March 16, 2006 Issue
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March 16, 2006 Issue
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Classified Chestnut Hill Local Webmaster Don't Miss an Issue, Tell us what you see or ©2005 Chestnut Hill Local Winner of Three |
Mt. Airy actress is feeling effects of age discrimination
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St. Patrick’s Day brings to mind images of shamrocks, ale, leprechauns and pots of gold. For some it’s a holiday of partying and bright green décor, but for others it is a reminder of the traditional heritage and culture from the lush Celtic isle of Ireland.
Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa, playing now through April 2 at the Arden Theatre Company, reflects the powerful struggles and triumphs of an Irish culture through a family of sisters. The piece is a “dynamic play about a family that persists through their difficult times,” according to Mt. Airy actress Grace Gonglewski, playing Maggie, one of the five sisters. “Although there is no patriarch or matriarch, their presence is immensely felt.”
The play focuses on the struggles of the Mundy sisters, Maggie played by Gonglewski, Kate (Megan Bellwoar), Rose (Jennifer Childs), Chrissy (Mary McCool) and Agnes (Suzanne O’Donnell), through the eyes of Michael, Chrissy’s son, in 1936 Ireland. “Love is the backbone” of this family, said Gonglewski, but it’s not without tension.
Gonglewski, who has only a “wee bit” of Irish descent (one-16th, to be exact), actually toured Ireland for a month as part of InterAct Theatre Company, based in Philadelphia. But Gonglewski makes her home in Mt. Airy with her two-year-old daughter, Silvia Mae, and husband, choreographer Eric Schoefer.
Gonglewski knew she wanted to be an actress “right out of the womb.” She was the fifth of seven children, and said she was always clamoring for attention. “I used to tell my mom I was going to be a star,” she said with a little childish accent on star. “I don’t think it’s something you choose to do; it chooses you.”
She attended North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, N.C.; the school “grooms” professional actors and only accepts 25 students into the program each year. Due to the intensity of the program, there were only 11 students left in her class when Gonglewski graduated.
After college, Gonglewski said she had her life planned, which started with living in Europe and performing with English-speaking theaters. She had in-hand her plane ticket for Germany, where her sister was living at the time, when she got a call from the Walnut Street Theatre inviting her to audition for their Dorothy Haas Fellowship. Taking the theater’s advice to never turn down an opportunity, Gonglewski attended the audition and was the first female fellow in the Haas program.
“Thank God I took that job,” said Gonglewski. During her time as the Dorothy Haas Fellow, Gonglewski said she met people who helped shape her acting career in the city.
“I love Philadelphia,” said the Central Pennsylvanian-raised actress. “It has a very supportive community for actors,” adding that the competition here isn’t as “cut-throat” as in places such as New York City. And when she did get to Europe, she was actually disappointed by the quality of their English-speaking theatrical productions.
She said the hardest thing about her profession in recent years has been “having to see roles go by” because of her age. Gonglewski said she was often cast as the leading lady because of her stature and skills, but now she finds she’s not getting the lead parts she used to. “I finally have the years of experience, but suddenly I’m too old for the parts,” she said.
But that’s what is so great about Dancing at Lughnasa, Gonglewski shared. “Four kick-(butt), in-their-prime women on stage together who have all been in the spotlight, so we can share the moments. (This play) is so ensemble-based.”
Gonglewski has performed in 18 roles at the Arden, including the plays Hedda Gabler, Candida and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. On first preview night of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Gonglewski said her chow-chow Labrador mix, Cora, who is the “big fluffy dog often seen outside of Infusion (Coffee and Tea Gallery)” in Mt. Airy, was backstage. Cora “pranced out into the house” during the show and lay at an audience member’s feet, and the actors had to improvise to return her backstage.
Gonglewski has also performed with Walnut Street Theatre, Wilma Theater, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Delaware Theatre Company and The Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. She is the 1995 recipient of the F. Otto Haas Award for Emerging Theatre Artist given at the Barrymore Awards.
Gonglewski’s voice is heard on television as the voice for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, CarSense, Comcast, Beneficial Savings Bank and Lancaster General Hospital, among others.
She used to travel a lot, but now with daughter Silvia Mae, she stays around this area, often taking trips to the Wissahickon to run and canoe. She loves the games “hanafuda” and mahjong, Oriental games of cards and tiles, respectively. It was at a friend’s game night at Borders Bookstore that her husband fell in love with her and tried to court her. Gonglewski, who was dating someone at the time, told him if he wanted to get to know her that he could start writing to her, and for two years they wrote each other while living in the same city. “That’s how we got to know each other,” she said. “I definitely married for love.” They’ve been married now for four years.
Dancing at Lughnasa, directed by Aaron Posner, opened at the Arden Theatre Company, 40 N. 2nd St., on March 7 and runs through April 2. Tickets cost $27 to $45, and are available at the box office, 215-922-1122, or online at www.ardentheatre.org. Performances on March 16, 22 and 26 will feature a post-show discussion with the cast.
