10 Questions
Take Ten: HEATHER MARIE BECK
HEATHER MARIE BECK returns to Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Mamma Mia! through September 9. Check out this week’s Take Ten to get the inside scoop on the actor's love of sign language, her featured role as a mom, and her passion for “the most tangible bond between people that I have ever known.
1) What was the first show you ever saw, and what impact did it have?
I don’t remember the first show I ever saw but I do remember watching A Chorus Line and being impacted by how candid those characters were with the director who was asking them personal questions. They all bared their souls to this complete stranger in an effort to be chosen for a job that allowed them to perform - to do what they loved most, what made them feel most alive.
2) What was your first involvement in a theatrical production?
I suppose my first real involvement with theater was when I moved to Ellicott City, Maryland. I performed at The Little Theater on the Corner on Main Street in Ellicott City. They asked me to audition with a monologue but I had never auditioned anywhere before and didn’t know any. So I chose a song with lyrics I loved as a little kid and did it as a monologue instead. They liked it!
3) What’s your favorite play or musical, and why do you like it so much?
My favorite musical....that’s tough. I love different musicals for different reasons. I like musicals that allow the audience members and performers to connect with one another. Can be Comedy, Dance, Drama or Spectacle! When we all feel emotions strongly in the same space it creates the most tangible bond between people that I’ve ever known. So, for me, it depends on the musical and how it’s done, not so much one specific musical.
4) What’s the worst day job you ever took?
I’ve never had a bad day job. There have been jobs I’ve liked more than others but I choose to do things that make me happy and feel fulfilled. I’ve been fortunate enough to do them and then apply the skills I’ve learned from them to other situations in my life.
5) What is your most embarrassing moment in the theatre?
My most embarrassing moment in theater...could be any number of things! Perhaps I’m constantly doing things that should embarrass me! But when I’m onstage, it’s best if I don’t consider the possibility. It is true, however, that I have fallen onstage, while singing, quite a few times.
6) What are you enjoying most about working on Mamma Mia! at Toby’s Dinner Theatre?
What I love most about Mamma Mia! at Toby’s Dinner Theatre is that it is meaningful to all of us involved in it. And so it becomes meaningful to those who are watching. We are so close in proximity to one another that everyone in that theater becomes invested in what is happening. I am so proud to be a part of this show at Toby’s. The ability to be somewhere everyday where people give that much of themselves because they believe in it so strongly? I’m pretty lucky.
7) Other than your significant other, who’s your dream date (living or dead) and why?
Besides my amazing husband, a living or dead dream date? All alive at the moment. Maybe Kat Von D, Nyle DiMarco, Kiefer Sutherland; to hear about their lives. And Sara Bareilles! Her voice. It overwhelms me. The date would be me just sitting and hoping she’d offer to sing. Poor thing, she’d be bored to tears.
8) What is your dream role/job?
My dream job :) I’m doing it. I’ve been doing it for almost 20 years. My relatively new job as Mom to our 5 year old son is also pretty dreamy. I get to work in my second language, American Sign Language, during the day and that’s pretty darn cool too.
9) If you could travel back in time, what famous production or performance would you choose to see?
I would like to go back and see when theatre was performed by men only. I probably wouldn’t love their portrayal of women ,but it would be cool to see. I also would love to have seen my parents singing together before I was born because the connection they have onstage is beautiful.
10) What advice would you give to an 8-year-old smitten by theatre / for a graduating MFA student?
If I met an 8 year old who told me their dream was theater and asked me for advice, I would tell them to get as much life experience as possible in an effort to achieve that dream. Experience in as many different areas as possible because I believe everything that happens in your life leads you to the next best thing. Each experience is equally important, no matter how trivial or tough it may seem at the time, and it adds something unique to a performance or an audition that only you will be able to give. No one else has the same combination of experiences to build on. No one else has met and connected with the same people you will have the opportunity to meet and connect with. There is only one you. Share it without reserve.
But I’d say that in 8 year old language.
HEATHER MARIE BECK is an Educational Sign Language Interpreter and business owner in Ellicott City, MD. She has been performing in the Baltimore/D.C. area for over 20 years and as a new mom, she values family time with her husband Shawn and 5 year old son, Mathis.
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