Interview: Leah Paige Smith Talks SHAKESPEARE CABARET At Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre

To round out the offerings from the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre season, some of the cast of THE TEMPEST will present SHAKESPEARE CABARET beginning Thursday, June 22, in the new Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. What exactly is a Shakespeare Cabaret? Good question. Broadway World was fortunate to talk with Leah Paige Smith, who is the protagonist of this production. 

BWW: Thank you for joining me. What can we expect at the SHAKESPEARE CABARET? 

Leah Paige Smith: The Shakespeare Cabaret is created from people in the cast of The Tempest, and we're going to be writing our own show. It will have a combination of Shakespearean scenes, songs, maybe fight choreo, and singing of some of Shakespeare's greatest hits and things that are inspired by Shakespeare. It's going to be a good time. It will have all the good things, songs, and scenes to keep everybody happy.  

BWW: So, you're the protagonist. Define that.  

LPS: Protagonist is a person that we can follow the storyline with. So, I'll be the one fighting for what I want, and hopefully I'll get the audience on my side also.  

BWW: So, is this an audience participation kind of thing?  

LPS: Maybe. We're not sure. It's still in early development, and we're in the devising process. We're all devising it together, but the audience will be following my story as the protagonist.  

BWW: What made you want to be an actor? Why are you here?  

LPS: For my undergraduate degree, I didn't get a theater degree. I got a degree in communications and public relations.  

BWW: Right, me too! 

LPS: I worked in communications for five years while doing theater at night, and I finally decided that I wanted to make acting my full-time career. I want to be a storyteller, and I want to be a conduit for stories that need to be told to audiences, whether it’s one that I can directly relate to or one that is a story for other people or other communities. There are so many stories that need to be told for this time period, for the community, for the audience to hear. I think theater is the best way to bridge the emotional gap and to allow an audience member to vicariously live that person's story and their journey by stepping into their shoes, and I think in order to make tangible change in our society we need to bridge that emotional gap. So, I decided to get professional training, which is why I just graduated with my master’s degree. I'm going to be returning to Cleveland, which also has a really rich theater community and will hopefully be continuing my professional acting career from there. 

BWW: Well, we are thrilled that you are here to share your talents with our community. Is this your first time here? 

LPS: No, actually, I was in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING last summer. This is my second year with Arkansas Shakespeare Theater, and I love it down here. 

BWW: What would be a dream role?  

LPS: Shakespeare? I would love to play Lady Macbeth, but I would also love to play Cassius in Julius Caesar. I would love to tackle some heavy hitting roles. As far as other roles, I love musical theater, I would love to play Velma Kelly in Chicago or Roxie Hart in Chicago. 

BWW: Right, we don’t want to be picky. 

LPS: Yeah, I'm not gonna pick and choose. I’d also like to play the mom in NEXT TO NORMAL. 

BWW: That’s a good one! 

LPS: It’s a wonderful part. 

BWW: Well thank you so much for speaking with me today. I can’t wait to see what the performances. 

LPS: Thank you so much! 

For more information on this or the other shows with Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre, visit their website at https://www.arkshakes.com. 

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