Interview: Actors Sharon Gardner and Jon Root of CONSCIENCE at International City Theatre

Jon Root (Sen. Joseph McCarthy) and Sharon Gardner (Sen. Margaret Chase Smith)
Photo by Jordan Gohara

At a time when fear and political intimidation silenced many voices in Washington, Sen. Margaret Chase Smith chose to speak. On June 1, 1950, the Republican senator from Maine became the first to publicly rebuke Sen. Joseph McCarthy on the Senate floor, condemning his tactics in a speech that became known as the “Declaration of Conscience.”

Fast-paced and emotionally charged, Tony Award®-winning playwright Joe DiPietro’s drama Conscience explores political courage, personal conviction and the personal cost of speaking truth to power. It also highlights Smith’s groundbreaking role as a woman in American politics. She was the first woman elected from Maine to Congress and later to the U.S. Senate and, in 1950, the only woman serving among the Senate’s 96 members. Reflecting on Smith’s defining moment, DiPietro says her speech remains one of the most remarkable events in modern political history.

The cast of Conscience (L-R)
Hollis Dohr, Sharon Gardner, Jon Root, Dylan Wittrock

Directed and produced by caryn desai, the Los Angeles premiere of Conscience is taking place at International City Theatre in Long Bach from August 28 through September 13, with low-priced previews on August 26 and 27. Intrigued, I spoke with Sharon Gardner who portrays Sen. Margaret Chase Smith and Jon Root, who plays Sen. McCarthy, about the play, their characters, and how they researched and prepared to take on these two iconic figures.

Sharon Gardner (Sen. Margaret Chase Smith)  Photo by Matt Kallish

Margaret Chase Smith’s “Declaration of Conscience” is remembered as an extraordinary act of political courage. What has been the biggest challenge in portraying someone whose quiet resolve had such an outsized impact on American history?

(Sharon) Senator Smith’s powerful blend of civic passion, strategic action, and personal integrity formed the essence of the “Declaration of Conscience,” which she delivered verbally in part on the Senate floor on June 1st, 1950. It marked the first defiant outcry against Senator Joseph McCarthy’s dangerous demagoguery and, in my opinion, has not been acknowledged enough for its forthright assessment of the damage McCarthy’s twisted and thuggish tactics could have had on our democracy. I’m grateful that our fantastic playwright, two-time Tony-winner, Joe DiPietro, has captured Margaret’s iconoclastic force on the page. As an actor, I need only play it as it lays.

Smith was often the only woman in the room during pivotal moments in Washington. How does Conscience explore both the political and personal dimensions of her experience, and what do you hope audiences discover about her that they may not already know?

Firstly, I’m happy to have discovered Senator Smith at all! Why is her trailblazing history as the first woman to be elected to both the House and the Senate not taught in every elementary school? DiPietro’s portrayal of Margaret focuses rightly on what she considered her “destiny,” which is her work on behalf of the people of Maine and, with her “Declaration of Conscience,” her focus on American civil society as a whole.

Sen. Margaret Chase Smith c. 1950
Photo courtesy of the Margaret Chase Smith Library

You've said you feel a deep personal connection to this role because you come from a family dedicated to public service. Your father served as County Manager of Arlington County, Virginia, and your brother, former Amtrak CEO Stephen Gardner, left his position during the transition to the second Trump administration. How has your family's experience shaped the way you understand Margaret Chase Smith's sense of duty, integrity and public responsibility?

I had the good fortune to learn to read with the formerly great “Washington Post” in my lap, and then observe, in real time, as my dad, Tony Gardner, and brother, Stephen Gardner, lived out their true commitments to excellent leadership in public service. Despite the current debasement of public service exhibited by those in the White House and the majority of Congress, I believe we can have a democracy led by people of integrity that works for all Americans. Margaret Chase Smith was one of those individuals driven to make the world a better place, and I know what that means on a deeply personal level.

The play examines the cost of speaking truth to power. In rehearsals, was there a particular scene or moment that surprised you emotionally or changed the way you viewed Margaret Chase Smith?

Before we got the script on its feet, I understood that Margaret developed an early sense of leadership. She captained her champion girls’ basketball team in high school - a rarity in 1916 - and she wanted to pursue college studies in kinesiology and coaching, but her family couldn’t afford higher education. Now that we’re playing the text, I’ve discovered that the Senator really was an athlete, and that she embodied the dialectic between her own natural instincts and the rules of decorum and expression mandated for women in the early 20th-century.

Sharon Gardner, Dylan Wittrock, Hollis Dohr and Jon Root
Photo by Jordan Gohara

Joe DiPietro's script moves at a brisk pace despite tackling complex historical events. As an actor, how do you balance the urgency of the political drama with revealing the deeply personal side of Margaret Chase Smith?

I’ll respond by recognizing that my job is to be present in the imagined moment of the text, and to express the layers of the Senator’s essence in concert with my lovely castmates as shaped by our insightful director, caryn desai, and the ace design team. Joe captures Margaret’s energy and emotion in the action of the plot and the language of the play.

Margaret Chase Smith wasn't seeking attention when she delivered the "Declaration of Conscience” - she was acting on principle. What does that kind of understated leadership teach us today?

Margaret’s example reminds us that we can look - and find - people who are guided by the best intentions for the greatest good, and who also have the capacity and commitment to make their intentions concrete.

This play shines a light on a historical figure who isn't as widely recognized as many of her contemporaries. What surprised you most as you researched Smith's life and career?

Senator Smith’s resilience and stamina were staggering. After delivering her “Declaration of Conscience,” she was hounded by McCarthy, unjustly stripped of important Committee seats in Congress, derided in much of the mainstream press (although also praised by many journalists), challenged on her Maine territory by a proxy candidate, and sidelined in the Senate for years. She did not quit, however, preferring to follow her promise to the people of Maine, as well as a greater curiosity about the world, and when people finally recognized McCarthy for the ego-driven thug he was, she was there to watch his downfall.

Dylan Wittrock and Sharon Gardner
Photo by Jordan Gohara

The play asks audiences to consider what courage looks like in moments of intense public pressure. Has portraying Margaret Chase Smith changed the way you think about courage in your own life?

It reminds me that fortitude and vision are complementary, and that when one wavers, we have the other to carry us through.

If someone walks into the theater knowing little or nothing about Margaret Chase Smith, what do you hope they'll remember most about her after seeing Conscience?

I hope that our audience spreads the word about Senator Smith’s remarkable career and her commitment to equality, free speech, authenticity, transparency and integrity in leadership, and that they deepen their appreciation for their own voices. Our world needs every voice, and every voice matters. 

Jon Root (Sen. Joseph McCarthy)  Photo by Kayvon Esmail

Grat stage antagonists often believe they're the heroes of their own story. Joseph McCarthy remains one of the most controversial figures in American political history. How did you approach portraying him as a fully realized human being while remaining true to the historical record.

(Jon) It’s a cliché for a reason: no one is the villain in their own story. But malignant narcissists exist, so we will continually have to contend with them. Whether McCarthy viewed himself as the hero is also irrelevant because he wanted OTHERS to view him that way so badly that he was willing to lie, manipulate, gaslight, intimidate and threaten to get that validation. I will be portraying a fully-realized human being because I feel that I understand his motivations, but that does not mean that human being deserves our sympathy.

McCarthy is often remembered more as a symbol than as a person. What did your research reveal that challenged or complicated your own understanding of him?

How much the timing mattered! Demagogues like McCarthy do not arrive out of a vacuum. The population of the world was having its first existential crisis with nuclear proliferation. American kids were being taught in schools to get under their desks in case of a nuclear attack. Russia, Chairman Mao, the space race… it was nuts. And, as this play attests in its opening moments, it was the perfect moment for an opportunist. When everyone is scared, charisma and sensationalism will triumph over reason and logic every time. Joe McCarthy was a drunken buffoon, but he was incredibly savvy and charismatic. He lied so casually and easily that it was like breathing for him. Even in his recently released personal documents it’s almost impossible to parse whether he believed his own shtick or not. He was a pot-stirrer with endless contradictions.

Senator Joseph McCarthy, left, and Senator Margaret Chase Smith
on the Capitol Steps, 1949.
Photo by Herbert K. White / AP

Audiences are likely to arrive with strong opinions about McCarthy before the curtain even rises. What do you hope they take away from your performance and from the larger story Conscience tells about power, fear and political courage?

Well, audiences are unlikely to change their minds based upon my performance: he is a delicious scumbag to play and I’m having way too much fun. :) But I would hope that the biggest takeaway from Conscience is what an absolute badass Margaret Chase Smith was – a politician willing to go against party because of a crisis of conscience. If only we had more politicians with that kind of spine.

Playing a historical figure whose name has become synonymous with an era presents unique challenges. How do you avoid playing the legend and instead portray the man? Did you think about his speaking style, charisma, or stage presence as part of building the character?

Absolutely. You never want to veer too close to impersonation when portraying a historical figure, mainly because it will register as artifice to the audience and they will subconsciously reject it. An impersonation is ultimately just mimicry. More than that, it is a mimicry of the curated persona of that historical figure because the person we are in public is rarely 100% the person we are in private. So, for acting purposes, it’s a hat on a hat. Two fake personas are now active.

So, while you don’t want to impersonate, there are certain vocal and physical attributes that you can subtly apply to the performance to hint at that famous curated persona. Joe idolized John Wayne, as many of his generation did, so when he spoke, he affected several of the Duke’s cadences. But Joe also had an infamously silly laugh. The other Senators mocked him for it constantly. Those two are definitely present in my take on Joe.

Jon Root and Hollis Dohr
Photo by Jordan Gohara

The play explores how fear can shape institutions and individuals. What do you think Conscience says about why people remain silent in the face of intimidation?

Most people approach most things with an overabundance of caution and self-consciousness. Those are the primary defaults of the human psyche. When someone comes along with zero caution and zero self-consciousness, something in our simian brains tells us that they must know something we don’t know, so we should probably follow them. Once again, charisma and sensationalism will triumph over reason and logic every time.

As an actor, is it more difficult to portray a character you admire or one whose actions you fundamentally disagree with? What has this role taught you about that challenge?

There’s no difference to me. I am perfectly fine doing and saying absolutely heinous and offensive things in front of an aghast audience as long as that is in line with the character’s function in the story. Heroes are cool to play, no doubt. But every story needs its villain.

History often repeats familiar patterns in different forms. Without drawing direct comparisons, what makes Conscience feel like a story that resonates with audiences in 2026?

There is nothing new under the sun. All of this has happened before and all of this will happen again. But, Conscience tells us to keep our eyes and ears open during times of great fear because the loudest voices placing blame are the demagogues of tomorrow.

Thank you both for your insight into the play and its two central characters!

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