Interview with Meaghan Sullivan

Meaghan Sullivan Interview


"...within the same year I'll have played the same role twice, which I've never done before and which will be very fun, usually when you finish a run of a play, you finally get a handle of the character so then you're like 'gosh I want to do this again, I want to play it again' so I get that opportunity, which is icredible."



Adam Higgins: A
Meaghan Sullivan: M
A: You have been with Texas Shakespeare Festival before when you were in the 2009 season, you were the maid in Romeo and Juliet, Doreen in Tartuffe, and you were ensemble in She Loves Me. What was that like for you?

(Meaghan Sullivan in TSF 2009 production of Romeo & Juliet)

M: Last summer was probably one of the best summers of my life for a variety of reasons. It was the first time I was really paid to be an actor so it was my first true professional acting job. While I have worked at professional theatres I did interning and small black box theater. It was just, it was just awesome! (laughs) When I got my contract for Texas last year, I took pictures of it, I was just like 'this is my first real gig!'





(Meaghan Sullivan,far right, in TSF 2009 production of She Love Me)

A: What made you want to spend another summer in Kilgore?





M: I Love the people. It feels like a special experience for us, the people from the Shakespeare Festival to be in Kilgore. It seems that Kilgore looks forward to it every year and to be so welcomed is just such a nice feeling. The other actors and artistic staff who work at the festival are a huge draw for me. A few of them are returning and I look forward to meeting whoever else they have found. I'm sure they'll be great.



A: Tell us a little bit about your history as an actress. What brought you to where you are right now?
M: Kind of the classic story of doing plays in elementary school, middle school, high school and then I took All My Sons down to state at University of Illinois and we performed down there –and that’s where I auditioned for the BFA program there and got my BFA in acting at the University of Illinois. After University of Illinois, I lived in Chicago for a year and I did black box theatre and store front theatre. I did an internship at the Milwaukee Rep and from there I met Sandy Robins and then later auditioned for him for the PTTP. I came to Grad School in Delaware in 2008 and it’s where I am now working toward my MFA in acting.


A: So what roles are you playing in the TSF 2010?
M: I am playing Rosalind in As You Like It, and Julia in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. And Martina in the Learned Ladies.

(Meaghan Sullivan in TSF 2009 Production of Tartuffe)

A: What about these parts excited you?
M: I am excited to do the role of the maid in the Learned Ladies because it is kind of similar to Doreen who was an absolute blast to play last year, Moliere writes similar characters for each of his plays so the maid in one play is very close to the maid in another play. It's exciting to reprise a similar role—of course the context is different and the script is unique, but that'll be fun.




And then, Julia I'm excited because I've actually played Julia in Two Gentlemen of Verona before at the PTTP just about two months ago. So within the same year I'll have played the same role twice, which I've never done before and which will be very fun, usually when you finish a run of a play, you finally get a handle of the character so then you're like 'gosh I want to do this again, I want to play it again' so I get that opportunity, which is incredible.





And Rosalind, is the part of all parts (laughs) Harold Bloom said that she's Shakespeare's best role male or female and people say that she's the greatest female role in written history and I agree with that, to a certain extent. I think she certainly says a lot and is incredibly witty—one of the roles that you just want to sink your teeth into, so I'm really excited for the opportunity to get to play her.

(Meaghan Sullivan in PTTP production of Two Gentlemen of Verona, photo by Bill Browning)