Hometown: Born in NYC. Grew up in Amherst, Massachusetts.
Education: BFA from Boston University
Select Credits: Yosemite (Ruby, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater); Jerusalem (u/s and rave participant, Broadway); Gabriel (Estelle, Atlantic Theater Company); Bossa Nova (Grace, Yale Repertory Theatre); Moonlight (Bridget, Studio Theatre, DC); Rock ’n’ Roll (Young Esme/Alice, Wilma Theater)
Why theater?: Seeing theatre makes me feel alive; performance is thrilling to experience. As a performer, I feel an electric, heightened sense of existence when I’m onstage. Audiences fuel and charge a performance. I'm often shy offstage, so performing is a great way for me connect with and partake in a larger sort of collective energy. Additionally, every performance with an audience is unique and will never happen again. There’s something about the ephemeral nature of theatre that’s exquisite, scary, gorgeous, and a little bit painful.
Tell us about Yosemite: Yosemite is a new play by Daniel Talbott at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. Pedro Pascal directed it. The play deals with a critical moment of survival for a family that is desperately trying to find a way out of dire circumstances. It’s set in the freezing woods of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in California. Seth Numrich and Noah Galvin play my brothers and Kathryn Erbe is our mother.
What is it like being a part of Yosemite?: The play is brutal to perform, but I love the piece. I hope it provides a moving and meaningful experience for everyone who comes. I believe it’s a play that has a lot of power in its ability to haunt, and I hope that audience members find themselves coming back to thinking about the piece in the hours, days, and months after leaving the theater. I consider myself so lucky to work with everyone involved in creating Yosemite. The Rattlestick is a wonderful place and I look up to my castmates so much. Daniel is such an inspiration to work with, and he galvanizes those around him to be braver and more generous theatre artists.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as artists?: Generally, I like artists and work that connects me in a conscious and emotional way with what it means to be alive in the world.
Any roles you’re dying to play?: There are many roles already written that I’m excited to mature into. Although right now I’m really interested in doing new work, so I’d love to play a role I haven’t yet imagined for myself. Additionally, at some point in my life I would love to work on some Chekhov plays.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: There are a lot of people I want to work with and a lot of people I want to work with again. I also know for certain that there are people I don’t know about yet who will change and impact my life when I work with them. I like this thought.
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Oh dear, if coerced by someone in a wildly implausible theoretical situation to make that movie, I’m not sure what the exact title or my physical representation would be. My only vision for the project would be that it be created in a similar way to a Pixar animated short.
What show have you recommended to your friends?: I just went to my first Cino Nights performance put on by Rising Phoenix Repertory and recommend that.
What’s up next?: I worked on a movie recently, “King Kelly” by SeeThink Films, that I’m immensely proud to be a part of. Louisa Krause plays the title role, and I play her sidekick. The movie is shot as if filmed from the perspective of two girls’ iPhones. The film is not out yet, but I’m looking forward to people seeing it.