Okay, we're recording now, but act like we're not recording.
We're not recording. This is my natural voice. Its FREE!
So how are you feeling, right now, in this moment?
I'm feeling good. I'm in a place where I'm ready to work harder than I've been working. Not that I haven't been working but its like "okay and now its the next step", which is a good place to be.
What are you working on right now? Because I have no idea. Its not like I live with you or anything.
I'm trying to explain if you just...PLEASE?! [laughs] This is gonna be a terrible interview, you're going to have to cut a lot of it. What was I saying?
I asked you what you're working on right now.
OH! [in a funny voice] I'm doing a production of Twelfth Nigh?t by Shakespeare? Its really be been interesting process![regular voice] No umm..
It hasn't been an interesting process?
No I just need to calm down and answer these questions. Maybe a little bit of this in it is okay but definitely not all of it. PAUSE. I'm playing Malvolio in Twelfth Night. And I've been working on two monologues and a scene. AND a devised piece that we're going to perform on the common next to the main stage.
Whats the monologue you're doing?
I'm working on Hamlet's first soliloquy. Its a pretty intense soliloquy. Its been a challenge but I also think its been rewarding. Its like "I'm being confronted with things I need to deal with" as an actor.
Why got you here? How did fate bring you to Wellesley, Massachusetts for the CSC Apprentice Program?
Well I attended a workshop from Commonwealth and I really just enjoyed getting to work on my piece, really getting to work on it in a way I've felt like I've never been able to work on things. It was with Adam Sanders - Adam Sandler.
I actually had professor who told us that Adam Sandler was coming to our school to do a workshop.
They must've been disappointed. Well actually they'd probably be more disappointed if it was Adam Sandler.
Yeah, I feel like Adam Sandler wouldn't give good advice for performing Shakespeare.
Yeah, like he's great and all but...but yeah I don't know, I just really enjoyed the experience and he advertised a little about the program and I was interested and I applied and I got in!
What did you audition with?
I auditioned with Edmund's bastard speech from King Lear which is funny because they're doing King Lear now. Mine was a different interpretation though (laughs).
Well now that we're like two thirds into the program, what's been your favorite moment so far? Or two moments? Three is pushing it.
That's a great question. This has been a great experience overall. I don't want to leave anything out so its hard to pick my favorite. I've really just enjoyed creating relationships with people here. I feel like I'm learning how to do that onstage and I'm learning how to do it in real life. And its great to meet people who are not only just as serious as you are about all this but who are also fun to hang out with and talk about weird stuff with.
I see you're growing out some facial hair.
Oh no! I'm doing this for my character, Malvolio. I don't if its appropriate for the role but I decided to do it because I intuitively felt I needed facial hair to play this role. Initially I wanted it to be mutton chops but now I'm just going to let it be what it is. I'm not going to pretend its something else. So yeah, I'm making some bold hair choices both facial and top of head.
Can you elaborate more on that?
No. I will not. Come see Twelfth Night, its a fun show.
What got you into theatre?
I didn't really start doing theatre until this one summer I went to a sleep away camp and I took a rock climbing class and I was just very unhappy in that class. You know I just felt like I really didn't want to be rock climbing, mostly because of the physical activity that was involved. And I remember crying to my friend and being like "I don't want to do rock climbing, I just want to be in a play" because I knew they were doing a play but I didn't go to the auditions. And she was like, "why don't you just ask them if they'll let you do it" and so I did. And after that I slowly starting doing a little more serious stuff and it all just kind of escalated since that point.
What do you do to prepare for a performance or a rehearsal?
What I try to do, and I don't always stick to this, but I think its better to have prepare whatever I need to have prepared the night before. So when I'm first getting to the theatre I'd rather be in a place where I can just get energized and not have to worry.
Can you describe yourself in three Shakespearean characters?
No. NO! I don't think I can.
Okay.
No wait, let me try. Who would I be? I'm not Malvolio am I? I don't think so. Not completely but kind of...
No, I know what you mean because when I was asked that question I just wanted to say the three past parts I'd played because those were the ones I was most connected to.
Yeah! Also I at the same time its like I really don't want to connect with Malvolio. In life that's NOT who I wanna be. I don't know what my three characters would be. What do you think?
Umm...for you? Hmmmm....WAIT! No! This is your interview, you've got to answer the questions!
Just give me one.
[Thinking] Well now I've got to go through all the plays I know and think of all the characters in each of them...
Get out the complete works...
Read all the plays...
[pause]
Yeah, Lets move on we can get back to that.
Do you have a favorite play? If it would make it easier you can give me a Comedy, History, and a Tragedy.
That's a lot. I'll say I've always really liked Macbeth. I feel like even though the character of Macbeth is written so specifically he could really be anyone. Every single person could say those words and mean it and they would be Macbeth. I'm so excited to see the all-female Macbeth. From what they've told me they've explored so many different sides of the story.
If you had to pick between playing M or Lady M, which would you pick?
How dare you? Lady M.
What do you enjoy about acting Shakespeare opposed to modern text?
I feel like I've learned a lot more about acting in general through acting Shakespeare.
Okay so for this next question, you've built the first time machine and you use it to go back to the 1590s/early 1600s, but the time machine works only for a few minutes and you get to ask Shakespeare one question. What is your question?
I'd probably ask him what he meant by his work in terms of performance.
So you'd ask him to coach you on a monologue?
Yeah. No, I would just be like "Shakespeare, get out of here. This is my theatre. Who do you think you are?"
Well put. Well that's about it! Is there anything you'd like to add? Anyone you'd like to complain about or someone you want to praise? Or...
I didn't eat a lot today.
What did you have for dinner?
I didn't have dinner.
Aaron!
What did you have for dinner?
I went to the dinning hall and had some chicken parm and then I had some ice cream. Is that it?
Yup.
Alright! The end.
Okay! We're recording!
Cool! Great be to back on the show again Ben!
Anytime Joan. Now I'm assuming based on your name that you're related to the famous English actress Joan Plowright?
Uh no actually...I am definitely not - well I might be - but not that I know of.
Oh...you should really clarify that when you introduce yourself...
Yeah my name is Joan...so that's really my responsibility...
I'm glad that's cleared up. Where are you from?
I'm from Binghamton, NY.
And where'd you go to school?
I went to Oberlin College in Ohio.
How'd you find out about the Commonwealth Apprentice Program?
I was looking for a summer program to do and I was literally just Googling "SUMMER SHAKESPEARE COMPANY TRAINING PROGRAM" and the Commonwealth one looked really awesome.
What did you audition with?
I auditioned with Adriana from Comedy of Errors. It's a really funny monologue although I felt like kind of an idiot because during my audition session we were working together and I forgot a major plot point of the play. But I dunno, apparently they still thought I did okay.
And now you're in...the Scottish Play!
Yes, I'm also in the Scottish Play, the play that shall not be named, and I'm playing Banquo.
What's it like playing a man? Could you clarify how that works because I know you're not necessarily changing Banquo into a woman?
We're playing all these characters as men but we're not going to try to hide the fact that we're women. You know, we're not going to put on really deep voices and shave our hair off or anything. It's kind of a gender fluid interpretation I guess.
What got you interested in the theatre?
The first theatre thing I ever did was play a flying monkey in the Wizard of Oz when I was like seven. But the first performing I did that got me really interested in theatre was Gilbert and Sullivan. There's this Gilbert and Sullivan group in Binghamton that I performed with a bunch of times. Actually my mom and brother also performed with them.
So you have a theatre family?
Yeah kind of...my brother also went to school for theatre and my parents don't do theatre professionally but they both did it in college a lot and my mom still does community theatre stuff every once and a while. We're a very artsy family.
What are you looking forward to most this summer? What will be some challenges?
I'm really looking forward to working on Macbeth. We've been having lots of fun doing View Points and other ensemble building stuff. I'm also really excited about getting to observe the King Lear cast.
[Shana from across the room]: And the Greenshow!
And the Greenshow that's right! That]s probably the biggest challenge I'm looking forward to, but its also gonna be really fun.
Could you describe yourself in three Shakespearean characters?
I've been thinking about this one all day [laughs]. Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing, Nick Bottom from Midsummer Night's Dream, and Gonzalo from the Tempest.
Do you have a favorite play?
I have several!
How about giving me a Comedy, History, and a Tragedy?
My favorite of the Tragedies is King Lear actually. I feel like my favorite comedy changes every other day but at the moment it's Much Ado About Nothing. And the histories, it's probably Henry IV Part I. I just recently watched the Hollow Crown series and so I'm obsessed with that chunk of plays now.
Oooh! I haven't seen the whole series but I loved Ben Whishaw as Richard II.
I think they're continuing it actually and I believe...hold on let me check...[checks her phone] yeah Benedict Cumberbatch is playing Richard III.
[several seconds of joyful screaming]
That's so awesome.
Yeah Richard III is definitely also one of my favorites.
If you could direct any of the plays, which would you direct?
I've never really directed much but I would love to do A Midsummer Night's Dream. It might be the most popular of the comedies-
But for a good reason!
Yeah! I've seen a few different interpretations of it but if I were to do direct it I'd like to include a lot of acrobatics and dance. I'd like, you know, fairies leaping out of trees and stuff like that.
I would see that in a heartbeat.
Oh I forgot to ask you! I might make a little game out of this on the facebook page: Can you give me two facts and a lie about yourself?
Oh gosh, let me think... okay,
Fact One: I've never seen a production of Hamlet...ever
Fact Two: I tap danced for seven years.
Fact Three: Both of my parents have appeared onstage with a well known film celebrity. Do you want me to tell you now which is the lie?
No, I don't even want my phone to know. I don't want the NSA to ruin it.
Obama if you're listening, you're never gonna find out!
Okay, now for the next question: you're DEAD! You're in heaven and you're meeting William Shakespeare and you get to ask him one question. What do you ask?
Hmm...Okay can it be a request?
Sure!
I would ask him to write a Queen Elizabeth play. All the histories seem so male-centric because they're all about Kings. Many of the female characters are kind of secondary.
What do you like about acting Shakespeare as opposed to contemporary text?
Its a challenge when you're first learning how the verse works and how to put all the thoughts together, but once you get used to it, you can discover a new meaning for everything every time you perform it.
What do you think the future of Shakespeare looks like? How do you plan to continue this tradition as you move ahead as an actor?
One thing that interests me in addition to performing Shakespeare is theatre education. I worked at a summer theatre camp a few years ago and I helped direct a children's production of Midsummer. I think exposing kids to Shakespeare at such a young age is so important because if you don't explore it until high school or college you might approach assuming its gonna be boring and hard to understand. The kids that I worked on that production with though, can totally take this complex language, run with it and have so much fun!
Great! I think that's it! But before we finish, is there anything you'd like to add?
Just that it's really exciting to be here! It's fun to be able to study Shakespeare with a bunch of people who are as excited about as we all are and the staff has been so fun to work with. Everyone come see the shows! They're gonna be so good!
First we'll fill in everyone on the basics. Where are you from?
I'm from Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
Where do you go to school?
I go to the Community College of Rhode Island.
What made you wanna audition for the CSC Apprentice Program?
I went to KCACTF in 2014 and was looking for some opportunities. My professor at CCRI told us to audition for things and to put ourselves out there so when I saw that a Shakespeare company was holding auditions I was like "well that's right up my alley". I didn't even know what it entailed; I'd thought it was for a show or a production, I didn't even know about the deep benefits of being chosen.
What did you audition with?
Portia from the Merchant of Venice. Its my favorite. I've been doing that monologue since I was fourteen, its the first one I ever learned and I was really comfortable with it. I get nervous at auditions so comfort was key to nail the audition. But that's the other thing, I auditioned for this company not really expecting anything. I keep that mindset with a lot of auditions; I audition without any inclination that I will be considered.
Do you think having that mentality with auditions helps you with your performance?
It must have [laughs]
Who are you playing in Macbeth?
I am playing the third witch.I'm very excited because I've been in Macbeth before and I played Hecate.
What are you looking forward to most looking ahead?
I'm really looking forward to be working closely to King Lear. We're all understudying various small parts but at the same time that's what I've been most excited about the program - to sort of work from the bottom of a professional theatre company of Boston. Even if I understudy someone with no lines I don't care.
What do you think will be most challenging looking ahead?
This program has really made me work harder than I've ever had to work. Having to get off book with so many different projects in such a little amount of time is definitely the biggest challenge,
What was some theatre that inspired you growing up?
I went to go see Our Town at Trinity Repertory with my mom when I was thirteen. The wonderful Barbara Meek was playing the stage manager. By the end of the show we were both crying and I just remember turning to my mom and saying something along the line of "thats what I wanna do" and she said "oh you wanna act on stage" and I said "no, no, no. Deeper than that. I want to be so good, so honest, in a performance, like Barbara Meek was, so I get people in the audience who are like us to feel something". I know those are really profound thoughts to have at eleven and that's probably not exactly what I said but that's how I remember feeling.
Can you describe yourself in three Shakespearean characters?
I see a lot of myself in Beatrice and Portia would be number two I suppose...
We can always come back to the last one.
Yeah let me muse on it for a minute...
Whats your favorite film adaptation of Shakespeare?
I immediately think of Kenneth Branagh's Much Ado. Much Ado is my favorite play and I think the movie has a strong cast of actors whom I personally admire. I mean I love Kenneth Branagh to the moon and back. And I like Denzel Washington in it! Who'da thought? Also, the movie was made the year I was born...its a sign.
Why do you think we still do Shakespeare today?
William Shakespeare has always seemed to me as someone profoundly ahead of his time. And also, when I think about that question, I think about how he laid the groundwork for all the typical stories of today. He wrote about all kinds of people, poor people, rich people, old people, young people, angry people, any kind of people you can think of he's got in one of his stories.
Now, lastly, before I turn the recorder off, who's that third person?
Titania from Midsummer.
Before I let you go is there anything you'd like to add?
Just that I'm so incredibly grateful to be here, being given this opportunity to grow as an actor, and meet all these people from all these different colleges. I'm really excited for the weeks to come.
