DJ Q&A

SE: I grew up mostly in San Jose. I attended River Glen, a Spanish immersion school, from kindergarten through eighth grade. I went to Bellarmine College Prep (go Bells) for high school, and from Bellarmine I went to Boston University’s College of Fine Arts where I got my BFA in Theater Arts. I moved to NYC after a brief stint in L.A. after college. I felt if I didn’t go to New York then, in my early 20s, I might never. As an actor and artist, but also as a human, it was an experience I really wanted.

DJ: What was the first live show you saw?

SE: Oh, man. I am not exactly sure, but I definitely saw lots of San Francisco Shakespeare Festival performances outdoors at the Memorial Park Amphitheater in Cupertino as a very young kid and they loom large in my mind as some of the first theater I ever saw. We would go with my grandmother and bring blankets, beach chairs, snacks, the whole deal, and they were such fun nights. I remember going back a bit older after my sisters were born and the experience shifting from something I was taking in as a child to something I wanted to be a part of as a teen.

DJ: What made you decide to be an actor?

SE: I don’t know if I ever decided, so much as it never occurred to me (at least seriously) to do anything else. That, I think, is the experience for a lot of actors. When I first came to the arts as a kid, it was simply that nothing came close to the feeling it gave me.

DJ: Your first acting classes?

SE: The very first? Many, many youth summer theater camps around the Bay Area, lovingly funded and chauffeured to by my parents when they realized I was stricken with this affliction. Also, big shout outs to the amazing Children’s Musical Theater of San Jose, which, after a summer camp there, became my first artistic home for almost 10 years, as well as to the Theater Department at Bellarmine where I learned skills that still serve me and I got to tackle material rarely presented at the high school level.

DJ: Are there teachers you would like to acknowledge?

SE: The entire theater as well as the speech and debate departments at Bellarmine, who supported, challenged and tolerated me. Looking back, my appreciation for the lessons learned there has only increased with time. I was very lucky to have Kim Jones and Russ Marcel and Peter Canavese and many other educators there as mentors. At BU, the late, great John Lipsky’s teachings will stay with me forever, and Elaine Vaan Hogue and Christine Hamel’s work had transformative effects on me, and I am deeply grateful for their encouragement.

DJ: How were you cast in “To Kill a Mockingbird”?

SE: I was the audition reader for the first year this production was on Broadway, i.e. the scene partner for those called in to audition for it. A year into that I asked if I could audition, and the generous, supportive casting directors who oversee TKM agreed. After auditions for them and the creative team, I was offered my current job in the Broadway production. However, this was in January of 2020, and a few weeks before I would have joined the Broadway cast, COVID shut down Broadway and the world. Two years and many false starts later, here I am on the tour. A wild and challenging road to it, but a deeply memorable and important one.

DJ: How long will you be on tour?

SE: Through the beginning of July 2023, 66 weeks! Whew.

DJ: Tell about your character.

SE: I’m in the ensemble and play the bailiff and a townsperson and understudy Horace Gilmer, Bob Ewell, Mr. Cunningham and Boo Radley. So, one of the biggest parts of my job is staying ready to go on in different roles with short notice. This does, and has happened, for me and many of the other understudies, and it is terrifying, exhilarating and very special each time. Sort of an actor’s dream and nightmare all at once.

DJ: How does the reality of touring differ from what you thought it would be?

SE: A big aspect of this particular tour experience is that we are taking this specific story around this specific country at this moment in our history. And while we talked about the significance of that in rehearsals, living it has been a powerful and memorable part of the experience. Otherwise, tour is simultaneously more wonderful and more exhausting than anticipated.

DJ: Do cast members socialize during their off time?

SE: We do! We are extraordinarily lucky with this group. It is a remarkably supportive, positive and warm collective of artists, which I think we are all the more grateful for given the charged, sensitive nature of the material. We have to be somewhat cautious outside of work due to the continuing COVID protocols in our industry, but we do find time to be together and build community.

DJ: What would you tell someone who is not familiar with the stage production of “To Kill a Mockingbird”?

SE: That it honors the original piece and reaffirms why it is an iconic piece of American folklore, but also expertly adjusts the knobs to a more contemporary tune. It is accessible, with more levity than you might expect. It is faithful to what made the novel so significant, while offering new significance. So, whether you adore the novel or are encountering this story for the first time, you will connect to the piece.

DJ: Has your family seen you in this production?

SE: They have! My parents waited as long to see me in it as I did to do it, so they made it out for one of our first stops in Boston, which was very special, especially for them to see me do it in Boston where I first left home for to study theater.

“TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD” PARTICULARS: Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s masterwork “To Kill a Mockingbird” may be seen at the Golden Gate Theatre. 1 Taylor St. San Francisco from Sept. 13 to Oct. 9. Recommended for ages 12+. No children under 5 allowed. Running time of two hours and 35 minutes includes one intermission. Ticket information at https://www.broadwaysf.com/

Susan Cohn is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle and the American Theatre Critics Association. She may be reached at susan@smdailyjournal.com.