Growing up, Maureen Lebjak knew exactly what she was destined to do.
“As a child, I loved theatre,” Lebjak said. “I even started to produce productions when I was a child.”
Lebjak graduated from Grade 12 and clearly saw her path – she would go to Hollywood to become a set designer.
“When I proceeded to tell all my teachers and parents, they said ‘Maureen, what kind of career is that for a woman?’ So I went and became a teacher,” said Lebjak. “And I was very unhappy.”
Lebjak spent years in an unfulfilling career until she moved to the Okanagan.
In Kelowna, she spent a couple of decades planning events and was the original organizer of the Fat Cat Festival.
It was work that she loved, but, still, there an untapped dream she needed to explore.
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“We were at dinner one night and, I’m not sure if it’s meant to be or by chance, but our guests right next to us were Nate Flavel and Randy Leslie, who created this magical place,” said Lebjak.
“So I told Randy my story and he said ‘call me.’ So I did.”
That was about two years ago and Lebjak hasn’t looked back.
She is now a volunteer set designer with Kelowna Actors Studio and she couldn’t be happier.
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“Listen in here,” Lebjak said, pointing to her heart. “If you’re down a path and you’re struggling and you’re hitting your head against a brick wall — you are on the wrong path.”
Lebjak adds that things fell into place when she was on the right path.
“Everything just comes to you. You don’t have to fight for it,” Lebjak said. “You don’t have to struggle for it. It just comes naturally.”
Lebjack is one of several volunteers who assist with set design at the Kelowna Actors Studio, under the guidance of scenic artist and set decorator Tracey Hway.
“Maureen is one of my daytime volunteers and I feel that, together, we really take it to a new level because of her experience with abstract fine art,” Hway said.
Hway is thrilled that Lebjak suggests unique ideas that she herself hasn’t thought of and loves the camaraderie of the team.
“We’re a bunch of great old girlfriends getting together to do some art and getting caught up together,” Hway said.
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The team is preparing for the upcoming production of Camelot, which runs May 29 to June 16.
“We are here in our middle years and realizing things that we had dropped off when we were younger,” Hway said. “I say creativity really keeps the youth sparked in all of us.
“When we see something created, it’s so gratifying, it just fills the soul.”
Lebjak has one lesson she hopes to impart.
“Never give up. Live the dream and make the magic happen.”
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