Rumors- meet cast member Stephanie Chu Rudden!

What have you learned about yourself in playing the role of “Chris”? Chris Gorman along with her husband, Ken, are the youngest members of the group. They are constantly trying to prove themselves worthy enough to hang with the group. I found that in developing Chris’ character I tapped into my own ideas of perfection and how much energy it takes to try to belong, something that we all struggle with at points in our lives.

What do you want the audience to experience/take away from this show? People are starting to come back to live theater and right now audiences need shows like Rumors to be an escape. I hope that they just get an opportunity to laugh and forget about their stresses for a little bit.

How does this show differ from other shows you have worked on? I normally perform in musicals. The last play I did was 10 years ago, and it’s great to flex different muscles. It’s also a joy to work with my real-life husband, Mike who plays Ken. Since we normally work on different types of shows, it’s a great experience to do this together. We also have a one-year-old, Cece. Life is completely different with her, especially balancing our time and energy. (We also couldn’t do it without the help of my parents, shoutout to Ong & Ba!)

How long have you been acting and what made you get involved in theatre? How did you get involved with LTA? I think I’ve been performing my entire life, but I have primarily been a lighting designer since college, having worked on hundreds of theater, dance, and concert events. I only recently decided to focus on acting, but have found that the technical and design knowledge has been invaluable. This is my fourth LTA show, having previously been in Avenue Q, Spamalot, and In the Heights.