Interview: Brittany Bradford And Emma Ramos of ALIEN GIRLS at The Old Globe
“Alien Girls” is playing at The Old Globe through May 10th.
Friendship is rarely a straight line—and "Alien Girls" leans all the way into the zigzags. At The Old Globe, Amy Berryman’s time-jumping comedy traces the evolving bond between two writers whose lives begin to diverge in ways neither of them expected. With Tiffany stepping into motherhood and Carolyn wrestling with what that means for her own path, the play dives into the messy, funny, and sometimes uncomfortable space between love and ambition.
Brittany Bradford and Emma Ramos talk about building this layered friendship, navigating its emotional fault lines, and what they hope audiences carry with them after the final scene.
"Alien Girls" spans years of friendship, creative ambition, and deeply personal life choices. What first drew you to your character, and where did you immediately see yourself or people/situations you knew in them (or not at all)?
Emma Ramos: What first drew me to the play was Carolyn’s essay in The New Yorker. Every single question she asks—Amy was able to integrate all my fears and desires into this one character. I saw myself asking these questions: duty vs. my calling, destiny vs. ambition, when do you double down, when do you let go. When you are born in a female body with a specific upbringing, those questions feel constant. I also relate deeply to creating art out of oppression and grief.
Brittany Bradford: As soon as I read the script, I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of. The deep connection between Carolyn and Tiffany reminded me so much of my relationships with women in my life. I immediately texted like ten people saying, “You have to read this! You have to audition for this!” They are so complex and funny and serious and empathetic and raw and sometimes too real—and all that is so relatable to the women who mean the most to me.
Your characters are best friends, but also—at times—each other’s harshest mirrors. How have you built that layered dynamic in rehearsal, especially when the play asks you to hold both love and resentment at once?
Emma Ramos: That is all because of our director, Jaki Bradley, who on day one asked, “How do you like to work?” “What is your process?” She created a container for it all—the harshness, the love, the flops, and the hits.
Brittany Bradford: I think Emma and I have really done a good job, through Jaki’s guidance, of always leading with honesty and a strong point of view. Where is the overlap between the character and something I’ve dealt with in my own life? Where do I cringe because it reminds me of an argument I’ve had? By having a rehearsal room that holds space for vulnerability, we can hear that in one another and build a deeper backstory. You have to feel safe enough to bring in your own experiences—especially the ones that scare you—because that vulnerability feeds the entire process.
Without giving too much away, the play hinges on something private becoming very public. The whole “private thoughts go very public” element feels very of-the-moment. Did working on this make you rethink how you share your own voice—online or otherwise?
Emma Ramos: The majority of writers go through this conundrum—the ethical “theft” involved in writing what you know. There are many fallouts among family members and loved ones because of those fine lines between private and personal. Exposing your secrets—your ugly truth in all its colors—usually causes controversy and sparks conversation. Great artists elevate these questions by naming the hidden corners of their humanity. No, it hasn’t made me rethink how I write. It’s only reinforced how grateful I am to be surrounded by artists, friends, and family who understand and support the process.
Amy Berryman structures the play across time, jumping through different chapters of these women’s lives. How does that non-linear storytelling affect the way you track your characters’ emotional journeys?
Emma Ramos: It’s the most fun. When we make a stop in the past, it’s because it’s charged or provoked by what’s happening in the present. It feels more true to how we think—our imagination—dare I say, how my woman brain processes emotions. I’ve been called nostalgic and dramatic, but I think most emotional hiccups in the present moment have a root or wound from way back. It’s incredibly satisfying to move through Amy’s train of thought.
Brittany Bradford: It’s a wonderful challenge as an actor. You read this and think, okay—I’m going to have to be 18 and 33 and 37, and I’m going to have to do that quickly and have the audience come with me immediately. It’s a gift because you get a full backstory—you see more moments of their life than you would in a more linear play. One unexpected gift was physicality. I found a physical language for Tiff at 18 and Tiffany at 33, and then started to notice how those traits carry over. The audience can see elements of who she was inside who she is—just like we all carry past versions of ourselves forward.
For audiences coming to "Alien Girls", what do you hope lingers after the laughter—especially when it comes to friendship, ambition, and the choices that shape a life?
Emma Ramos: I hope people make space for conflict—to appreciate and celebrate our differences without trying to change one another. The most loving thing my friends have done for me is simply sit next to me and listen. Ask, “Do you want to hear my suggestion?” And if I say yes, then we go there. I hope what lingers is the importance of checking in with each other—acknowledging when we’re making assumptions out of fear, and finding ways to hype each other through every crumb, every hit, and every fall.
Brittany Bradford: Life is messy, and that’s the beauty of it. Sometimes we think we want to erase the pain, the awkwardness, the conflict—but actually, all of that is what makes a life feel fully lived.
How To Get Tickets
“Alien Girls” is playing at The Old Globe through May 10th. For ticket and showtime information, go to www.theoldglobe.org
Photo Credit: The Old Globe
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