Meet Janice Zucker (Louisa) from LTA's "Design for Murder"

 

What do you find appealing about your character and this show?
She’s funny, wealthy, eccentric and a bit kooky!  (She believes in astrology in the 1930’s.)  It’s a supporting role but I’m having SO much fun playing her! 

What have you learned about yourself in playing the role of “Louisa”?
That it is also fun to play a character that is NOT nasty (which is usually the kind of character that I VERY MUCH like to play.)  In fact, I like playing that nasty kind of character so much that people have told me lately that I’m getting type cast!  But Louisa is so different from those type of characters and I have enjoyed experimenting with how I’m playing her and thoroughly enjoying it! 

What do you want the audience to experience/take away from this show?
Most of all to escape for a few hours and enjoy themselves but also to see if they can guess who the murderer is before it is revealed! 

How does this show differ from other shows you have worked on?
Because I have a supporting role—I wasn’t called for a lot rehearsals and that felt strange and very different from what I am used too!   I really didn’t start to bond with the rest of the cast until we started running the show.  Once we started doing that and also being with them all in the green room getting ready before each show-- I have definitely bonded with them all now! 

How long have you been acting and what made you get involved in theatre? How did you get involved with LTA?
I have been singing since I was very young and started acting in Jr. and Sr. high school.  I kept singing but didn’t keep up with my acting until after I went back to school in the late 90’s to finish a long overdue undergrad.  I graduated from GMU in 2001 with a musical theatre degree and haven’t stopped acting since then!  My first show that I did with LTA was in 2015 where I played Frieda in The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.  Since then, I have acted at LTA in The Fantasticks, Stop Kiss, Ripcord and now Design for Murder. 

What advice would you give others who are interested in working in theatre?
If you’re interested in acting, directing, producing, building sets, painting sets, set dressing, props etc. there is a place for you at LTA and other theatres around the DMV.  If none of those things interest you but you still want to be involved somehow, there are other areas such as ushering, being head of the house, box office, etc.  The bottom line is that they are always looking for people to help out in many different areas!  All you need to do is get yourself out there!  And don’t be afraid—we all started somewhere!