The Mentee
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Lulu Fogarty
September 23, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Actor.
Where were you born? Where were you raised? Where did you go to school?
I am a native New Yorker, born at St. Vincents Hospital and raised in the Village. I went to NYC public schools: P.S. 41, the Greenwich Village Middle School and Bronx Science, and received a BFA in Acting from Syracuse University.
Why do you do theater (as opposed to film, or TV, or something not in the entertainment field)?
I do theatre because I love to play! I love having the freedom to make new choices every night. A piece of theatre has the potential to grow and change through an entire run. In film or TV the final cut is the final cut. There is no wiggle room. The exchange of energy between performers and the audience (whether they are with us or not!) is also thrilling.
Do you think the audience will talk about your show for 5 minutes, an hour, or way into the wee hours of the night?
I think that our audiences will talk about the show for days after they leave! There are so many twists and turns, truths and lies that are revealed over the course of the show. Each audience member might leave understanding the story in a different way and they would all be right.
Which cartoon character would you identify your show with: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Mickey Mouse, Marge Simpson?
Daffy.
Can theater bring about societal change? Why or why not?
I absolutely believe that theatre can change the world. It is the job of artists to reveal truths to their audiences about humanity: the good and the ugly. If one person in an audience leaves a play thinking a little bit differently, that has the potential to trickle into every aspect of that person's life, affecting countless people on small and large scales. Whether immediately apprent or not, this will have a societal impact. As Margaret Mead said, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
