I once had a friend tell me that she’d love Julia Roberts FOREVER just because she was in “Notting Hill”. Julia Roberts could probably slash her tires and fill her gas tank with sugar, and she’d still love her (I mean, if “Mary Reilly” isn’t enough to put out the flame, then what is?) Sometimes we respond so viscerally and emotionally to an actor’s or singer’s or dancer’s performance, that we are immediately and irrevocably a fan forever. Meg Foster is one of those people for me. In the very first show I ever directed, SLT’s “State Fair”, Meg came through gangbusters for me with her charming interpretation of the spunky lead female Margie Frake. “It Might as Well Be Spring” is still one of my all time favorite Broadway standards because of Meg. And when some naysayers said she was a one-trick operatic pony, Meg stuck “The Next Time it Happens” right in their pinched faces and blew the roof off of the Playhouse. Because of this, Meg could burn down my house and empty my retirement account and I’d still always love and respect her. Needless to say, I’ll never forget that performance and I’m as thrilled as anyone that we’ll be seeing her again in SLT’s upcoming “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. I recently sat down with Meg (um..me at my computer and her at hers but not at the same time…) and asked her the same questions I asked Brady Smith. So everything you always wanted to know about Meg, but were afraid to ask….
Name: Meg Foster
Age: 25
Occupation: Co-Director First Baptist Weekday Preschool
JC (Jay Coffman): So tell us a little bit about the role you’re playing in Millie!
MF (Meg Foster): I am playing Miss Dorothy Brown, an "orphan" from California and a wannabe actress. Dorothy is Millie's best friend and essentially her polar opposite...she is old fashioned and naive, very much a romantic... determined to marry for love. Dorothy obviously comes from a life of privilege but she is not at all stuck up...rather she is excited about seeing this whole new, big world for the first time.
JC: Do you foresee any challenges in bringing this character to life?
MF: The biggest challenge for me with Dorothy is going to be making her a "real" person ... it would be very easy to play her as a caricature but I think there is a lot more to her than that.
JC: How different are you from Dorothy? Or do you find Dorothy to be similar to you?
MF: I think Dorothy and I are fairly similar. I tend to be fairly old fashioned and I'm definitely a hopeless romantic...I wear my heart on my sleeve. I can also tend to be a little naive...more so than I'd care to admit. I also find that a lot of my friends tend to be Millies...people who will tell me exactly how it is.
JC: This isn’t your first time at SLT. What other shows have we seen you in?
MF: My last appearance with SLT was “State Fair” in 2005. You may also remember me from 2004's “Crimes of the Heart“ or “Two by Two”, among many others.
JC: Any “dream” roles?
MF: Christine in “Phantom of the Opera”! Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” (Julie Andrews is my hero), and Anna in “The King and I”.
JC: So I know we’ve all had embarrassing stage moments. Can you remember any of yours or have you blocked them all out?
MF: One would be “Cinderella” (2006). My skirt was a little big and it started to fall while I was in the middle of singing the song “Lovely Night”. I kept trying to fix it all the while singing...finally the stepmother who is supposed to hate Cinderella had to retie it in the middle of the scene. There was no hiding it from the audience, which of course consisted of most of my friends and family that night. The other would be performing Lily in the “Secret Garden” while I had mono. Not fun.
JC: If you could pick a favorite role or stage experience, what would it be?
MF: I'm going to pick “Crimes of the Heart” because of the close knit cast...we really became sisters...and because the role of Babe was one of the more challenging of my career...I'd also say playing Maria in “The Sound of Music” my senior year of high school for sentimental reasons.
JC: When did you get your start performing?
MF: I've been singing and acting my entire life. I was the kid that was always making her parents and siblings sit through nonsense plays. I started doing school and church plays early...my first community theatre role was in SYT's little women when I was in seventh grade...I started voice lessons the same year.
JC: Do you have any pre-show rituals or superstitions?
MF: Not really, but I HATE rushing to get ready. I like to get there early and take my time getting ready...I need a few minutes to center myself before I perform...whether it’s a quick prayer or standing in the wings by myself for a few minutes before I go onstage...I need chill time.
JC: So let’s gender-bend. Any traditionally male roles you’d like to play?
MF: Never really thought about it to be honest but i did see a production of “Hamlet” in which the title character was portrayed by a girl and i thought that was pretty cool, so I'll go with that.
Come see Meg as Dorothy in The Spartanburg Little Theatre’s production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” on March 6-8 and 13-15 at the Chapman Cultural Center in Downtown Spartanburg. Tickets available at www.chapmanculturalcenter.org. More information is available at www.spartanburglittletheatre.org.
