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Corine
Cohen Talks to
Keira Naughton - Actress Indoor/Outdoor
www.inoutnyc.com
Photo ©Carol Rosegg
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Corine Cohen: You are very funny. When did you
realize you wanted to be an actress singer?
Keira Naughton: Thank you. You could pay me no
higher compliment than "You are very funny."
Really. Well, maybe "You are funny and thin."
I always wanted to be an actress but I also wanted
to be about seventy-five other things including
dolphin trainer, sign-language-teacher-to-gorillas
and cowgirl. I guess I figured if I chose actress,
then perhaps I would be able to play a dolphin
trainer one day and thus fulfill all my many vocational
ambitions. I always loved music and singing and
would make up songs for myself and no one else.
I didn't really have the nerve to do it publically
until relatively recently. I was emotionally scarred
by some bad singing experiences and bad singing
teachers. When I formed the band "The Petersons"
about five years ago, I just started singing my
own songs and became vocally liberated. I love
to sing. I'm not trained really but I kind of
like it that way.
Corine Cohen: Tell me
about your band.
Keira Naughton:"The
Petersons" is the best band ever in the entire
world. I love the band. I listen to our music
all the time and I never get tired of it. We perform
almost entirely original music, we are very prolific
songwriters. There are five of us Everyone's an
actor. Pete Simpson, the drummer, is also a Blue
Man. Matt Saldivar is going to be in The
Wedding Singer on Broadway. Evan Robertson
went to Julliard for acting but doesn't act much
at the moment. He's a great lead guitar player.
And Adam Stein and I started it all on a whim.
We just decided to start a band one night. We
were at a bar and decided to come up with track
titles arbitrarily, like "Jimmy's Not My
Name" and "Kiss It". Then we both
went away and wrote those songs. Then we worked
together on a bunch of new songs and set a date
to play for people on April Fools Day, fittingly,
at the West Bank. Since then, we've played Bottom
Line before it closed, Joe's Pub, The Cutting
Room, Sin-e, Ars Nova and Caroline's Comedy Club.
It's a band with characters and a story. We have
a very detailed backstory on this band at this
point. We also to videos, we are writing a musical.
The website has a lot of fun videos and stuff
on it. It's
www.petersonic.com.
Corine Cohen:
What is your favorite
thing about acting?
Keira Naughton:My favorite thing about acting...
several things. I guess creating characters that
are very different from me is the most fun. I
love when changes just sort of happen to me, when
it's organic, and not even very conscious. I also
love when I'm playing with great actors who have
the same vocabulary that I have and who love to
play. That's what "The Petersons" offers
me. I love to be onstage with those guys because
they are great improvisers and we all have
similar sensibilities. We have these characters
we've created and over time, the relationships
have become really specific and clear to us, so
we can riff
endlessly. I love the feeling of going in front
of an audience for the first time, not knowing
what is going to happen and feeling slightly nervous
and even
under-prepared. You've never felt so alive. It's
a perverse pleasure. I can thrive in those circumstances
and just throw myself out there. I should be on
SNL or something because I love that
live feeling. I love when things go a little bit
wrong.
Keira Naughton
and Emily Cass McDonnel in Indoor/Outdoor
Photo ©Carol Rosegg
Corine Cohen:
What is your favorite
part of Indoor/Outdoor?
Keira Naughton:
In Indoor/Outdoor, there is a part of
the play that takes off. It's the longest scene
in the play, half-way into it. I arrive at the
house to intervene
in the conflict between Samantha and Shuman. When
it's on, the tension is thick, the text flies
back and forth between the three of us, the stakes
are high and
conflict builds and builds and builds and the
audience gets really engaged. That's a fun, feeling
when the audience is really with it. Then, when
there is silence and you could hear a pin drop
in the theater. That's why we do plays-- for that
feeling of togetherness. I also have a fondness
for the mother cat because she's just so grand
and relaxed and self-assured which is a relief
after playing Matilda, who holds a lot of tension.
It's been an issue for my back. I've been in pain
pretty much from the start of rehearsals.
Corine Cohen:
I am sorry for
the pain. You make the play a joy. If you could
have your dream role what would it be and why?
Keira Naughton: Dream Role.. It might be something
like Megan Mullaly's role in Will and Grace.
Or anything Joan Cusack's ever done. Theatrically,
I played Catherine
in Proof and that was a great role. I'd
also love to do Tennessee Williams some day, since
that's what got me excited about theater and literature
as a kid. I
loved Summer and Smoke. But ultimately,
I'd be so happy to do comedy on T.V. Rather than
having to repeat performances, you can develop
a character and
contribute to its story. That seems like it could
be endlessly creative and stimulating to me, in
the right circumstances.
Corine Cohen:
What is your favorite
thing to do in New York?
Keira Naughton:I love to ride my bike in New York.
I live near the Riverside Park bike path. It's
the best escape, riding around with my Ipod, listening
to Lucinda
Williams or something. There should be bike lanes
on all the streets. It's the best way to get around
when the weather's not too severe. I love to do
all the
things that New York offers- the food, the bars,
the music. It's the best city - I miss it if I'm
away even for a day or two, I feel like I've missed
something.
Corine Cohen:
I understand! Do
you have a favorite restaurant in the city?
Keira Naughton:I always have a hard time answering
that question. There are far too many options
to have a favorite and I am far too indecisive.
I love going out for steak, which I rarely do,
at Peter Lugers or Smith and Wollensky or Gallaghers.
But then I love the vegetarian places like Caravan
of Dreams too. I will go out of my way for a great
cup of coffee. On 9th Avenue, there is a great
cappuccino at the Cupcake Cafe's little coffee
place--I don't even know what it's called. Lately,
I've been hanging out after the show at Candella
on 16th which is supremely relaxing and candle-lit.
Angus McIndoe's is always fun and filled with
friends no matter what time I go there.
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