Actress, comedian, and writer Kirsten Vangsness chatted about the comedic production “Lottie Plachett Took a Hatchet.”
It will be performed at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in Hollywood, California, where it opens on October 7 and it will close on October 30.
“Lottie Placchett Took a Hatchet” was written by Justin Elizabeth Sayre, and directed by Jessica Hanna.
How has your experience been thus far in “Lottie Plachett Took a Hatchet”?
My experience in this play is super joyful. I did it a year ago with the same cast and the opportunity presented itself to be in it again. And it’s even dreamier than before.
It has been a goal of mine to work at the Los Angeles LGBT Center and that I get to do it with these dreamboats is nothing short of wonderful.
What did you like most about playing this title character?
My favorite thing about playing Lottie is that she is so passionate and honest and lascivious – Justin Elizabeth Sayre, the writer, has created such a broad yet grounded piece of theatre which makes it just the most fun.
What motivates you each day as a comedian, actress, and performer?
I am motivated to perform and create because I love to create, and I am constantly fascinated by human beings.
I’m always rolling around questions about what makes your dreams come true and why people make the choices that they do.
How does it feel to be an entertainer in the digital age? (Now with streaming, technology, and social media being so prevalent)?
For me it’s fun and also has some traps – I still maintain that live performances have a very unique ephemeral magic that cannot be recreated in any way with digital.
What I think is great about social media is that it allows anybody to create art and put it out in the world immediately. In my heart, I believe that the more art we make, for the pure joy of creating, the more peaceful the world can become.
What is your advice for hopefuls who wish to go into the entertainment business professionally?
Make stuff. Make your art, find a way to make it without the gatekeepers and to find the act of creating very satisfying – so satisfying that attention for it, or money for it, is just icing on the cake.
Additionally, I would find a way to outsource learning about the business side of it, or know that learning about the business of acting can be an entirely different almost opposing thing to learn than the actual act of creating. I would also suggest keeping a journal.
What does the word success mean to you?
Success to me means authentically expressing myself and that my actions and my beliefs and my life are all in alignment with each other.
To me, the most successful times that I have experienced are when there’s the least amount of cognitive dissonance and the highest amount of joy and feeling alive because I am making choices about my dreams.
Also, taking action and radical responsibility for my experience.
What would you like to tell our readers about “Lottie Plachett Took a Hatchet”? (What’s the one thing you want them to get out of it)
I want people to laugh at the things that break our heart the most and be irreverent and the opposite of precious regarding trauma.
I want laughing about the most terrible things that have ever happened to us to be not only okay, but to be a way to heal and take back joy that is sometimes taken from us by really sad things.
My favorite kind of art is the kind that makes fun of the terrible stuff.
To learn more about Kirsten Vangsness, follow her on Instagram.
