Quirky Q & A

( by Melanie Holtzberg, columnist at a CUNY arts paper)

1. What's a fact that most people don't know about you?
I have double jointed thumbs, which can look kind of creepy. I am my own side show! Oh, and I was put through travel agent school by an employer who wanted to open a travel agency. I took a test on identifying all of the US States on a map- I got 50 out of 50.

2. What has been your most enjoyable role to play?
I adored playing Cathy Hiatt in "The Last Five Years."

3. What do you like to do in your spare time? What are some of your hobbies?
I am little addicted to thirft store shopping- I'd say about 85% of my wardrobe I bought second hand. You can find the most amazing jewelry too!

4. What are 5 words to describe you?
That's funny that you should ask, because I coach actors on this very thing! Here are mine: Passionate. Idealistic. Offbeat. Smart. Effective. (Wait, the acronym for that is POISE!)

5. What did you do to celebrate when you got your last big role?
I went and had a bottle of very nice wine with my boyfriend!

6. What's your favorite word?
My friends and I like to over pronounce words, like coconut is pronounced like coe-coe-nut with all syllables pronounced equally. It's fun!

7. How did you get into your first union?
Equity is my parent union, and I got my card doing a world premiere of a play called Oxygen at the San Diego Repertory Theater. It was written by two scientists- one is a Nobel Laureat for Chemistry, and the other is the "father" of the birth control pill. I joined SAG and AFTRA once I moved to New York.

8. Do you ever have stage fright? If so, how did you battle it?
I have never had stage fright, per se. I can get a little anxious before going onstage, because I am so excited about sharing the show with the audience. But it is never a negative feeling, it is more like, "I can't wait to be out there!"

9. What is your dream role?
Well, if you are talking truly a dream, it would be Maria in West Side Story or Kim in Miss Saigon. But since I don't fit those types, I would have to say Glinda in Wicked, any of the Disney Princesses (Belle or Ariel), either role in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, Amalia in She Loves Me, Susan in Tick Tick Boom, Cinderella or The Witch in Into the Woods. The list goes on and on. I'd love to re-play Cathy Hiatt in The Last Five Years (I played the role in 2004-2005.) And eventually I would love to play Eva in Evita and Lucille in Parade.

10. What's one thing you know is true?
That just talking about things is not enough. To make a difference in the world takes action.

11.What are some of your favorite TV shows or movies?
I was a huge fan of Veronica Mars, and not just because I was on it! It really was a fantastic show. Now I follow Grey's Anatomy, Gossip Girl, America's Next Top Model, Pushing Daisies. As for movies, I love all different kinds- among my favorites: Spaceballs, The Shawshank Redemption, The Notebook, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, West Side Story, Aladdin... Eclectic, I know.

12. Did you always love acting?
Yes. At first, it was just a way to show off what good memorization and mimicry skills I had! But then I felt in love with the ability to express all different kinds of emotions in this safe, loving environment. It is really quite extraordinary.

13. How did you get involved in it?
I first experienced live theater when my 4th grade teacher took our class to the local community theater for a youth theater production. I am not sure what show we saw, but I remember meeting the actors afterward, who came out in costume, and I thought, "I want to do that!" Soon after, my mother and I saw an audition notice posted for the play, Charlotte's Web, which was one of my favorites movies (2nd only to West Side Story.) I auditioned and got cast as the gander. My favorite line was spelling out the word ' terrific': "It's spelled T double E double R double R double I double F double I double C C C C C..."

14. What is more challenging- stage or screen?
Well, they are both challenging in their own way (you knew that was coming, didn't you?) With theater you truly have to inhabit a character and you have the challenge of keeping it fresh night after night, and there are no reshoots or cuts when you think your timing is off or you forget a line. On the same token, film and TV acting are challenging because you have to be ready at a moment's notice, and you have to be in that moment 100% from the time the camera rolls. Plus, since scenes are often shot out of sequence you have to track your character's emotional arc much more closely- sometimes I'll get on set and have to ask, "Wait a minute, at this point in the film how long have we known each other?" Because we may have just shot a love scene yesterday, and today we shoot the scene where we are meeting for the first time. Oh, and as a screen actor you also have to be much more aware of your movements, gestures and use of props- you have do it it the same way every time for continuity! But then again, you get "do-overs" so both stage and screen have their own special charm!

15. You went on tour with Suds- where did you travel?
We went to about 4 theaters in southern California, and then went to Tennessee, Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, and New Mexico. What was really cool is that we were able to bring the show to my alma mater, Pepperdine, which has a beautiful 500 seat theater used for touring productions. I worked in that theater as a technician when I was in school and performed on the stage as a student, and then I got to go back and be on that stage as a professional. It was a really amazing experience.

16. What are some things people don't know about tour?
That we party all the time! Ok, truthfully, not so much. Some people party on tour, but when you are singing 7-8 shows a week and you are traveling to new environments you have to be much more careful with your instrument. I really would have loved to have explored a bit more while going around the country and socialized a bit more, but we are out there for a job, you know.

17. What is your worst stage mishap?
I was playing "Gloria" in Wait Until Dark, and I have this fun scene where I got to throw a bunch of pots, pans and silverware all over the kitchen. This scene importantly sets the stage for a scene at the end, where the Suzy, a blind woman, has to fight off an attacker. So, in my scene, I throw the tantrum and then come back and help picks up the stuff I'd thrown. There is supposed to be a knife preset on the floor near the cabinets- Suzy goes to clean up in that area, I say, "Look out!" and we move the knife to a safe location (to be found again in the final scene.) But there was no knife ANYWHERE. But I don't know this until I already start on my line,"Look out!" She says, "What is it?" I am supposed to say, "It's a knife, it looks sharp" but because of the distinct LACK of cutlery, instead I say, "Uh, it's a spatula. But it kind of looked like a knife!" Classic blunder...

Random Facts

Middle Name: Quinn

Birthday: November 12

Favorite color: Turquoise

Favorite food: good slice of NY Pizza

Favorite kind of Ice Cream: Gold Medal Ribbon (Baskin Robbins) or Cheesecake with Butterfinger (Coldstone)

Favorite song: "And the Healing Has Begun"- Van Morrison

Favorite book: "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand and "Beloved" by Toni Morrison

Favorite Guilty Pleasure: Watching Cops. I know, I know... but there is just something about skinny men with mullets wearing tattered tank tops...

Worst fear: Dying without making a difference to those around me

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