Actress Hallie Foote Discusses Her Portrayal of Her Father's Characters

Since making her off-off-Broadway debut in the play Courtship, Hallie Foote has almost exclusively devoted herself to playing roles in her father's plays. Most recently, Foote starred as Mary Jo in Dividing the Estate, a role for which she received her first Tony nomination.

Hallie Foote is currently starring in her father's last work, the Orphans' Home Cycle, comprised of 8 of his plays. Interestingly, the cycle includes Courtship; however, in this production, Foote plays the role of Mrs. Vaughn, the mother of the character she played off-off-Broadway 31 years ago.

"In a weird way, you spend your life protecting the person so he can write, but when he passed away, I was mindful of still trying to protect him as much as I can," Foote said of her father in an interview with the New York Times. "Dad always trusted my instincts, I think, because we just started collaborating more and more closely. People identify me with his work, and I'm very grateful that happened. But now I'm working to make sure that people identify Dad with how deeply good his work is."

To read the full article in the New York Times, click here.

Hallie Foote Lincoln Center Theater: Dividing the Estate (2009 Tony Award nominee, Best Featured Actress in a Play), The Carpetbagger's Children (Drama League Award). Off-Broadway: Dividing the Estate (Richard Seff Award), The Day Emily Married, When They Speak of Rita (Primary Stages); The Trip to Bountiful (Signature Theatre Company; Lucille Lortel Award, Best Supporting Actress), The Last of the Thorntons (Drama League Award), Talking Pictures, Night Seasons, Laura Dennis (Signature); The Roads to Home (Obie Award), The Widow Claire (Circle in the Square). Regional: The Carpetbagger's Children (Alley Theatre, Hartford Stage and Guthrie Theater), The Death of Papa (PlayMakers Rep), God's Pictures (Indiana Rep). Film: 1918, On Valentine's Day, Courtship, Walking to the Waterline. TV: producer of "Lily Dale" (Showtime/HallMark Hall of Fame). Other awards: Drama Desk Award for the 1995 Horton Foote season at the Signature Theatre.

Horton Foote had his first play, Texas Town, produced Off-Broadway in 1941. Since then he has had plays produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off Off-Broadway and at many theaters around the country. Plays included Dividing the Estate (Broadway/Lincoln Center Theater, Primary Stages, and currently at Hartford Stage), The Young Man From Atlanta (Pulitzer Prize), The Trip to Bountiful (Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Revival), The Carpetbagger's Children (American Theater Critics 2002 Best Play Award), The Day Emily Married, The Last of the Thorntons, The Chase, The Traveling Lady, Night Seasons, Tomorrow, The Habitation of Dragons, Laura Dennis, Vernon Early and The Roads to Home. He received Academy Awards for his screenplay adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird and his original screenplay, Tender Mercies. Awards included Obie and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Dividing the Estate, Lortel Award for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway and the Outer Critics Circle Special Achievement Award for the Signature Theatre Company series of his plays, Drama Desk Lifetime Achievement Award, American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal of Drama for the body of his work, PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award for Drama, New York State Governor's Award and the 2000 National Medal of Arts Award from President Bill Clinton. Honors: Theatre Hall of Fame (1996), elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1998). His memoirs, Farewell and Beginnings, are published by Scribners. Horton Foote died at the age of 92 on March 4, 2009.

THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE, PART 2: THE STORY OF A MARRIAGE, begins performances on Thursday, December 3 at Signature Theatre Company at the Peter Norton Space, 555 West 42nd Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues. The production will open on Thursday, December 17.

THE ORPHANS' HOME CYCLE will play from through March 28, 2010 at Signature Theatre Company. Through The Signature Ticket Initiative, which seeks to make great theatre accessible to the broadest possible audience, all regularly-priced single tickets ($65) during the initial announced run are underwritten and will be available for $20 for the individual performances of all three parts. The Signature Ticket Initiative continues through Signature's 20th Anniversary Season (2010-2011).

The Signature Ticket Initiative is made possible by the lead sponsorship of Time Warner Inc. Generous support for The Signature Ticket Initiative is provided by Margot Adams, in memory of Mason Adams. Support for Signature Theatre Company's Horton Foote Legacy Season is provided by American Express, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation and the Laura Pels Foundation.

Tickets for all performances beginning March 9, 2010 are $65.

For more information, visit www.signaturetheatre.org.