Interview with Jacqui Amrich!

Here we have a quick interview with Jacqui Amrich, the actress who plays Nora in MLT’s upcoming production of Brighton Beach Memoirs!

 

Tell me about yourself.

My name is Jacqui Amrich, I live at home with my parents, brother, and dog in Tyngsborough, Massachusetts, and I currently attend Salem State University as a theater major. 

And your character?

I play Nora, Eugene’s 16 year-old-cousin, Blanche’s daughter, and Laurie’s older sister.  She’s a teenage girl with big dreams of being on stage, and at the top of the show she’s ecstatic to announce to the family that she had been chosen to audition for a Broadway show.  She has all of the enthusiasm and excitement of youth and can often come off as dramatic or over-reactive – which also makes her very fun to play.
 
Is this your first MLT show?  If not, what else have you done?

This is my second show at MLT and with Steve Black as a director. My first was last fall as Wendla in Spring Awakening.
 
What made you decide to audition for Brighton Beach?

I decided to audition for Brighton Beach Memoirs because I enjoyed my last experience with Marblehead Little Theatre so much. Steve is a fantastic director, and his process works really well with mine. I also thought it would be a wonderful, very welcome change to do a comedy, as I haven’t done one in a while; and when I read the script,  I fell in love with the whole show.
 
What is your favorite part of doing Brighton Beach?

I  think one of my favorite parts about Brighton Beach Memoirs is who I’m working with. Everyone involved is supremely skilled  and talented.  And when you have that level of professionalism, it allows so much room to really play with and explore the piece which makes it that much more fun. I think we all really trust and respect each other’s work which shows on stage in our family dynamic.
 
Have you had any difficulties with getting in character or finding who your character is?

Nora as a character was definitely difficult to ground and make real, because her actions and huge ups and downs can seem so superfluous, unjustified, and caricature-like. It  was really a matter of looking closely at all of the information given on her and her history, and figuring out the source and reason for all of her behaviors in order to understand them and make them believable.
 
Do you have any before-show rituals?

I guess my only before-show-ritual would be pumping myself up by blasting my current favorite songs in the car on my hour-and-a-half commute to MLT, and belting along as loud as humanly possible.
 
What’s next after Brighton Beach is over?

After this I’m planning on taking some time to really get back into my studies at college, as I’ve been on leave for the past year. In the meantime, I will soon be appearing in the independent film Portico, presented by Cage Insider Productions, prospectively going to the Cannes Film Festival.
 
And now for some completely un-theatre related questions:
 

What is your favorite food?  Movie?

One of my favorite foods growing up has always been my mom’s homemade chicken-and-wine (coq au vin)… or anything else; it’s hard to get sick of her home-cooking. One of my favorite movies is still  the perfectly 90’s take on Shakespeare, 10 Things I Hate About You.
 
If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things would you bring with you?

On a desert Island, I would probably have to have Chapstick, a pencil, and an ENORMOUS notebook.

 

 

 

Have you gotten your tickets to see Brighton Beach Memoirs yet?  Performance Dates and times: Friday, January 27 at 7:30pm; Saturday, January 28 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; Sunday, January 29 at 2:00pm; Friday, February 3 at 7:30pm; Saturday, February 4 at 2:00pm & 7:30pm; and Sunday, February 5 at 2:00pm.
 
For ticket sales and more information please visit www.MLTlive.org!