Lisa Norton shoulders the burden of running the fourth most-listened to radio station in Lake Kashagakaganee!
We sat down with Lisa Norton to chat about what’s going to surprise people about this show, why she wanted to be a part of it, and if Lighthouse plans to do a one-person show next season!
Lighthouse (L): What’s going to surprise people about this show?
Lisa Norton (LN): Audiences will be amazed and astounded by the sheer amount of talent and comic chops on the stage! I’m kidding; that’s never a surprise at Lighthouse. People may be surprised to discover a new playwright who has such an assured voice that you’d never guess this is his first published show. I was.
(L): Why did you want to be involved in this production?
(LN): I loved the script from the first moment I laid eyes on it. Really funny, and so much heart. I hope Ephraim Ellis, our playwright, won’t mind me saying that when I read it, my first thought was, “Whoa, if he keeps this up, this kid could be the next Mark Crawford or Norm Foster”. No pressure! And I was super excited for the chance to work with Jane Spence, our director, whom I’ve known a little for decades but never crossed paths with professionally, along with the excellent cast, design team and crew she’s assembled. Not to mention, I’ve worked at Lighthouse twice before (The Birds and the Bees, in 2018, and Stag and Doe, in 2015), and this theatre, and this town, are always an absolute joy to come back to.
(L): What’s the biggest challenge about taking on this role?
(LN): My character, Alice, is close to my opposite in many ways. Or at least I fake confidence and competence much better! But the challenge of playing someone so different from myself, and from the roles I might typically be cast in, is what makes it fun.
(L): If you could play any other character in this show, who would it be?
(LN): Oh, I’d love to play them all! Hey Derek Ritschel, do you need a one-person show in your season next year?
(L): If someone was going to make your life into a movie, who would play you?
(L): Well, I hate to say it, but my life would make for a pretty dull movie. Growing up in the suburbs….walking my dogs, going to the grocery store — How about Miley Cyrus? That way they could make it a musical, give her some big kick-ass songs to spice things up. And car chases!