Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68FOCUS - JULY 2016 3 What kind of day do you antici- pate, the next time you go to work? Whether you answered hectic, routine, or slack, one thing’s likely true: you have some notion of what to expect. Mary Ann Stevens seldom has that kind of insight. On a given workday she might get into a brawl, tumble down a flight of stairs, or even jump off a building. “Anything they ask me to do,” she laughs. The working life of a stunt person, she says, is rarely dull. Or painless. “My days are never the same. But yes, I do get hurt. I’ve torn my ACL [knee ligament], and broke an arm in a scene where I was hit by a car – after doing it safely in earlier takes! – and naturally you can’t entirely avoid bumps and bruises. Running through a pane of glass, you’re always going to get nicked. “Another time, an actor really did hit me in the face during a fight scene, entirely by accident. He was stunned and jumped out of character because of it. Too bad we couldn’t use the shot…there was realism in that take!” Scratches, bumps, bruises and errant fists never figured in Mary Ann’s original career plan. “I graduated with a degree in Interior Design,” she says, smiling at the obvious contrast. “I had a job offer in Bermuda but they told me it would take three months to process a work permit. “To make money in the mean- time, I worked as an extra in TV shows and movies. In the end, the company couldn’t get government clearance to hire me.” An astute observation, made during her initial exposure to film, opened a door for Mary Ann – with ideal timing. “As an extra, I noticed there were no tall stunt women. So at 5’ 9”, I felt I might have a chance to work in that field.” Training…? None. But natural abilities compen- ALL IN A DAY’S WORK ................... Please turn to page 4