Because they are currently being reviewed by film festivals, I am unable to share them publicly at this time. However, you can get a sneak peek at my work on my Director Demo here: https://vimeo.com/341287798 .
365 Months
During this crisis, what have you been doing to keep yourself busy?
Most recently, we shot a three-minute short film called GUS & US, for the Isolation Film Festival in the UK and for the ISFF here in Toronto. It highlights a lot of the things that we’ve been doing to keep
ourselves busy, but it’s told from the perspective of our doggo, Gus. Mike and I shot it at home, on our
phones without any professional equipment, and it was a really fun way to stay creative during this
chaotic time now that the industry has been shut down for the past two months. You can watch GUS & US here: https://vimeo.com/408220949 .
Gus & Us
Aside from that, we’ve been using the time to catch up on a lot of things. Lot’s of FaceTime with family
and friends, sorting through old photos, writing, watching movies, baking, and editing some projects
that have been set aside because we were busy on set and didn’t have the time.
Some great days, some not so great but taking each day as a chance to start fresh. Mental health is
something that we all need to be mindful of for ourselves and for those around us, so just remember to
be extra kind right now. Every day is an opportunity for us to work on our empathy towards each other,
and now during a collective trauma, it’s more important than ever to have open and understanding
hearts.
If you could go on a dream vacation, where would you go and who would go with you?
My husband and I have always wanted to go to Skopelos Island in Greece (where they filmed Mamma
Mia). It is a phenomenally beautiful, incredibly romantic country, with a rich history and architecture. A
few weeks on the beach eating Mediterranean food sounds like heaven right now.
A close second would be going back to Dawson City, Yukon with my husband. It’s a magical place that
will always hold a little piece of my heart. Just Google it and I’m sure you’d want to check it out too.
It never ceases to amaze me that without exception, Hallmark hires such incredibly gifted and down-to-earth people for their projects, and Courtney is all that and so much more. While her role may have been comparatively small, she created a character that was thoroughly memorable, fun, and relatable. When Stephanie stood up to Lisa in this season’s premiere, I was cheering so loudly for her. But then I realized we wouldn’t see Lisa again! I just hope that she comes back to Middleton…I have my fingers crossed for a season seven of Good Witch!
If you enjoyed watching Courtney in Good Witch and/or any of her other projects, I would invite you to visit her links below and consider following her where applicable. I am extremely impressed with her level of artistry and the way that she and her husband have labored to create their own production company. It is my sincere desire that we will see Courtney in another Hallmark production soon–maybe even a Christmas movie (wouldn’t that be fun?)–but until that time, I wish her well in all her various endeavors, and I hope that all Hallmark fans will do the same!
FOLLOW COURTNEY
