Today we spend time getting to know our token 'gringa', Laura L. Watson, who is a
familiar face to the Rose Marine theatre having been seen onstage recently in the American Classics production of A View From The Bridge. Laura interestingly enough is playing a Christian missionary in The Fifth Sun and has actually in her own life been a missionary! Hear her fascinating story!
Production Name: The Fifth Sun
Actor’s Name : Laura L. Watson
Character Name: Anne Dunn, the nun
·
Born
& Raised: I was born in Oklahoma City and raised in
Southwest Fort Worth. I consider myself a Texan because I was just a few weeks
old when I got here. I learned to walk and talk here, so I’m a Texan.
·
Education: I
graduated from Southwest High School here in Fort Worth, then went to the
University of North Texas in Denton, and after spending several years overseas,
I came back and spent a summer at Circle in the Square Conservatory in NYC. I
recently signed up to study online with Coursera classes (www.coursera.org).
I continue my acting training with Arthur Morton as my private acting and voice
coach, Don Shook acting/scene study, and classical singing with SallyPage Stuck.
·
Degree: I hold B.A.s in History, Theater and
Journalism from the University of North Texas.
·
Zodiac
Sign: I don’t know. Oct.
2
·
Any
Siblings: I have one
biological sister, and I was “adopted” while living overseas, so I have 3
brothers in China, and one brother and one sister in Romania.
·
Audition
Song: I sing “Down in the Valley”, a folk song, for
most of my auditions that request a song. It’s the lullaby my Daddy sings to
me. Other selections include “Don’t You Know God’s Always Loved You”, “Let’s
Misbehave”, “Moonglow”, and “On My Own”. I rarely audition for musicals.
·
Audition
Monologue: I have 15
monologues I can use at any time, but my favorite go to one is Billie from Women
of Manhattan by John Patrick Shanley “I want to be in a movie.”
·
First
Play/Musical You Ever Saw: I vaguely remember seeing the Wizard
of Oz at Casa Manana when I was about 4. The roof of the house flew above
me, and I’ve been sold on live theater ever since.
·
Something
you’re REALLY bad at:
Punctuality. But I ALWAYS call, text, or email so you don’t wonder where I am.
And yes, I’m working on it.
·
Did
you have any particular mentors or inspirations when first starting out? My sister Brittney who said “Just do it
already!” and then drove me to my first audition when I was 26 years old.
·
Must
See TV Show: I currently watch Criminal Minds every
day on ION. I stayed up until 3 and 4 in the morning every night of the
Olympics. But, without a doubt, if I could only have one TV series to watch
ever, it would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
·
Why
you work in theatre: I want to tell stories worth telling well in
a way that glorifies God and makes a difference in the world. I strongly
believe in theater for social, political, and spiritual change.
·
First
Role: I was the fourth Baby Bumble Bee in the
Kindergarden recital, then Helen Keller in Miracle Worker in my 4th
Grade class play, and my first professional gig was as Lampito in Lysistrata
with Fight Boy Theater in Denton, Texas.
·
Favorite
Play: Oh geez…
·
Pop
Culture Guilty Pleasure: My pop culture guilty pleasure is Facebook.
·
Favorite
sport/team/player: I have
three sports I follow religiously (and I follow EVERYTHING during the Olympic
Games. Been an Olympic junkie since 1996.) Figure Skating- Michelle Kwan.
Baseball-Nolan Ryan Gymnastics- Kerri Strug (the girl who landed on one foot
after tearing her achilles tendon on the first vault to win gold in 1996.)
·
First
Stage Kiss: The first kiss in front of other people (not
during a game of truth or dare) was in scene study class at UNT. I kissed Lamar
Brown as Hal in a scene from Proof. He tasted like cherry lip gloss. I
am, to this date, the only girl he has ever kissed. He just leaned over my
shoulder and said “Or will ever.” The
first time I was paid to kiss someone else I kissed Rey Torres as Juanito in 24
Hours of Love at MBS Productions.
·
Pre
Show Rituals: I do an extensive one hour physical and vocal
warm up before most other people arrive, and then I spend about 30 minutes on
hair and makeup. I put my costume on during the curtain speech because that
last minute RUSH to finish gets me all excited.
·
Special
Skills: My special skills
are I speak 5 languages, I do a variety of voices and accents, and I am willing
to learn ANYTHING. (Very, very sad I have to wait until November to go to
circus school like the Mayan gods did. I mean- CIRCUS SCHOOL!)
·
MAC
or PC: PC.
·
"I'll
never understand why…" : I’ll never understand why people get on the toll roads, whose speed
limit is 70, and drive less than 70. We are PAYING for the PRIVILEDGE of
driving faster. MOVE.
·
Any
Theatre Superstitions: No superstitions, but if I know someone has a
superstition, I try to honor it. (Break a leg, no reviews in the theater,
calling it the Scottish play, etc.) I will say that I never read a review until
the show closes, which is more about keeping my focus on my director’s wishes
than a superstition.
·
Worst
Costume Ever: Worse
costume ever? One word: corset.
·
Favorite
Post Show Meal: CUPCAKES. I must eat cake after a show.
·
Favorite
liquid refreshment (adult or other): Dublin Doctor Pepper made with real sugar cane and/or Jamba Juice peach
pleasure smoothie with added blueberries. I’ve been known to drink a Cape Cod
now and then. I can also put away flavored Smirnof at an impressive rate.
·
Favorite
ice cream : Cookies and
Cream Ice Cream from Braum’s or Blue Bell. If I must, I’ll settle for a
Butterfinger Blizzard from DQ.
·
Biggest
On Stage Mishap: Once, during some fight choreography in a
rather violent scene, my wig came off. Not the greatest story, but I felt like
I had ruined the scene. Best stage mishap I’ve ever seen- they were doing a
version of Romeo and Juliet in college, and as the leads touched swords,
one of the swords randomly shattered all over the stage. (There was an
imperfection in the metal and the sword crumbled.) All the actors and the
audience froze, until the actor whose sword had shattered turned to the guard
standing next to him and said, “My good man, wilst thou lend me your sword?”
·
Worst
job you ever had: The
hardest job I ever had was teaching Spanish-speaking Special Ed (special needs
students newly arrived from Mexico) in a Title One Elementary School.
·
Last
Good Movie You Saw: I
don’t make it to the movies very often…
·
How
you got your Equity card:
I will get my Equity card with hard work and a move to NYC!
·
Something
you are incredibly proud of: I am super proud of the fact that I can pay my bills doing the work I
love most.
·
Words
of advice for aspiring performers: My advice to aspiring performers is shut up and learn from your teachers,
don’t EVER quit, and if you want it as a job, then treat it as a job and not as
a hobby.
·
Career
you would want if not a performer: Well, my dream since I was a child is to be an Olympian, and I’m working
as an actor to support this dream. (Sport is still to be determined- I just
want to be in the Olympics.) I also work as a writer, Director, author, swim
teacher, and missionary.
·
Three
things you can't live without: Three things I can’t live without are hot showers, chocolate, and
Facebook. And 8-10 hours of sleep every night.
·
Best
way to beat the North Texas Heat : The only way to survive a Texas summer is to do the hokie pokie in the
swimming pool to the delight of the children and adults around you. (I teach
swim lessons every summer because it gives me joy. If I am ever able, I would gladly offer them
free of charge, but until then, I keep my prices reasonable!)
·
Best
thing about Fort Worth & the North Side: The best
thing about Fort Worth is that we’re NOT Dallas! Seriously, though, we have the
best culture, the friendliest people, and way better traffic. I’ve lived all
over the world, and I have CHOSEN to live in Fort Worth, Texas, so believe me
when I say it’s the best city in the world.
