THE FRIDAY SIX: Q&As with Your Favorite Broadway Stars- A BETTER PLACE's Jessica DiGiovanni

Welcome to THE FRIDAY SIX: Q&As with your favorite Broadway stars. Want to know what hooked them to a career in the theater? Their dream roles? Their Broadway crushes? Read on!

In this week's edition, we caught up with Jessica DiGiovanni, who stars as 'Carol' in A BETTER PLACE, playing at The Duke on 42nd Street.

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What is the first Broadway or off-Broadway show you ever saw?

Naaaaants...ingonyamaaaaa..bagithiiii Babaaaaaaa...

....The Lion King. I remember looking over at my mom within the first 30 seconds and tears...just tears, streaming down the side of her face. Everyone was crying. It was so beautiful. Like getting slapped in the face with a vibrant puppet posse dance sound explosion! But like, the good kind. I was in high school and it was my first trip to NYC. I knew immediately that NYC was where I wanted to live. My mom says she remembers me looking over at her on that first trip and dreamily saying, "Mom, wouldn't it be cool if I went to school here and became a professional actor and lived here?" And now, here I am. Pretty cool.

What is your most unique pre-show ritual?

Every show is different. Each character has their own unique physical and mental demands that require their own specific preparation. For instance, sometimes I break dance before the show, other times I just levitate. Okay...I haven't done either of those things...yet. But...

I guess the most unique thing I have started doing is completely surrounding my dressing room mirror with pictures I find during my character research. I have always been into collaging, cutting and pasting images together with other materials and seeing what happens, so I suppose it was only natural for me to gravitate toward it. It's a tactile activity that is calming for me while also helping me delve more specifically into my character work in the process. I really love it. I am surrounded by these images that inspire and inform my character from the moment I walk in my dressing room. Being wrapped in this blanket of inspiration everyday helps me tell the story and transport me into the mind and world of the person I am playing.

A few examples... one from Bike America, the other from Melissa's Choice. (pictures attached)

What is your most memorable "the show must go on" moment?

I still laugh about this one! This was a comedy, so thankfully it worked with the tone of the show. So...I was waiting for my entrance into the scene, when the Assistant Stage Manager backstage told me that our Stage Manager in the booth noticed the chaise lounge was a little wobbly. So she told me to be careful since I used it a lot in the show. The actress who played my mom, however, was not privy to this information since she was already onstage.

So I went on and played the scene as usual, but then we came to near the end of the scene where my mom sits on the chaise, as she sat, the leg of the chaise gave way and the couch and her crashed to the ground!! I am pretty sure I let out a little squeal and I know some people in the audience did, it looked so real...BECAUSE IT WAS! The woman playing my mom is an improv genius and I was rolling right along with her, so she, without missing a beat, made up a line to cover, something like, "I told your father to fix this, He never listens." It was brilliant and it totally worked for the scene! Later on during another scene, the actress playing my mom was able to fix the leg so the chaise stood upright again. But then it broke AGAIN later on!! Needless to say, no one could sit on it for the rest of the show. I had to re-block my last scene on the fly...I ended up using the floor. Floor acting...."Flacting" as I like to call it. In the end everything was fine. The audience thought it was part of the show! Guess that's a testament to all the great "Flacting" we did!

What is the one role you want to play before you die?

Woo wee....okay. This is a toughy. There isn't just one. There is never just one. So here's a couple off the top of my head....

Vanda in Venus in Fur

May in Fool for Love

I haven't done a musical in a while but I would definitely LOVE to play Roxy Hart or Velma Kelly in Chicago someday. That choreography! UGH!!!!!

Noises Off, just...any of the lady roles. Gimmie some physical comedy and I'm as happy a pig in...ya know.

Who is your Broadway or off-Broadway crush?

Mark Rylance. Hands down. I am in love with physical comedy and he is a physical comedy genius! He plays such full, specific, uniquely funny characters. And they are ALL so mesmerizing to watch. I saw him for the first time inBoeing Boeing on Broadway. I remembered thinking, "Who is this guy? And why haven't I seen him before?" His timing was impeccable and he didn't play the obvious predictable choices. He was free and fascinating to watch. And I was in the very last row! He was reaching me all the way at the back of the theatre!! I have never heard an audience laugh as loud as when I saw that show. They were roaring. Same thing happened in La Bete when he basically had a 30 minute monologue. I was thoroughly entertained the entire time. Never bored. Not once. AND I heard that he is one of the nicest, kindest souls. So, yes, I want to be his friend and work with him all the time...but now that Spielberg's got ahold of him, I think I might have to wait. (Have I said too much?)

Where can people follow you online?

Do It!

Official Website: www.jessicadigiovanni.com

Facebook Fanpage: www.facebook.com/JessicaDiGiovanniActor

Twitter: twitter.com/TheJessDigi

Instagram: instagram.com/thejessdigi