Meg Lowey-1

  • What years were you involved in UCT?
    2000 (first show: Les Mis) to 2012 (last show: Spring Awakening)

 

  • What was your favorite production (acted in, worked on, viewed)?
    I absolutely ADORED working with the Young Performers’ shows, both as a choreographer for Wonderland and a director for The Little Mermaid. The most amazing part has been seeing the kids who were involved in those shows grow up and do more work with Un-Common – so many of them are in productions and Improv Soup now, and it’s just so exciting to see!
    I loved performing with Improv Soup, since it was constantly shifting and challenging us. Can’t go on autopilot while doing improv!Seeing Assassins was really big for me as well – it was one of the first times I had seen a musical with that much weight and meatiness. I ended up doing a ton of research on the historical figures and learning a lot about Sondheim as well, which was really important for my theatre educations, I think.

 

  • Name one way that your UCT experience has helped you outside the theatre world?
    I now work as an administrator in the Kennedy Center’s Theater for Young Audiences program, as well as a theatre-maker and drama teacher for students of all abilities with a number of DC-area schools and companies. So as you can imagine, I think about and use the skills I learned at Un-Common ALL the time! Whenever I need a game or a warmup for a class, I look back at the notes I made in high school. And that’s not even counting all of the non-theatre related skills that I learned with Un-Common – collaboration, working hard, advocating for myself. I owe so much to my time with UTC!

 

  • Favorite prop?
    I mean, it’s hard to beat Penelope the Goat in her original appearance in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat…     

 

  • What rehearsal venue did you like most and why?
    I loved rehearsing onstage at Qualters Middle School. At this point I’ve been involved in so much work there, and every corner of the space is just chock full of memories.

 

  • Closest theatre friends?
    So many! I met the Dowd family during my first show (Les Mis) in 2000, and the Levenson family during Joseph (2002?) and have stayed close friends with them ever since. I always loved having friends from so many other towns and cities.

 

  • Hardest song to learn (either solo or group number)
    “God That’s Good” and “The Letter” from Sweeney Todd were absolute monsters. I did the show again in college and was SO thankful that I had gotten a head start learning them with UTC!

 

  • >Any special mentors?
    As she did for many others, Christa Crewdson played a huge role in my development as an actor, director, and human being. She trusted and challenged me to try new things, from improv to straight plays to roles outside my comfort zone, and I couldn’t be more grateful. If I ever have half the impact on a students that she had on me, I will be overjoyed.

 

  • Are there any aspects of theater you haven’t tried yet, but might like to in the future?
    I haven’t done a whole lot of backstage technical work since high school, but when directing a show I always end up highly involved in the sound design process – choosing music to fit the mood, finding fun effects, sometimes using live foley. I think I’d really enjoy delving into that more.

 

  • If you won a Tony, name three people you would thank.
    I’m cheating and doing three groups of people instead of three people total:
    1. My parents, Chris and Mike Lowey, who have been endlessly supportive of my weird creative ventures.
    2. Christa Crewdson and Linda Barbieri, my voice teacher, who broadened my definitions of what performance can and be – and what it meant to be a teacher and share that passion with the world.
    3. Rives Collins and Betsy Quinn of Northwestern University, who further opened my mind to theatre as a means of education and dialogue and boundless joy for young people