Meet Katelyn Schiller (Mary 2)
You play multiple characters in multiple historical eras. If you could choose a specific time in history to be born, when would you choose?
Hmm. Do I have to be a human for this time travel experiment? Of course not! This is hypothetical, silly. I would like to be raptor. Wait. No. I don’t want death by asteroid. A cat in ancient Egypt? Worship is nice. But then I don’t want my innards scooped out. Strike that. I would be an otter. Floating on the ocean. Cracking clams on my tummy table. Right now. In 2014. Final answer.
Should Christians or non-Christians come see this play?
I hope audiences of all beliefs would be drawn to this production. Passion Play examines historical changes in morality, political climate, how these things shape our communities, who benefits and who suffers. To clarify, Passion Play is NOT three sets of biblically traditional passion plays. Thank goodness. That would be very boring.
This play shifts from funny to emotional to funny again on a dime. How do you make those shifts?
These moments are my favorite! This is one way Sarah Ruhl is changing theatre; asking the actor to shift emotional states instantaneously, oftentimes without the usual “horde away the character’s true feelings through the play until the character bursts”. You have no fuel other than the moment happening right before your eyes. I believe Ruhl is taking theatre one step further towards achieving humanity on stage. We flip emotionally constantly on a daily basis. For me, making those shifts requires abandoning adult-learned filters, and simply letting things hit deep and where they may. I am continuously forcing myself to stay present and vulnerable. It is definitely challenging, but beyond satisfying to get lost in.
This play explores how you are perceived based on your looks versus who you really are. Can you personally relate to this theme?
Absolutely. I’m sure everyone can.
If you met your character on the street, would you have a beer together? If not, which character would you share a pint with?
Would I share a pint with Mary 2? Probably not. Tea perhaps. I don’t think Mary 2 drinks. Unless it’s Christ’s blood on communion day. But get the carpenters and the machinist in a bar after a couple pitchers?! Oh my god. I’d probably choke I’d be laughing so hard.
Do you have a favorite moment in the play?
When Casey (Pontius) says, “She is a deer wrapped in brown velvet. She is the air breathing inside the body of a violin.” Woof. Makes me swoon every time.
How do you prepare to work on a project like this?
I’ve been doing a crap ton of research on “how to perform a Sarah Ruhl” just to tame my own hunger for her work. Like an Anton Chekhov, Sarah Ruhl asks for a certain flavor of world and style of performance. Or even lack of it, you could say. She is also a language-driven playwright, so I try to pay careful attention to her word choice, rhythm, punctuation, and the spaces in-between dialogue, similarly to the way you would a Shakespeare.
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