In The Spotlight
This month In the Spotlight grabbed five minutes with the leading lady of this year's Spring production: a play written, produced, directed and performed by members of the Undergraduate class. Titled Getting Better, the play, which consists of a series of monologues interspersed with four longer scenes, follows the life of a High School Senior called Ashley. Ashley is the quintessential golden girl: head cheerleader, dating the captain of the football team, Prom Queen. Except she has a secret.
Between classes, rehearsals and one of the busiest extra-curricular schedules we've ever witnessed, Quinn Fabray joined us for coffee (she prefers soy lattes) and a quick chat about the role that she has helped to shape since winning the role of Ashley.
In The Spotlight: Thanks for meeting with us, we know that you're pretty tricky to get some alone time with.
Quinn: [laughs] Believe it or not, I do actually find a few minutes a day to sit down and drink one of these.
ITS: By the sound of it, we'd need a lot more than one to make it through your day! Between classes and rehearsals… and everything else you've got going on, are you finding any time to appreciate our campus?
Q: I try. I'm just really enjoying student life… I had it pretty tough during my final year of high school and now I'm a firm believer in living every day to its fullest. You never know what's around the corner so I'm going to make the most of it.
ITS: Good for you.
Q: [cringes] That probably sounded really corny…
ITS: Not at all. We don't have time to get too in-depth here, but if you could describe your high school experience in a few words…
Q: Disastrous? [laughs] Um… Let's say I've changed a lot since high school and leave it at that.
ITS: Were you anything like Ashley? You had a hand in writing the play. Did any of your experiences help to mould that character in particular?
Q: There are definitely aspects of Ashley's life that have come from my own. I was head cheerleader and dated the captain of the football team… I think Ashley is a lot more sure of herself. She knows exactly who she is and what she wants whereas it took me a little longer to figure out the same things about myself. Both of us felt the need to bend to the expectations of our families and friends. That's something that I brought a lot of to the character.
ITS: Originally you were only part of the writing and producing team. Why did you decide to try out for the role of Ashley? Have you had much experience on the stage?
Q: I had a couple of chorus parts in musicals during high school but nothing like this. A good friend of mine came to visit a few weeks after we started writing the script and she begged to come along to the workshops we were holding. She's um… quite persuasive when she needs to be. She's the one who convinced me it would be a good idea to audition.
ITS: Are you glad you did?
Q: Very much so. Everyone has been great to work with. We're all in the same position, all starting out here. I'll be sad to see it come to an end.
ITS: But then you can get back to focusing on your other extra-curricular activities. You volunteer with the on-campus LGBTQ support group and helped out on this year's Pride Week committee…
Q: That was probably one of the best experiences of my life.
ITS: I can't remember a more sparkly Pride…
Q: We may have gone overboard with the glitter [laughs] but it was fantastic. Back home, I would never have had the courage to participate in anything like that. Or this play. All of my friends have been really supportive though and that has helped a lot.
ITS: Will they be coming to watch?
Q: I'm pretty sure one of them has her train booked from New York for opening night even though the tickets haven't been released yet…I'd expect nothing less though. [blushes]
ITS: It'll be nice to have some friendly faces in the audience then.
Q: She's a student at NYADA so she'll probably be my harshest critic.
ITS: Maybe not then…
At this point, Quinn's phone interrupted us (we're delighted to report that her ringtone was Queen's Somebody to Love) and she was whisked away for afternoon of costume fittings.
In the Spotlight will be in attendance on opening night next month, with our review of Getting Better featuring in the next edition. Tickets go on sale Saturday 13th April priced $10 with all proceeds going to The Trevor Project.
Getting Better – Iseman Theater - 1156 Chapel Street – Performances 7:30pm – May 6th to May 11th
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