Glassheart Interview: Meghann Garmany, playing “Only”
GLASSHEART
by Reina Hardy
presented by Everyday Inferno Theatre Company
The Access Theater
380 Broadway, NYC
October 19th-28th, 2017
Tickets: $5-18
“In the empty living room of a shabby apartment, a Beast is crying. There is just enough light to see that he is monstrous, and clutching something precious to him.”
Beauty never showed up. Centuries after the curse, the Beast and his last remaining magical servant are holed up in a ramshackle apartment, managed by a mysterious landlady with a suspicious taste for gingerbread. When an eligible maiden moves in next door, “happily ever after” feels agonizingly within reach, but we all know that in fairytales, nothing is exactly as it seems. Full of humor, magic, and belief in the life-altering power of love, Glassheart is a witty and decidedly adult take on a classic tale that explores the space between light and dark, and the sacrifices we make in search of an ordinary life.
What household object would you not want to live without?
Truthfully, the first thing I do when I get home at night is turn on a lamp and turn off the overhead lighting. One of my dearest and oldest friends, we’ve known each other since we were six and we were college roommates, loathes over-head lighting. I do too. I don’t know if it’s a habit I picked up from her or something I’ve always done, but yeah, I really do love lamps. They make the home a better place.
What about the play are you most excited to share?
There’s so much I’m excited to share, but currently I’m most excited to share the moments of magic. In the rehearsal rooms, we’ve built in these moments of magic for ourselves surrounded by folding chairs, rehearsal blocks, and fluorescents; I am so excited to explore these moments surrounded by everything the design team has created and to share these moments with an audience. The feeling of a roomful of people experiencing a moment of wonder together is palpable and so thrilling to be a part of, let alone orchestrate! Also…CANDY. I’m very excited to share candy.
What do you wish the theatre had more of?
Ah, here’s my soap-box…now what do I do it with? The short version, I wish the theatre was as diverse as the world around us, and I wish it was more accessible to the world around us.
The long version, the theatre could use a lot. It could use more women, people of color, LGBTQIA people, and people with disabilities. They all possess the ability to create and to produce creative work. Like the world around us, all of these groups could use more representation. I’d love to see more diverse stories, from life-experiences and identities I’ve never had. On a personal note, more queer representation and experiences would be great. I’d love to play a lesbian that gets to be happy and live their life and maybe…I don’t know…not die horribly or have something horrible happen to them. I’d love to play a lesbian in a story that has nothing to do with being a lesbian. Sometimes it happens, I’ve had theatre experiences here that have opened my mind to other cultures and experiences, pieces of history I was oblivious to or had only seen through a white perspective, or encountered a gay character in a story-line that had nothing to do with them being gay. But yeah, “more of” that. There are lots of voices and stories that aren’t just waiting to be heard, they are already there, you just have to listen.
I also think it would be great if more people could afford to go to the theatre. Perhaps if the audiences in commercial theatres began to hold as much diversity and experience as the people in the streets, the diversity and experiences on stage would begin to reflect that. I’m not sure what the answer is here, but I know it’s not found at a “discounted price” of $85. More ticket initiatives? Government funding? How do we find something that’s feasible, but also sustainable in the commercial world? I could talk myself in circles on this one.
I’ll also just go ahead and say that I’m really proud to work with Everyday Inferno. They are a very female driven company telling stories centered around women, but they also really work to take whatever steps they can towards inclusivity and affordability. It’s not a perfect check box. There will always be mis-steps and more that can be done, but to work with a company that keeps trying and to know they’re not alone in that, that other companies and artists are also trying, it keeps me hopeful.
What would your character’s Karaoke song be?
I think Karaoke decisions, like many choices in life, are based on current mood and level of consumption. If Only’s letting loose and shining bright, “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness. If she’s on a bender and The Beast is having a particularly bad day, “Torn” by Natalie Imbruglia. But at the end of the night, as the bar begins to clear and the last drinks are poured, she makes herself a warm spotlight and shuts the place down with “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston.
MEGHANN GARMANY* (Only) is a core company member of Everyday Inferno and has been seen previously in EITC productions including Reina Hardy’s A Map to Somewhere Else and the development of Nora Sørena Casey’s Dreams of Malinche and Regina Robbins’ Quicksand as part of the 2017 Access Theatre residency. Other credits include The Mask of the Jaguar King (The Schoolhouse Theatre, Croton Falls NY), Bonesetter: A Tragislasher (Spicy Witch Productions), The Woman American (Samuel French OOB Festival), and Fengar Gael’s Devil Dog Six. Meghann is an alumna of the Theatre Arts Department of Virginia Tech. She is thrilled to go on yet another magical journey with Everyday Inferno and hopes you will continue to join and support us. @MeghannGarmany (Twitter and FB), @TheGarm (Instagram), www.MeghannGarmany.com
*Denotes member of Actors’ Equity Association
