Brady Brophy-Hilton and Heidi Wolff play out a scene from Lawfully Wedded. Photo by Jim Norrena.
What most excites you about this production?
As a child, I felt very much marginalized in the community I was living in at the time. Now, as an adult, it has been very painful for me to watch large groups of people being marginalized by our society because of who they have chosen as their life partner. I’m excited to help bring some of these issues to the stage as a continuation of the debate.
What is the greatest challenge you face with this show?
A lot of the pieces I’ve been working on are emotionally charged for me. It’s always a challenge to bring these sort of emotions to the surface and examine them. Of course examining the thoughts and motivations of people different from myself has always been one of the things that makes acting so fascinating for me.
What kind of research are doing to prepare?
I’ve been doing all the usual textual research - browsing through Jack Kerouac and hunting up more news about Mormons. I’ve also been reading news and editorials on marriage equality. I’ve also been hunting up some chocolate covered pretzel recipes.
What have been some of your favorite previous roles (or productions you have been involved with)?
Last year, I was involved with New Conservatory’s production of The Laramie Project: Ten Years later, which dealt with some similar issues. One of the characters I portrayed was Cathy Connolly who narrates a section on a Defense of Marriage Act that was nearly put through in the Wyoming Legislature. We toured the show in the Central Valley and it was a such a privilege to expand the playing field, so to speak, and bring the play to places outside of our immediate community.
Since this play is about the right to marry what are some of your personal feelings regarding marriage that you would be willing to share?
For me, marriage has always been about bringing friends, family, the community at large into a relationship and making it part of a larger group. Unfortunately, when I did get married, I found this was far from the idea my partner at the time held.
What do you hope audiences will take from this production?
I hope they find it engaging and entertaining, of course. And I also hope they come away with new ideas and questions to debate after the show.
As a child, I felt very much marginalized in the community I was living in at the time. Now, as an adult, it has been very painful for me to watch large groups of people being marginalized by our society because of who they have chosen as their life partner. I’m excited to help bring some of these issues to the stage as a continuation of the debate.
What is the greatest challenge you face with this show?
A lot of the pieces I’ve been working on are emotionally charged for me. It’s always a challenge to bring these sort of emotions to the surface and examine them. Of course examining the thoughts and motivations of people different from myself has always been one of the things that makes acting so fascinating for me.
What kind of research are doing to prepare?
I’ve been doing all the usual textual research - browsing through Jack Kerouac and hunting up more news about Mormons. I’ve also been reading news and editorials on marriage equality. I’ve also been hunting up some chocolate covered pretzel recipes.
What have been some of your favorite previous roles (or productions you have been involved with)?
Last year, I was involved with New Conservatory’s production of The Laramie Project: Ten Years later, which dealt with some similar issues. One of the characters I portrayed was Cathy Connolly who narrates a section on a Defense of Marriage Act that was nearly put through in the Wyoming Legislature. We toured the show in the Central Valley and it was a such a privilege to expand the playing field, so to speak, and bring the play to places outside of our immediate community.
Since this play is about the right to marry what are some of your personal feelings regarding marriage that you would be willing to share?
For me, marriage has always been about bringing friends, family, the community at large into a relationship and making it part of a larger group. Unfortunately, when I did get married, I found this was far from the idea my partner at the time held.
What do you hope audiences will take from this production?
I hope they find it engaging and entertaining, of course. And I also hope they come away with new ideas and questions to debate after the show.
HEIDI WOLFF comes to us having acted with several Bay Area theater companies, including: Brava!, Last Planet Theatre, PCSF, Thrillpeddlers, and California Conservatory. Recent projects include The Laramie Project 10 Years Later at NCTC, The ABC Trilogy at the San Francisco Fringe Festival. She was last with Wily West Productions for SPOOKY CABARET and played Shelley in Morgan Ludlow's DROWNING KATE. She will also appear in the upcoming films MOM, MURDER & ME and BIG DRIVER.
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