Legally Blonde- meet cast member Maria Ciarrocchi

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

My primary role is Elle’s Mom.  For me the fun part of this role is trying to make her multi-dimensional in a limited amount of time.  Elle’s a pretty awesome person and given her parents' presence in the show it seems as though they have a great relationship so I like to think that Elle got some of her awesomeness from her parents – especially her mother.

What have you learned about yourself in playing this role?

That apparently I am now aging into Mom roles =)

If you could describe your character in one word, what would it be?

Supportive

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

This is such a FUN, energetic show and I hope the audience leaves humming and energized.  But aside from that it’s also a great story about discovering who you are and learning that sometimes the thing you think is the absolute best thing for you turns out not to be but leads you on an unexpected path to extraordinary things. 

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

I think this is the first modern (this century) musical I’ve been in so it’s a slightly different type of music and movement then I am used to – it’s been really fun to learn!

How long have you been acting? How did you get involved with LTA?

I’ve been acting since I was nine.  I took a significant break after college while building my career but missed it so I googled theatres close by, LTA came up and in 2006 I walked through the doors for the first time.  It took me about 5 minutes to know that I wanted to make a home for myself here!

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

As an actor, I think the most important thing to understand is that not getting cast in a show is 9 times out of 10 not a reflection on your talent level but rather a whole host of other factors.  Sometimes you just aren’t right for a particular show but the next one you audition for you could be 100% perfect for it.  I think once you understand that then it enables you to be less nervous in auditions – at least that is what happened to me.

What are some of your other interests aside from theater?  Tell us about yourself.

I’ve been in Alexandria for almost 15 years and by day I’m Vice President of Public Policy and Programs at the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce.