10 Questions
Take Ten: Marni Penning
An actor who has appeared in 54 productions of 23 Shakespearian plays, MARNI PENNING is reveling in The Book of Will at Round House Theatre through December 30. Check out this week’s Take Ten for a glimpse of her rabbit-hole beginnings, some trippy onstage experiences, and dreams of the Dalai Lama.
1) What was the first show you ever saw, and what impact did it have?
The first one I remember seeing was Alice in Wonderland at Children's Theatre of Arlington (CTA - now Encore Stage and Studio). I was completely stunned that kids could do an entire production onstage and people would flock to see it. I wanted to be up there.
2) What was your first involvement in a theatrical production?
I had already been doing little plays at home with my sisters and cousins, even wrote a skit that my friends and I performed for the PTA, so I auditioned for CTA when I was 8 (but you had to be 9) and ended up performing with them in many plays until I was 14. It was all over after that.
3) What’s your favorite play or musical, and why do you like it so much?
I guess it would be cliche to say Hamilton, but it's awesome. I'm a Shakespearean (I've done 54 productions of 23 of Shakespeare's plays), so the accessibility of the history resonating through so many layers of ages and societal levels astounds me. Were Shakespeare alive today, he'd be Lin-Manuel Miranda.
4) What’s the worst day job you ever took?
Oh, God. So many. I think it must have been working as a consumer relations representative for a major canned food company when I lived in the Midwest. People don't call unless they're really upset. I ended up being yelled at all day by angry folks from all over the country. I went home crying several times. I try to be as kind as possible to consumer reps now; I know what they're going through.
5) What is your most embarrassing moment in the theatre?
I was playing the lead in a Shakespeare play about 7 or 8 years ago in Orlando (I think Portia in Merchant) and came running out, caught my foot on my long skirt, and my feet went right out from under me - I slammed down flat on my face in front of a sold-out house. Luckily, it was an entrance where I was laughing, and I just rolled on my back and burst out in hysterics while I continued my lines as if I meant to do it. Thankfully I wasn't hurt!
6) What are you enjoying most about working on The Book of Will at Round House Theatre?
The people. The entire company is a joy to watch onstage and we all get along so well backstage. Ryan (Rilette, our director) makes it fun, never stressful, always cracking jokes, so that the mood is always light and I look forward to work every day! Also the Shakespearean geekery is through the roof, and the attention to detail in the production is incredible - they *built* an entire Shakespeare first folio from scratch! - these are my people.
7) Other than your significant other, who’s your dream date (living or dead) and why?
Perhaps the Dalai Lama... I would love some advice and perspective on living through our crazy times without going crazy myself.
8) What is your dream role/job?
I'd love to do a solo show one of these days - it would be an amazing challenge. I'm also looking forward to more audiobook narration; I have a 5-year-old, and it would be nice to have more flexibility in my schedule to spend more time with him. It's hard to miss bedtime six nights a week.
9) If you could travel back in time, what famous production or performance would you choose to see?
No question - I would want to see a premiere of one of Shakespeare's plays with him in it. And then I'd hang around at the taphouse after the show to ask him as many questions as I could before they kicked me out.
10) What advice would you give to an 8-year-old smitten by theatre / for a graduating MFA student?
To both: Treat everyone you meet with respect. Today's phone-answerers are tomorrow's casting directors. To the 8-year-old - see as much theatre as you can, and learn as much as you can about the world. Find something you LOVE that has nothing to do with theatre for your downtimes between shows (if it's something you can make money with later, so much the better). Don't neglect the rest of your studies for theatre alone - the best theatre professionals have a wide range of experience and knowledge. To the MFA student - go to as many auditions as you can so that you aren't hanging your success on a few. Make it routine: go to an audition, then plan to go to your favorite coffee shop to relax. Auditioning is your job. The roles are paid vacations.
MARNI PENNING is a playwright, teacher, VoiceOver artist, children's book illustrator, two-time Helen Hayes Award nominee, and other-award-winning actress who lives with her husband, son, dog, fish, and chickens in Falls Church, VA. Marni is currently performing Rebecca Heminges/Anne Hathaway in The Book of Will at Round House (her 2nd appearance there after playing extremely-pregnant Mae in the award-winning Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Mitch Hébert, in 2016), and just completed a critically-acclaimed turn as Roy Cohn in Are You Now... at MetroStage. Career includes 54 productions of 23 of Shakespeare's plays, and she has toured, taught, and coached Shakespeare for over 25 years. Ms. Penning is also a co-founder of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, for whom she has performed over 35 roles, including Juliet, Kate, Rosalind, Beatrice, and Hamlet. DC: Shakespeare Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Folger, Washington Stage Guild, American Century. Regional: Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Georgia Shakespeare, Human Race. Film: Mona Lisa Smile, Sonnet #77. Television: ‪Saturday Night Live, All My Children, Guiding Light‬. Playwright: Carol's Christmas, DC 1-Minute Play Festival (4 years).
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