Mia Barron

Q & A with Mia Barron whe she starred in the Lincoln Center Theater's LCT3 production of What Once We Felt which ran Off-Broadway at the Duke On 42nd Street from 26 Oct - 21 Nov 2009.

Date of birth
18 Nov

Place of birth
Toronto.

Currently living in
Harlem.

Did you go to training school, if so which one?
I went to the Graduate Acting Program at New York University.

As an actor, do you have a preference for stage, tv or film?
I'd love to have some more experiences on television and film, but for me, the process of rehearsing a play is always what feels like home.

Your first stage performance.
John D. Runkle elementary school. My first grade class did a play version of the children's book "Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears". I was the narrator. The set was made of cardboard and fell over during the opening few minutes. It really prepared me for a life in the theatre.

Can you briefly tell us how you became involved with What Once We Felt?
I did a reading of it through Lincoln Center in the spring and was immediately fascinated by the play, so I was thrilled when Lincoln Center asked me to be in it as part of their actual season.

Can you briefly tell us about the character you play in What Once We Felt?
Macy O. Blonsky is a writer who learns through the course of the play that she will do anything to get her book published.

Career highlight to date.
Being part of the Coast of Utopia was a singular experience, to be part of an epic event like that. On a much smaller, more personal scale, I co-wrote a show called Big Times with two friends and we worked on it for many years. Leigh Silverman directed it, and when we finally got a production off-broadway, after all the time spent developing it, well, it felt the way I imagine it must feel when your child first learns to walk.

What roles would you most like to play?
I guess I fantasize more about working with specific writers. For instance, I have a burning desire to be in a new Tony Kushner play.

Who are your Favourite actors?
I love so many actors, but I get a special thrill watching great actors who've been working at their craft for a long time. The ease they bring to the work combined with their depth of experience, I love watching those people particularly, people like Judi Dench, Geraldine Page, Rosemary Harris, Lois Smith, Marian Seldes....

What is the most annoying part about your job?
The job itself is wonderful, it's getting the job that's a torture.

If you hadn't become a performer, what might you have done instead?
In reality, I have no other skills. In my fantasy, I'm a human rights activist who dances flamenco on her off nights.

If you could meet anyone in the world dead or alive who would it be and what would you say to them?
Hmm...first person that comes to mind is Groucho Marx. I'd ask him to tell me his favorite joke, the one he's kept secret from everyone all these years because it was possibly too funny to handle.

Favourite after-show haunts
I'm afraid I'm not too original in that department. I go to the places a lot of the actors go post show...Cafe Un Deux Trois, Westbank.

What was the last book you read, and name some of your favourite authors
James Baldwin's Another Country, Philip Roth's Sabbath's Theatre, All of Alice Munro's short stories, All of Chekhov's short stories, James Agee's Death in the Family, Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter, Moby Dick, Anna Karenina, Mrs. Dalloway, Love in the Time of Cholera, Bleak House...

What was the last film you saw, and name some of your favourite movies
The last film I saw was the Coen Brother's new movie A Serious Man, which was great, and starred the genius Michael Stuhlbarg, which was an extra thrill. As far as films I love, Citizen Kane, The Third Man, Raging Bull, A Shadow of a Doubt, Fanny and Alexander, The Seven Samurai, Bringing up Baby, Bicycle Thief, Nights of Cabiria, Triplets of Belleville, Toto Le Hero, Nashville, Bananas....

Favourite TV programs
I actually don't have a tv, so I'm embarrassingly not up on tv shows.

Favourite holiday destinations
There are so many places I want to travel. I just went to visit my little brother who is currently living in Istanbul. We took a road trip down the coast of Turkey, and had many road trippy Turkishy adventures.

Do you have any hobbies?
Eating, napping and reading are things I'm very good at. Hobbies I always imagined I'd cultivate if I had time for are origami, skeet shooting, and muffin baking.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you take with you?
Uh-oh, I haven't made that list yet.

What are your future plans?
Making my list of what would to take if I were stranded on a desert island.