In what way/s are you involved with THE NAKED I: SELF DEFINED?
I am performing in “My Dearest Selene” and “If It Might Be, It Must Be.”
Why is it important to tell the stories in THE NAKED I?
The stories in The Naked I are powerful expressions of truth. In sharing these truths we can advance broader understanding of bodily autonomy, human connectedness, and personal power. So many are willing to share in our laughter but not our tears. These stories provide a necessary space for those who are willing to do both.
What social issues are important to you and how do they inform your work?
My heart centers around issues that require systems change. Historically marginalized people are often destroyed slowly by the socio-political and economic realities of the systems we as a society attempt to maintain. While not necessarily reflective of my entire interests or areas of expertise, I find myself typically drawn to matters of bodily autonomy (specifically gender, sexuality, and disability).
Understanding and partaking in community conversations surrounding these issues has given me a breadth of experience upon which to draw on in my work. Being able to have an impact on the hearts and minds of others is why I do what I do. Tell us about your pets, real or imaginary.
Many years ago my heart belonged to my beloved pet Rocky. We would go for long bike rides and lounge about my childhood garden. One day we thought it would be fun if we went swimming at a local lake as she had never been there. Being an easily distracted child, I allowed Rocky to swim freely for a short while as I contemplated whether a cloud passing over looked more like a dinosaur or a cherry tree.
Tragically, I lost Rocky that day. She sank to the bottom, like a stone.
I have a kitten now. He likes to sit on people’s shoulders.
I’m delighted to be a writer and a performer this year.
Why is it important to tell the stories in THE NAKED I?
Queer and trans stories are often left out entirely or pathologized. It’s so empowering to participate in a project that centers art by and for our community. It’s important for us to tell our stories—and to hear our varied voices—because our experiences are more than simple stereotypes, side notes, and statistics. Claiming our own experiences and offering them as art within our community makes more room for all of us to self-define.
What aspects of your identity do you hope to express through your involvement with THE NAKED I?
I am an older, disabled, trans guy, so I wrote from that perspective. I hope my piece highlights the need for competent, compassionate trans healthcare that goes beyond hormone scripts. Trans folks are complex individuals with a range of medical needs and too often our health is jeopardized by ignorance, insensitivity or outright transphobia.
What social issues are important to you and how do they inform your work?
I’m passionate about culture-change and social justice. I continue to try to use my artistic expression to create connections—to humanize my experiences and create cracks in the oppressive systems of white supremacy, misogyny, and ableism. I look for HOPE—hearing other people’s experiences—in the poetry of everyday struggles for a more just and livable world.
What other artists or shows have inspired you?
I’ve been inspired by so many creative people, but my poem Do No Harm for THE NAKED I was directly inspired by the work of two artists and friends: Elaine Magree and Dazie Gregor. I saw both of them perform at The Marsh in San Francisco and was absolutely blown away at their creative questioning of identity and expression. Dazie’s show “I am a Man” was the catalyst to poetically explore my recent trans-masculine medical fiasco.
Part of the mission of 20% Theatre Company is to provide opportunities to new and emerging artists. Q-STAGE is the perfect vehicle to create such opportunity. So, as we finish out our second installment of the Q-STAGE New Works Series, we’d like to introduce you to one more artist you may not have met. Hannah Stein has been the production assistant for Andrea Jenkins’ piece Body Parts: Intersectionality.
Production Assistant: Hannah Stein
Who are you and what do you do (in life? in the world? in the arts?)?
My name is Hannah Stein and I am from Athens, Georgia. I graduated from Lawrence University with a B.A. in Theatre Arts and moved to the Twin Cities to pursue stage work. You can often find me helping to run two cool consignment shops in uptown Minneapolis and on Grand Avenue in St Paul (My Sister’s Closet) or hanging out with my two adorable chinchillas!
Tell us about your artistic background?
The very last term of my high school senior year, my friend talked me into my first audition for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The production was so wonderful that I immersed myself in theatre once I got to college! Trying my hand at everything from light operation and set design to performance and directing, my senior project was performing in a two-person show in which I also did sound design. I also interned at American Theatre Company in Chicago, Illinois and at LOST Theatre in London, England.
Tell us a little bit about the Q-STAGE piece or pieces you are working on?
I am working with Andrea Jenkins to tell her story and demonstrate how her experiences at the crossroads of race, identity, and sexuality illuminate further questions and common goals for many people. A collage artist as well as poet, Andrea incorporates many different elements into this piece, and it has been wonderful to work with her!
What themes do you pursue in your work?
I am fascinated by cultural simultaneity, obligations within different social systems, unexpected challenges faced by Queer people, and the drama within everyday spaces.
Tell us about an artist or performance that has inspired you?
My role as a stagehand in 20% Theatre’s Rapture Blister Burn was particularly formative because I had the chance to think over the ideas within that amazing show each night. Regarding inspiring performances, I was particularly blown away by Mark Rylance’s incredible role in Jerusalem by Jez Butterworth.
Part of the mission of 20% Theatre Company is to provide opportunities to new and emerging artists. Q-STAGE is the perfect vehicle to create such opportunity. So, as we get closer and closer to our second installment of the Q-STAGE New Works Series, we’d like to introduce you to a few artists you may not have met. Anthony Michael is an actor in And She Would Stand Like This: A Play in Drag.
Actor: Anthony Michael
Who are you?
My name is Anthony Michael and I am a performance artist.
What do you do, and why do you do it?
I do this because I believe it to be necessary within all the tiers of my community (local, national, international) and because I feel incomplete and unstable without it. I grew up dancing, singing in choirs, and acting in plays and competitive speaking. After seeing the Broadway tour of Chicago for my 12th birthday I decided to dedicate my life fully to the arts. I performed, wrote, sang, danced, directed (pretty much anything I could do except go to class) in high school before eventually dropping out. I moved to St. Cloud and started working for a couple of local theatres, waiting tables on the side. After a couple of years I decided to move to the Twin Cities to pursue the arts full time. Since moving here my work and ideas have begun to refine themselves into something more focused and radical. I have immersed myself in the burlesque community, performing in, producing, and hosting striptease events. I am also currently working as a choreographer, actor, and director for several different companies here in the twin cities with projects ranging from Shakespeare to ballet to devised physical work.
What made you decide to get involved with Q-STAGE?
I became interested in working with Q-STAGE after reading the posting for new works and reading more about the program and the artists that had been involved in the past. The program seemed relevant to me and my interests (queer life, theatre, NEW work, “alternative” work, human sexuality, queer visibility) while providing me an opportunity and a challenge in organizing a submission.
What Q-STAGE project are you a part of?
I am acting in Harrison Rivers’ beautiful play And She Would Stand Like This: A Play in Drag. This poetic adaptation of Euripides’ Trojan Women uses 90’s ball culture and world health crises to examine questions about health and sexuality, motherhood, drag life, and the perseverance of community. I absolutely love the play; the cast and crew are swift, hard working artists with beautiful hearts, and the text is a dream.
What frustrates you about the current state of the arts?
I am currently displeased with the stagnation the mainstream theatre world has accepted. The trickle down effect Broadway has, the security of season tickets, the acceptance of irrelevant replays, lack of diversity, disproportionate funding of the arts. That’s all one thing, right? I could go on… Not to say that I don’t love what I do, and the idyllic theatre, because I do.
What is your dream project?
My dream project is any project created by a collective of artists that is a multi-medium mix of performance that addresses issues relevant to the community, nation, or world. It is confrontational, entertaining, honest, and offers transportation but commands presence. It offers me constant fear and constant inspiration, and I am better because of it.
What is the role of the performance artist in today’s world?
I believe that a performance artist must constantly be seeking truth, and in turn offer some attempt at engaging in a dialogue with their community about their questions and findings. I believe it is our job to keep the world on their toes, keep fascism at bay, encourage humanism, represent our fellow, and provide entertainment. If politics is the head on the coin of society, the performance artist is the tail.
Travel through three generations of adventure, grief and love. Co-presented by 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities and the Sabes Jewish Community Center, we are pleased to bring you Leah’s Train by Karen Hartman March 7-22, 2015 (all performances at theJCC). Before and during the run of this show, we will be giving you a chance to learn a little bit more about the artists involved in our production. In this first interview, meet actor Jessica Smith.Actor: Jessica Smith
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? How/when/why did you get into theatre?
I was a late bloomer when it came to theatre. Before I got the theatre bug, I had been doing competitive martial arts for years before taking time away to focus on college. My first play was A Midsummer Night’s Dream in the part of Helena when I was 18. After that, it was all about theatre and the arts and creating. I fell in love with the world that allows people to play the world’s best game of pretend with people who are so passionate, so out there, and are willing to play right along with you.
Is this your first show with 20% Theatre Twin Cities? Tell us briefly about your past experience with the company?
This is my first show performing for 20% Theatre, though I had the privilege to be the company’s fight coordinator for their production of If We Were Birds earlier this year.
Tell us what originally drew you to the Leah’s Train script. What interested you in auditioning for this show?
When I read this script, I fell in love. It was so different than what I expected. There’s the sense of mysticism and connection that I loved about it right away as well as these awesome raw characters. It was actually the opportunity to work for this company again that convinced me to audition for this play and I’m so glad I did! Once I had read the script, I was that much more excited about the possibility of being involved.
Tell us a little bit about the character you play?
Ruth desperately wants to matter. She has this incredible ancestor (her grandmother) who has been put on a pedestal by her mother and herself her entire life. She feels as though she is never going to measure up to her grandmother’s achievements and so she has tried to disconnect from her family while trying to matter in her career field. She relies on her boyfriend and her patients to have a place in the world, but things are about to happen that will force her to view family in a different perspective.
This experience has probably been quite different than doing fight choreography for If We Were Birds? How has it been different to be on the other side, now acting for 20%?
It’s been interesting-both absolutely wonderful and a little scary. When I’m fight directing, I’m in charge of what’s going on and I’m the one providing direction. It’s a switch to be in the position of the one being directed. At the same time, though, the process has reminded me why I love acting so much. The letting go, the moment you decide to throw everything into a scene and just let loose. It’s magical.
What else do you do in the world, outside of theatre and/or working on this production?
For the bills, I bartend, I’ve got a great group of regulars where I work, and hearing their stories and discussing life with them is always interesting, to say the least. Otherwise, for free time, I love dancing, being in the outdoors when it’s warm never gets old for me, and if there’s a place with live music-I’m there, and if there’s good beer there, bonus points!
What is your favorite type of transportation?
I miss riding around on the moped I used to own. So much fun!
Travel through three generations of adventure, grief and love. Co-presented by 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities and the Sabes Jewish Community Center, we are pleased to bring you Leah’s Train by Karen Hartman March 7-22, 2015 (all performances at theJCC). Before and during the run of this show, we will be giving you a chance to learn a little bit more about the artists involved in our production. In this first interview, meet actor Zel Weilandgruber.Actor: Zel Weilandgruber
Zel, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? How/when/why did you get into theatre?
I’m 11 years old and have lived in Minneapolis my whole life. I barely remember when I got into theater. I had been taking a dance class and liked being in a recital. When I was little my mom took me to an open call at the Guthrie and I got a part. I had fun, so I did more shows after that.
Is this your first show with 20% Theatre Twin Cities?
Yes.
Tell us what originally drew you to the Leah’s Train script. What interested you in auditioning for this show/company?
I didn’t really know much about it until I read for the try out. It seemed like it would be fun to play a kid who steals and is alone on a train.
Even though you are a young actor, you aren’t new to the scene. What show(s) might we have seen you perform in in the past?
I was Tiny Tim at the Guthrie the past two years in A Christmas Carol. I was in Dollhouse there too when I was in Kindergarten. Last year I was “Wally” in Our Town with Theater Latte Da; I played my accordion in that show. I was in A Very Merry Unauthorized Scientology Pageant last year too (MN Fringe Festival). I got to be John Travolta and Prince Xenu. I’ve done some shows with community theaters too.
Tell us a little bit about the character you play?
I play two characters- Sammy is this kid who thinks he’s tough and cool and goes around stealing on a train, he’s sort of like a runaway. Joseph is from the past. He was trying to leave Russia but he lost his relative and causes problems.
What else do you do in the world, outside of theatre and/or working on this production?
I go to school mostly, and play with my Legos. I also read a lot and play my accordion and piano. I like drawing too, and watching Nova on TV or “Stampy Cat” and “Good Mythical Morning” on the computer.
What is your favorite thing about the Twin Cities?
Well, it’s where I live. And it’s not too hot here.
What is your favorite type of transportation?
My mom’s car, because it’s warm in the winter.
If you have one, tell us a little bit about your most memorable train ride?
I guess I took the train to Chicago with my family when I was three, but I don’t remember it at all. We take the light rail around sometimes, and that’s fun.
Travel through three generations of adventure, grief and love. Co-presented by 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities and the Sabes Jewish Community Center, we are pleased to bring you Leah’s Train by Karen Hartman March 7-22, 2015 (all performances at the JCC). Before and during the run of this show, we will be giving you a chance to learn a little bit more about the artists involved in our production. In this first interview, meet director Chava Curland.
Director: Chava Curland
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? How/when/why did you get into theatre?
My dad took me to see shows at a very young age. We had regular tickets to CTC and when I was 10, he started taking me to see shows at the Guthrie. I was enchanted with this make-believe world where anyone could be someone. And when a friend of mine convinced me to take acting classes in middle school, I was hooked. While I was a teen actor at The Children’s Theater Company– though it is weird for me to think of myself as an actor for them as I only did 2 shows, small parts there–I remember thinking during a particularly arduous technical rehearsal that the decisions the director was making, the questions he was grappling with with the designers were ones that I had ideas for, ones that I had my own answers to. I thought, I can do this. So, I changed from an fine arts to a theater major going into Ithaca College and said “I’m a director’. Big headed to say the least—I am highly embarrassed by what I must have been like as a know-it-all freshman in college.
Since then, my road in theater has taken me many different directions—as an actor, a mask maker and puppeteer, a dancer/movement theater artist, playwright, world traveler–but I always come back to directing and to the power of the rehearsal process. Directing is not just telling people where to move like chess pieces in space–it is excavating a story, like an archaeologist, digging deep into the dirt of the lives of the characters–its forging relationships within this micro community of a production–crew, cast, company, audience–we are a little microcosm–and it is also to be a visual artist, the painter who sees the whole canvas of the evening but must decide which strokes need to be made to reach the final image. Thats why I stay in it–to be an explorer, a painter, and part of a community all at the same time.
Have you worked with 20% Theatre Twin Cities in the past? How and in what capacity?
I last worked with 20% as an actor in Changes in Time. I played Court.
How has this directing experience been different than working for 20% as an actor?
I get to see the full picture. I can follow the little tendrils of my thoughts on a scene, experiment with different points of view and different arcs to the play–and certainly a lot more responsibility to the play and actors in that sense. Otherwise, I would say working with the company and the people in it isn’t that different as a director. Everyone has been so wonderful and supportive—though that was the same as an actor, too 🙂
Tell us what originally drew you to the Leah’s Train script. Why did you want to direct it?
Its deceptively simple. You look at the words on the page and think–hmm, this seems pretty straight forward. But when you look at the motivations behind the words and the disconnect between what people say and do, there is a whole deeper level of tension and intention that is going on. It’s a play full of rich emotion and specific history, yet takes place in the neutral impersonal space of a train. I saw a prime opportunity to work on a powerful, reality driven story but within a more abstract onstage world.
I also feel strong personal connection to sense of ancestry and healing of generations past in the play. My father’s side of the family is Polish Jew and they fled during WWII to Russia, then Siberia, then Uzbekistan, and at the end of the war to Berlin before finally getting passage to NY in 1951. While Leah’s train predates WWI, the haunting echos of the past the follow Ruth on her journey I feel in my own life.
Did you have a specific vision for what the cast would look and feel like during the audition process?
I didn’t have a specific vision for the cast, but rather a sense of how they needed to function together—Hannah and Ruth needed to be powerful players together, Ben needed to have chemistry with Ruth and Hannah, Leah needed sense and Sammy sass. But beyond that, I tried not to have any preconceptions of how they would look or talk. I wanted to be surprised, discover what could work or not based on what was coming out of the actors mouths.
Do you have any hopes about what the audience will walk away from this production knowing, feeling, thinking, etc.?
I hope they come out of this thinking about their own family and the journey that had to happen for each person to end up where they are right this moment. Ruth says “family is made, not born”, but I think that’s false. We can’t runaway where we come from–we can only accept it, make peace with it, and build our own lives from there.
What else do you do in the world, outside of theatre and/or working on this production?
Theater and Non Profit Admin–I work as a Company Associate for Girl Friday Productions and Communications and Outreach Coordinator for the Germanic-American Institute. I also have fun training my dog, Ruby-Rue the Corgi-Aussie, playing very nerdy board games, salsa dancing, making masks/art creations, practicing yoga/acrobatics—and exercising (which means using the steam room) at the JCC.
What is your favorite thing about the Twin Cities?
The lakes, rivers and the bike trails—especially around late April/May when everyone is waking up from hibernation and spring fever is catching on. I love seeing all the people, dogs and life bustling around on the Greenway and the Grand Rounds.
What is your favorite type of transportation?
Anything that lets me feel the breeze.
If you have one, tell us a little bit about your most memorable train ride?
While I don’t have a specific train ride in mind, I’d say the times when I commuted between NYC and The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in CT. I was living in NYC, with a real nice off-Broadway literary internship, but me being the crazy-always-need-to-be-busy person I am, decided that I also wanted to Apprentice under the Droznin Russian Movement teacher at the O’Neill’s National Theater Institute. I would leave Queens at 2:30am and take a 3-4 hour train ride (including subway and connections) up along the dark coast. I’d see the bright city fade away to old, abandoned looking towns, then trees shoot past my window until I could see some brief silver glints of the ocean. I would arrive in New London in the bluish- predawn light, and just as I would pull into the O’Neil grounds, the sky would go pink and a round orange sun would pop up over the horizon.
Then, I would beat up my body for 6 hours of intense acrobatic work, ride back that night and go to work the next day. It was grueling, but those train rides, which brought a sense of peace, freedom, and possibility, were the thing that often got me through the week in the Big City.
Travel through three generations of adventure, grief and love. Co-presented by 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities and the Sabes Jewish Community Center, we are pleased to bring you Leah’s Train by Karen Hartman March 7-22, 2015 (all performances at the JCC). Before and during the run of this show, we will be giving you a chance to learn a little bit more about the artists involved in our production. In this first interview, meet actor Gina Sauer.
Actor: Gina Sauer
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? How/when/why did you get into theatre?
Ever since I stepped on stage at age 6 for my first dance recital, I have been completely bitten by the performing bug. I’ve been singing, dancing and acting ever since.
Is this your first show with 20% Theatre Twin Cities?
Yes! I have a number of friends who are long-time fans of 20% Theatre, so I’m very excited! Particularly because this is a theater whose mission I wholeheartedly support.
Tell us what originally drew you to the Leah’s Train script. What interested you in auditioning for this show/company?
Oddly enough, it was the title. The phrase, “Leah’s Train” has a very particular meaning among my group of friends, though completely unrelated to this show. I don’t believe in coincidences, so I took it as a sign from above that I should audition for this show. And I was right. Working on this script with this cast and production crew has been truly amazing.
We hear that you’ve been away from the theater scene for awhile. What brought you back?
I took probably the world’s longest hiatus from acting — more than 20 years. One day about a year ago someone asked me what I was going to do now that my son was away at college and I was an empty-nester, and without thinking I blurted out, “I’m getting back into acting.” So then I had to. I was committed!
Tell us a little bit about the character you play?
You know the cliche…”there are no good roles for women over 40.” Hannah is definitely an exception to that. She’s a multi-faceted character who runs the full gamut of human emotions through the course of the show. Her mother’s death sends her into full-on, mid-life crisis mode and she goes on a journey to reconcile with her daughter and re-invent herself.
What else do you do in the world, outside of theatre and/or working on this production?
I like to call myself a “recovering lawyer.” I work at a large law firm but I don’t practice law anymore, I’m more on the HR side of things now. And I just finished writing a feature length screenplay, so if anyone out there knows any producers…
What is your favorite thing about the Twin Cities?
The fact that you can be downtown enjoying great restaurants and theater one minute, and then drive just thirty minutes in any direction and find yourself surrounded by cornfields and quaint little towns. We stay true to our Midwest roots here, and it keeps us grounded.
What is your favorite type of transportation?
Like my character, I have a great affinity for European trains. I especially like the German ones, which are famously punctual.
If you have one, tell us a little bit about your most memorable train ride?
Like a couple of characters in the show, I travelled through Europe alone on trains when I was young. I had no itinerary, just got on and off when I felt like it. One day I got off somewhere in Bavaria and ended up in a 1000-year old monastary with a bunch of monks who served me the best meal and home-brewed beer I’ve ever had!
Travel through three generations of adventure, grief and love. Co-presented by 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities and the Sabes Jewish Community Center, we are pleased to bring you Leah’s Train by Karen Hartman March 7-22, 2015 (all performances at theJCC). Before and during the run of this show, we will be giving you a chance to learn a little bit more about the artists involved in our production. In this first interview, meet actor Laura Mason.
Actor: Laura Mason
Laura, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? How/when/why did you get into theatre?
I did my first community theatre show when I was seven. I don’t remember if I asked my parents if I could do it or if I was too dramatic and they decided that I needed an outlet. I just remember that it felt really natural – I did all kinds of skits and stuff in my church as a kid, so I loved being on a real stage! I did a couple shows in the community in middle school before I switched schools to a high school that had a drama program….and now I’m majoring in it!
Is this your first show with 20% Theatre Twin Cities? If not, what may we have seen you perform in in the past?
I was in If We Were Birds last September. I was in the Chorus of bird-women.
Tell us what originally drew you to the Leah’s Train script. What interested you in auditioning for this show/company?
I found out about the show because Claire asked me to consider auditioning for it. I actually wasn’t able to read the script before the audition, but I liked the premise of the story and I trust Claire! Once I did read the script though, I was very impressed with Hartman’s style and the force of the characters.
Tell us a little bit about the character you play?
I play Leah, who is a twelve-year-old Jewish girl looking for her brother and nephew. She is matriarchal force to be reckoned with in her later years, but even as a girl, she is described as “brave” and “legendary” and a “child Moses.”
How has this experience been different than the one for If We Were Birds?
There are so many things that are different that I will start with one of the only familiarities I see. Both plays contain major themes of family dynamics, specifically of how mothers relate to their children. Birds concluded that mothers have a lot more power of possession over their children than Leah’s Train, which deals more with the power of succession – the expectations of the matriarch. Hartman’s mothers set very high standards for their children and manipulate them emotionally, rather than physically as seen in Birds. Not to spoil the ending of If We Were Birds, but the children in Leah’s Train end up a lot better after the treatment from their mothers.
What else do you do in the world, outside of theatre and/or working on this production?
I am a full time student at the University of Minnesota and work at Juice So Good, which is a cafe that provides healthy options to the corporate skyway crowd. I have a lot on my plate as a double-major (Theatre Arts AND Communications) but I enjoy my classes so much, it’s almost not even fair.
Are you still studying at the University of Minnesota? Do you have any big plans for after graduation?
I’m a Junior! Woohooo! At this point, everything is still kind of in the ether, but I’m looking at internships in Marketing or Media Production/Broadcasting and continuing to make art in Minneapolis. It would be awesome to eventually continue my education in physical theatre by studying Commedia dell’Arte and at some point I want to be a part of a legit feature length film…whatever that means.
What is your favorite type of transportation?
I like Streetcars / Light Rails / Strassenbahns. They seem really efficient to me, and they usually don’t smell as bad as underground transit, and they’re not as bumpy as buses. It’s a very satisfying form of independence to be able to rely on a streetcar to get around a city.
If you have one, tell us a little bit about your most memorable train ride?
I used to live in Vienna, Austria and the trains over there are a much more legit system than what we’ve got going on over here. The train ride that stands out to me the most was when my family took an overnight train to Venice. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but a member of my family snored the whole night so we were all cranky and had remember to love each other just as much in tiny, metal compartments as we do when we’re not invading each other’s space.
Travel through three generations of adventure, grief and love. Co-presented by 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities and the Sabes Jewish Community Center, we are pleased to bring you Leah’s Train by Karen Hartman March 7-22, 2015 (all performances at the JCC). Before and during the run of this show, we will be giving you a chance to learn a little bit more about the artists involved in our production. In this first interview, meet actor Kevin Fanshaw.
Actor: Kevin Fanshaw
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? How/when/why did you get into theatre?
I am 24 years old and was born and raised near Madison, WI. I got into theatre part way through high school as a result of relentless peer pressure from my band and choir friends. Particularly those falling into the ‘attractive-female’ category. It is true that you can become an addict after trying something only once, and I’m hooked. I could go on about what I’ve come to find beautiful about theatre, but what captured me from the start was the people. Splendid, wacky, thoughtful, explosive, ridiculous people.
Is this your first show with 20% Theatre Twin Cities?
Yes
Tell us what originally drew you to the Leah’s Train script. What interested you in auditioning for this show/company?
I was initially drawn into the script by the character Ben. I was coming off a show where half of the 10 characters I played were senior citizens, so accessing someone so immensely similar to myself was a welcome relief. I was not familiar with the history of 20% Theatre until I received a callback and did some research. I was all the more excited about possibly working with the company after learning how devoted they were to promoting the work of women, and trans* individuals. Last year I was living in Chicago and working for the Human Rights Campaign and I am always thrilled when two of my passions cross paths.
Tell us a little bit about the character you play?
Ben’s having a tough time. He’s just beginning to get over the loss of his mother, and coming to understand he can’t fully do that while he’s with his current girlfriend. As he emerges from mourning he’s unsure of his place in the world, who he is, and who he wants to become. The time has come, however, to find out.
What else do you do in the world, outside of theatre and/or working on this production?
I wait tables to pay the bills, and I enjoy getting paid for being kind and hospitable. In my free time I cycle through a slew of hobbies: playing music, painting, creative writing, etc. I also have a great desire to travel and am already looking forward to the next adventure.
What is your favorite thing about the Twin Cities?
I love all the local food and (especially) beer!
What is your favorite type of transportation?
Generally speaking, biking is the greatest way from A to B. However, if I ever get another chance to ride on the rooftop of a bus through the Himalayan foothills… that kind of takes the cake.
