INTERVIEW: Crumbs from the Table of Joy's Amina Robinson

James Howard (JH): Welcome back to Baltimore, Amina!  Now that you've been here a couple of times performing, how do Baltimore/>/> audiences compare to those in other cities?

Amina Robinson (AR): I LOVE Baltimore! I am from Philly, so Baltimore/>/> reminds me of home. The audiences here are always so involved with the work on stage. I always feel like they are right there with me and that feeling is irreplaceable.

JH: When you are here, what do you enjoy about the city?  Places?  People?  Assuming, of course, that you have time to do much outside the theatre…

AR: I generally like to go to the Harbor to eat and look around. On a sunny day there is nothing better. It is so beautiful. My husband and I have also gone bike riding around the town and around Fells Point. And what can I say about the people?! I love them. Like I said, I am from Philly so I feel like I fit right in. I also really want to visit the Blacks in Wax Museum and the aquarium before I leave.

 

JH: You last appeared here as one of the urchins in Little Shop of Horrors, and also toured as part of the ensemble of Mamma Mia!  Now, you are in a play, and have a lead role, how is the preparation and daily maintenance different?  Similar?

AR: My experience has been that with any performance you must take care of yourself physically. Rest, proper diet, and things like that are extremely important. I also have to watch how much stress I have during my day, especially for this role as Ernestine. In Mamma Mia, I was able to go out and have a lot of fun because the show was not as demanding emotionally or physically. In Little Shop, I couldn't go out much at all because the show was very physically and vocally strenuous. Crumbs now seems to take me on such a roller coaster of emotional energy, that I have to conduct my day in a way that will support what I am going to have to experience that night. I have to always remember that even though I am in an exciting city, my primary reason for being here is work. I have a lot of respect for the work and want to be able to give the best of myself each night.  Well, at least I try to.

 

JH: The company of Crumbs from the Table of Joy seems very much like a real family – the dynamic is so real.  What is it like working with this company of actors?

AR: I have had such a wonderful time with the Crumps, and my favorite Aunt Lily. It can be challenging to make a group of strangers appear as though they have been together forever.  I am glad to hear that we are pulling it off. I have learned a lot from this cast and they are all so talented. Each night we try to make a fresh connection with each other.

JH: So much happens to your character and to the rest of the family in this play.  Which scenes are easiest to play and which are difficult?  Why?

AR: Wow.  That is a good question! I think that they are all challenging. Lynn Nottage has really created an extreme set of circumstances for this family to live in. She is a genius. My biggest challenge though is that I have the tricky task of being in two separate worlds at the same time, while trying to live fully in each world. I speak to the audience in every scene in the play, as well as being a character in each scene. It really is like an emotional rollercoaster. All in one moment, I have to be distraught dealing with the family problems, pop out of that to talk to the audience for commentary, and then pop back in the scene. To add to that, I have to try to do this all seamlessly. I do, however, LOVE to play all of the scenes. They are challenging, and for me that is what makes this a great role. Doing easy work is no fun.

JH: What about this play do you feel connects with you most personally?  What about it do you think makes that connection with audiences?

AR: Ernestine and I don't have very much in common. So developing her was an exploration in differences.  I had to access parts of myself that may have been hidden. But the play itself is so beautiful, and well written.  That made me able to feel what Ernestine and the characters were going through. My personal connection came from the humanity in the play. Lynn Nottage has created a work where each character is so amazingly human that I believe the audience connects with that. People in this play make big mistakes, love hard, and make life shattering decisions.  Also, I connect with the plays heart, and hope. Everyone in the play is so very hungry for their crumb, but they never give up hope that they may get a full portion.

JH: CenterStage is nationally recognized as a premiere regional, professional theatre.  How has your experience been there so far?

AR: CenterStage is simply put the best overall theater that I have ever worked in.  They get the PRIZE! Sometimes you get a great space and a poor company, or a great company that has no money, or a big budget, but no one cares about you. I am in AWE of this place. The company treats me AMAZINGLY! Everyone does their job very well and you can tell that they enjoy it. The facilities are beautiful. The production values are top notch. I would work for this company forever if I could. Example: I had mentioned in passing to our stage manager that I felt like I was getting a cold. He put it in the show report, and the following day the company manager brought Airborne Formula to my dressing room and said, "I heard you were feeling a little coldish." Who does that!? I have never experienced a place, until now, where everyone goes above and beyond the call of duty. People are just nice and they care. It makes me want to work even harder. I love CenterStage.

JH: Who have you worked with that effected/influenced your acting/career/life the most, for the good or bad?  Why?

AR: My whole graduate school experience has really shaped my acting career positively.  I attended Temple/> University/>/> to get my MFA in acting. I was part of a cohort, meaning that we did everything together. Working in such a concentrated way with a small company of actors has made me the type of actor I am today. With the guidance of an amazing group of professors, and my classmates, I learned how to be "in service" to my fellow actors, to the audience, and to the play. I would not have traded the experience for anything. It was tough, and made me question if this was the right career path at times, but it all worked out in the end. When you work with people who test you, push buttons, and force you to stretch yourself as an artist you always come out better in the end. They are a wonderful group of people.

JH: Describe the experience of receiving your Equity card.

AR: I had been running from my equity card for a while. I intended to only act and not sing. However, God had something else in mind. The advice that I always got from experienced actors was not to get my card until I had built up my resume. It is hard to compete professionally, as a straight actor, with a few undergrad credits on your resume. But, shortly after grad school I started the Mamma Mia tour. I had no choice. The professionalism that I had been running from was no longer an option. The musical theater world had descended upon me! In that world you have go equity to get the good jobs. But, I am glad I did. It was scary at first, to have to compete with performers that had been out there in the world working on Broadway and all. I remember when I first realized that I could do it.  It was at my callback for Little Shop.  I had always thought that I got Mamma Mia on a fluke. I felt maybe they just thought I was nice and had a good personality. But at my Little Shop callback, I was in the room with all of these girls, who could SING, and at first I felt intimidated. After a while though as we began to pair up in trios, I began to realize that I was hanging in there with them.  By the time it was down to Latonya Holmes, Yasmeen Sulieman, and I in the room, I felt it. I was official. I was a professional, with an equity card!

JH: What is the best advice you've been given as an actor or in life that might relate to acting?  The worst advice?

AR: The best came from CenterStage veteran E. Faye Butler who said, "You can not base your career on a paycheck." The worst, "Try to make every play about your character to make sure you shine." I can't tell my source on that one.

JH: What one skill that you have had to develop in your career is the most unusual or surprising to you and why?

AR: I have had to learn how to shut up. It may seem surprising, but I meet so many new people all the time that knowing what to share and how to share it, has become a special skill. I am in general very open. But I have learned that some things you say, and others you don't.  I certainly didn't expect this career to teach me that, but it did.

JH: Where do you hope your career will take you?  Broadway?  Film?  Other venues?

AR: I really want to do film and television work. I haven't always, but now that is really want I want to do. I don't have much desire to do anymore musicals, but I would. And of course, straight plays are my favorite. I would love to be on Broadway in a play.

JH: What projects do you have coming up following Crumbs?

AR: I am finally moving to New York/>/>. My husband just got a job there and he is setting us up in the Big Apple. I have been trying to move for quite some time now, but being employed in the theater has put that on hold. Believe me I am not complaining, I feel very blessed, but it will be nice to get there. I don't have any jobs coming up, but I am excited to get to New York/>/> and start doing the auditioning thing.

PHOTO: (L) Amina S. Robinson as Ernestine and (R) Kelly Taffe as Aunt Lily in CenterStage's Crumbs from the Table of Joy through June 11.