This week, Her Campus met up with Katherine Stevens, who is starring in August: Osage County, the University’s show of the year, which will be seen by over a 1000 people. We chat about the play, taking on Julia Roberts and her love of Miley Cyrus.
Name: Katherine Stevens
Year: First
Subject: English
Tell us a bit about the play…
August: Osage County is set in modern day Oklahoma, and is about the most dysfunctional family. They have all sorts of problems and the play is really about them coming to terms with some of them, and being defeated by others. I play Barbara, the eldest of the three daughters of the family. She’s going through messy divorce, which she is desperately trying to keep from her family.
Have you acted much before?
I’ve been in school plays since I was 12, and then joined the National Youth Theatre in 2011. I was also in an independent film this summer, which was an amazing new experience, as I had only ever acted in the theatre before. The film will hopefully be released later this year, and will be part of some international film festivals. Acting is a massive part of my life, and it is an absolute honour to be part of such a prestigious production.
Do you have any funny or embarrassing stories about your past acting experiences?
Kissing onstage at school is always excruciating, no matter how grown up you’re being. You just know your fellow actors too well! When I played Viola in Twelfth Night, the guy who was playing Orsino managed to miss my mouth and kiss me on the earlobe, which was pretty bad.
How have rehearsals been going?
Rehearsals have been really good. August: Osage County is an ensemble piece, and the directors are rightly putting a lot of emphasis on us being a team. We are playing a family, and even though there are tensions within the family, there needs to be a united feeling, lots of finishing each other’s sentences, that type of thing, so we’ve been working on that a lot.
It’s pretty unusual for a first year to land such a big role in a Northcott show. How does that make you feel?
I feel really honoured and surprised to have got such an incredible role while still a fresher, but I will give it my best shot. It’s really amazing to be involved so early on. I’m so excited to be performing in such an incredible space. It is slightly daunting; the Northcott is a professional theatre, but I’ll try and give Julia Roberts, who is playing Barbara in the film, a run for her money.
Do you have any guilty pleasures?
Miley Cyrus is a big one. Downton Abbey too, an hour of my week is dedicated to that. I’m on YouTube a lot, I get caught between video to video. And cheese.
And finally, why should we all come and see August: Osage County?
Everyone should come and see August: Osage County because it’s a brilliant portrait of family life, and even if your family is perfect, there are aspects everyone will recognise. It will hold the mirror up in ways that are not always flattering but always fun, and real, and the characters are brilliantly drawn. The play is like peering in the window of a neighbour’s house, which itself if a guilty pleasure!
If you’d like to see Katherine playing Barbara, August: Osage County runs from the 5th to the 8th of February, and tickets will be on sale from November on the Northcott Theatre website.