Hometown: Leesburg, GA
Education: MFA in Acting from the American Conservatory Theater; BFA in Theatre Performance from University of Evansville
Select Credits: Everything You Touch (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater at The Cherry Lane); Napoli! (A.C.T.); A Christmas Carol (A.C.T.); House of Bernarda Alba (Moscow Art Theatre); Henry IV, Part II (Shakespeare Santa Cruz); Man in the Iron Mask (Shakespeare Santa Cruz); Raft (Edinburgh Fringe); Circus Circus (New York Fringe)
Why theater?: I love storytelling, and I love live human interactions happening on stage.
Who do you play in The Bellagio Fountain Has Been Known to Make Me Cry?: I play Dixie’s daughter, Maria.
Tell us about The Bellagio Fountain Has Been Known to Make Me Cry: It’s a beautiful story of a mother and a daughter and a man on their individual journeys to find happiness. It’s about love and loss and moving on and the natural ebb and flow of life. What makes it really unique is that the set also tells a story of its own paralleling the action on stage.
What is it like being a part of The Bellagio Fountain Has Been Known to Make Me Cry?: It’s wonderful. Everyone involved is so open and curious and genuinely after creating an experience for the audience that will be moving and surprising and beautiful. Everyone is always checking in with each other and asking questions and having fun doing the work. That is the best kind of process to be a part of.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: For me, theatre inspires me most when I am watching something wildly creative and imaginative. The story is being told with such authenticity that I am totally transported to the world I am experiencing on stage. It can happen for me with any kind of work, from classical to new work. Plays that come to mind that have done this are Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ An Octoroon, and a play I recently saw at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival called 64 Squares by Rhum and Clay Theatre Company, London.
Any roles you’re dying to play?: I would really like to play Sonya from Uncle Vanya before I get too old. I love her.
What’s your favorite showtune?: “Alone in the Universe” from Seussical. It was one of the first musicals I was ever in, and I will occasionally blast it when I am needing a lift.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: There are too many! But recently, I have been into a lot of multimedia companies, like Manual Cinema. I would love to work with them.
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: Oh gosh. Hmm. If a movie is being made about me, I sure hope they would cast me in it. And if I wasn’t available, maybe they could get Jennifer Lawrence. Ha! And my sister suggested the title, "Fitting Out". I think it could work.
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: I think I would go back to the late 1940s, early 50s. I’d love to see some of the original productions of Tennessee Williams plays: Streetcar with Brando and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Burl Ives. Really, any of them!
What show have you recommended to your friends?: I just saw Futurity, and I’ve been telling everyone I know to go see it.
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Currently, it is pie. I live close to an amazing pie place. They serve a Black Bottom Oat pie--yep, always feel guilty after eating that one.
What’s up next?: Headed to Georgia for the holidays and then coming back to New York for the new year with a clean slate. Hopefully, another fulfilling project will find me or I’ll find it.
For more on The Bellagio Fountain Has Been Known to Make Me Cry, visit http://ConcreteTempleTheatre.com