We love our guest artists, and what we do would not be possible without them! Recently, we asked Guest Artists Diane Kondrat (“Clara” in The New Electric Ballroom), Larry Larsen (Scenic Designer for Mr. Kolpert), and Kelly Cullom (Stage Manager for Mr. Kolpert) to shed light on life, their work and more!
TR: To begin with, let’s talk about what truly matters in life: super powers. What’s a super power you wish you had?
DIANE: I’d like to instantly cleanse water.
TR: Nice! How about a real super-talent that might surprise folks?
KELLY: Knitting. I taught myself through videos online – which doesn’t sound as cool out loud as I hoped. It sounds more like what you’d expect from a knitter stereotype. If someone said that to me I’d imagine they live in a home rampant with cats.
LARRY:I secretly want to be a rock star vocalist. I am a pretty good singer. I am also an amazing dessert chef and I make an incredible Tiramisu.
TR: Fantastic, we may draw on that skill at our next cast party! Speaking of, can you talk a little about the Third Rail shows you’ve been involved with, and why?
LARRY: Mr. Kolpert was a play that I gave to my Scene Design 1 students at University of Portland. They loved the script. I wasn’t sure, but it was the strong connection to the characters Raff and Sarah that convinced me that there was a really strong message for their generation. A generation that has so much stimulation from every front that they understand what it means to want to feel real emotion. It was an eye opening realization for my perception of this script.
KELLY: I am drawn to join the team because of the work Third Rail brings to the stage and the people who put it on. It’s engaging theatre – which is satisfying professionally and creatively – and the people are so swell that it’s a pleasure to be here every day and sometimes at odd hours. Theatre is a labor of love and so you’d better love what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with.
TR: Is there a favorite quote or event that has happened in rehearsal?
DIANE: Jennifer Lin told us about reading that children who had survived a communal traumatic incident were witnessed telling and retelling the story of the trauma from different perspectives, trying to process the event.
KELLY: I keep a “quote of the day” section in my rehearsal reports for the daily occasion when someone says something deeply connected to the play, or something goofy. What I love is that the other artists who are on the distribution list of the reports (and are often not in the rehearsal room) will respond to the quote. I like to think it helps them feel even more connected to the group.
TR: Lovely, thank you so much for your time!
You can see images of Mr. Kolpert (and Larry Larsen’s beautiful set!) here: Mr. Kolpert
You can see Diane Kondrat as Clara in The New Electric Ballroom April 8-30th.