In Part Two of a series of interviews with the cast of Loves and Hours at Laurel Mill Playhouse, meet Terri Laurino.
Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they may have seen you perform on the stage before. What roles did you play in these shows?
My name is Terri Laurino. Some recent productions that I’ve been in are I Hate Hamlet (Laurel Mill Playhouse – LMP), Eat the Runt (Arts Collective), Variations on Flight (Arena Players) and Les Belles Soeurs (Fells Point Corner Theater)
Why did you want to be part of the cast of Loves and Hours? I have never heard of this play before. Had you known about it before? And what intrigued you about the play?
Getting this role was Kismet for me as I had never read the play but wound up at auditions because I was doing Silver Linings at LMP. It has turned into an incredible opportunity for me as an actress to be given this chance to play a role with such complexity and to work with an absolutely amazingly talented director in Daniel Douek as well as a fabulous cast and of course a wonderful playhouse and producer in Maureen Rogers.
Who do you play in the show? How do you relate to him or her? What traits do you share? Does this character remind you of a similar character that you have played before?
I play Sara. There is so much of Sara I have lived and yet so much of Sara I have not. It’s a wonderful diversity in knowing her and having to have gotten to know her through Daniel’s wonderful characterization process.
What is Loves and Hours about from the point of view of your character?
Relationships, with others and ourselves, as simply and as complicated as that.
What challenges have you had preparing for the role, and how did Director Daniel Douek help you through these challenges? What was the best advice he gave you on how to play your role?
One challenge was having the confidence to play Sara’s cited physical attractiveness as well as the confidence that she could fascinate a young man like Dan Jr. Daniel was pivotal in helping me to bring out her confidence and her fragility making her what I hope to be a character that the audience can relate to.
What is your favorite line or lines that your character says, and what is your favorite line that someone else says in the show?
I hate to go all actor studio on you folks, but Sara’s best lines, for me, are her internal lines. As for my favorite line in the show: It’s when Dan Jr. says “That’s some hypocritical b.s!” (This speaks to me!)
What does Loves and Hours have to say to today’s audiences?
You have to love yourself before you can love anyone else.
If you could change what happens to your character – what would you like to see happening to your character at the end of the play?
I think I’ll leave that to the audience to ponder…
Why should local theatergoers come and see Loves and Hours?
It’s for anyone who ever took a chance on love and lost…even if it was just a little bit of themselves along the way…
What’s next for you on the stage?
Maybe some behind the scenes work? To be decided…
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes, with one intermission.
Loves and Hours plays through February 5, 2017 at Laurel Mill Playhouse – 508 Main Street, in Laurel, MD. For tickets, call (301) 617-9906, or purchase them online.
LINKS:
Review: Loves and Hours at Laurel Mill Playhouse by Ilene Chalmers.
Interview: Meet the Cast of ‘Loves and Hours at Laurel Mill Playhouse Part 1: Alan Barnett.
Interview: Meet the Cast of ‘Loves and Hours’ at Laurel Mill Playhouse. Part 2: Terri Laurino.
