BWW Interviews: Alice Raver, A Life in the Theatre

Over the past few seasons, Alice Raver has gained a reputation as one of the "go-to actresses" for Actors Bridge Ensemble, appearing in some of the company's most compelling new works, including this season's production of Judevine and my personal favorite, Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone, in which she played the tart-tongued Hermia. It was clearly a case of going against type: You would be hard-pressed to meet anyone, onstage or off, who's nicer than Alice Raver. Perhaps that's why her performance in Dead Man's Cell Phone was so exhilaratingly fun - both for audiences and Raver, herself: "I loved playing Hermia in Dead Man Cell Phone because the ensemble was so wonderful and the play was both funny and thought-provoking."

A native of West Memphis, Arkansas (on the other side of the Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee), she attended small private or parochial schools through high school. And she comes to her own love of the theatre quite naturally: "My father was a devotee of the performing arts, he especially loved Shakespeare and Opera - which made the Opera Falstaff one of his very favorite productions!"

In addition to seeing theatre and opera in Memphis, as a child, Alice and her family would travel to St. Louis and Little Rock, if they were so inclined, to see productions, both theatric and operatic.  

"When I was three," she remembers, "my father insisted that my mother take me to auditions for The Sound of Music at the Front Street Theatre [an Equity regional theatre in Memphis that helped launch the career of many stage and screen luminaries, including Dixie Carter].  When it was my turn to audition, the director carried me to my mother telling her I was just too little. However, two years later when they planned to produce The King and I, I was asked to audition and was cast! The next year I was cast in  the Pirandello play Six Characters in Search of an Author. 

"Throughout my school years, I performed in productions in the community theatre in West Memphis, at school and at Circuit Playhouse in Memphis. As a teenager, I was a classic 'theatre kid' doing anything asked of me (painting, building, house managing, box office, etc..) just to be in the Circuit Playhouse. "

Eventually, Alice earned her B.A. In Theatre from the University of Memphis: "In college I was perceived as a 'lesser' actor because I was in the B.A. program rather than the B.F.A. program. But the B.F.A program was a five-year program and I couldn't wait to be out of school - so it was B.A. for me."

Following her graduation from the University of Memphis, she did some community theatre productions while working, but when her career path took a turn and she became an event planner, her active participation in theatre came to a momentary end: "When I became an event planner, performing in theatre became impossible - I mean when are events...at night...on weekends...so I still loved theatre and attended when I could, but I did not perform."

Finally, Raver found herself in a job where she was actually free most nights and on weekend and she made the very fortuitous decision to return to the stage: "At first, I took classes at Actors Bridge.  I was so green and so scared one might have thought I had never been onstage before. But little by little the skills came back to me and I realized I did still have some talent.  I loved the classes and after a few years of only classes, I finally auditioned and was eventually cast. Returning to the stage wasn't exactly like getting on a bicycle after years of not being on one, but it was unfamiliar either. And, I loved it....LOVED IT!"

This week, Alice somehow found time to sit down and answer our questions and to give BroadwayWorld.com readers a glimpse into her fascinating "Life in the Theatre." Enjoy!

What was your first taste of theatre? I was in kindergarten and my father took me to see a musical produced and presented by the elementary school I would be attending the following September. A boy in the play was dreamy, but he was older...like in fourth grade.

What was your first real job or responsibility in the theatre? I was in first grade, was five-years-old, and appeared in an Equity production of The King and I by the Front Street Theatre in Memphis. At the time, it was a highly acclaimed regional theatre and was comparable to the Guthrie in Minneapolis. A number of actors got their professional start in that theater (like Dixie Carter and Karen Grassle). I played the youngest child who begs Mrs. Anna to stay. I couldn't read so I had to learn the speech from actors who took me out into the parking lot and drilled it into me. I adored the experience and relished the fact that just like the adults, I had my own blocking, my own lines and my own entrances and exits. Heavy stuff for a five-year-old.

When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in theatre? I was very young...in elementary school. I just loved the experience both working with adults as a child actor and as a student in a school productions. Being in theatre always felt comfortable and was a safe place for me. I majored in theatre in college but paying bills and being an undisciplined 20-something living on my own for the first time got in the way of my pursuit.

Why do you pursue your art in Nashville? What are the best parts of working here? I am not a good singer nor a great dancer. I can carry a tune and I can move, but I'm not a singer nor a dancer. Even in college, I always thought that to go to NYC, Chicago, L.A - or even Atlanta - meant I would have to be a triple threat or I would fail there. Theater in Memphis had been satisfying and I knew a number of fine actors in Memphis, so I always thought I would be comfortable doing theater in a smaller market. I followed a man to Nashville (I'm not a stalker, I was in a relationship with him), and fell in love with the city - and out of love with that man. But I also began to have satisfying work that wasn't in theatre that kept me involved with creative individuals. When I found myself eager to return to the stage after many years away, Nashville was home and I thought if I failed at my attempt to return to the stage, then at least I would have a soft spot to fall.

If you could play any role, direct any work, design any production, mount any production...what would it be and why? Today that answer is Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.

Who would play you in the film version of your life story? Holly Hunter.

What's your favorite play/musical? Call me a coward but I can't pick one. Sometimes I like a play/musical because of where I was in my life when I saw it. Sometimes it is because it was so well done.  Sometimes the innovation or interpretation is so wildly different that I'm mesmerized and can't get over it...  I just can't pick one. But let me say that A Midsummer Night's Dream, Waiting for Godot, Of Mice and Men, All My Sons and Les Miserables have never disappointed me.

If you could have dinner with any three figures (living or dead, real or fictional) who are a part of the theatre, who would you choose and why? Tennessee Williams - His Southern voice and characters are so rich. Sanford Meisner - His "Meisner Technique" has brought tremendous authenticity to the craft of acting. Shakespeare - Do I really need to explain why? If there can be a fourth, Jef would you come too? Because I can't talk to these three all by myself...

Imagine a young person seeing you onstage or seeing a production in which you played a major role coming up to you and asking you for advice in pursuing their own theatrical dream...what would you say? If this person feels as if they must pursue a theatrical dream, then they must move forward on an intentional, disciplined path where he/she is continually learning, growing and being challenged. If you don't do that, you will never know if the dream could be a reality, even on a small but successful scale. And if you do it and you find the dream was really a nightmare, then you will have no regrets choosing another path. And, I would add, that the Theatre World is well-connected, especially today with social media. Don't make a choice that will cause someone to regret hiring you or working with you. That news will spread like a bad rash. When a director/producer chooses between two similar talents and one has a reputation for having a bad attitude or work ethic...who do you think gets the job? Exactly.

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