…
in the role of Mrs. Tottendale…
Hi Julia! Thanks
for taking the time out of your busy schedule to talk with us. Tell us
about past SDSU productions you’ve been involved in or any other San Diego-area
projects that we might know you from.
As a MFA Musical Theatre
candidate, I had the pleasure of performing in Into the Woods as the Baker's Wife, Betty in The Great American Trailer Park Musical and Madame Thernardier in Les Mis - concert. I look forward to
doing more San Diego projects after graduation.
So, what originally made
you choose to participate in musical theatre?
Well, I committed to a life
as a theatre artist when I started my undergraduate training. I have always
believed the saying that if you love what you do you will never have to work a
day in your life. This saying inspired me to create a life for myself doing
what I love. For me, that was a life of performing/directing and teaching. I
was a high school Theatre and English teacher for nine years before attending
SDSU and then I continued to teach Acting until this semester. I have been a
performer/director in my hometown in Southern Oregon throughout that time as
well. I feel very blessed to live a life filled with rewarding work and
creative people.
What is one thing that
you love about Drowsy?
I love that it is a
valentine to musicals. As a MFA Musical Theatre class, we have labeled
ourselves musical theatre nerds due to our passion for all things musical
theatre. I love that this show centers around one of the biggest musical
theatre nerds - The Man in Chair. This show really captures the nerdiness that
we all are proud of in ourselves.
What are some unique
challenges of your role?
I play the role of Mrs.
Tottendale or also known as Ukulele Lil. As the show unfolds, the Man in Chair
explains a little bit about the real life stories of the people playing the
parts in the musical within a musical titled The Drowsy Chaperone. The most
difficult element of this meta musical concept is knowing when the real actor
is on stage and when the character is on stage.
What is one thing that
audience members should know before coming to see the show?
They should know that we
have had a lot of fun rehearsing this show and we hope that they have a lot of
fun watching it.
