Angelina Mussro:  Of Cutting Hay and Teaching Artists

Angelina Mussro is a pure delight.  Having made her debut at The Warehouse Theatre several seasons ago in Romeo & Juliet, Angelina has become a fixture in our Wooden O program as a teaching artist.  Her spunk, positive energy, and intelligence have helped numerous middle schoolers and high schoolers increase their knowledge in the language arts this school year.  We are proud to share her talent with you again in Uncle Vanya. We recently sat down with Angelina for a short interview about her work at the theatre and her experience with Chekhov’s classic.

WHT:  From the beginning of rehearsal until now, what’s been the biggest shift in playing Sonya?
Angelina:  I think it came when I realized that Sonya’s part of the story is all about hope. From beginning to end, Sonya is hopeful for something. However, the thing for which she hopes changes throughout the play.  At first, her hope is fixed on Doctor Astrov. When she loses his love, she becomes like Hope quivering in the corner of Pandora’s box, afraid to emerge.  At the play’s close, she has rooted her hope in something beyond this life; a hope of heaven, if you will.  Discovering this about Sonya helped me define her in a way I couldn’t quite put my finger on at the beginning.

WHT:   Have you been surprised at the audience reaction to your character thus far?
Angelina:  That’s been quite funny, actually! Everyone I talk with after a performance can’t understand why I’m playing the “homely” girl. I have certainly been surprised by that. “You’re too pretty to play Sonya,” they say, “Otherwise, why would Sonya say she isn’t pretty?” And yet, don’t all women, no matter how beautiful, struggle to believe in their own loveliness?

WHT:   What was the single biggest influence upon the way you approached your Uncle Vanya character?
Angelina:  Our production uses the Annie Baker’s modern translation of Uncle Vanya.  So, from the first, it was clear that we wanted to make Chekhov relatable.  This was huge for me: not thinking of it as CHEKHOV, and all the stigmas that carries, but rather as a human story.  Of course, you certainly have to look at the play and its characters through the lens of the playwright’s style.  However, simply allowing the words to speak for themselves first allowed me to see Sonya as a human being.  If I had put her into a Chekhov mold too soon, I would have missed her heart.

WHT:  Was there anything in the scenic, lighting, or costume design that affected your choices on stage?
Angelina:  Yes. The background to our set is a beautiful forest. As the play progresses, this forest grows steadily thinner and thinner, depicting the parallel loss in the characters lives. This caught my attention. Suddenly, I was aware that Sonya is like a young tree. Around her, older trees decay and fall, and she herself is nearly uprooted. In the end, however, she still stands…part of a new forest, perhaps. Having that image in mind affected my relationship to the other characters and the circumstances Sonya faces.