Her Campus: You were recently cast in the MainStage Production this semester, Balm in Gilead. What are you most excited about regarding this production?
Anabelle: I am most excited about working with Phil Soltanoff again! He is such a kind, funny and crazy guy. He was my first director here at Skidmore. I worked with him last year on an experimental version of “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder and we lip-sync and mimicked the actors of a 1989 film version of the show. I am also very excited to be part of a production that is set in the 70s. Aesthetically, the 70s are one of my favorite eras.
HC: What do you know about the production so far, and the role that you will be playing in it?
AV: The play is set in a Manhattan diner around 93rd street and Broadway and is set in the 1970s as I said before. This is exciting because I grew up and live in Manhattan! The show is about Junkies, prostitutes, drug dealers, and such. It is very funny but also has some very crude language, as it is based off conversations that were actually recorded by the writer from people in cafes in the 1960s. I am going to play a character named Rust and I am very excited! All I know about her so far is that she is a lesbian who may or may not be a prostitute. I think that it is all depending on how the director wants to do the show and how I develop my character. I am really excited to play this character because she gets to have such an intense argument with another woman in the play.
HC: Is this your first role in a production through Skidmore’s Theater Department?
AV: It is not my first role. I have been extremely fortunate to have been cast four times.
HC: What has been the most significant challenge/setback in your career as an actor thus far?
AV: I feel like the best thing I can say here is that I am really being challenged to improvise material from my own life in my acting class and that is always difficult because I am basically stripping myself bare in front of other people. It is so rewarding though. I want to be pushed to do the things that will help me evolve as an actor.
HC: If you had to summarize your theatrical goals for the semester in three words, what would they be?
AV: Hahaha, well I think I would have to say: CRUSH THAT SH**
HC: What advice would you give to a Skidmore student who is looking to get involved in the theater community but doesn’t know how?
AV: First, I would tell them not to be shy about it because the theater community is a very open and welcoming crowd. The best way to get involved and meet people from the department is to go to the theater company meetings on Fridays. I would also tell them to just go up to any teacher or student and tell them that they want to get involved. The faculty and students will sincerely want to help!
HC: Do you think I have the potential to rock the Main Stage in the semesters to come?
AV: Oh f**k yeah! Delancey James is sure to be the main character in every show for the rest of our lives. Get ready because that name just never gets old and is never going away because the actress is the stuff.