Interview: Theatre Life with Kimberly Schraf

Today's subject Kimberly Schraf is currently living her theatre life at Ford's Theatre portraying one of the best known female roles in the American Theatre. Not only does Kimberly give a superb performance as Linda Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, she does so with Craig Wallace as Willy Loman. Wallece is her partner in life as well as onstage. Her once-in-a-lifetime performance can be seen through October 22nd.

For many years, Kimberly has given us some of the finest work you'll ever see on area stages. You might remember her work from Our Town, The Carpetbagger's Children, and Sabrina Fair at Ford's Theatre and, going back a bit further, The Member of the Wedding.

But Kimberly's presence isn't exclusive to Ford's Theatre. Select other area credits include The Apple Family Plays and Hedda Gabler at Studio Theatre; The Sisters Rosensweig and After the Fall at Theater J; The Diary of Anne Frank at Olney Theatre Center; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead at Folger Theatre; Young Robin Hood at Round House Theatre; and Ah, Wilderness! at Arena Stage.

When not performing, she is a passionate advocate of arts in education and sits on the staff of The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts. She is one of the co-directors of Theatre Lab's Honors Acting Conservatory Program.

Kimberly's performance as Linda Loman is honestly the best one I've seen and yes, I've seen a few productions of Death of a Salesman. Her performance makes the character really stand out and her final speech at Willy's grave will rip your heart out. All I can say is "Attention must be paid" to Death of a Salesman at Ford's Theatre and Kimberly Schraf's performance in it.

At what age did you know you were going to perform professionally? Was there a particular theatrical experience that helped you make the decision?

I'd been in school plays and local theatre productions since kindergarten (Miranda in Miranda the Sheriff's Daughter, others too numerous to mention here...), but the stages by which I was seized with the necessity of incorporating theatre into my life were three: a college production where I played Hannah Jelkes in The Night of the Iguana; a Pittsburgh community theatre foray as Shaw's Saint Joan; and a DC production (maybe early '90s?) of a Lanford Wilson one-woman one-act called The Moonshot Tape. Each experience exhilarated and terrified me in equal measure, a cocktail too heady to resist.

Where had you performed before coming to DC? What was your first show once you got here?

I cut my teeth at the Cabaret Theatre in Adamsburg, PA in at least 20 plays in five years (small actor pool...). My first professional production in DC was Studio Theatre's As Is in 1986, one of the first plays about the AIDS crisis. It ran for 13 weeks. Shortly thereafter I replaced Christy Engels in Source's Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it all for You, which we took to the Edinburgh Festival before completing a year-long run! Actors made a percentage of the box office and it was selling out so we thought we'd died and gone to heaven.

With Death of a Salesman you are playing one of Arthur Miller's most famous characters. Linda Loman has been portrayed by such luminaries as Kate Reid and Mildred Dunnock. Both of their performances are readily available on DVD. Before starting rehearsals for the Ford's Theatre production did you view either of those performances, or are you one of those performers that likes to tackle the roles you play totally fresh?

I firmly believe that we all draw upon what has gone before; nothing is ever owned or stolen, and we all filter it through who we are. I saw each of those performances and admired them deeply. Before I enter each night, I take a moment to commune with the Lindas who paved my way. Some are friends, some are dead. It's comforting to me that we all uttered Miller's words.

In this production you are playing opposite your partner in life, Craig Wallace. How did you two first meet? Is it a good thing to get to go home with your leading man nightly to decompress?

Nothing's better than sharing a stage with Craig Wallace, and going home with him after the curtain falls is icing on the cake. We met in a production of The Misanthrope at Round House Theatre (old Bushy Drive space) in a Neil Bartlett adaptation set in Hollywood and directed by Daniel Fish. I was in a cast with some of my favorite humans who also happen to be actors - Jane Beard, Marty Lodge, Jerry Whiddon, and Jason Kravits - and Craig was the "new guy." It was a sexy production with an all-Prince soundscape (sound inspiration by Craig Wallace). Somebody had to fall in love.

This is not the first time you and Craig Wallace have been onstage together. What other productions have you shared the stage with him either at Ford's Theatre or elsewhere?

Oh, let's see... At Ford's we've been the Webbs in Our Town, and unconnected characters in Sabrina Fair and The Laramie Project. In 1999, we were the Angel and Belize in both parts of Signature' Theatre's millennium-eve production of Angels in America. And at Theatre of the First Amendment, we were Muslim siblings (Saladin and his sister) in Nathan the Wise! You gotta love the theatre.

It has been 68 years since Death of a Salesman first premiered. Why do you think it is still performed by companies all over the country?

Miller probes the most soaring and doubting parts of the human condition in this play. Until we become perfect, self-sustaining creatures who have all the answers, his play will not fail to stir audiences and actors.

You are on the staff of The Theatre Lab School of the Dramatic Arts. How did you first come to join this organization and, as it is celebrating 25 years this year, what do you think is the secret to its longevity?

My dear friend Deb Gottesman lured me into the classroom when The Theatre Lab was taking its first steps, and I am ever grateful. Their approach blends rigor, respect, imagination, and empowerment. It's a gift to this community.

It seems to me that the younger generation doesn't necessarily appreciate the classics they way they appreciate a new show say like Hamilton. As an arts educator, what do feel is the best way to make younger theatergoers appreciate playwrights like Miller, O'Neill, and others?

I used to think it was sufficient to expose them to classic works, and that everything else would take care of itself. Now, however, I believe that a combination of preparation, immersion, and conversation will bring the works into perspective. It's when we recognize ourselves and our lives in art that the work resonates, but sometimes kids need a little hel

You've performed in DC for many years. What are some of the biggest changes you've seen since you first started performing in this area?

I'm seeing more inclusion on our stages and that's cause for celebration. At the same time I'm sensing a shrinking arena for my own work: fewer women playwrights selected for production, fewer roles for women of a certain age. I find myself more focused on whether I'll accrue enough work weeks to qualify for health insurance than on what projects attract and excite me. I eagerly hope for the day when that will shift and we can all just create the art that moves us and maintain a rich quality of life!

After Death of a Salesman, what does the rest of the 17/18 season hold for in store for you?

Next up I'll be doing my first Mosaic show. Vicuna and the American Epilogue by Jon Robin Baitz. I'll play the Head of the Republican National Committee. Can't wait!

Special thanks to Ford's Theatre's Associate Director of Communications and Marketing Lauren Beyea for her assistance in coordinating this interview.

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