Wherefore art thou, Meredith Marie Powell?

Wherefore art thou,

Meredith Marie Powell?

I do have a cah chahgah, it’s just, I don’t have a cah.

Well, you’re gonna be in a cah.

You’re right, we’re going to Brandeis today. My cah died, so it’s just…uh…your name.

Meredith Marie Powell.

We’ve got Frank in the house. You make me feel so young, Marebear. Where are you from?

Franklin, Massachusetts.

I studied at Franklin School of the Performing Arts.

I went there when I was probably in second or third grade, then I took a break, then I did mostly voice lessons from fourth to eighth.

So, where did you go to school?

Dean College, which is also in Franklin because it had the four-year theater program which is what I was looking for.

And you graduated this spring?

Yes I did. It was pretty exciting. I was actually really excited to graduate and go out into the world and find anything I could grab my hands on, in theater, acting, techie, building sets or working on lights. I just love being part of theater.

So what attracted you to this program?

Uh, my brother actually told me about this program, I’m a, I like Shakespeare, I find his work really beautiful…his like, prose, his poetry…and I love his shows, they’re always so much fun.

I was thinking about joining this, but then so many people from Dean College, what’s the point, and then my brother finds out it’s going to be here, because he goes to school here, and he said “Meredith, you have to apply to Commonwealth Shakespeare Company,” and I was thinking about it, and he was like “Do it.”

So the next thing I know every text…”Do it,” “do it,” “do it.”

So you graduated this May. What is your favorite Shakespeare play?

Oh, that’s hard. If I had to choose right now, from the top of my head, it would be…and it’s going to sound so cliché, but A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I just love that show because it seriously can be interpreted in so many different ways.

Is your favorite character from Midsummer?

It’s uh, I’ve got a love for all characters, um if I had to say one. I don’t know if I have a favorite character. You might have to come back to me on this one.

You can think about it for the next portion of the interview, but you’re giving me a name.

It is actually from Much Ado, Beatrice is actually one of my favorite characters. I like women who have powerful voices. Who didn’t need a man or something like that to speak her mind. I deserve to be heard.

With wit.

And sassy.

So, do you have a favorite experience at this program so far?

I have to say one of my favorite experiences here…one was voice class. I felt like I got to know my group so much better. I got to see them in places of vulnerability and we could just be open and received with love and kindness. (cough) As I’m clearing my throat of peanut butter. Oh no that’s going to make it into the interview.

It is.

I am a very tight person, sometimes in my jaw, jaw tension, neck tension, and it was nice to be in an environment where I could use my body to express myself and my voice. Especially my voice because I feel like its not heard very much.

Was there any specific moment?

I guess when, I was nervous when I did my own voice pictures. I’m not a person that likes to share my feelings a lot. I don’t want to burden anyone with who I am. It was nice to let myself go and how I’ve been feeling. It was nice to have people open their arms to me and say “we didn’t know you felt like this.” It was just very heartwarming to receive.

It’s interesting. In acting you feel like you have to bare all and show everything, um, but if part of who you are is holding on, it should only empower you more. It only informs you.

It can.

The other fun time was playing Cards Against Humanity.

Do you have a favorite piece of advice that you gave, received, or you love?

We all have our own mountains to climb, yes, we fall down and stumble, bruised, cut, sometimes maybe a broken bone or two. We have to know when the bones heal, when the scars heal, and some of them may not be fully healed, we pick ourselves back up, get rid of the dust and the dirt, and keep on walking up that mountain. Because at the very top waiting for you is what you’ve been working so hard to receive, and it’s very much worth the journey.

That was a quote from my Grandpa. He’s no longer with us, but he was a very wise man.