You starred in our production of SHIRLEY VALENTINE and took on a huge responsibility in that solo show. What’s it like taking on a role that massive again?

Well, let me first say that I am honored to have the opportunity to bring Vivienne to life. Also, not having to cook an entire supper on stage (as Shirley did) is a big change for this go-round!

But this is not a one-woman play. It is a beautifully unique, layered ensemble piece where one person does a lot of the talking.

How do you prep for a role like this one?

I prepped for this role pretty much like I do for every role…it just took longer. First, I read through the script several times and discovered as much about Vivienne, her family, and her relationships as I could just from the text.

I did some research and talked to medical professionals, care givers, and family members dealing with Alzheimer’s.

Then, of course, I spent a couple of months before rehearsals began pounding the lines into my aging brain. This is important because the real work of rehearsal—the discovery of the character, the relationships, and the story--can’t happen with a script in hand.

And the rehearsal process was amazing. This play has become something entirely different—larger, more engaging, and more delightful—than I ever expected. And that’s thanks to Jordan’s vision and Sarah and Nick’s joyful creativity.

What is Vivienne all about? How would you describe her as a person? Any particular insights as you begin this process?

Vivienne is “all that.” She’s bright and articulate, efficient and effective, and used to being in control of her life.She’s loving, creative and a problem-solver. The conflict revealed by the play is her sudden inability to predict, to solve, to control this significant obstacle in her life.

But that’s not all.She also loves her mother, and she’s losing her. And, despite the anguish and anxiety and anger that come in turns, she’s trying desperately to keep on smiling.

What do you like most about this play?

I love Vivienne’s sense of humor that is revealed through her story telling, her loving commitment to family—I just really like her as a person. I also love the idea of using creative myth-making as a coping or healing process.

How would you to describe this play to our audience?

The script is lovely, articulate and creative. But the script is not all. There are layers of story “telling” that are multi-dimensional, that will engage you in unexpected ways…and will leave you smiling through (just a few) tears.

What would you like them to leave thinking/ talking about?

I’m guessing that we’ll have many audience members for whom Vivienne’s story is familiar—who may be currently coping with some of these same challenges.I’d like them to leave feeling heard and understood, and determined to be kind to themselves.

I’d also like them to pat themselves on the back for supporting Vermont Stage’s commitment to new playwrights!

How would you describe your character? Any particular insights as you begin this process?

Gray Mole is blind. And he loves to burrow. He has an incredible ability to sense the world around him and a lyrical way of describing it. He can be extremely shy at first, but eventually warms to his surroundings.

How do you prep for a role like this one or roles you have played in general?

I always start with research. And I must say, this role has been especially fun to unearth. I have read a great deal about this tiny, velvety insectivorous mammal. Thanks to Fletcher Free Library, Google, and YouTube, I am well-versed in this fascinating fur ball. Videos have proven to be particularly effective when exploring the shape, gesture, movement, and rhythm of this character. I am aware that I will not fully uncover Gray Mole in books and Google searches, however, I find that research gives me a rich foundation of specificity from which to build the character. The more vivid the palate, the more vivid portrait.

What do you like most about this play? Like least?

Blackberry Winter is not a true story, but one that is truthful. It is fearless in its language and singular in its telling. I admire plays that don't look or feel like anything I've ever seen before.  

I confess that I did not like the way this play ended when I read it. It felt incomplete. I wanted more. But, as any thespian knows, a play is not meant to be read, but to be performed. I finally saw the last scene performed by the brilliant Karen Lefkoe at the end our first week, and it took my breath away. Now, I get it.

How would you to describe this play to our audience? Thematic elements? Style, etc.?

It's a one-woman-show plus. The White Egret and Gray Mole are merely players in Vivienne's world. In terms of its tone, this play is unabashed. It's poetic. It's real. It's witty. It's wise. It is heartbreaking and uplifting and everything in between.

What would you like them to leave thinking/ talking about?

As Vivienne is processing a harsh realization toward the end of the play, she speaks a line of text that I quickly underlined, highlighted, and repeated out loud when I came upon it for the first time: "Let me never wish away a moment of this life." I have not yet zeroed in on precisely what playwright, Steve Yockey, is saying with this play, but that line will be my takeaway.

How would you describe your character? Any particular insights as you begin this process?

The White Egret, in many ways for me, is representational of Vivienne's hope. She is optimistic about the future because she believes she has control. As long as she has control, and everyone gets along, she can't even imagine harm coming to the world. In so many ways I think the White Egret represents the parts of ourselves that so long to hold onto the innocence of health before it is lost to any disease; that moment when we aren't recognizing just how marvelously we feel because we have not yet begun to feel its decline. She is both the rouser of social society in the forest of our minds, and the still and peaceful caregiver of our memories.

How do you prep for a role like this one or roles you have played in general?

I feel as though I have been preparing for this role for years, as I have been an avid watcher of the cousin of the White Egret, the Great Blue Heron. Their poise and patience have always drawn me in and while camping or canoeing during the summer months, I have been known to spend half an hour or more simply watching one bird on the shores of a lake as it goes about its daily practice of hunting, sunning, and acting statue. In this case, I also watched lots of National Geographic videos of white egrets and read up on Audubon's writings on the birds (he apparently found them to be good eating!).

What do you like most about this play?

The opportunity to create another world - a world within the mind of the main character AND within the shared world of our theatrical space. Where are we in this play? I'll leave the audience to answer that. What I like least is the reality that so many of us will recognize our family's story in Vivienne's tale ... I know that after just a week of rehearsals, Karen has already given so much truth to the struggle of losing a loved one to Alzheimer's that it is hard for me not to have images of my own Grandmother floating in my mind's eye as I enter the stage. 

How would you describe this play to our audience?

This one is tricky. It is not exactly a series of monologues, but it's not exactly not that either. I've been telling folks that it's essentially a one-woman show, with the assistance of some animal friends and a little myth-making. The story of a very human struggle with the gradual decline of a parent's health, a parent's presence, a mom losing her mom to a disease that doesn't make sense. In the midst of all this, we discover the ways that our experiences may be mirrored in nature and that taking any part of our world, internal or external, for granted does not bode well for our own wellbeing. 

What would you like them to leave thinking/ talking about?

I would like audience members to leave thinking about the ways they prioritize their lives right now. How can we all make the most of each moment - live the prosperous spring the White Egret so desires - each day so that no moment is truly "lost" even if the memories of it are. Oh, and go ask the people in your life who are entering their later years all the questions you've wanted to know about the life of theirs you never got to see. Learn from one another. And find joy.