Ann Harada is known for her portrayal of Christmas Eve in AVENUE Q, Charlotte in CINDERELLA, and everyone’s favorite stage manager, Linda, in NBC’s SMASH. She is a delightful human, a giving and compassionate performer, and I’m absolutely thrilled to have her be the first in the relaunch of the Actors and Actresses Q&A Series!
MM: When did you first realize you wanted to be an actress?
AH: I wanted to be an actress ( that is, I wanted to be in a play) when I was in second grade and saw the 6th graders do a play. I was overwhelmed by how good they were and how great the play was (an original work about the environment!)
MM: Of all the roles you’ve played in your career thus far, which ones are the closest to your heart?
AH: The roles closest to my heart are the ones where I know the writer had me in mind while writing the lines. So, Christmas Eve in Avenue Q, Charlotte in Cinderella, and Brenda in The Closet ( this past summer at Williamstown). So much of me lives in these characters.
MM: When one walks into your home, what books are permanently on your bookshelf?
AH: Little Women, The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Little House on the Prairie series, Six Plays by Rodgers and Hammerstein.
MM: If you were stranded on a desert island, what television shows and/or movies would you want available to you, (assuming of course you have a television and Internet connection?)
AH: Penny Dreadful, Doctor Who, Sherlock, and Smash.
MM: What’s the best piece of advice you’d want to offer aspiring performers?
AH: Just keep swimming. So much of this business is persistence and showing up.
MM: What sound do you love? What sound do you hate?
AH: I love the sound of an orchestra tuning up. I hate the sound of a fire alarm.
MM: What literary or musical theatre character is most like your personality? Least like your personality?
AH: Anne of Green Gables. Daisy Buchanan.
MM: In today’s economic state, arts education programs are being cut. What reasons would you give to a school board or politician for preserving arts education programming in schools?
AH: The arts utilize knowledge of all other academic subjects, as well as teach children how to collaborate and work towards a common goal. What could be more important than to train children how to work together and have fun doing it.
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher? (Can absolutely be more than one)
AH: Both were in middle school. I had an English teacher, Marilyn Stassen, who encouraged me to perform in speech-related activities, and a music teacher, Gary Heidel, who told me I could sing and exposed me to a wide variety of music.
Thank you, Ann! Write Teacher(s) Reader(s), be sure to connect with Ann on twitter: @annharada.