Hometown: Nyack, NY
Education: Smith College, MA
Select Credits: Cabel in UNTAMEABLE, an immersive diamond heist from The Unsoft War/ Highly Impractical Theatre (Nov 2015), Lia Haddock in Limetown (Two Up Productions, 2015)
Why theater?: Because it's my church.
Who do you play in Juliana?: I play Juliana!
Tell us about Juliana: Vanda's written an incredibly multifaceted character who is much more complicated and private than she seems. Juliana is a church going, clit flicking torch singer in 1940s NYC and she does it all with poise and grace. She is the unobtainable femme fatale who knows exactly what she wants, and what part of herself and her character to show.
What is it like being a part of Juliana?: I love it! I love getting to channel such a mythical character- because Juliana IS mythical- and I enjoy the challenge of realizing her more unassuming, unflattering qualities. (Director) Ray Fritz has done an excellent job of helping me connect Juliana's seemingly contradicting ideologies, and having the writer in the rehearsal room is such a privilege.
What kind of theater speaks to you? What or who inspires you as an artist?: I grew up nose-deep in my parents' bookshelf of Brecht, Kenneth Bernard and Charles Ludlum, along with Chekov, Sam Shepard, etc. I'm attracted to work that comes from a need - whether to reshape the conversation, communicate a trauma, or a need to tell an untold story, and I love accessing different representations of femininity and history. In a way, Juliana falls into all of these categories- as it is a story about a side of history that we really haven't heard before.
Any roles you’re dying to play?: Yes. Martha in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Lady M.
If you could work with anyone you’ve yet to work with, who would it be?: I want to work with everyone I have yet to work with. Seriously, call me.
Who would play you in a movie about yourself and what would it be called?: I would like to play myself now, and cast a Bruce Bogtrotter-type (from Matilda) to play me in flashbacks. As for the title, I know I'd want a lot of hyphens and taglines.
If you could go back in time and see any play or musical you missed, what would it be?: Mae West's SEX in 1926, or Bernadette Peters in Into The Woods.
What’s your biggest guilty pleasure?: Jellybeans and America's Next Top Model, Cycle 3
What’s up next?: We've just had our contract at The Duplex, so I'll be here every second Tuesdays through December, 2016. I'm also working on a few different filmed projects - stay tuned at www.annie-sage.com!