Meet the cast of #blessed: Meghann Oglesby

As we move in toward #blessed, the first show of our second season (running October 17th - November 2nd at the Evergreen Theatre), we thought it might be fun for everyone to meet the cast. Check out the blog every Monday and Wednesday for Q and A's to help you get to know our company a little bit better!

Meghann Oglesby - Ellen

Hello! What's your name, and what's the role you are playing in #blessed? 

My name is Meghann Oglesby and I play Ellen.


Where are you from ? What do you consider to be your hometown?

That's a good question. I'm from Minneapolis by way of Chicago, Illinois. I consider Chicago to be my hometown.


What first drew you to acting?

Well, I just always liked performing of any kind, and my mother is an actor. That's all she does, so when I was younger I spent quite a bit of time doing homework in the audience during her rehearsals [laughs]. So my mom kind of got me and my younger brother into it when we were younger. She had an agent, so she got us an agent, and we did some things as kids.


Where did you receive your training?

I've never had any formal training, but in terms of experience I've always been working. I did theatre camps in the summer. I did plays in high school, and then I went to college and did shows there, and I've done quite a bit of community theatre in Memphis.


Where did you go to college? What did you study?

I went to Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, which is now where I work and reside. I teach mass communications there. I got my bachelor's degree in mass communications in 2009.


So, you drive from Holly Springs every day to come to rehearsal?

Yes, I do. The things you do for love [laughs].


Who were your mentors? Who do you admire and look up to, either on-stage or in all aspects of your life?

My parents. They are just amazing people. They're hard-working people who keep God at the center of their lives, in whatever they do. Anytime I have a problem or need something, I can call one of them. They are my greatest inspiration and biggest role-models. There are other people that I look up to and admire: famous people, people who taught me in school, but I just can't think of anyone who inspires me more than my parents.

I do have a singer, my favorite singer, who is really inspiring to me. Her name is Ledisi. I discovered her in 2007, and she is a huge inspiration to me through her career and her spirit and her personality. She's persevered through people telling her she didn't have the right look to be successful: that she was too dark-skinned or that she wasn't pretty enough or that she had dreadlocks and just wasn't the right kind of package, but she's proven them all wrong now. She shares this story all the time about she was inspired and given the confidence to move forward by a conversation she had with her own mother who told her that everything was going to be alright. So she's a big inspiration to me in my life towards working hard and pursuing an acting career and believing that everything is going to be alright if that is what I really want to do. If my heart is really there, if my love is really there, if I put my mind to it and I pray about it and keep things in perspective, I can do what I want to do.


What's your favorite part of the theatrical process?

My favorite part of the theatrical process is the end part [laughs]. The end result. Just being up there on the stage giving all that I got for the people who came to see what it is I have to give. Being able to share my talent, share what God gave me, share that kind of expression with other people in that kind of way is my absolute favorite thing about it.


What's your least favorite part?

Learning the lines. It comes pretty easy to me to learn lines. It doesn't take me a long time to learn lines, thank God I have a good memory, but that part is annoying. Because when you're rehearsing, until you have those things down pat, rehearsal is always very, very annoying. I mean for me, anyway. I can't speak for anyone else [laughs]. But that's the worse part, because you can't really do what you want to do until you have that down.


What are some of your favorite past roles?

Recently, I did two different shows at Hattiloo Theatre. I just recently got done with a musical where I played Andrea in Once on This Island, and that was definitely one of my favorites because it was the first time, really, that I had on opportunity to do a musical and to play a character where I had to sing and sing solo, and I just loved that, I enjoyed it so much, it was just so much fun and definitely a defining moment for me, in my journey as an actor, because it was a first. Right before that I did an August Wilson play before that where I played Vera in Seven Guitars, and that is definitely one of my favorite roles that I've played: very meaty character and content in that show and I got to show my range of emotions and we got nominated for an Ostrander award for best ensemble, so that was pretty cool.


How would you define your style. What do you like to focus on as you prepare a character?

What I like to focus on is how it feels to to me. I like to ask "what would I, Meghann, be doing if this was my real-life situation?" That's what works best for me, asking "if this is what happened to me" or "if this is what someone said to me" how I would be dealing with it. I ask how it makes me feel, and I bring that emotion out.


When you're not working with Threepenny Theatre, how do you spend your time?

I fill my time with cupcakes. I am trying to get rid of that little addiction. It's not the most healthful way to live... but it is pretty fun [laughs].

I teach. I'm a full time instructor. I teach college students broadcasting: radio and television, so that takes up a lot of my time because even though I only have classes at a particular time, my job is  really never ending: helping students, advising student organizations, going to meetings, going to conferences. It's a never-ending schedule. Keeps me very busy when I'm not doing this. Which is why I need this, for my sanity [laughs].


How do you like the Threepenny process?

I love the Threepenny rehearsal process. I love the consideration taken in the scheduling, so I don't have to be here when I don't have a scene. I don't have to sit here for a few hours just to say a few lines. Especially since I live so far away. I'd be very angry if had to burn that much gas [laughs] and not have much time to work, so I really appreciate that. I also love that, to me, Threepenny seems really invested in each actor: to the individual development of every actor in the production. I appreciate that, and I know that I'm personally growing as an actor through this experience. Thanks Threepenny!


The "Big" Question: why do you continue to do what you do onstage, and once you are all said and done, what would you like to have accomplished with your art, not just in this show, but in your life?

I continue to do what I do on the stage because I absolutely love it. It's my favorite place to be, on the stage, that's my favorite thing: being on the stage, in front of people. I had a college instructor, who is actually one of my colleagues now at Rust College, say to me one day, and I'm never going to forget this, he asked "Meghann, are you ever offstage?" and I was like "NO!" [laughs]. Because I guess I'm not. I never thought about it that kind of way.

When it's all said and done, I'd like to know that I made people feel something, and I hope to have given performances that allow people to connect with me, personally. I'd like to be the type of actor that inspires others to want to pursue their dreams and be confident and feel free to un-apologetically pursue their dreams and be themselves.


Anyone you'd like to send some love out to?

I'd love to send some love to my parents, because they're the bomb-diggity. I'd love to send some love out to my sorors. I'm a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. I'd love to send some love to Rust College because that's where I work and that's my home and I love those people. I wouldn't be here without Rust College. And I'd love to send some love out to Hattiloo!


Always be closing. Any final words to people about #blessed?

Come see it!


 And to wrap up, some quick-fire "Inside the Actor's Studio" questions!

What is your favorite word? Boo
What is your least favorite word? Moist
What turns you on: creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Honesty
What turns you off? Dishonesty [laughs]
What's one thing you love about Memphis? Midtown
What sound or noise do you love? Drums
What sound or noise do you hate? Moaning or groaning or lip-sipping in my classroom
What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt? Singer
What profession would you not like to do? Janitor

Finally, if Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
"Well done."


Thank you, Meghann! Check the blog on Wednesday for another interview! and come see #blessed, opening this Friday at the Evergreen Theatre. All shows are set your own admission price!

Video interview: Jillian and Jerry talk about #blessed

You've read their bios, now listen to their sweet melodic voices as Jillian Barron and Jerry Kimble talk about their characters in #blessed!

#blessed - Jillian and Jerry

Meet the cast of #blessed: Jerry Kimble

As we move in toward #blessed, the first show of our second season (running October 17th - November 2nd at the Evergreen Theatre), we thought it might be fun for everyone to meet the cast. Check out the blog every Monday and Wednesday for Q and A's to help you get to know our company a little bit better!

Hello! What's your name, and what's the role you are playing in #blessed? 

My name is Jerry Kimble, Junior, and the role I'm playing is Clarence.


Where are you from ? What do you consider to be your hometown?

I'm from Memphis, TN, born and raised. Been here the majority of my life. Moved out a couple times, but I've been back here for about two years.


What first drew you to acting?

Well there are two different parts. One, when I was young, I used to be in pageants and stuff, where I used to sing and do stand-up comedy. This was like at six years old [laugh], and I would always do little monologues from things I had learned in church or from a funny movie. I kind of pushed that to the back-burner because I majored in music for a long time. I was deep into music: band and choir and stuff, and then in high school, my senior year, my band director said "Hey, I'm doing a play this summer. I'll be directing the orchestra at the Orpheum, you should come and audition." I was like "...naw." [laughs].  I was always the guy that would imitate everybody. I was always the clown, wouldn't say "class clown", but I would always do stupid stuff without getting in trouble for it [laughs] because I was smart. Anyway, he got me to audition and I got the role and got paid to act. One of my very first professional gigs, and I was only sixteen. So, I was like "man, I kinda like that." I've been doing it ever since then.


Where did you receive your training?

I received my training from the University of Memphis. I actually went two different places. I first went to Tennessee State University in Nashville, and I was there for about two-and-a-half, three years, where I was majoring in music education, and then I was like "You know what, let me try out for a play" and the first play I did was Julius Caesar, played the role of Brutus, so, at that point I wanted to change my major. I changed it to Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Music and Theatre. I was trying to build my own musical theatre degree since I already had that musical background and they didn't have musical theatre degrees offered there. I transferred after taking a few years off, getting acting gigs in films around Memphis, especially when we had that boom of big films coming into the city. Then I finally went back to school and got my degree from the University of Memphis. I have a B.F.A. in Theatre Performance.


Who were your mentors? Who do you admire and look up to, either on-stage or in all aspects of your life?

On-stage is hard. I look up to James Earl Jones. I always liked the roles he played in theatre. I just thought his theatre was kind of magical because he had this big, booming deep voice, where he could captivate a crowd just by talking, and he was great at storytelling.

I guess my mentor would be my mother. She was an English professor, taught in both college and in high school, so she would force us to read all these stories in the summertime when other kids were outside playing [laughs]. I mean, I still got to play, but I had to read so many books in the summertime. I had to set aside an hour to read something like The Great Gatsby and then something else the next week. So I always take my mother as my inspiration, because she had me read all these stories, and I always had this wild, vivid imagination because of that, and I think it kind of helped me with acting.


What's your favorite part of the theatrical process?

Believe it or not, because it's probably the opposite of what everyone else says, but my favorite part of the theatrical process is auditioning. I feel like I'm actually great at auditioning because I'm great at adjusting, at playing different characters and I usually sit there and put everything out there at once and say "I can do this, I can do that", so it shows my versatility. So I actually like auditioning, which a lot of people hate.


What's your least favorite part?

Lately, it has actually been opening night, and the reason is sometimes I get such an adrenaline rush that I start hiccuping. I get these wild hiccups and my arms kind of start shaking, and it's only on opening night that this happens. I get this uncontrollable energy that I can't hold down sometimes and it's almost a little bit too much: my body can't take it, so I start hiccuping and I even feel like I might throw up, because the adrenaline is so overwhelming. Once I get settled into the play, a good ten or fifteen minutes in, it goes away, but probably starting an hour before go and running right up til fifteen minutes in, it is wild.


What are some of your favorite past roles?

One would be Troy Maxson, who I played in Fences at the UofM. Another would be Brutus in Julius Caesar that I played at Tennessee State. I really liked playing Banquo. I tend to like playing a lot of Shakespeare, I've noticed. I played Banquo in... ahhh

In "that one"? 

Yeah, in "that one" [laughs]. I'm not superstitious, so I don't mind saying it, but we're around other theatre people, and I don't want to spook them. So I won't say it. The Scottish Play [laughs].


How would you define your style. What do you like to focus on as you prepare a character?

My style is kind of weird, because I always tend to get the characters who are storytellers, which goes back to what I was saying about James Earl Jones. I always felt he was a great storyteller, and I think I kind of modeled him a little bit, so it seems like every role I get, I get these characters who have these long monologues, and I'm always looking at everyone else thinking "Why don't they have long monologues. I always have these long, long monologues." [laughs]. So I always try and go after these monologues first, which sort of shows in my rehearsal process. The monologues I'll have down quick. It's the dialogue, the talking back and forth that is the last thing that I get because I try and get the big stuff out of the way and the short stuff I save till later. That stuff is important, but it's the way I work. I'm actually kind of more comfortable at times with the monologue because I can rely on myself, because it's all me [laughs].


When you're not working with Threepenny Theatre, how do you spend your time?

I'm on the board of a film company called Cellardoor Cinema, and we hold a film fest every year. It's called Unreal Film Fest and we just had our fourth annual festival this past week, Sunday through Wednesday. We concentrate on fantasy movies, sci-fi movies and horror movies. This year they decided "Hey, since Jerry speaks so well, how about you be host", so that was even more I had on my table. I also still do alot of film around the city. So last Saturday, for example, I ended up filming an action movie here in the city, which was fun and interesting. After that, I had to go straight to work [laugh] and then straight from work I had to go home and try and run lines for #blessed, so I'm always busy doing something it seems. I never really have a chance to slow down. Which I am kind of used to. I'm used to having multiple jobs. Like right now, I have three jobs, on top of everything else. It's kind of the reason I don't do a whole lot of live theatre. I'd rather respect the process and the other actors and not lag behind. But with this role, I realized I had the time and I could really do it well, so I said sure.


How do you like the Threepenny process?

I like it, it's different. Because we're not just going "Let's beat this into you. Let's beat this into you." Most theatres will have you just keep running the play and running the play and running the play. Lot's of times I've done shows and they will table-read once or twice and then do a scene once and then just run. Here, we do scene work, individual scene work repeatedly. We don't just run the play over and over. It's more like film in that way. You'll do an individual scene multiple times in rehearsal.

The process can be difficult. I've been doing a lot of film for the last seven years, and I usually try and not do film and live theatre at the same time. Because you'll be doing film and someone will say "you're being too big, bring it in, bring it in" or I'll be doing theatre and the director will say "You're being quiet, we need you a bit brighter", so it's kind of funny how it goes back and forth like that. So I try to not to mix the two... but right now I'm mixing the two and it's working well [laughs].


The "Big" Question: why do you continue to do what you do onstage, and once you are all said and done, what would you like to have accomplished with your art, not just in this show, but in your life?

I really like what I do, because when I was young I realized, like I said, I like performing. I'm not really one of those people who likes attention in real life. I'm still kind of shy. It's weird, theatre has gotten me out of that shyness, but I still have that shyness in me, so I guess you could say it's a way for me to express myself. Because growing up I was always very quiet. I didn't make friends unless you came up to me first. Not that I was stuck up or anything, I was just too shy to go talk to someone. With theatre, the part of me that is not shy, the other part, comes out, so you actually get to see more of my personality in theatre than if we actually sat down and talked [laughs].

As far as my craft, I honestly don't have to be rich or anything like that. I just want to be a steady working actor that can actually pay his bills [laughs] and not have to work in corporate America to make ends meet. I would rather do film or theatre for the rest of my life and actually do it well enough that people will say "Hey, you know that Jerry guy? He's actually pretty good. We should hire him." From there, it would be nice for people to then say "Let's invite him to this school to let him talk about his life", because I've got so many stories about auditions and people I've met and traveling [laughs]. It's a unique process that a lot of people don't go through. Our job is to put joy and laughter and thought in front of other people. Lots of people don't have that. In business, they are always trying to sell you something. They don't care that you're happy, they just want to get that sale across. We actually care that you get it. So I actually like having that control over emotion: being able to make people feel good or really care about something, especially something socially. If there is a play that is topical and makes you think, it's great. Because if you can change just one life, then you've done your job. If you can change one thing about the way a person thinks and open up their mind, I think that's incredible.


Anyone you'd like to send some love out to?

Mom and Dad, I'll always love them. The people I'm working with in this cast. And anyone who reads this and wants to act. Don't be scared, just go and do your best, and it should be enough.


Always be closing. Any final words to people about #blessed?

Very well written. Also, it's one of those things that is eye-opening. Because I believe some of the people in the crowd will see themselves in this play. Some of them will, some of them won't, some of them will be blind to the fact, maybe on purpose. But I think it's going to be an incredible play and people are going to enjoy it and are really going to be shocked by the great acting that we have in it.


 And to wrap up, some quick-fire "Inside the Actor's Studio" questions!

What is your favorite word? Love
What is your least favorite word? Funky
What turns you on: creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Anything that gives me inspiration
What turns you off? Close-minded people and stupidity
What's one thing you love about Memphis? The open-hearted love you can find in this city.
What sound or noise do you love? A crowd cheering
What sound or noise do you hate? A crowd booing
What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt? Computer science
What profession would you not like to do? Cardio-respiratory therapy

Finally, if Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
"My son, you fought through all your trials and tribulation, and now you got to spend eternity with Me."


Thank you, Jerry. Check the blog tomorrow for a video interview with Jillian and Jerry. and check the blog on Monday for a new interview!

Meet the Cast of #blessed: Jillian Barron

As we move in toward #blessed, the first show of our second season (running October 17th - November 2nd at the Evergreen Theatre), we thought it might be fun for everyone to meet the cast. Check out the blog every Monday and Wednesday for Q and A's to help you get to know our company a little bit better!

Jillian Barron - Dana

Hello! What's your name, and what's the role you are playing in #blessed? 

My name is Jillian Barron and I'm playing the role of Dana.


Where are you from ? What do you consider to be your hometown?

I'm from Illinois, and I consider my hometown to be Herrin even though I've moved throughout the state.


What first drew you to acting?

My mom wanted my brothers and I to do some sort of summer camp my eighth grade year. There was a theatre one going on, so I said "That one, let's do it." and now I'm doing plays all the time [laughs]!


Where did you receive your training?

I got my bachelor's degree in theatre performance from Union University.


Who were your mentors? Who do you admire and look up to, either on-stage or in all aspects of your life?

For theatre and acting, I look up to Kevin Anderton. He was a professor of mine at Union, and I also did several shows under his direction. He expanded my approach to acting in ways that I had never even considered. Other than acting, my parents are huge influences on me when it comes to working hard and doing the best at whatever it is I'm doing.


What's your favorite part of the theatrical process?

I love rehearsal [laughs]. I love being able to just dig in and find all the little details in every aspect of whatever show is going on and just getting to explore and try all kinds of things, whether they work or not. I mean I love performing, but once you are performing it's set in stone and I love that part when you're just discovering what is going on.


What's your least favorite part?

Memorizing lines [laughs]. Followed closely by tech rehearsal.


What are some of your favorite past roles?

Catherine in Proof is a definite favorite. Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical, the musical was so much fun. And my role in The Visit, I was The Professor, and it was a very challenging role, so it helped me grow a lot.


How would you define your style. What do you like to focus on as you prepare a character?

I don't think at this point I have a definite approach. I start by just going through the lines and approaching it like I would if it was just me, like if I was just saying that, and from there I try to discover "Who is this person?" because they aren't me. They might be similar to me, but they're not me. So from there I start finding all the different shades and colors to who they are as a person... or an animal... or whatever it is I'm playing [laughs].


When you're not working with Threepenny Theatre, how do you spend your time?

Work... and yoga... and canning food... and that's it [laughs].


How do you like the Threepenny process?

I love it. It's very different from anything I've done here. It reminds me a lot actually of a troupe I was in under Kevin Anderton, in that it was actors doing their own plays for themselves: artists doing art because they love it, not for the sake of "well, we need to get this many people in the seats" or "we need to be sure to make this much money" or "we need to make sure we win these awards and are recognized for this." We're just doing it because we love to do it, and I think it's very freeing in that sense, and you get a lot of great talent that you can work with and just work off of each other and just grow stronger. I love it.


The "Big" Question: why do you continue to do what you do onstage, and once you are all said and done, what would you like to have accomplished with your art, not just in this show, but in your life?

For me, on maybe the most basic of levels, it's a great emotional release because in so many aspects of our life you have to be a certain "face". You have to be "pleasant". You have to be "happy". You can't really show everything else that is going on inside of you because that's not "OK" or "PC". Someone saying "You are the face of this business, or this school, or this company." By doing theatre I get to explore all sorts of emotional aspects of myself and also of the human nature that I otherwise wouldn't get to fully experience.

Big picture, throughout my career I would love to have been able to give enough for other people to take what I have given artistically and keep going with it. Whether that's in direct contact in a play, like just being able to give a fellow actor something to keep playing with and to remember and use with somebody else. Indirectly, for someone who sees something I was in, I want to give them something to take with them: to give them a little grain of something that makes them think.


Anyone you'd like to send some love out to?

Shout out to mom and dad, I love you. Colt Dixon, you keep me grounded. Heather Nicholas, you keep me alive for theatre. Mike and Davis, you help feed me [laughs]. And anyone else who takes the time to say "hello" [laughs].


Always be closing. Any final words to people about #blessed?

It is a really fun, modern interpretation of a timeless classic.


 And to wrap up, some quick-fire "Inside the Actor's Studio" questions!

What is your favorite word? Knickerbocker
What is your least favorite word? Decision
What turns you on: creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Hans Zimmer
What turns you off? P.C. bologna
What's one thing you love about Memphis? Overton Square
What sound or noise do you love? a wooden bat hitting a baseball
What sound or noise do you hate? ice cubes rubbing together
What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt? Yoga instructor
What profession would you not like to do? Tax accounting

Finally, if Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
"Good job" [laughs]


Thank you, Jillian. Check the blog on Wednesday for another interview!

Video Interview: Dani and Jared talk about #blessed

You've read their bios, now listen to their sweet melodic voices as Jared Graham and Danielle Carr talk about their characters in #blessed!

#blessed - Jared and Dani

Meet the cast of #blessed: Danielle Carr

As we move in toward #blessed, the first show of our second season (running October 17th - November 2nd at the Evergreen Theatre), we thought it might be fun for everyone to meet the cast. Check out the blog every Monday and Wednesday for Q and A's to help you get to know our company a little bit better!

Danielle Carr - Mother Parnelle

Hello! What's your name, and what's the role you are playing in #blessed? 

My name is Danielle Carr and I am playing Mother Parnelle.


Where are you from ? What do you consider to be your hometown?

Well I was born in Dallas, TX, but I was raised in Memphis from the time I was a year old, so I would definitely consider Memphis, TN to be my hometown.


What first drew you to acting?

I was always a performer as a kid. I sang in choirs and I loved getting on stage for school plays, so it was always a natural progression. There was a community production of The Princess Bride at Ewing Children's Theatre, so I auditioned for that, since it was my favorite movie when I was eleven, and I got cast as Vizzini in that, so I got to be the little Italian man [laughs]. After that, I just never really stopped. I think what drew me to it is that as a kid I wanted to be everything. I never really wanted  to, you know how some kids are like "I wanted to be a veterinarian my whole life" or "I wanted to be an astronaut my whole"?  I wanted to be absolutely everything, and acting seemed like the way that I could do that. That I could live every single thing that I ever wanted to do.


Where did you receive your training?

My training I received from the University of Memphis. I have my B.F.A. in Theatre Performance from the UofM. I graduated magna cum laude.


Who were your mentors? Who do you admire and look up to, either on-stage or in all aspects of your life?

Definitely my parents, and specifically with my acting mentors I look up to Anita Jo Lenhart and Sarah Brown. They were my teachers in college and have continued to inspire me throughout the years. Personal life mentor is definitely Angela Massengale.


What's your favorite part of the theatrical process?

I love the moments when you finally get it. Where you're trying to figure out a character and you can't crack them yet. It's always an organic process and with a director like Matt, he really helps you into a situation where you can explore and explore and try, and fail, and it's fine, and then there's finally that moment when you get it and you're like, "This is what they're doing, this is why they did it. It's not about what I think it has been about. It's something completely different." It's those moment of clarity within a character. That's the best part for me.


What's your least favorite part?

Memorizing lines [laughs]. Definitely memorizing lines.


What are some of your favorite past roles?

Most assuredly Titania and Hippolyta from A Midsummer Night's Dream. I loved doing that show. I also really loved Juror #4 in 12 Angry Jurors. I got to do that show in college and it was definitely a favorite.


How would you define your style. What do you like to focus on as you prepare a character?

I would define it... I don't know if there is really a word, but I definitely like to focus on back-story because it's the choices that you make leading to the moment that you step on stage that define who you are there in that present moment. So back-story is always very important to me. It doesn't even matter the role, I like to know where they are coming from. Every single time I step on the stage I like to know where they've been and what they've been doing.


When you're not working with Threepenny Theatre, how do you spend your time?

I work at Germantown Community Theatre. I love it there! I also read a lot, and I love to sing.


How do you like the Threepenny process?

I love it. I love the Threepenny process. Like I said earlier, Matt is really able to guide you on the path to where you feel comfortable enough to explore. You don't ever feel like you're going to be judged for trying something different, and it's that comfortableness and it's that level of being able to be creative that is so enticing and so freeing.


The "Big" Question: why do you continue to do what you do onstage, and once you are all said and done, what would you like to have accomplished with your art, not just in this show, but in your life?

I continue to do what I do because I love it. I don't want to do anything else. I want to be an actress. I want to perform, and I can't see myself not performing. I do other things in my spare time, but it's always about this. It's always about performing. That's why I keep doing it. With this show and with acting in general: I've always wanted to make people think. I've always wanted to entertain people to where they don't just leave a show having had a good time, but also leave a show with something really in their minds. Something that they really enjoyed, that really stood out to them, and so I want my own acting to be really thought-provoking, to open people's eyes.


Anyone you'd like to send some love out to?

My parents and my family. My friends Elaine and Angela, both Angelas, Drew and Chris. Everybody in Threepenny and everybody at Germantown Community Theatre. I love everyone [laughs].


Always be closing. Any final words to people about #blessed?

Come see it! It's going to be a great time. It's going to be so funny. You're not going to know what hit you.


 And to wrap up, some quick-fire "Inside the Actor's Studio" questions!

What is your favorite word? Fish.
What is your least favorite word? Moist
What turns you on: creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Discovery
What turns you off? Close-mindedness
What sound or noise do you love? City-scapes, the sound of the city at night.
What sound or noise do you hate? Tapping, people who tap their fingers on things
What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt? Publishing or editing
What profession would you not like to do? Anything to do with government.

Finally, if Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
"You did a good job. You did the best you could."


Thank you, Danielle. Check the blog tomorrow for a video interview with Danielle and Jared. and check the blog on Monday for a new interview!

Meet the cast of #blessed: Jared Graham

As we move in toward #blessed, the first show of our second season (running October 17th - November 2nd at the Evergreen Theatre), we thought it might be fun for everyone to meet the cast. Check out the blog every Monday and Wednesday for Q and A's to help you get to know our company a little bit better!

Jared Graham - Orson

Hello! What's your name, and what's the role you are playing in #blessed? 

My name is Jared Graham. I'm playing Orson Parnelle.


Where are you from ? What do you consider to be your hometown?

I grew up in middle Tennessee in a town called Tullahoma. I lived there for 18 years, and now my folks reside in a town about 15 miles from there called Manchester, where they hold Bonnaroo every summer, so that's where I go home to visit now.


What first drew you to acting?

The attention [laughs]. I did a school play when I was in the third grade and got to play an evil mayor type and just loved the reaction of the audience, so I just kept at if from age seven on.


Where did you receive your training?

A few places. I graduated from the University of Memphis with a B.F.A. in 2008. Before that I had actually studied a year at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky. I spent a year at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York doing conservatory training there and I also got to spend a semester at the Accademia Dell'Arte in Arezzo, Italy before I graduated with my B.F.A. Post-graduate, I went back to the Accademia Dell'Arte and earned my M.F.A. in physical theatre.


Who were your mentors? Who do you admire and look up to, either on-stage or in all aspects of your life?

Real or imaginary [laughs]? I had a lot of really great instructors in Italy that have really kind of changed the way I think and feel about art in general. Scott McGehee was really one of the first people who challenged me to think about what "making art" means in a social and a political context, so ever since taking his courses I've had a deeper appreciation for the role of art and what part the things I can create play in that larger role. Michele Bottini was my acting teacher. He taught us Commedia dell'Arte and really expanded our minds on what it means to be a physical actor or any kind of actor and the kind of awareness and training that goes along with it: the fine tuning of the body that goes into a well rounded actor. Susan Chrietzberg at the U of M was one of my early influences and I really loved all the classes she provided. I took mask-making with her. That was my first experience making masks, which I still do. Movement classes, stage combat: she was a very influential person in the University's program at the time that I was there and she wrote my letter of recommendation when I was applying for grad school, so I've always been very appreciative of her.


What's your favorite part of the theatrical process?

The rehearsal room. Trying new things and seeing if they stick.


What's your least favorite part?

Auditions [laughs].


What are some of your favorite past roles?

One of my earliest, actually my first Shakespeare role was Mercutio (from Romeo and Juliet)  and I'd love the opportunity to play him again. Ensign Pulver from Mister Roberts was a real favorite. Peter Quince (from A Midsummer Night's Dream) is a lot of fun. Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing is also a really fun one.


How would you define your style. What do you like to focus on as you prepare a character?

Well, having a master's in physical theatre, I like to approach my character from a physical standpoint first: how he stands, holds his shoulders, if he's got good posture or bad posture, his age, the weight of the character. I really concentrate on making those decisions first, so I can feel the character in my body and let everything else kind of stem from that.


When you're not working with Threepenny Theatre, how do you spend your time?

Well, I work my make-money job from 8-5, so that takes up a lot of time, but what I love to do in my free time, which I don't have much of, is comic books, video games, art, I draw when I have the opportunity and I watch a lot of TV series [laughs].


How do you like the Threepenny process?

This is my first experience with the Threepenny process and so far I really enjoy it. I think spending a good amount of time with the text before getting on our feet informs a lot of decisions that happen in the rehearsal room. So far the training we've been doing has been beneficial, I think, for myself and for the other members of the cast. I've been privileged to be able to teach the Elemental Body Alignment System (EBAS) to this cast, and I think incorporating large amounts of training into the process is going to be really beneficial for the company as a whole.


The "Big" Question: why do you continue to do what you do onstage, and once you are all said and done, what would you like to have accomplished with your art, not just in this show, but in your life?

When it's all said and done, I want to have inspired and taught others. I want to share the knowledge and technique that I have acquired and continue to expand it throughout my life and hope that I've been able to share my ideas with others who inspire me and, hopefully, have taken some inspiration from me.


Anyone you'd like to send some love out to?

My folks: Tony and Debi Graham, they have supported me every step of the process, probably more than I deserved, and I couldn't be a luckier boy to have them for parents.


Always be closing. Any final words to people about #blessed?

Just come see it. It's going to be a lot of fun.


 And to wrap up, some quick-fire "Inside the Actor's Studio" questions!

What is your favorite word? Onomatopoeic
What is your least favorite word? Moist
What turns you on: creatively, spiritually or emotionally? Seeing others dive into their work and take risks.
What turns you off? People who think they have all the answers.
What sound or noise do you love? Nature, the sounds of the forest
What sound or noise do you hate? Yappy dogs.
What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt? Comic book artist
What profession would you not like to do? Sales of any kind.

Finally, if Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
"We've got an open mic night starting up in an hour... and we need a M.C."


Thank you, Jared. Check the blog on Wednesday for another interview!