Inside the Mind of Sandra star Felicia Curry

 Inside the Mind of Sandra star Felicia Curry

By David Pulvermacher

TheaterWorks' latest production, Sandra, has been a triumphant success. This is evident by TheaterWork’s choice to extend the show’s run by four performances. One of the show’s greatest strengths is its leading woman, Felicia Curry. For the 80-minute performance, Curry is animated and actively attracts the audience with her one-person performance. 

Thanks to TheaterWorks, I had the privilege of sitting down with the talented Felicia Curry, the star of Sandra. In our conversation, we delved into the world of Sandra, the characters, and the fascinating process behind Curry's preparation of dozens of characters. 

Q: Tell me about yourself. What inspired you to work in theater?

A: Oh, gosh, I've been doing theater since I was a little kid.

There was a local organization called All Children's theater that basically just did theater performances for young people. They get to put them on, and it went from age five to, like, 17. And when I was five, I saw an ad for it in the paper, and I took it to my parents, and I said, whatever this is, I want to do it. And so I started doing shows there around five years old, and I was with that organization till I was a teenager.

I was in a performing arts troupe with them. So, I've been doing musical theater specifically since I was a kid. It's in my blood. It's in my bones. There was never a time when I didn't think I wasn't going to do it somehow moving forward. And so to be in a place where I can call it not just this thing that I love to do, but my profession is the culmination of a lifelong dream. Truly.

Q: What interested you in being part of this project?

A: Well, first of all, is Jared [Mezzocchi]. I'm a friend and a fan of Jared. So when he reached out and said, I'm doing this thing, will you come play with me? I mean, that, to me, was a no-brainer.

I know the work that he's capable of. I've seen it, I've experienced it. I've been part of it. And so I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this would be special. I've done one woman shows before, but never like this.

And I am constantly trying to challenge myself as an artist. Like, what's the next step? What's the thing that I thought I couldn't do? And can I do it? And even if I can't, I want to try. And this felt like the perfect opportunity to try that. 

Q: As a one-person performer, what is the experience like compared to performing with other actors on stage?

A: In these one woman shows, which, in what we're doing most of the times, have multiple characters. So, I really try to think of each individual character as its own person. So when people say, you're there by yourself, yes. You only see me. But my hope is that I've created these three dimensional folks that feel very real and alive to you because they do to me. 

So I do always feel like I'm being held up by whoever's in the scene. I feel like I have a scene partner. I feel like if I'm talking to Luca, I'm talking to Luca. Luca is Luca.

It's not me. I'm not. We're having a conversation. So I really do, and I know it sounds crazy. Cause it's me, and I know it. But in the creation of the world, he's there, and so I'm having the conversation. When that world flips, then he's here, and he's talking to her. So I really try to uplift each character so that they have their own life and they are supporting each other through this, through the storytelling. And, of course, it's. Of course it's scary.

You all are just looking at me. I know that. You know, I'm not crazy. I know that. But once I said this last night, once I'm in it, I really have to take myself out of it and let each person live their own journey through whatever the show is.

So, like I would do in any other play or musical, I say to myself before every show, just listen, just respond and just be present. And that's it. And I say the same thing in this show. Just listen, just respond. No judgment, just respond. And then just be present so that you can do those other two things. And it's the same I would do if I was in a play with anybody else. I ask the same of myself.

(Photo credit to Mike Marques)

Q: How do you prepare for a performance where you are portraying so many different characters?

A: A lot of this, for me, like it would be in any other play, is deciding what each character's drive, motivation, intention is. Fexample, the first two guys that interview her [Sandra]  right after the disappearance. The officious one, and then the friendly one, two different, both trying to do the same thing, but doing it in two different ways, so they're already, without me having to do anything else. David [Cale] has created two people who are very different. All I've done is give them voice, and they have two very distinct ways about going, about getting the information. And Jared and I discussed what it looks like for this guy to be.

So that when the next guy comes, we feel that ease, we feel that calm from him. So that was the first part, was really figuring out what the journey for each individual character was, and then it was voicing it and whatever, whatever that meant. Maybe we were pitching things differently. I knew this guy was probably going to be pitched a little bit lower because he was being a little bit more like this. And I knew this guy was going to be a little bit more like, you know, I'm just the nicer guy.

So you are ready. And then we just add a little flavor so they feel different. And then some people are. It's given to us, Italian given to us, Australian given to us. So we already know sort of where we're going with it.

We decided on British for Richard, which I thought was a great decision, but we went through many. We went through many other things before we landed on British. So, again, I think it all is rooted in the figuring out, much like you do for the lead character or the single character you're playing in a play, figuring out what everybody's motivation, intention, and journey is. Everybody. And so when Richard comes into the conversation, even though we've never seen him, there's a whole 20 years of storytelling that he carries in with him.

You don't see it, you don't hear it, but it exists there. And the thing is, as soon as he starts talking, you feel it. You feel it. Because I feel it. Sandra feels it.

And that is from that character creation. That is what you would do with any character in any play, is that we're not coming in at the top of a conversation. We are coming in with 20 years of history between these two people, and you're just catching a snippet of that. But I have to come into the room with whatever those 20 years are for both of them.

Q: What about this show do you enjoy the most?

A: Plays don't get done without collaboration. It's the reason why I love theater so much. It is not a single person sport. It is a collaborative sport. I cannot do it without Tom calling the cues. Tom can't do it without Gavin calling his cues. Tom can't do it if Evdoxia [Ragkou] and Camilla [Tassi]  and Marcelo [Martínez García] and Ameth on lights. I mean, without any of them, it doesn't exist, and none of it would even get to you all without the staff at Theatreworks Hartford.

I love the collaboration of this show. I think this show is revolutionary in what's it. What it's doing, because I've been saying it feels like cinema on stage. That is something I have never seen nor done before, and that is my favorite part. I really feel like I'm on tv or in a movie, but it's. But it's crazy because I'm on stage in front of you all. So that's been the challenging part, but the part that's so fun and exciting about this particular show.

Q: Which character(s) is your favorite to portray?

A: Lucas is really fun to play. I think Luca's really fun to play for so many reasons. It's always fun to play a bad guy. It just is because they're so layered. You think they're one way, and then they completely surprise you and they shift. And we think all bad people are just bad people. But the reality is they're not.

I love Sandra because. But it was nice to hear somebody say that. We see her full journey. We see this woman really evolved from the beginning of the show to the end of the show. I feel that, but I didn't know if that read. And so to have somebody affirm that last night was really exciting.

So I love going through the experience of evolving as her, and then, I mean, I love them all. See, it's like picking favorite babies. You know, I feel bad about it, but these are the. Those are the two that come first, and then there's something about I love them all.

There's something fun about Sarah. There's not a big, overarching story for her, but she is our gauge of sort of what's going on with. With Sandra and I. And I like following that. I like us being able to see how somebody on the outside is viewing this thing that Sandra's so like, oh, my God. And it's amazing. And she's like, what are you talking about? Are you not clocking all of it?

Q: Because you're already on stage when the audience enters, what goes through your mind? Are you already in character or taking in the experience?

A: I am Sandra, In the process of getting ready for what that first moment is. Whatever that means, and I don't want to prescribe that Jared does either for anybody, but the beginning is you see this woman going through something and you have no idea what it is, and then she tells you.

(Photo credit to Mike Marques)

Q: Do you identify with any character?

A:  Sandra 100%. The idea of just wanting to be seen, wanting to be heard, wanting to feel attractive, wanting to keep the special people around you and close to you and doing whatever it takes to find them when they're not there and they're not close to you, that is 100%. And how I feel and what I would do, you know, I feel relieved.

Q: What are you hoping the audience will take away from your performance?
A: I think this is a show about discovery and self-discovery. So the discovery of what has happened to Ethan and the self-discovery of herself through that journey. So I hope we take away that it's never too late to discover new things about yourself that they take away. It's not wrong to follow your instincts if something is telling you if your gut is saying something isn't right. There's nothing wrong with following your instincts and figuring out what that means. There's nothing wrong with starting over, whatever that means.

Q: Do you have any fears or trepidations about performing in a one-person show?
A: I was so scared of this show on so many levels. I'm super physical, so being confined to a chair scared the crap out of me.

My accent works okay, but specifically, Australian, Italian, all these ones that are not, like, in my wheelhouse. I was scared out of my mind. Oh, my God, I'm not gonna be able to do it. I came from just doing another show, so I already had a lot of words in my head. So just even the amount of time to get the words in the body, I was nervous about that.

I was nervous about the use of projection and sound and whether I would be able to, whether we would all work well together. And not about. That wasn't about Jared. That was about me, and that wasn't about Camilla or what Doxia were doing. That was about, would I live up to what they were bringing to the table. So I was nervous about that. So for all of those reasons, I was like, no, this is a thing you have to do.

(Photo credit to Mike Marques)

Q: What is next for you?
A:I go back to DC, and I'm actually doing a cabaret. I'm a singer as well, so I'm doing a cabaret at Everyman theater in Baltimore for the month of July.

Sandra is playing at TheaterWorks through June 27th. Additional dates include June 25th at 7:30PM, 26th at 2:30 and 7:30PM, and the 27th at 7:30PM.) There are no intermissions. Tickets start at $25, and show times are Tuesday through Sunday. Tickets for Tuesdays are currently sold out. Wednesday and Thursday performances are at 7:30 PM. Friday performances start at 8:00 PM. Saturday performances at 2:30 PM and 8:00 PM. Sunday's performance is at 2:30 PM. For more ticket information, go to https://twhartford.org/ , contact the box office is 233 Pearl Street, Hartford, CT, or call (860) 527-7838