Kansas City Blog Interviews

I got the chance to interview Amari Lewis, who is performing in KCRep’s production of John Proctor is the Villain. Lewis plays Nell, one of the five girls in a high school in a small southern town at the center of the play. These girls decide to form a feminist club after deciding that The Crucible is rather sexist.

When I spoke to Lewis, I hadn’t yet seen the show, so I asked for her opinion of the play. “There's some twists and turns, so I can't give away too much,” she told me. “I would say if you love a story about girlhood, it can get a little intense, a little chaotic, a little scary even maybe, It's very much like a suspense, almost thriller type. I love it. I would say it's kind of a hocus pocus vibe. It's very witchy, but like something you see with your best friends.”

I had the opportunity to see One of the Good Ones at KC Rep, a dramedy that blends sharp humor with thoughtful conversations about identity, culture, and generational differences. The play centers on a tense and revealing family gathering, where difficult questions about belonging, heritage, and what it means to be American slowly surface through moments of laughter and vulnerability.

After seeing the show, I also had the chance to speak with Natascia Díaz, who plays Ilana, a mother navigating a complicated evening with family and friends. During our conversation, she shared how she prepares for emotionally complex roles, what it’s like working within such a collaborative ensemble, and what audiences might not immediately realize about the play. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

I got the chance to interview Angie Janas, who is one of the actors in the traveling side by side performances of The Acting Company’s Great Expectations and A Midsummer Night's Dream. She plays Ms. Havisham and Mrs. Joe (Great Expectations) and then Oberon and Hippolyta (A Midsummer Night's Dream). These are very different shows as Great Expectations is set in history and A Midsummer Night’s Dream is much more mystical. 

When asked what her favorite part of the shows was, Janas said, “For Great Expectations, it would have to be Ms. Havisham, because it was a role that I was really excited to play. Because it's a world premiere, no one's done it before, so it was an opportunity for me to really create the character. Then, to also have nights where I get to go to Fairyland and be Oberon, just to have a really different experience night to night. This is a pretty unique experience for an actor. Usually, you're just doing one thing, and that's kind of all you do, so the opportunity to get to do a lot of different things and get to do it all over the country was really exciting to me.”

Thanks to Teen Tix KC I had the opportunity to experience The Drum Closet at the Coterie Theatre, a coming-of-age play about two Nigerian-American brothers navigating high school, identity, and pressure in a predominantly white Midwestern community. Written by actor, playwright, and filmmaker Tosin Morohunfola, the play follows Timi, a freshman, and Kareem, a senior, as they chase leadership in drumline while learning how to survive school, family expectations, and the unspoken rules placed on Black boys.

I also had the incredible opportunity to interview Tosin Morohunfola and speak with him directly about where The Drum Closet came from and why this story matters so deeply to him.