Actress Profile: Grace Farley

Grace Farley, sophomore, transferred to Presentation this year from Saint Francis. An active member of the theater program at her former school, Farley auditioned for the 2009 fall musical “Crazy for You” and landed the lead role. The show opened Saturday Nov. 7

The Voice: When did you first become interested in acting?

GF: “My first show was in sixth grade. I had wanted to do it for a while, and we lived next to a family who was into it too. The dad was the musical director for CMT. So I started trying out and now I’ve done seven CMT shows. It’s addicting! 

The Voice: Did you discover your talent for singing or acting first? If you had to chose, which would you say you enjoy more?

GF: “I discovered my talent for acting first. I wasn’t really very confident in singing at first. But I eventually learned during the production of “Oklahoma”, which was my second show. Then I realized how much I love to sing, and now they are equally important to me.”

The Voice: Have you ever received any formal training in acting or did you just sort of learn as you went along?

GF: “I just sort of learned from the other actors I have worked with as I went along. I’ve also tried to learn from my favorite film actors as well. Some of the big-name actors I especially admire are Anna Hathaway and Julie Andrews, because she can also sing along with acting. Jack Black I have also always found inspiring because he is so bold.”

The Voice: What’s your favorite genre to perform in? (Comedy, drama, etc.)

GF: “I have never really done straight drama or straight up comedy; I’ve always done CMT before. But I love musicals because I can express myself in so many ways. It’s fun to have the chance to sing and act at the same time. So musicals are my favorite.”

The Voice: What is the most challenging role you ever had to play?

GF: “The most challenging role I’ve ever been cast in was probably the play called “Babes in Arms”. I played this crazy woman reporter, and I totally just had to put it all out there. That was the first time I’ve ever had a role like that, and it really helped get me out of my shell a little bit and made me more comfortable onstage. It was one of my favorite shows.

The Voice: What was your favorite play you’ve done so far?

GF: “I would have to say that my favorite show was the third one I did for CMT called Annie Warbucks. It was the sequel to “Annie”.

The Voice: Have you ever thought about Broadway?

GF: “Yeah, definitely. I mean, I think that’s every young actor’s dream. So I’ve definitely thought about it, but I also know that it’s a big risk; very few people make it. And there also isn’t a whole lot of publicity around plays, but I’d love to be in movies because people like that can use their fame to make a difference.”

The Voice: What career path would you chose if you do not pursue acting?

GF: “I’m not sure. I’ve thought about teaching or maybe getting into politics. It would also be fun to be a teacher for drama, or maybe come back and direct plays one day.

The Voice: What are the most challenging parts of being an actress? The most rewarding?

GF: “The best experience is just being up there and seeing the audience. It’s great having people clap for you and having friends come to see you with flowers. There’s so much work put into it that when the audience claps for you it feels like all that work has paid off.”

The Voice: How did you master singing and dancing at the same time?

GF:  “I’ve never really danced a lot in a show until now, but it’s just mainly learning the steps and putting all the pieces together as you go.”

The Voice: Can you give us a head’s up about what “Crazy for You” is about?

GF: “It’s about a mother who sends her son to a town called Dead Rock Nevada so that he can foreclose his father’s theater. But he winds up falling in love with my character, who finds out that he’s about to close their theater. It’s a pretty complicated plotline! But it’s going to be a cool experience because it will be my first time in a lead role.”

The Voice: What’s it like to be in the lead for the first time?

GF: “I’ve never had this kind of part, and I’ve never had the lead before either. There are a lot of lines to memorize, but it’s so fun. I get to do an accent for the first time, which is interesting. My character’s just really fun. She’s sort of tom-boyish and country.”

The Voice: “How does the theater program at Presentation compare to the one at Saint Francis?”

GF: “I only performed in the gym at Saint Francis, so I never really was in the theater. So it wasn’t as nice as this one! I also think I have more fun doing theater here. But at Saint Francis there are an equal number of boys and girls. But here at Pres we’re always looking for boys! And Mr. Houle is really different, but totally cool! And everyone’s really nice here.”

Simply SnipITS

The curtains of the Valenzuela Theater opened upon two angels dressed in white shirts, black pants, halos and wings who were plotting over the lives of the humans they were about to create.

“So, women get to have the offspring.”

“The males will be really jealous.”

“So there has to be some kind of trade-off…like make it really painful…”

So began Simply SnipITS, a collection of scenes performed and directed by students. The International Thespian Society, or ITS, performs SnipITS each year with different themes.

This year had the distinction of a performance of an original scene written by Presentation seniors Jennifer Greenfield, Jacquelyn Pass and Kaitlyn Jensen. “The Greatest Play. Ever” centered around three American girls stuck with French actors who mistakenly believe that they must finish writing a play by morning, with hilarious results. “We started by brainstorming about the weirdest things that had ever happened to us,” explained Greenfield. “We figured that people always say, ‘Write about what you know.’ We know about weird and wacky stuff, and it just sort of evolved from there.”

Other scenes included Barbie and Ken, Semi-Superheroes and much more. Though the show was directed on only by students, they put together an entertaining night for viewers. “Directing a scene myself was challenging because it was just me, but I was able to get lots of input from the actors, which made the scene that much better,” said ITS officer and senior Nicki Affonso-McMorrow.

ITS will be performing many shows throughout the year; the ITS concert will be taking place at 7:30 in the Valenzuela Theater on October 1. Be sure to come and watch the talent of the Presentation actresses!

The Laramie Project Comes to Pres

As a 16-year-old sophomore in Acting II, I had never heard of The Laramie Project before. Why anyone would make a movie about a small town in Wyoming was beyond my wildest imagination, so as the movie began, I sat back and relaxed, fully prepared to catch up on some much needed shut eye. Forty-five minutes later, I was on the edge of my seat with watery eyes, cursing the bell for ringing so soon.

It was 50 days before his 22nd birthday when Matthew Shepherd was murdered. Beaten, tied to a fence and left for dead by fellow Laramie residents, Shepherd was the victim of a hate crime against gays. Moisés Kaufman and the members of New York’s Tectonic Theater Project follow the stories and opinions of Laramie residents as they struggle with their attitudes toward the crime and share their own personal experiences. An intense drama, The Laramie Project delves into the minds of these small town residents as they express their feelings toward Shepherd, homosexuality, the death penalty and religion.

When I heard we were doing The Laramie Project here at Presentation, nobody had to convince me to audition. Having fallen in love with the movie already, I was thrilled that we were able to perform a play concerning such controversial issues as homosexuality and the death penalty.

From a theater perspective, The Laramie Project was unique, because we performed it on the round with the audience on stage surrounding the performers. This intimate performance was personal and easier to follow than a major production. Since the play has a large number of characters, each member of the cast played multiple people, using individual props to help the audience distinguish between characters.

While the unique set-up made things more interesting, it also posed some new challenges for the actors. The cast had to work with very limited space, which was especially difficult when four larger than life angels paraded onstage, huge wings and all. Also, each character always had his/her back to someone, which made projection one of the key elements to the performance.

Although there is no winner or loser at the end of the play, people walk out of the theater feeling like they’ve won something. There is a new sense of compassion towards not only the family and friends of Matthew, but everybody involved, from the cops and the bartenders to the defendants and their families.

Reflecting on the meaning behind the play, I realized that we were not so much trying to change anyone’s opinions as we were trying to give the human perspective of an unthinkable crime. As Laramie resident Roulin Stacy puts it, “I guess I just didn’t realize the magnitude with which some people hate.”