Talkback Tuesday with Kaitlyn Ave’Lallemant!
It’s time for another Talkback Tuesday!
Tell me about yourself. I was born in Ohio and raised in North Carolina. As Julie Andrews would say, ‘these are a few of my favorite things.’ In no particular order: dogs, sustainability, coffee (a flat white is my go-to), being outdoors (70 degree weather is the love of my life), singing at the top of my lungs while driving on the highway (showtunes and more), the NC mountains, my three sisters, meditation, theatre that makes a difference, organization, solo travel and sour patch kids. In 2018, I graduated from the University of North Carolina with degrees in Dramatic Art and Environmental Science. I moved to Philadelphia later that summer because I really liked the supportive arts community here. I’ve been focusing on my acting career these past few months, and I made a website! Check it out: www.kaitlynave.com
Tell me about what you’re working on now and what’s next!
Updated 3/20**Covid-19 takes down my show. The show is Beauty and the Beast with Renaissance Music Theatre Company. It was set to open on March 25th, but it has been postponed until next summer, likely June 2021 at Plays and Players. It will be a blast. Now everyone has plenty of time to schedule for it. Keep those June weekends open! During this strange time of social distancing and quarantine, I am refining my audition book and monologues to prep for auditions (whenever they start back up again).
How is this character like you? Different? I play one of the Silly Girls. We are both young women trying to do our best in the world we live in. She (who I’ve named Colette Beaumont) is older than the other silly girls and feels like she needs to be married asap. We’re set in mid-1700s, remember. And here I am: working two part-time jobs, auditioning, and trying to pay my rent. We all out here trying. Colette cares a lot about public opinion, and I try not worry over it. Colette also uses gossip as a tool to subtly sway opinions and take down her enemies.
What’s the biggest challenge about taking on this role? Since it is set in a historic time period, you have to be careful not to let modern tendencies slip in – no swaying of the hips, certain movements of the head or hands, etc. You don’t want to break the world of the play. Also – our director doesn’t want this production to be campy like the cartoon version. So as a silly girl who adores Gaston, I shouldn’t be fanning myself or literally falling over him. I have to find another movement that fits within the time period.
Without giving anything away, what’s your favorite line of dialogue? “What do you want to be for the rest of your life, Cogsworth: a man or a mantle clock?”
If you could play any other character in this show, who would it be? Lumiere, the most dramatic candelabra.
What kind of roles do you prefer? Paid. Haha. But really – I’m new to the Philly theatre scene, so I’m submitting to everything I can get to with public transit (I don’t have a car, but I think I might need one). I love roles that strongly resonate with the current social/political climate.
When was your first role as a performer? Technically, it was a surfer angel in a musical at church when I was 7 or 8. My twin sister and I were twin surfer angels, Harpo and Halo Hattie, and I’m pretty sure I kept stealing her lines because I thought she took too long to say them. (Sorry, Claire!) One was “Bogus, dude!” after we learned we would not be getting hot cocoa. Then, in high school, I played Irena Synkova in I Never Saw Another Butterfly.
What do you love about your voice? I love the feeling of space and the resonance that happens as a result when I’m singing a properly open vowel above F5.
How has Starling Voice Studio helped you? I took voice lessons in college, and I missed them after moving to Philadelphia. Starling Voice Studio helped me get my voice practice back into gear and helped me work on my audition book. It has also be super fun to perform in the studio’s cabarets!
What’s your vocal goal this year? Learn and practice more classical pieces. As my mom says – If you don’t use it, you lose it.
Catch Kaitlyn in Renaissance Music Theatre’s production of Beauty and the Beast!
