Name: Siobhan McManamon
Year: 2017
House: Gardiner
Major(s): Classics & Theatre
Hometown: Wilmington, DE
Tell me about the play you were just in!
Portia Krieger, a Smith alumna, directed this semester’s production of Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare. It was a total blast. It’s already a hilarious show, but when you take a group of fantastic, fun-loving actors and throw them in a room with one of Shakespeare’s comedies, something magical happens. It took a lot of time to put it together — “I’m sorry, I can’t, I have rehearsal” became almost a mantra — but every moment was worth it, even those frantic ones of changing everything the day before opening night (which always happens).
What was your typical rehearsal like?
A typical rehearsal went like this: The cast would arrive and anyone who was late even by thirty seconds would get a text or call from our amazing stage manager (“Hi. You’re late,” was how it usually went). Then we might get notes from the director, see what was new with the set, and then jump right in. After we got our fight choreography, we would have a fight call (where we the practice fight scenes to ensure safety) before rehearsal and go through every scene of violence once or twice. Oh, and we had dance parties before every performance to warm up.
What made this production unique?
It was a Shakespearean play directed by a woman with a cast comprised entirely of women. It’s pretty powerful because Taming is one of Shakespeare’s more misogynistic plays (unless it’s taken as a satirical commentary on his contemporary society’s views on women, marriage, and gender dynamics, but that’s been an entire scholarly debate for decades). By having it directed and performed by women, we inverted the meaning in a manner that I don’t think could have been done any other way.
What role did you play?
I played Grumio,the kind of witty, kind of unintelligent, kind of inconsistently-written main servant/sidekick to Petruchio.
How did you get involved in the theatre department/productions at Smith?
Honestly, I just auditioned! Well, actually, first I took an acting class, which allowed me to get to know a couple of the professors and students in the department. I only got involved in a production this semester because I finally gathered up the courage to audition (and a few friends might or might not have dragged me over to the building).
What’s been your favorite Smith theatre class?
Probably that first acting class. It had such a warm, supportive, enthusiastic atmosphere. I believe that I definitely grew because of it, both as a performer and as a person (cliche, I know). Still, I have to say, many of my favorite memories of the theatre department come from that class and with those people.
What would your dream role be?
Gosh, I don’t know. Probably — and I want to emphasize the fact that I cannot sing, so this really isn’t an option, but if I could sing — Cathy from Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years (which, by the way, is being made into a movie with Anna Kendrick). She’s funny, she’s relatable, and she wants to be independent, but her lack of self-esteem and craving for external approval lead her to place essentially all of her self-worth in her man. It’s truly heartbreaking. Did I mention she’s hilarious? For a role that I might actually be able to play because of the lack of singing, Harper from Tony Kushner’s Angels in America would be really fascinating.