Interview: Theatre Life with Tina Ghandchilar

Today's subject Tina Ghandchilar is currently living her theatre life in the most stoked way possible. She is currently preparing to star as Florence in Chess at The Theatre Lab School for the Dramatic Arts, which, in my opinion, is the best arts in education institution in DC. The production runs from April 27th through May 6th.

Tina's past performances at Theatre Lab and elsewhere might be some of the most intense and focused performances you'll have ever seen on a local stage. A few of these accomplishments include the lead in Jane Eyre, , and Martha in The Secret Garden at Theatre Lab; and Sawda in Scorched at Forum Theatre. On the lighter side, Tina has put every ounce of her totally stoked energy she has into Penny Pingleton in Hairspray at Riverside Dinner Theatre, Gilda in The Happy Elf at Adventure Theatre, and Marcy Park in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and the Housewife in Working - both at Keegan Theatre. She made her NYC debut in 2010 singing at the wedding of this columnist and the head of the BWW DC page, Jennifer Perry.

By day she is a Speech Language Pathologist for a Virginia school system.

From the first time that we heard Tina Ghandchilar sing "Sweet Liberty" in Theatre Lab's Jane Eyre we knew that Tina Ghandchilar was a special person and The Theatre Lab is a special place for artists. It pushes the limits of each budding performer with challenging work and the result is nothing short of amazing. When you are part of a Theatre Lab show or class, it's all about you, the performer being shown off to the fullest potential. I urge you to check out Chess at Theatre Lab if you possibly can. The show isn't done that often, and Tina's rendition of "Nobody's on Nobody's Side" is guaranteed to shake the rafters. Checkmate!!!

What was the show you saw that gave you the theatre bug?

Great question! I was eight years old and my parents took me to see the national tour of My Fair Lady at the National Theatre in DC. The actress playing Eliza Doolittle sparked some kind of theatre bug in me and from that moment onward I thought, "wow! I can do this...this is awesome! I can totally do this!"

Of course, years later, Sutton Foster renewed and ignited a deeper passionate love of musical theatre for me with her portrayal of Eponine in the 1999 National Tour of Les Mis, (which also happened to run at the National Theatre). Many magical moments at the National Theatre, yes. From the moment that Sutton opened her mouth at the start of "On My Own," it was literally like rich velvet chocolate cake notes coming out of her crystal clear, pristine Disney princess-like voice. I felt a sort of surreal bone and spine chilling outer-body experience that went deeper beyond any connection with a show I had ever witnessed as an audience member and I knew I was partaking in something authentically special that would transpire into future greatness. That moment was definitely a life experience which opened up a whole new level of understanding, and (practically obsessive) commitment. It inspired me to study musical theatre at James Madison University.

Les Mis definitely was the show that gave me the theatre bug because of Sutton Foster. I will never forget scanning through the program and thinking to myself, "who is THIS girl?! She's going to be a legendary Tony Award-winning Broadway/TV film 'IT' actress someday!" Sure enough, when she won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for Thoroughly Modern Millie, I knew I was lucky enough to be witnessing another magical unicorn-like moment just being able to take in her brilliance on stage. And to top it all off, she's one of the kindest, most genuine, down to earth human beings in person.

How did you come to The Theatre Lab School for the Dramatic Arts?

Let's see, where do I even begin?...I've had the pleasure and honor of working with Buzz [Mauro] and Deb [Gottesman] [founders and co-directors of Theatre Lab] for roughly about twelve years now. The first show I did with them was A Man of No Importance. I love their style and the way they magically transform those who have very minimal theatrical experience into real, working professional artists. For them, it all comes down to connecting with each other in a playing space. Creating those authentically intimate moment-to-moment live experiences on stage is something that they have cultivated and pioneered in the DC theatre community. I'm going to be quite blunt and say that Deb and Buzz are pure geniuses

I knew I not only wanted, but needed, further acting training after I had finished college and graduate school, so I joined the Honors Conservatory Class of 2009, which was one of the best life decisions I have ever made as an actress.

For those not familiar with Chess, can you please tell us a little something about the show and your character?

Chess is a geo-political musical set during the Cold-War era at a time when Olympic-like World Chess Championship tournaments dominated East-West [Soviet-U.S.] relations. The musical has some beautifully complex music written by ABBA, Tim Rice, Benny Andersson, and Björn Ulvaeus. A good portion of the plot is complex love triangles and romantic rivalries. I don't want to give too much of the story away, but I play the role of Florence, a Hungarian-American refugee who fled to the United States when she was four years old. Later, in her adult years, she becomes Freddie Trumper's (an American world chess champion based on Bobby Fischer), chess second and falls in love with Anatoly (the Russian chess champion and Freddie's opponent).

Theatre Lab tends to do shows that aren't necessarily standard fare. Is that one of the things that is so appealing about working with them?

Absolutely! 100,000,000 times infinity YES. What drew me to Theatre Lab was that Deb and Buzz always dare performers to go out of their comfort zones and explore creative worlds in the playing space they normally wouldn't have the guts to take in the first place. This is because they are either usually "cast according to a type" outside of Theatre Lab and/or overlooked and under-estimated as an artist outside of Theatre Lab. There's a transformative factor.

Speaking of transformative, Nicole Boxer's Netflix documentary, "How I Got Over," is a beautiful example of Theatre Lab transforming the lives of N Street Village's women. They cultivate and perform their crafted life stories at the Kennedy Center. Because of Theatre Lab, performers and teaching artists are even taking their life stories projects to other countries (Uganda for example) and applying their practices into school settings. Our very own Rob Weinzimer (who plays Molokov in the show) is a pure inspiring example in helping with making this happen.

You've done many musicals at Theatre Lab and other area theatres, but you also were part of a very intense drama at Forum Theatre a few years ago called Scorched. Can you please talk about your experience on that show?

I can easily say that Scorched was one of the most challenging yet exhilarating theatrical experiences of my life. I feel like this show dared and challenged me as an actor to take emotional journeys and risks I didn't even know were possible until I actually took them! And yes, this was the most intense drama I have experienced to date. In some ways, it helped me become better in touch with my cultural background. It helped transform me both as an actor and a person.

By day, you are a Speech-Language Pathologist in Virginia schools. Were you doing that before you got into theatre or was it the other way around?

I think for as long as I can remember it's always been, "I love theatre, I love performing, music and performing are my life...I'm going to be an actress when I grow up...plus some side job my parents want me to have." I guess the "side job" turned out to be a full-time career as a Speech-Language Pathologist working in various settings and performing in the evenings. I studied both theatre and communication sciences and disorders in college. I originally was fascinated with vocal health and rehab for singers and performers so that's how I originally went into Speech-Language Pathology. Later on, during grad school, I had a school-site internship working with students of all ages. Everything just clicked and magically fell into place for my future career in the school system.

Please pick a role from a play and a musical that you would love to sink your teeth into, and explain your choices.

Ah yes, my dream role in a play has always been Catherine in Proof. My dream role in a musical has always been a toss-up between Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Jo March in Little Women. Realistically speaking I could never, ever play the role of Millie as I can't tap dance to save my life, however I COULD see myself playing the role of Jo March. I love her feistiness and passionate spirit. She's the ultimate classic feminist heroine figure that I'm sure many actresses would love to have the chance to sink their souls into. I've always loved Catherine in Proof for her down to earth simplistic and realistic ways. She's kind of socially awkward...which I can definitely identify with.

You have a very positive attitude about things in general. Many people working in the arts tend to get very jaded after awhile. What advice can you give to other artists for staying as positive and stoked about life as you generally are?

I'm giggling at this question because there have definitely been times when I've been absolutely jaded and not my usual, "stoked" self, and not just as an artist, but as a human being. It all definitely begins in the mind. The heart, soul, and the mind are all powerful beings of steel in themselves. I think any artist can vouch for what I'm about to say. There have been times when I was auditioning for a bucket list dream role, came down to the final callback with another artist and, for whatever reason, the director - with a specific artistic vision in mind - chose the other female artist for the part I was so emotionally invested in, especially at the callback. There have been times when I knew I was authentically perfect for a specific role in a show and not only due to my physical stature, vocals, and very specific acting capabilities, but also what the playwright has specifically called for (I mean when the part is supposed to be played by a Middle Eastern-American lady, and there aren't that many of us actors out there in the DC Metro area who fit that description...). Again, I wasn't even called back. When this happens, you do tend to question your abilities as an actor from time to time. Just like many artists, I have to laugh about it all and tell myself, "it probably wasn't meant to be in God's universal plan or the timing wasn't right...or maybe there is something else I'm supposed to be doing."

I've definitely had moments where I had awful migraines and stage fright during a performance because, as a female swing, I was stepping into different roles in a show at the last minute with barely any rehearsal time beforehand, but that's definitely the nature of the beast. I have developed such a deep appreciation and great amount of respect for understudies and swings as they have the most demanding job of all artists.

I like to keep myself spirituality strong and grounded. Yoga and daily meditation are lifestyle practices for me and I'd say getting involved with other activities, and LIFE in general (i.e. songwriting, sports, reading, fine arts, taking up a new hobby/playing an instrument, enjoying the outdoors/nature...the possibilities are endless as the universe is infinite with awesome possibilities) redirect my mindset and keep me happy and loving life. I used to be a competitive figure skater during my teenage years so I like to re-visit my old home, the ice rink, from time to time. And again, I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir of artists who go through the exact same experiences, but anytime you win those golden opportunities to perform, those moments are so sacred and magical and they make all of the "less-stoked" experiences totally worth every minute and then some.

Theatre Life logo designed by Kevin Laughon.