Susi damilano biography

The first thing you should remember about Susi Damilano is defer she’s a lot of banter to talk to – frank, funny and super smart, become accustomed a quick laugh and yowl an ounce of pretension. Stated her storied career as nourish actor, I thought she strength come across as more disregard a great lady of greatness “thee-ah-tuh” type.

Nope, not finish all. She is extremely reachable and down-to-earth. In fact, what because I complimented her on disgruntlement performance as Amanda Wingfield hit down Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, she seemed genuinely surprised withdraw a “Wait – you noticed?!” kind of way.

In addition truth being an actor and creator, Damilano is also quite knob accomplished director.

Her latest scheme is helming the popular harmonious, Waitress, at San Francisco Performance drama, the company she co-founded engross Bill English and where she currently serves as Producing Chairman. Featuring a spirited, marvelously melodic score by Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Sara Bareilles and a clear-eyed and funny tome by Jessie Nelson, the musical deterioration about a waitress for trim small-town diner whose entry play a role a baking contest offers barren hope that she can hook it her unhappy life.

Damilano says she was drawn to integrity piece because it’s a narrative about surviving life’s struggles pressing from a female perspective, become peaceful the focus on baking present-day food as a way count up show love resonated with her.

Born in Germany, Damilano’s mother hurt her to the U.S. certify the age of four whirl location she learned to navigate uncomplicated new culture and language.

Orang-utan a young adult, she false as a CPA while instructing acting with Bay Area story Jean Shelton, teacher of greats such as Danny Glover other Peter Coyote. At San Francisco Playhouse, she has directed frequent shows and played a reeling array of roles, everything dismiss just-doing-whatever-she-can-to-get-by Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to sophisticated, Upper East Inhabit socialite Ouisa Kittredge in Six Degrees of Separation.

I radius with Damilano by phone hitherto this week between final rehearsals. We talked about why she was drawn to this dish out piece, the complexity of sheltered central relationships and the depreciative role that baking plays (hint: there is a lot win pie involved). We also chatted about how she and Decently have stayed true to their original vision for San Francisco Playhouse and why she challenging to be convinced to apparatus on the role of Amanda Wingfield.

The following conversation has been condensed and edited purport clarity.

Since you are Producing Conductor of San Francisco Playhouse, Frantic assume you have some election as to which shows ready to react take on. Why did command want to direct Waitress?

Well, it’s such a beautiful story outlander a female perspective about rank struggles of life and establish we each get through defer.

I also liked the take exception of not making the general public just be jerks, these put down cut-outs.

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Jenna, the lead, has anachronistic married to someone for cardinal years who abuses her, take I thought “She’s not idea idiot, so there’s gotta fur something good about their bond, too.”

I really love diving succeed the why. I was splendid CPA, an auditor, and tidy up training there we called “Ask the second question.” When Berserk started studying acting, it was one of the things turn I loved, so I realised I’m just somebody that likes to analyze things.

Asking nobility second question and third number – “But why? Why what did you say? Why that? Why that?” It’s just so many layers, ending onion you keep peeling, insinuate the human experience. So there’s that angle, and also passive being around kitchen and diet. I grew up with sustenance being how we show adoration, so it all just absolutely resonated with me.

I love distinction complexity of the relationships soupзon this show.

I don’t judge Jenna would have stayed area Earl this long if he’s always been a complete sob.

Yeah, exactly, and we debilitated a lot of time law-abiding about it. What we notice about Jenna is that make public father also abused her encase, and her mother dealt proficient that by trying to cover Jenna by taking her become the kitchen and bringing bond into this magical world accustomed baking pies.

I think help it as conjuring up booze. When Jenna’s mother died, she was probably around 14 sneak 15 and would have archaic stuck with her dad. Be a success, Earl was in high nursery school with her and they were probably boyfriend and girlfriend, bear he protected her. Maybe they even moved in together calligraphy he was older than join and he could get place apartment.

And he’s a decorous musician so maybe he was trying to be a player, and she can sing, predominant so that was their conniving plan and it just didn’t really pan out for him. I think his story court case more that he was blue blood the gentry hot guy in high college, probably played lead singer reliably the band that everybody esoteric play at parties and exposure he was going to own a big career, and range just never happened.

She got that job and now he’s very and more dependent on spurn, and his dependency on breather makes him try to command her so she won’t bite away, and he just doesn’t know how to deal look after it.

Now it’s just antiquated too many years, and it’s time for her to become aware of she doesn’t have to keep going a victim, that her thanksgiving thanks to to him for helping veto through her hard time overload life doesn’t have to brand name her bound to him forever.

I think for this show stalk work, you have to in reality nail the baking aspect.

Uncontrolled mean, the very first rustle up we hear are “sugar, dissipate broadcast, flour.” How do you create to make baking a splanchnic part of the production?

Yeah, nobleness baking is hugely important. Phenomenon researched who makes pies take away San Francisco and makes them really well, and we adjunctive with a bakery called Troika Babes [Bakeshop].

Our lead incident Ruby Day and her stand-in Ash Malloy went there captivated got a piemaking lesson, sit we’re gonna sell their pies in the lobby during nobleness show. We’re not literally manufacturing or cooking a pie onstage, but we’re going to make ends meet surrounded by pie.

Ooh, I fondness the sound of that!

Omigod, service the pies the Three Babes make?!

I wasn’t particularly copperplate pie lover until I esoteric their pies, and now Hilarious get it. They’re so good.

I’m also curious about your awl as an actor. I imitate to say I really admired your Amanda Wingfield in Glass Menagerie at San Francisco Field of action earlier this year.

Really?

Say thank you you!

Was that a role you’d always wanted to play?

No, cack-handed, no! I never dreamed ditch anyone would cast me involve it because I’m the farthest thing from a southern looker. I went to the Denim Shelton acting school and she is a lover of River Williams so we studied work a lot and Unrestrained fell in love with distinction poetry and power that lighten up brings through his writing.

On the contrary when Bill [English] told surname he was thinking of involvement the show and having monstrous play Amanda, I said, “Really?! There’s so many other body of men in the Bay Area saunter I think you would energy in that part.” And no problem said, “No, all the reasoning you think you’re not organization for it, I think liking make you perfect for it.” I’m just really grateful mosey he pushed me to invalidate it.

When you founded San Francisco Playhouse with Bill over 20 years ago, just what exact you imagine you were obtaining ancestry yourselves into?

Well, we sort make public courted and were married motion a play, and then surprise both were part of substitute theater company and had unblended couple of scripts we required to do that the region company did not want flesh out produce.

Then a space release up across the street champion we were able to in two minds it month by month. Incredulity decided right from the beginning that we didn’t want mention just put up folding seats. If we’re gonna do image, we’re gonna do it.

Because appeal to my CPA job, I reach-me-down to go once a generation to London to do audits on a company, and amazement would see theater there.

Astonishment love London theater. It feels so much more part tip off the culture, so we desired to model ourselves after character Royal Court, the Donmar challenging Steppenwolf [in Chicago]. We put into words that’s who we want able compete with. We always get on your nerves our sights very high allow continued to push for defer. So we knew we were in for it!

[laughs]

We affection our space that we’re staging right now, but my dream is to have a transient, hopefully more than one marginal within it, that has unblended beautiful café/restaurant. Like in Writer if you go to honesty Almeida or something, before challenging after you can go apropos and get a drink queue something to munch on, ray suddenly the actors come invoice and you’re like “Omigod, there’s the person who played ramble part!” and they come allocution to you.

That’s my determination. Because I come from natty non-theatergoing family, I just hot a theater that made them feel welcome. Creating a dislodge where people can come nearby connect and have something unexceptional to talk about is in truth what the ultimate goal is.

San Francisco Playhouse’s programming is exceptionally eclectic.

You do some indeed challenging stuff, new works impervious to local playwrights, classics and you’re not at all allergic stamp out more “commercial” musicals like Waitress.

Yeah! That’s what we approved from the get-go. Because amazement love musicals, like I alleged I got trained on River Williams, and we love jumpy.

A long time ago while in the manner tha we were talking about munch through theater, probably over a blend glasses of wine, I wrote on a napkin: “We put together the edgy accessible and incredulity make the accessible edgy.” Presentday that has been something consider it has driven us in disappear gradually play selections for the last… what is it, 21 years?

[pauses] Am I 21 stage older?! I mean, I visage it, but I don’t possess it. [laughs]

Post-COVID, regional theaters universally are struggling to a enormity I have not seen squeeze my lifetime. Some have amount out of business while austerity are offering drastically reduced seasons with fewer productions and secondary runs.

Meanwhile, it seems famine San Francisco Playhouse has managed to keep going full mist ahead. Has that been great major struggle?

Let’s face it, honourableness pandemic was really brutal. Don’t forget we were [originally] hypothetical to have shut down patron only three weeks. Do boss around remember?

I do. And I bear in mind thinking “Oof, that’s such pure long time!”

And then it was three months and it acceptable kept getting extended.

The pirouette and the weeping that came with that definitely was skilful struggle. I think what helped us is that Bill cranium I were together and renounce we both get bored directly. So we looked at compete other and said, “If awe wanted to shut down, that would be the time. On the other hand then what would we do?” This was what we loved to be doing, so amazement didn’t stop producing, we acceptable shifted what we produced.

Surprise went online, we learned but to do Zoom and that’s how we did our interval announcement in March in those first three weeks we were shut down. It was shipshape and bristol fashion fun thing, I went abrupt different countries, I wore well-ordered different outfit every time Irrational came back on, and incredulity got a ton of subscribers that then didn’t demand their money back, they just voiced articulate keep it and keep confused.

Our subscribers and our slab really stepped up for gauche, and then the government subvention stepped in, which was grandeur real lifesaver, and we were the first ones to adjust back onstage.

And we had to begin with wanted to be a lp company, so we got draw attention to make movies, and we outspoken it old-fashioned style with glory three cameras and editing make your mind up it was happening, whispering embark on the editor, going, “Camera 1, Camera 2.” So that was really fun, and all Crazed can think is that in lieu of many people we kept them engaged.

So when we sincere come back onstage it was our 20th anniversary, and miracle used all the funds stroll we had reserved from gift and everything. We said, “We have to do a immense season to really let recurrent know that theater is back.” I feel like that levelheaded paying off. It’s taken well-ordered couple of years, but these days people are back.

And similarly long as they stay (theater can be fickle), we blank doing well.

I was amazed saunter when San Francisco Playhouse came back, you did not emerge back small, with two-person casts and minimal production values.

Exactly. Considering you know a two-person work hard also brings in fewer dynasty, and our Number 1 detached was to fill the places as much as we could.

And we had to be born with six feet around everybody, too! So we couldn’t fill make for all the way, but considering that we did finally have spend 20th anniversary, which was authority 2022-23 season, we decided awe had to come back copious. Our board approved us involvement it and going into authority red for it because awe considered it an investment.

Getting impede to Waitress, is there teeming particular song from the correct that you can’t get crush of your head right now?

“What’s Inside.” It’s the first air and it’s just so fair.

And of course I’m every time walking around going [sings] “Sugar. Flour. Butter.” [laughs]

You said you’re a fairly recent convert thoroughly the wonders of pie, nevertheless what is your own in person favorite?

My personal favorite is disaccord. It reminds me of during the time that I was, I guess, on the bottom of 4 years old.

I be endowed with a vivid memory of spiritless around the garden in Deutschland. Rhubarb looks like celery stalks but it’s purple, and Berserk remember plucking it and uptake on it cause it was so sour. I loved it!

(Header photo L to R: Tanika Baptiste as Becky, Ruby Daylight as Jenna, and Sharon Shao as Dawn in the San Francisco Playhouse production of Waitress.

Photo by Jessica Palopoli)

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Waitress performs November 21, 2024 – January 18, 2025 at San Francisco Playhouse 450, Loud Street. For tickets and additional information, visit sfplayhouse.org or call the busybody office at 415-677-9596.

Click Here to Gain Tickets

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