Hometown:
TS: Portsmouth, New Hampshire,
MS: Marshall, MO
Education: We both graduated from the Liverpool Institute For Performing Arts with a BA (Hons) in Acting
TS: Blackbird (Froggy), Seascape With Sharks and Dancer (Tracy), Equus (Jill), Romeo and Juliet (Juliet), The Hobbit (Gollum)
MS: Dangerous Corner (Freda Caplan), Sweeney Todd (Mrs. Lovett), When the Rain Stops Falling (Elizabeth), Dante's Inferno: A Modern Telling (Beatrice), Orpheus Descending (Lady)
Why theater?:
TS: Theatre forces me to be present in life more than any other art form.
MS: Theatre is dangerous. It's ephemeral and unreplicable. In good theatre audiences have to (or get to) play along for it to function.
Who do you play in Easy Laughter?:
TS: Judy
MS: Patsy
Tell us about Easy Laughter: Easy Laughter is a twisted satire that explores the darkness we humans are capable of, while daring us to laugh the whole way through. It is dark comedy at its best.
What is it like being a part of Easy Laughter?: This process has been so much fun from the very beginning. We feel very lucky to be working with such a talented team of actors and creatives in relaunching our company in New York and we're absolutely ecstatic to have the opportunity to welcome playwright Robert Shearman on board this crazy ship!
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?:
TS: I always gravitate towards some type of dark comedy or absurdism that holds truth at its core.
MS: I like absurdism, physical theatre, sci-fi, and theatre that is innovative and challenging.
TS: I'm always incredibly inspired by new work.
MS: Ditto. I'm a huge fan of Headlong's work right now.
Any roles you’re dying to play?:
MS: Miss Julie, Peggy Lee and/or Lucille Ball in their unwritten bio plays
TS: I have lots of ideas for shows I would like to create, but no roles I feel I'm dying to play at the moment.
What’s your favorite showtune?:
MS: The Ballad of Sweeney Todd
TS: Yes. Everything from Sweeney is spectacular.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?:
TS: In a perfect world? Robin Williams
MS: Patrick Stewart
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?:
TS: Alison Pill would star in "But Are You Positive The Stove Is Off?!"
MS: The love child of Amy Adams and Steve Buscemi in David Cronenberg's "The Rat"
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?:
TS: Actually, I would love to see the original production of Easy Laughter.
MS: I'd really love to have seen the original production of Einstein on the Beach. More recently, I really kicked myself for missing Waiting for Godot with Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen
What show have you recommended to your friends?:
TS: I recently told all my friends to go see The Woodsman.
MS: I couldn't stop talking about The Nether at The Royal Court in London and at MCC
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?:
MS: Nothing gets me out of a deep dark depression like "The Golden Girls" (I'm not that guilty though.)
TS: Yes! We watched "The Golden Girls" box set over and over while at University.
What’s up next?: Dirt [contained] is in the beginning stages of devising a two person show about the lack of resources on our planet forcing us to move farther from nature, and closer towards the science of invention. In this play, two girls will leave the planet earth on a generation ship- a ship that will being them on a quest to create a second earth.
For more on Easy Laughter, visit www.dirtcontained.com
