Interview: Ann Noble's Always Multitasking By THE SKIN OF HER TEETH

Next up for A Noise Within, Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning The Skin of Our Teeth opening September 7, 2024 (with previews already started.) ANW’s co-artistic directors Julia Rodriguez-Elliott and Geoff Elliott co-direct the cast led by Frederick Stuart, Trisha Miller, Mildred Marie Langford, Christian Henley and Ann Noble with support from Kasey Mahaffy, Cassandra Marie Murphy, Anthony Adu, Stella Bullock, Julia Chavez, Jacob Cherry, Yannick Haynes, Amber Liekhus, Veronica McFarlane, David A. Rangel, Landon M. Robinson, Micah Schneider and Maya Sta. Ana. Ann found time between her multi-tasking to answer a few of my queries.

Thank you for taking the time for me to interview again.

What attracted you to participate in ANW’s The Skin of Our Teeth?
I have always loved A Noise Within’s work; their commitment to keeping the classics alive has always drawn me to them. So when this opportunity came, I jumped at the chance. This particular play made it even more delectable, as I have always loved this piece (though I’m not sure I fully understood it until this production) and Thorton Wilder as a playwright. But, also, I played Sabina in high school, in an extremely trimmed down version (when I REALLY didn’t understand it), and so this show with this theatre felt like the stars conspiring to allow me to revisit a great piece of American theatre with an extraordinarily dedicated company. In short: I knew this would be a great place to play.

I just saw you in Tom Jacobson’s Crevasse. You were amazing as Leni Riefenstahl (and two other characters). How would you compare and contrast Leni and Skin’s Sabina?
Leni and Sabina have a similar “vibratory” quality to them. They are definitely clever women with an energy and vibrancy and stamina to them, but Sabina, I would say, is more of a feather-weight, while Leni is a heavy-weight. Leni knows what she wants and how to get it, she has complete confidence in her methods as well as her desire. Sabina, on the other hand, while equally impulsive, doubts not only in herself, but the world. She’s primarily a fearful person who is always concerned with outcomes and consequences, unaware of who she really is and the impact she has on the world until the very end of the play. If I had to describe their stories: Sabina’s is “coming of age”, while Leni’s is “clash of the titans”.

Was there an overlap of time of performing Crevasse and rehearsing for Skin?
Oh, yes. Crevasse opened the last weekend in July and The Skin of Our Teeth started rehearsals that Tuesday... I guess the most challenging time was before I started rehearsals for ANW. I like to be fully memorized for first rehearsals, but that just couldn’t happen here. So for the first few weeks of The Skin of Our Teeth, I felt like I was playing “catch-up.” I don’t like that feeling. But opening a show takes a certain kind of focus, and I didn’t feel like I could serve Crevasse properly, if I was fully prepping Skin at the same time. So the few weeks we had of complete overlap rehearsing and performing were tough because, during the week, I had to prep for ANW, but then on the weekends, I had to surrender to Crevasse. It was tricky!

When and how did you become proficient in keeping two different characters in two different plays separated?

Well, I already had to play this game with Crevasse, because I do play three different characters. But it’s not so much the difference in character, it’s really the difference in style and in the size of the theatre. There are so many variables, not only going from play to play, but from theatre to theatre. It really requires focus and discipline, but also, most importantly, it’s about staying present. You can’t rely on any “tricks” because when you do that, you’re not really conscious and present in the moment and, if you’re not careful, you can use the “tricks” from another character. It’s definitely more difficult when you’re tired, because it does take a certain amount of energy to keep it all straight. But building a character is really about building an entire world, and once you submerge yourself in that world, there’s kind of no doubt where you are. Once you know where you are, you can just fly.

You’re a busy actress in the Los Angeles community. Have you had any other projects overlap?

Yes. Several years ago, I was performing in The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later with the L.A. LGBT Center and The Liar at Antaeus at the same time. I have to say it was much easier when I was younger! But I also owe an incredible debt to my partner-cast actor in The Liar, Joanna Strapp, and to an extraordinary actress/dancer named Leslie Stephens who covered me in Laramie for two nights so I could open the Liar. These two women made it possible for me to do both shows simultaneously, and I can’t thank them enough for their talent and their flexibility. Also, a few years after that, I did Hedda Gabler at Antaeus at the same time as The Light Princess at South Coast Rep. Again, I have to thank my partner-cast actor, Kwana Martinez, who took over so many rehearsals and tech time at Antaeus, so I could do both. I am always reminded at times like these that theatre is a team sport.

You’ve worked with Tom Jacobson twice before in Bunbury and The Friendly Hour. Was your role in Crevasse a simple phone call from Tom? Or did you have to audition?

I auditioned. Because while Tom is very familiar with my work, our director, Matt McCray, was not. So I did what we all do these days: put myself on tape. Auditioning is so nerve wracking. It’s a lot of work for—most of the time—no result at all, but it’s what we do. And for this one, I knew that I was someone Tom respected and wanted to work with, and I also knew that Matt was a Class-A director, so I felt confident that I was already under strong consideration. It’s also such a tremendous script that I probably would’ve jumped through even more hoops to be able to get the chance to do it.

With all the theatre companies you’ve worked with in L.A., do you still have to audition? Or does someone in production just call up and ask if you’re available?

It’s both. A lot of the times these days, I just get a call. But there are still some places where a director or a playwright doesn’t know me. Also, sometimes, it’s important to have actors, even ones you know well, come into the room and see how they connect with the character and/or the other actors in the ensemble. It really depends. But it is very nice that I have come to a place where most people in L.A. know me and feel comfortable just making an offer. It’s definitely what I prefer, but I have no problem reading for a role as long as it’s really for the purpose of creating dialogue and building the proper fit and ensemble. Nobody likes to have their time wasted.

ANW usually casts from their ensemble of actors. How did you break into their ranks?

I’m not sure. I had auditioned for them a billion years ago, so I knew I was on their radar. But I believe it stemmed from me being called in to read for their recent production of Much Ado About Nothing. Guillermo Cienfuegos directed that one and I had just worked with him at Rogue Machine on Disposable Necessities. While I didn’t get cast in the Much Ado, I believe I made an impression… hah! I also know that sometimes these things are just about the right role for the right person. And Sabina is very much a “good fit” for me. I love that ANW has an ensemble that they use time and time again; it’s just lovely that these wonderful actors have a place they can call home. And the audiences enjoy that so much as well. I am so grateful to be able to step in and play with them. They are top notch.

I know you as an actor. But you are also a writer, director, solo performer, acting and writing teacher and a jail chaplain. What did you want to be growing up?

I always wanted to do theatre. Definitely perform, but I also loved putting things together. So, even from very early on, I was directing and writing (and producing, I guess you could say). I just love stories: telling them, building them, acting them out, sharing them. I was never very interested in film; that always seemed like something else entirely, even though I do enjoy it now. But the theatre was/is the place for me. And my family has always been about “just go do it,” and so I was never afraid to run fast and try anything. Amidst ridiculous failure, of course; but you just get back up and try again. So I have a lot of skills because, especially when I was younger, I said yes to everything in terms of a job in the theatre.

How did your position as jail chaplain come about?

Well, this is a very long story but suffice it to say that many years ago I had to get sober. And that led me to a having to have faith in a Higher Power, which led me to All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. (I actually have Jessica Kubzansky to thank for that, because she cast me in a reading of Murder in the Cathedral which was performed there; it was a project she worked on with All Saints’ former rector, Ed Bacon.) That then led me to meet the monks of Community of Divine Love. I had been working with incarcerated boys already through Antaeus with John Prosky and Liz Berman’s program, Odyssey Workshop, so a priest at All Saints introduced me to Dennis Gibbs and Greta Ronningen (the monks), because their urban monastery was dedicated to prison work. And well, the rest is history. I became an Oblate of their Community and began going into the jails to sit with people and do church. And I just sort of fell in love with it. Aside from the theatre, it is absolutely my vocation.

What made you take on the role of program coordinator for Prism Restorative Justice/CFLC?

A few years ago the monks retired up to the Central Coast, and myself and Sharon Crandall (another chaplain who has been working with the monks for many, many years) were asked to take over. Prism Restorative Justice is the organization that the Community of Divine Love created to do their work in the jails. Sharon, my fellow chaplain and dear friend, does the lion’s share of the work, and, if I may just take a moment, I have to say that she is one of the greatest human beings to ever walk the earth. Her dedication to the people in the jails is unwavering, and her clear vision and kind heart are a rare commodity these days. She is the rock, which allows me to still do all my other work in the theatre alongside Prism. Prism runs under the umbrella of the Episcopal Diocese, and All Saints-Pasadena is currently our home base A few years back, Prism became part of the Center for Lay Chaplaincy, an organization started by Jana Milhan-Martin, which trains lay people to become chaplains. It is a wonderful collaboration so far and we’re all very excited to see how it can continue to grow.

What’s in the near future for the busy Ann Noble?

I’m slated to do another show at Rogue Machine with Steve Robman this spring. Christopher Loverro of Warriors For Peace has asked me to direct another project for him, the details of which are forthcoming. I’m creating another solo show that will hopefully run off-nights at the Echo (per the wonderful Chris Field’s “a-okay”). I am continuing to teach at Moving Arts Theatre and, with any luck, maybe one of my new plays will be produced…  Until all that is revealed, I will be back doing Crevasse in October and, starting next week, back in the jails.

Thank you again, Ann! I look forward to meeting your Sabina.

For tickets to The Skin of Our Teeth through September 29, 2024; click on the button below:

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