Estelle Parsons Still Considers Herself a Student of Acting

Estelle Parsons, star of the national tour of the Tony Award winning AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, recently sat down with the Boston Globe to discuss her career and her work as Violet in the tour.

Parsons said she always feels as though she is learning something new each time she takes the stage. "I call myself a student of acting. The way I work, I invest a great deal of myself into it. I really don't know how much of an actor I am. Maybe I'm just someone who's interested in exploring new psychological territory each time."

Parsons also said she likes to delve into the emotions of every scene she is in, as well as bring out that same emotion in the other actors that join her on stage. "A lot of times the other actors aren't willing to go to those deep places and are looking to the audience to give them some positive feedback," she says. "If you're a performer, you want to be loved and accepted, but you have to resist that. The way I work shakes people up a lot. I think some of them out-and-out hate working with me. But then others will say to me, ‘My god, what a pleasure it is to be on the stage with you.'"

To read the full article from the Boston Globe, click here.

AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY stars Academy Award-winner Estelle Parsons in the role of the family matriarch, Violet. Ms. Parsons played Violet in the Broadway production of August: Osage County from June 2008-May 2009, where The New York Times raved, "Estelle Parsons gives a superb performance...sends chills down your spine. It may prove to be a crowning moment in an illustrious career."

Joining Ms. Parsons are Shannon Cochran as Barbara Fordham, Jon Devries as Beverly Weston, Libby George as Mattie Fae Aiken, Stephen Key as Little Charles, Emily Kinney as Jean Fordham, Laurence Lau as Steve Heidebrecht, Marcus Nelson as Sheriff Deon Gilbeau and understudying Bill and Steve, Paul V. O'Connor as Charlie Aiken, Jeff Still as Bill Fordham, DeLanna Studi as Johnna Monevata, Angelica Torn as Ivy Weston, Amy Warren as Karen Weston, Avia Bushyhead, understudying Johnna and Jean, Stephen D'Ambrose, understudying Beverly and Charlie, Barbara Kingsley, understudying Violet and Mattie Fae, Bryn Magnus, understudying Little Charles and the Sherriff and Kim Martin-Cotten, understudying Barbara, Karen and Ivy.
Written by 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winner Tracy Letts (Superior Donuts, Man From Nebraska, Killer Joe, Bug), this grand and gripping new play tells the story of the Westons, a large extended clan that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead after the alcoholic patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of the storm.

Directed by 2008 Tony Award-winner Anna D. Shapiro, August: Osage County is a rare theatrical event: a large-scale work filled with 13 unforgettable characters, a powerful tragicomedy told with unflinching honesty and the unforgettable breakthrough of a major American playwright. August: Osage County premiered and was produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 2007.

Nominated for seven Tony Awards and winning five, including Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Director, along with Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, including Best Play, Best Director and Best Scenic Design, August: Osage County opened at the Imperial Theatre Broadway on December 4, 2007, to wide critical acclaim. The New York Times called August: Osage County "The most exciting new American play Broadway has seen in years," and it was voted The #1 Play of the Year by Time, The Associated Press, Entertainment Weekly, and TimeOut New York. After a sold-out engagement at the Imperial Theatre, the show re-opened at the Music Box Theatre On April 29th, 2008, and reached its 600th performance on May 2, 2009. It most recently broke more records when it surpassed two long running Tony Award winning hits: A Man for All Seasons when it reached its 638th performance on June 4, 2009 and Auntie Mame when it reached its 640th performance on June 6, 2009.

The show, which the London critics hailed as "the must-see play of the year - possibly a lifetime," opened to rave reviews at The National Theatre on November 26, 2008, where it played a limited eight-week engagement featuring members of the original Broadway company.