Wherefore art thou, Sari Koppel?

Wherefore art thou,
Sari Koppel?

Hello there.
Hi.

Got Frank?
It soothes the nerves a little bit. This is really nerve-racking.

Ok. State your name.
Sari Koppel.

Where are you from, Sari Koppel?
I'm from Ithaca, New York.

Where do you go to school?
I go to school at the Hart School in Connecticut. I'm a Musical Theater student.

Year?
I am a sophomore.

Baby.
I know. Can I snap? (She begins snapping to Frank Sinatra.)

First question I'm going to ask you...what attracted you to this program?
I think, I think the real question is...um, attracted this program to me...no, they actually, they kinda found me, um I was at NETCs. And I got called back for Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. I was like, what's Commonwealth Shakespeare Company? I've never heard of this before.

And I go in, and, um they wanted me to do a second audition, but I didn't know when I was gonna be in Boston again, and so I was like, I have this piece that I haven't done in a while, and, "Can I look at my phone and like, do it for you in this weird hotel room right here?" And they were like sure. And I was like they're nice people, so I said yes.

That's my story. My relationship with Commonwealth Shakespeare Company.

Was it Adam, or was it...
It was Adam and...what's the girl with the blonde hair?

Beth.
Oh Beth. Beth. Adam and Beth. They were really pleasant.

What's your favorite experience here so far?
I'm, we've had one class, but I'm loving stage combat right now. It make me feel a little badass, which is exciting.

Have you ever done it before?
I've done like a little bit of hand-to-hand, but I've never got to hold a sword.

I felt like an idiot.
You just didn't know what you were doing.

The fact that you have a sword in your hand just makes you feel a little more powerful...about yourself.

Do you like the dagger or the rapier?
Um, I'm more of a dagger, because I have no idea what to do with the rapier.

It's so long.
It's so long. The dagger you just back hand it and you could like, I don't know. Griffin and I were like slitting each other's throats all the time the other day. It was fun.

Who won?
I don't remember. We just kinda liked killing each other. It was more the act, we weren't keeping score.

Good.
I hope this is interesting material.

This is the material. Now, back to Shakespeare. What is your favorite Shakespeare play?
I'm really new at the Shakespeare stuff. Like brand new. But, um, I saw a production of Julius Caesar one time with a gender blind cast and it was really awesome. So I'm gonna say that specific production.

Of Gaius Iulius Caesar. That's how you'd say it in Latin.
Yeah, precisely.

In Julius Caesar, there's a line, "What, ho!" I said that to my English teacher once.
How'd that go over for you?

I was a freshman in high school. Yikes. What's the other... "Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears."
I like to start off my text messages like that.

What characters have you been working on here?
Um, I did a little bit of Katherine from Shrew, but I want to work on a different Catherine, the one from Henry VIII because she's very regal and I want to try that out. I also think Lady Anne is pretty cool in Richard III. You'd get to bawl over a coffin and a dagger fight, so I'd try that too.

So, you're going into your sophomore year, musical theater, what's your favorite musical?
Oh stop.

I'm just curious.
Favorite musical...can you come back to me in like 90 years when I'm on my death bed and ask me again? It might be easier.

A few off the top of your head.
This is easier. Ragtime. Parade. I really, I mean, Bridges is really enjoyable.

Did you see it?
I did. I got to see Steven Pasquale on stage. I almost died. Um, the oldies, like Carousel. Not a lot of people like Carousel.

The song, "If I Loved You," that song, if you go slowly, if you go note by note, it's the most beautiful song.
Note by note.

Literally. If...I...loved...you.
It's beautiful.

It actually came on my shuffle this morning when I was at the gym. I was running those intervals and I heard some "If I Loved You" and I was thinking I can do this.

I forgot one of my favorite shows. It's 110 in the shade. That's probably at the top.

I worked on a song from that show this year. Which one...
That's my top right now.

The one in the beginning. "Love Don't Turn Away"
"Love Don't Turn Away"

"I have so many things I want to do for you"
"I have so many things saved up to say to you," Caroline.

Audra McDonald in that role.
Nobody's gonna get that reference.

That's okay. I love musical theater too. It's funny cause in like, Shakespeare when it goes into verse, it's like a song.
It's like singing, which is why I think it kinda resonates with me. Well, I'm really new to it, but it, the work makes sense to me, not saying I'm a master at it, but it makes sense.

Spiritually. In our musical theater spirit.
It fits well in me. Yeah.

Frank just took it down a notch over here.

Frank has his ways. Do you have a specific goal for your sophomore year at college?
Stay alive. I wanna stay alive. I want to make it through my 8:30-10:30 days.

There's a study done by Yale grad students that says that if you write down a goal, you're more likely to accomplish it.
So, now if I write this down, I'll be able to stay alive.

Right, so I'll write it down for you, and you'll be able to do it. I said I wanted to be in a mainstage production at my school, I was in two.
We don't perform until our junior year and senior year. It's all about the training.

Well, if you had a piece of advice, your favorite piece of advice to either give or get...receive?
Um, well, one thing my parents always say to me is no regrets. Um, yeah, no regrets. Live life with no regrets. Go into every audition without regret and then you won't have anything to worry about because you're like I put it all out there and I don't have to, next time I'll do better.

Do you have a monologue you want to share with me?
No.

YOU HAVE TO.
Um, here, why don't we play a game. It'll be like Shakespeare roulette. We're gonna open up to a page in my Much Ado script. I'm gonna open up to a page and you'll put a finger on the line and I'll read that line.

Are you breaking the rules of "Wherefore art thou," my interview series?
Yup, changing it up. We'll flip to the nearest monologue. Oh here. Wait, I have to look at the background. I don't like this one.

Maybe I should play it your way.

I'm difficult. My journal. How about this sonnet? I like this sonnet a lot. This is Sonnet 25. It's my favorite sonnet.


Is there anything else you want to say?
Caroline is my best friend and my best watchman. Yup.

The tears are coming.