The Revolutionists- meet cast member Dayalini Pocock!

What made you want to be a part of this show? I wanted to be working with LTA again, and this play offered a unique opportunity: characters that were complex and interesting, a period of history I was familiar with, and the character of Marianne I could identify with on multiple levels – feminism, freedom, friendship.

Doing a play during the Pandemic is challenging. How has this experience been different than other shows you have worked on? I was excited to learn and work with a new technology – Zoom for rehearsals; and how the cast and crew can operate as a team, virtually. However, I missed the physical interaction with the rest of the case and crew.

Have you done any other theater during the Pandemic? Yes. Jane Austen’s “Pride & Prejudice”, (Silver Spring Stage, April 2020 – show cancelled at the onset of pandemic). Lauren Gunderson’s “Ada & The Engine”. (January 2021, Silver Spring Stage, live performances broadcast). LTA’s “The Revolutionists” will be my third venture during a pandemic. (February 2021)

What do you want the audience to walk away thinking about after the show? Inequality among gender, among classes of society, and how it affected different people in different ways. Rebellious women fighting for equality have been around long before the Suffragettes 😊. And have some fun – laugh a little. It’s a comedy. 

What surprised you about the real characters depicted in The Revolutionists? That Marie Antoinette deserved a little more sympathy than history allowed her.

What made you get involved in theater?  How did you get involved with LTA? I have been involved in theater for as long as I can remember – from high school to adulthood. Theater is my passion and I had hoped to make it my profession, but Life got in the way of passion. Adopting a dual career, I trained and performed every chance I could get, and ended up in theaters - across four continents.

I first got involved in LTA when I auditioned for ‘A Christmas Carol’ selected for the Ghost of Christmas Past. A funny thing happened – I lost my voice completely just after a matinee performance. LTA got immediately creative and rigged me up with a mike and wires under my costume, so I could get out a hoarse whisper. It sounded so eerie and scary – that a child in the front row began to cry. Fortunately the next day, I took a cortisone shot – and was back onstage for the remainder of the performances and −− no other children cried!

My favorite LTA involvement -  ‘Enchanted April’. The set design --  between a gray wet England, and sunshine flower-filled Italy, in just 2 Acts -- was breathtaking.

What advice would you give others who are interested in working in theater? Read as many plays as you can – from Shakespeare to contemporary. Take professional theater training, or a college degree in the performing arts. Be prepared to work hard, take the rejection knocks (they will surely come!) on your chin, and learn from the Greats. If you can’t get to perform, volunteer at your local theater.

Dayalini will be playing Marianne Angelle in LTA’s The Revolutionists February 27-March 20. Tickets will be available soon, check the website for updates!