Maranda and Austin initially crossed paths with one another in 2017 in the Thunder Bay theatre scene when they were both involved in the annual 10 x 10 Festival. Austin is from London, Ontario, but his journey took him here, to the English program at Lakehead University. The two continued to be brought together in other theatre-related circumstances throughout the subsequent years.
They often encountered unique overlaps in their interests, passions, and paths in life, attributing these similarities to something a little like fate. One of the first things they learned about one another was that they share the same birthday, October 29th.
“After that, I was like, well of course we’re going to be best friends!” says Maranda.
“Yes, there was just something there, instantly,” agrees Austin. “Even beyond the birthday thing, this is going to sound weird but I don’t know how else to put it, but it was like your face was just etched into my brain and I thought about you consistently.”
“That is weird, but I love it,” says Maranda. “I just knew you were someone I wanted in my life.”
Both Maranda and Austin are very involved in the local theatre group Cambrian Players (Maranda is the Vice President of the Board, Austin is the Director of Engagement) and this setting is where they found time to really bond and grow their connection.
In particular, during the 2024 production of Of Marriage Minded Misses, they read a romantic scene together and Austin remembers feeling surprisingly flustered.
“It was exciting to think about getting to share the stage together,” he says.
Maranda suggested carpooling as they were rehearsing for the play, and that led to further opportunity for them to converse together and get to know each other on a deeper level.
“We started spending a lot of time together. We would end up talking in the car about everything - like life, rehearsals, our jobs, and Austin’s relationship at the time.”
Austin was in a relationship with someone else during this period, which is why Maranda and Austin’s connection very much started as one built on a strong friendship.
“It always felt like we could talk forever and never run out of things to say,” says Maranda.
They tell me a little about Austin’s split from his ex, saying it didn’t happen overnight and was a complicated process that Maranda was there to offer a listening ear through.
“I tried really hard not to trauma-dump about my relationship with my ex to Maranda because I knew that I didn’t want to put that on her,” explains Austin. “But at the same time, I always felt so comfortable and able to tell her anything. Not in a way that betrayed my relationship at the time, but in a way that was true to my friendship with Maranda.”
There was a period of time after his split that Austin planned to go back to London.
“Moving back felt wrong,” says Austin. “I trusted my gut instinct to stay. I knew I needed to stay, and that was before Maranda and I were even dating. Everything in my life was telling me to stay, my friends, my community, my job, even living in the North and the remoteness. In the GTA it feels like you’re being flooded from all sides by people and getting across town takes me an hour and a half.”
One night, after Austin and his ex had split up, he and Maranda went to a Border Cats game together and it was that night that they first acknowledged their romantic feelings for one another. They both realized they had been feeling the same way.
The theatre community has been something that continues to nurture their mental and emotional well-being and is something they both love about the city.
Maranda has also experienced living outside of Thunder Bay during her university years, but she was called back home by a desire to be close to family and to see her niece and nephew grow up.
“I did a teaching placement in England, and I expected to want to stay after to keep teaching in Europe, but it just didn’t have the draw that I thought it would,” she explains. “It was fabulous to visit, but Thunder Bay called me back. It’s the little things for me, like being able to drive 20 minutes in the summer and jump into the lake. Our arts and culture scene is also growing exponentially every year.”
“Thunder Bay also has a huge loyalty to local,” she adds. “There are so many local makers, local restaurants, and local shops. There is enough loyalty to keep them going and to sustain these businesses. Sometimes when we go down south it feels like it’s chain after chain after chain.”
After orbiting around one another for a decade or so, Maranda and Austin have built a fiercely strong connection based on shared passions and a foundation of deep acceptance and friendship.
