vancouver – Lisa Durupt – The Official Site

Hockey Helps the Homeless Special Announcement

Lisa Durupt — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 21:31:31 +0000

Hello Friends,

Once again, I am hosting & participating in the 2017 Hockey Helps the Homeless tournament to raise money for homeless support agencies in Vancouver. I kindly ask you to consider sponsoring my participation in the event and help make a difference in our community.

This year, with your generous support, I will not only be skating my butt off with former NHL pros and current female Olympians, I will also be raising money and awareness in the fight to end homelessness in Vancouver.

All donations, no matter the amount, are much appreciated.

Please visit my Hockey Helps the Homeless fundraising page to contribute.

Sincerely yours,
Lisa

Me and Hannah Swensen: Solving Murder Mysteries with Alison Sweeney

Lisa Durupt — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 15:34:05 +0000

I was in 6^th grade when I first heard about this show all of my girlfriends were watching after school – Days Of Our Lives.

This was – according to a handful of 12-year-old girls – a very serious and very “adult type of show” that they were all racing home to watch. I had no clue what it was, but being the “chubby, funny and addicted-to-joining-any-and-all-clubs” kid that I was, I thought this might help in keeping up with the cool girls at lunch.

So I too decided that day to race home to watch it. I lived about a block from school, so needless to say I had about 30 minutes to kill, as I made myself comfortable for what was to be my very first soap opera viewing. Or so I thought.

The minute to opening credits started I realized I had watched this show many times in kindergarten with my great grandma. Not by choice, of course. She used to babysit me after school and the only way I would get her attention between 2 and 4 was to sit and watch “her shows” with her. This normally involved her yelling at them while I watched, completely in awe of her feistiness at age 85. So here I was 7 years later with my great grandma somewhere up there – no doubt beaming with pride that I had come to my senses and decided to keep our soap opera ritual alive. I was ready to fill my brain with things to gossip about tomorrow. Like sands through the hourglass, off we went!

To this day, my first memory was the introduction of a new character named Sami Brady. Along with her twin brother – none other than Jensen Ackles of Supernatural – they were ridiculously attractive twins whose dad was a cop while their mom was a doctor that was still in love with someone else and would later be possessed…pretty typical stuff. So maybe things could be a little far-fetched in this type of show, but I was on an important mission. I continued to watch and, sure enough, I was sitting pretty at the cool girls’ table at lunch with a knowing smile and the necessary Days of Our Lives street cred to back it up.

Fast forward 20 years later. I was sitting at my own lunch table when I got a phone call letting me know I had booked a role on Murder, She Baked, a series of mystery movies for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries that were based on the Hannah Swensen mystery novels by Joanne Fluke. Having read the first book, I was curious who had been cast as the leading lady Hannah Swensen. I did my own detective work through the Google agency and there she was… Sami Brady, better-known as Alison Sweeney! Not only was she going to be my sister for the next couple of years on screen, but she was also one of the producers. Suddenly I felt like I was 12 again, giggling with mischievous excitement. How cool would it have been to be able to tell the cool girls at the school lunch table that one day, I would be working with Sami Brady?

From the first day on set, Alison Sweeney was positively fierce. Fierce in the good way that only a true soap opera veteran can be. She has been in the entertainment industry since she was a toddler and it’s clear that she still loves every minute of it. She has not only survived but thrived in a competitive business that changes as quickly as the sands run through the hourglass.

To this day she holds the record for acting in the most scripted pages filmed in 1 day: Over 90! That is insane. Most films aim to shoot 6-10. 12 -14 pages is considered a near impossibility. But spend 5 minutes with Alison Sweeney and you will see why she makes it look easy. She can memorize a scene in no time flat. She can improvise in a pinch so as not to kill a shot. She is always willing to talk it out with her scene partner to find the best possible way to play it.

To sum it up: Alison Sweeney loves to play!

One day at lunch, Alison Sweeney said to me, “I would rather someone come to a scene with a choice completely different than mine, so that we can hash it out together, instead of showing up having not made a choice at all. I hate when people agree because they are worried about disagreeing with me.”

Naturally, I made sure to disagree with all of her choices that day – starting with her lunch order.

Murder She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery – the first movie of the series – aired in May to record-breaking numbers for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

The second movie, Murder She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery aired to record numbers for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in November. It came in second only to the first movie!

Both movies will re-air on Sunday, January 10th, 2016 on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries in the USA along with the premiere of a brand new one, Murder She Baked: A Peach Cobbler Mystery! I can’t wait!

In Canada, CTV has recently begun airing the series as well. Check local listings!

In my mind, the success of the series is no doubt due to the hard work that Alison Sweeney has put into them. If I have learned anything from working with Alison Sweeney, it is that she is the real deal. She is professional, she stands behind her choices and she makes no apologies for who she is. I have to say that I respect and admire her drive. I look up to her as a female in this business and I am in awe of how she still manages to make her family her first priority.

With the good fortune of calling Alison Sweeney my friend today, I walk a little taller. Twenty years ago, she likely would have told me to ditch the cool crew and just be myself….but then again, I would have missed out on growing up with daytime’s most loveable villain, Sami Brady. There’s no one else I would want to solve Hallmark Movies & Mysteries with.

Lacing Up for Hockey Helps the Homeless

Lisa Durupt — Sat, 05 Dec 2015 16:51:57 +0000

Friends, the facts on homelessness in Canada are alarming.

Every year 250,000 Canadians access homeless emergency services or sleep outside. 30,000 Canadians are homeless on any given night. 50,000 people on any given night are considered “hidden homeless”: couch-surfing or sleeping in poor or unaffordable housing. 10% of families do not have enough money to meet their basic needs.

When the organizers of Hockey Helps the Homeless asked me to get involved in their annual Vancouver tournament, I jumped at the chance because I wanted to make a difference.

The event took place on Friday, November 27^th at UBC’s Thunderbird Arena, where hockey players and hockey lovers alike from across the Lower Mainland teamed up to raise money for this great cause.

Originally I had been asked to emcee the dinner following the tournament. I was thrilled! But shortly after the initial invite, Robin Rivers – knowing I had played as a teen – asked if I would be willing to play on one of the ladies’ teams.

Me being me said, “No problem!”

Fun fact #1: Actors will always tell you they can do something then hustle like hell to figure out how to do it in time for the impending deadline!

I hung up the phone, knowing full well I had not played in over 10 years and did what any true professional would do: I called my dad. My dad, being my dad, sent me my old equipment. God I love that man!

The night before, while double-checking my equipment, I noticed that my helmet lacked a mask.

Fun fact #2: Ladies must all wear a full face mask to play. It saves your teeth, your nose and your eyes. Someone should really tell the NHL players that; namely Dan Hamhuis and Sidney Crosby. Ouch.

Upon further inspection I noticed that about 50% of my equipment was not mine.

“Dad?”

He happened to have come in to town that day.

“I may have given your elbow pads to the neighbor and I think a few years back I gave our bank manager’s daughter your pants.”

Fun fact #3: This was at 9pm on a Thursday and I played in less than 12 hours.

Thank goodness Walmart was open late!

The team of ladies I was placed with was a mix of skill levels. I sat down in my cubby at the UBC Thunderbird Arena and began talking to a really nice lady with brown hair beside me. She reminded me of my good friend Lauren Stiver, who I had played hockey with at the University of Winnipeg. She was tall, very fit and extremely kind. She said that she was “okay” at the sport but was just there for the cause. How nice, I thought. I soon realized she was not only the nicest person in the room, but the most humble.

Our coach, the amazing former Vancouver Canucks sniper (and former part-owner of the Coquitlam Express) Darcy Rota came in to meet the team, turned to the brunette beside me and thanked our “pro” for coming out to play with us. Suddenly it dawned on me, “For heaven’s sake, she was none other than Rebecca Johnston from the Canadian Women’s Olympic Gold Medal Team in Sochi!” Turns out she was not only “okay,” she was freaking awesome!

Rebecca Johnston is a humble and talented genius.

The tournament was by far the most fun I had had in quite some time. It took a few shifts to get my legs back but by the end of the day I was right back in it. I can’t lie, I was a little winded compared to my 17 year old self, but kept up just fine.

The dinner went off without a hitch.The speakers included:

Ewan French – Chair of the Hockey Helps the Homeless Vancouver Organizing Committee

He has been the head of the committee since the local tournament began seven years ago. His tireless work organizing, planning and rallying has raised more than $1 million for organizations that work with people faced with homelessness in the Lower Mainland.

Reid McGruer – Regional Director of Freedom 55 Financial Vancouver

It was 8 years ago that Great-West Life first invested in Hockey Helps the Homeless and since that time their generous contributions have allowed the fundraiser to expand its reach while supporting the infrastructure requirements necessary to keep up with the rapid growth. They have been and continue to be such a big part of how the event can make a real difference in the lives of Canada’s homeless.

Me and Darcy Rota

The one and only Darcy Rota wrapped it all up with his heartfelt speech about the fundraiser. He had everyone in the palm of his hands. Not only is he a great coach but I can honestly say he is truly a great person.

Thanks to everyone involved the tournament raised a gross revenue of over $425,000. Funds were directed towards the Urban Native Youth Association, Covenant House, Powell’s Place, Rain City Housing, Lookout Society and more!

It was such an honor to be part of this event and I would encourage anyone looking for more information to visit their website at HockeyHelpsTheHomeless.com

Thanks for having me!