by Artistic Director Heather Parish

By now, Gabriela Lawson should be familiar to regular attendees of the Woodward Shakespeare Festival.  In 2006, she donned a scandalous red dress as Lady Macbeth, and then promptly overshadowed it with her vigorous and intense portrayal of Shakespeare’s most ambitious Queen.  Last season, she turned 180 degrees and portrayed Twelfth Night’s Olivia with a ladylike giddiness.  This year, she graces the Theater in the Glen as the lead Rosalind in As You Like It.

I caught up with Gabriela during the 5th week of rehearsal for As You Like It to find out what makes her tick as a local performer, and what keeps drawing her back to Shakespeare year after year.

1.  In one sentence, what’s going on in your world?

I work full time, rehearse full time, and will sleep when I’m dead.

2.  With no restrictions on content or form, describe the present condition of the Fresno theatre scene?

I feel like there is a real undercurrent of cultural potential in Fresno right now.  With some of the new theatre companies cropping up in Fresno in the last few years that have really managed to make a name for themselves, like WSF and ART, and the expanding popularity of the Rogue festival, it seems as if we are witnessing the dawning of a new era of theatrical diversity, talent, and quality.

3. You’ve done two seasons with WSF before this year (Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, 2006 and Olivia in Twelfth Night, 2008).  What keeps bringing you back to the stage in Woodward Park?

It’s fair to say that I have had some great experiences out at the park working on shows for WSF.  I have met some amazing people and had the honor to play some terrific roles.  But, with all honesty, I am simply a sucker for Shakespeare.  I loved the premise of the company from the moment I heard it:  Make Shakespeare’s wonderful plays accessible to everyone.  With little to no cost to the patrons, a lovely venue in the park, and a company dedicated to providing comprehensive and entertaining performances of the Bard’s works, I feel WSF has laid some promising groundwork to become a powerhouse theatre company as it continues to grow year after year.  I have acted in productions, read plays aloud at the library, hung lights, sewed costumes, and built the set for several WSF shows.  The company is founded on the principles of community, teamwork, and the common goal of keeping Shakespeare’s plays alive and available here in the valley. I am in full support of the company’s dream and feel happy and privileged to participate as we strive to fulfill it.

4.  As an actor, what are you better at now than you were when you played Lady M three years ago?

I still scan my text in the same manner, I still ask questions of myself as I build my character, and I have had the benefit of working with some people who have provided even more in the way of text and performance-based skills, like Janine Christl who has challenged me as a director and Jennifer Sampson who has helped me workshop my role as Rosalind this season, but the way in which I feel that I have grown the most since playing Lady M three years ago has been in living life and growing as an person.  An actor has no greater tool than letting life affect them and applying that experience to the stage.  It adds a realism and an honesty that can simply not be taught.

5.   What makes a great audience for you?

For me, a great audience is listening, attentive, living the action with you.  That is the most satisfying feeling for an actor, to share emotions with an alert and responsive audience.  Of course, I do not kid myself that it is the audience’s job to pay attention.  I am well aware that I am responsible for capturing their attention and holding it.  Knowing that an audience is focused and experiencing the play as it unfolds tells me that I am doing my job.  There is nothing more gratifying than that.

6.  What qualities in actors or directors do you find appealing?

I like it when both actors and directors are dedicated, prompt, inquisitive and creative.  With these four things you can get the job done well almost every time.  In the very specific case of WSF, I feel it is just as imperative that the company, cast and director, be responsible to the text. The goal of offering Shakespeare to the community can only be properly realized if Shakespeare’s words and stories are accurately and truthfully represented.

7.  What do you enjoy the most about playing Rosalind?

She is fun!  I have discovered a very playful and silly side to her that I have really enjoyed exploring; high energy, lots of laughs, she is young and giddy and very spirited.

8.  What have you found to be the most common misconception surrounding theatre in Fresno?

That Fresnans have to travel to San Francisco or L.A. to catch a good show.  With the up and coming theatre companies that I previously mentioned, tried and true venues like Good Company Players, and the consistent quality at both Fresno State and Fresno City, it is past time that locals shed the idea that there is no good theatre in Fresno and start supporting our budding theatre scene to help it grow.

9.  Why Shakespeare?

I love his poetry, his humor, his stories.  I find his plays simple and profound with timeless characters and circumstances.  I also appreciate the challenge of scanning and researching the text.  All those lines that seem confusing are brilliant once our contemporary brains wrap around them.  I find that thought-provoking, interesting, and fun.  And then to perform it and try to use your own knowledge base to help the audience follow the more complicated wording and imagery and to tell a story… It’s all a lovely process to me.

10.  What’s next after As You Like It?

I will be tackling the character of Lord Buckingham in Richard III for WSF’s second show of the season this summer and I am very excited!