The Savannah Disputation- meet cast member Ashley Amidon!

What do you find appealing about your character and this show?

From the moment I read the script I thought it was fascinating. I’m normally drawn to dramas and darker comedies, so I like plays that have a depth to them. This play has four very strong characters that are all so different, even when they agree. I find Melissa particularly fascinating because she’s an evangelical Christian who goes door to door…. Which I actually did when I was an early teenager. My family went to a church for a few years that was fairly evangelical, and so some of her behaviors I’m able to look to my own experience.

I was drawn to this show so much that I agreed to costume it months ago, and ultimately decided to audition. So now I’m doing both, which is a little crazy, but has also allowed me to dress my own character exactly as I want!

What have you learned about yourself in playing the role of Melissa?

I’ve learned that I’m legitimately terrible at memorizing Bible verses! Lines are fine, but stick a bible verse in there, and suddenly I’m mixing up tenses, words, or spacing on it altogether. Compounding that issue, I have a (horrible) tendency to curse fluently when I can’t remember a line, so I’ll trail off in the middle of a bible verse and then curse trying to remember. And then curse more, when I realise what sacrilege I’m committing. Luckily I know the verses now, so no one in the audience will know my awful secret. Shhhh.

What do you want the audience to experience/take away from this show?

That you can disagree with someone – fundamentally – and still like and respect them as a person. I look at my Facebook feed and it’s amazing how polarized we are, so I really hope the audience can sit back, and whether they’re Baptist, Catholic, atheist or anything else, that they recognize the decency of other people. I think it’s easy to be black and while about things people feel passionately about (like religion) so I hope that the basic decency of the characters shines through.

How does this show differ from other shows you have worked on?

I haven’t worked on a show that featured religion as a central tenet since I was child, doing church theater (which is very different anyway). It’s been fascinating to see how woven in religion is to this script without feeling overly preachy.

How long have you been acting and what made you get involved in theatre? How did you get involved with LTA?

I’ve been acting since I was a kid actually. I took an extended break in college and grad school but really missed the creativity of theater. I work in politics so having something that is so very different from what I do during the day creates a good balance.

As for LTA it’s funny – a friend of mine told me about “some theater in old town that’s doing a Christmas show” and I auditioned with her, not assuming I’d be cast. I was, enjoyed the theater, and thought I’d stay. “That Christmas show” was A Christmas Carol, and the friend was Juli Tarabek Blacker, the Assistant Director for this show!

What advice would you give others who are interested in working in theatre?

I grew up doing theater as an actor, and I think sometimes you can have a dry spell of roles; you’re auditioning like crazy, and aren’t getting cast and it can be really disheartening. I had that and started teching, just to be involved, and found that I really like costuming, producing and directing. Not only will that help you work on shows where there might not be a part for you, or you didn’t get cast, but it’s also fascinating to see another side of a show. I’ve made some amazing friends through tech, and even gotten paid to costume a few times, and it’s allowed me to explore so many facets of theater.