Interview with Carla Gugino
Ted Sod, Education Dramaturg, interviewed actress Carla Gugino about her thoughts on The Road to Mecca and her character, Elsa Barlow.
Ted Sod: Why did you choose to do this play and this role?
Carla Gugino: I made my Broadway debut doing Arthur Miller’s After the Fall at Roundabout’s American Airlines Theatre. It was a truly extraordinary experience. From that moment on, I knew that acting in the theater would be an intrinsic part of my life and work. I also had another wonderfully creative experience at the Roundabout playing Catherine in Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer with Blythe Danner. All of this is to say that Todd Haimes and the Roundabout have been a warm and exciting artistic home for me. So when I received a call from Todd about the possibility of doing The Road to Mecca, I was intrigued immediately. I fi nd Athol Fugard’s observations about humanity to be very astute while being executed in such an organic manner. He has the power to transport you to a time and place very quickly and in a seemingly effortless manner. Additionally, the role of Elsa is different from any skin I’ve been in on stage, and that presents truly exciting challenges. And to be able to delve into an electric, character-driven piece alongside Rosemary Harris and Jim Dale makes for the kind of collaboration I am always looking for: artists that you know you can jump off the cliff with in an attempt to reveal the complexities of the human condition.
TS: What kind of preparation or research do you have to do in order to play Elsa?
CG: I have been familiarizing myself with what the climate, in all senses of the word – emotional, political, literal – was in 1974 in South Africa. And working with the dialect as well. I fi nd that accents are always a gateway into much more than the way someone speaks. Rhythms, gestures, a whole outlook
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can be revealed through fi nding out how one speaks, and therefore thinks, and where that comes from. Also, for me, so much is revealed in the rehearsal process. It is one of the great gifts of theater (unlike fi lm); the time to process and experience as opposed to going straight for a result. To live in the question for a bit as opposed to looking for the answer. This allows many discoveries you may not otherwise make.
TS: How is this character relevant to you? I realize the rehearsal process hasn’t begun, but can you share some of your thoughts about Elsa with us? What do you fi nd most challenging and exciting about this role?
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