1. What was the FIRST play you ever saw?: A musical revue in which my parents performed. I was about five. I remember seeing a college production of “Bye, Bye, Birdie” when I was about 10. It looked like they were all having tremendous fun.

2. What makes you LAUGH and CRY in a theater?: I love British farce - “Noises Off,” for instance. I laugh until it hurts. The funniest thing I’ve ever seen on a stage was the Broadway production of “The Producers.” As to tears - I found myself crying at the First Stage production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The Rep’s production of “Wit” about did me in. “Lear” a couple of years ago at Stratford…”Howl,wind”…and I was gone. That said, the wordless, Milwaukee Ballet production of “Romeo and Juliet” got me. It’s a combination of honesty and directness that gets me - and it often sneaks up on me.

3. Who is your favorite THEATER ACTOR?: At the moment I would say Brian Bedford, of the aforementioned “Lear” in Stratford.

4. Has theater ever CHANGED your perspective? Your life?: Seeing theater often changes, or perhaps more accurately broadens my perspective, which, in turn, changes my life. A couple of years ago I saw “The Merchant of Venice” with Native Canadian actor Graham Greene in the role of Shylock. He was not the finest Shylock I’ve ever seen, but hearing a Native man deliver those lines about hatred and discrimination was amazingly powerful and still haunts me. It lifted Shylock’s lines out of the context of the story and made them universal, which left me ruminating on the human condition…

Working on a production, which I’m sorry to say I haven’t done in years, has always has a more profound effect that merely seeing the same play. I’m quite sure it’s a matter of living with the work - it’s more like living in the work - that makes the difference.

What is your FAVORITE PLAY? Where did you see it? Why is it your favorite?: HORRIBLE QUESTION! Play: “Midsummer Night’s Dream,”which I’ve seen often beginning with working on a production in high school. It’s brilliant and I never tire of seeing it. Musical: “The Fantasticks.” I worked on a production in high school, played Luisa in a college production and saw the Off Broadway production in 1981 - others since. It’s sweet, poignant and takes me back to a wide-eyed time in my life.

6. Why THEATER?: It’s live and therefore immediate, dynamic and sometimes imperfect. Time and place drop away when the curtain rises, and the storytelling takes over.

This post was submitted by Elaine Schmidt.