Earlier this year, New York-based actress Olivia Scicolone, above, reached out to St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s Tom Ridgely with this message: “I don’t know if you remember me, but if anything comes up, I’d love to work with you again.”
Scicolone met Ridgely years ago when she was an undergrad at Yale, and he was the guest director for the production of Sweeney Todd. Scicolone, cast as Mrs. Lovett, said she loved working with him.
Ridgely replied: “It just so happens we’re casting for a show right now.” When she received the material, it wasn’t at all what the actress expected. “I was thinking classic Shakespeare in the Park situation, but then I saw puppets in a play called Romeo & Zooliet, and I didn’t know if this was right for me. But since actors are usually typecast into certain roles and play some variation of them again and again, I read the script and I was like honestly, this would be awesome. It would be so fun and such a cool challenge. Never in my life did I think I’d be playing a big hippo! So of course, I’ll audition.”
photo courtesy of Theo. R. Weiling
Why do you think you were chosen to play the part of the Nurse?
I think that there is something a little similar between the Nurse, above, and Sweeney Todd’s Mrs. Lovett, who has this bawdy, earthy, tell-it-like-it-is quality. Typically the Nurse is played by a middle-aged woman, and though I’m not the right age range, when I saw this 45 pound puppet I realized you have to have the stamina and athleticism to carry her around. My guess is this had something to do with expanding that age range. (The hippo not only happens to be the heaviest puppet in the production, it’s one of only two—the turtle being the other—that enclose the actor).
Rehearsals lasted for 4 weeks. Sometimes Director Tom Ridgely would have the actors rehearse with the puppets, and sometimes without. “I found it very freeing not to have “her” on me so that I could find the impulse, the response, the action, just really authentically in me.
Describe the process of learning to act with a puppet?
It’s a unique challenge. In Michael Curry’s designs the actors are not hidden, so the magic of the puppet is revealed, which is unusual in classic puppetry tradition. How do you keep the performance authentic staying invested in what’s going on, but make every impulse come through the puppet first. When you’re an actor, you walk out, you’re inspired, then you say your line. Here you get the inspiration, but then how does that come out? Quickly, you have to imagine what it’s going to look like through the puppet, and then the line comes out.
You always want to move their bodies so they’re breathing and alive. I played volleyball a long time ago, where you are always in the “ready position.” It feels like that to play the Nurse. We focus our eyes on the puppet as we’re operating it, so the audience will do the same. (The audience is subconsciously taking a cue from the actor.) You really have to be on your toes both to move easily and also keep the flow with the puppet. When I’m listening to another puppet I look at the other character, but when I’m speaking I try as hard as I can to stay focused on my puppet.
What has the experience been working with the cast of Romeo & Zooliet?
Everyone’s a team player, we all want to do the play and do it well. I think the cast would agree that we are totally there in terms of our characters, but there is always room to go deeper. Every night is new and exciting, even though there is the choreography we have to stick to, the blocking, the tilt of the puppet’s head that works at a particular line. We know all of that but we still have this real sense of play each night, and that’s a fun challenge. I try to stay really open to that while I’m operating this huge puppet. Rikki Franklin, who plays Juliet, described it as that 2 a.m. sleepover energy where you’re like, what’s going to happen next?
photo courtesy of Chris Bauer
How have you stayed cool wearing a 45 pound costume in record heat?
They clipped a little fan inside my costume, and there are big fans backstage, so I position myself in front of those as often as I can. I’m also able to take the costume off between entrance and exit several times during the show.
Who influenced you to become an actress?
My mom was the one who encouraged me to pursue acting. She was involved in youth theater growing up and loved it. We’re from Northeast Ohio—the Cleveland area—which has a very robust performing arts scene. There are tons of opportunities and it’s really great training for young actors.
I chose to go to Yale where I majored in Theater Studies, because I wanted a liberal arts education—the best way to be a good actor is to be well-informed, well-rounded, and exposed to many different things and people. After graduation, I went back to Ohio to act, but I wanted to get my Masters, so that brought me to NYU for my MFA.
You hit the ground running at NYU. You just start. It’s 60 hours a week, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. 5 days a week and sometimes 6 hours on Saturday. The beauty of the program is that there’s no real negotiation. If you’re tired, tough. They push you to your limits but always in the spirit of exploration. You feel challenged and humbled all the time, but you’re constantly empowered as an actor. After I graduated in 2023, I felt like you could put me in any situation and I would feel like I could function.
A few weeks ago, the Scicolone family, including a 5- and 9-year-old niece and nephew came to St. Louis to see Romeo & Zooliet. They loved it. What was especially wonderful for Olivia is that the experience taught the kids that theater is for them.
How do you support yourself when you are between acting jobs?
When I was applying to college I got a handwritten note from the admissions office saying how much they loved my essay and hoped I would come to Yale. I was a very good student but I wasn’t a mad genius who was a shoe-in. So I took that to heart and just started casually coaching kids I babysat for on college essay writing. The business grew by word of mouth.
So it’s always been this thing I’ve done that’s supplemental or complementary to being in school, and now affording New York. Instead of waiting tables to support myself between acting jobs, I have my business, 3P College Counseling (Pen, Path, Presence), which has really grown. When it comes to the writing coaching, which is what I love the most, it’s the same kind of creative principles as acting. I love working with the students on those essays so that they can really own who they are and what they bring to the table.
Over the past 10 years, I’ve become more of a full-fledged counselor on all parts of the application process. It fits into this acting lifestyle very well, and it’s a really nice way to bring home the bacon. The fact that it’s remote means I can bring the work with me. After we finish this interview, I’m headed back to my apartment to meet with a student before I head to the Zoo and get ready for this evening’s performance.
Have you enjoyed living in St. Louis the past couple of months?
I drove my car from New York so I have had the opportunity to explore St. Louis. It’s a great city. So much is free, the Zoo, Science Center, Art Museum, and they’re so accessible too. That’s pretty amazing. Every neighborhood seems to have its own personality, and it’s 10 to 15 minutes from here to there. I’ve loved being here.
Thanks to Olivia Scicolone for sharing her experience acting in Romeo & Zooliet. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this as much as I have loved bringing her story to you.
Romeo & Zooliet at the Saint Louis Zoo runs through August 18. For ticket information, click here.