Building Character: Connie Ray

By MARK BLANKENSHIP

Welcome to Building Character, TDF’s ongoing series about actors and how they create their roles.
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In other words, she needs to do 99-seat work for a 600-seat theatre.

So how can Ray—who stars as Arlene, Luke’s dysfunctional mother—play large and small at the same time?

“We were wondering how it would translate, but we’ve found that the transition has been smoother than we thought,” she says. “Thank goodness for previews! We started out very small and very quiet, but we got great feedback from those early audiences. Now we’re learning how to stay intimate, but also make ourselves heard.”

Ray has also changed her approach to Next Fall’s funnier moments, most of which spring from her flamboyant character. “In this big theatre, I’ve learned that laughs come in waves,” she says. “The orchestra section laughs, and then the balcony. You have to stay in the moment and still let the people have time to laugh.”

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Mark Blankenship is TDF’s online content editor.