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Class Notes: Ta’Rea Campbell from “The Hills of California”
00:10:31
Listen: Lauren Class Schneider talks to Ta’Rea Campbell, cast member of “Hills of California” at the Broadhurst Theatre. “Class Notes” actively covers New York’s current theater season on, off, and off-off Broadway. For a transcript of this episode,
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- [00:09]
A
Hi, I'm Lauren Klass Snyder with Class Notes for Broadway Radio. I'm here with Terea Campbell playing multiple roles in the Hills of California at the Broadhurst Theatre. Welcome.
- [00:20]
B
Thank you, Lauren.
- [00:21]
A
Well, let's just start talking about those web sisters who returned to their childhood home in the English countryside, the rundown Seaview guest house, to say goodbye to their ailing mother. When memories from their youth come flooding back, the sisters confront their past and untangle a web of secrets, betrayals, and profound emotional bonds. Now, you are playing two roles.
- [00:43]
B
I play the two roles.
- [00:45]
A
Uh huh. You're playing Penny and Biddy. And what's the relationship that each of them have to the web sisters?
- [00:52]
B
So in the beginning of the play, which is actually later in time in the 1970s play, the character of Penny, who is the Webb sister's mother's nurse, and she's sort of the end of life care nurse for Veronica Webb. And in the second portion of the play, in the 1950s, I played Biddy, who was sort of like, she's a worker in the, in the guest house. You know, she might have been somebody who stayed there once and sort of got along well with Veronica. And then sort of in exchange for room and board, he helps out with the girls, helps out with the cooking and things like that.
- [01:34]
A
Mm.
- [01:35]
B
A little bit more closer than a maid, but, you know, still not a relative.
- [01:43]
A
Yeah, the relationship seems extremely special. And for you as an actor, how do you inhabit these two completely different characters appearing in the same play?
- [01:54]
B
Well, I think both of them are caregivers, and I am a caregiver. I'm a nurturing sort of person. And so I think it's easy to step into that, you know, moment in the beginning of the play. Playing Penny is extremely personal for me because I was a caregiver to a relative who was suffering from cancer. And, you know, I thought about what I wanted to hear from a caregiver, what I wanted to hear from a nurse, how I wanted to feel during that, you know, very uncertain time. And I try to tap into that, to be gentle, to be firm, to not be, you know, misleading, because sometimes the truth is hard to hear. But when you're dealing with something as serious as end of life care, you need to hear the truth. So it's very personal, that particular role for me to tap into. And as for Biddy, the most important thing for me is to make sure I get my black bull accent correct, because it's quite difficult.
- [03:03]
A
Well, in thinking about you as a caregiver, I'm wondering if you could also use one. I've read that you walk up 474 stairs during each performance. And for some perspective, that's over 30 flights.
- [03:18]
B
Yeah.
- [03:19]
A
How do you maintain that?
- [03:21]
B
It's a little under three. It's a little under 400 flights of stairs. But I counted them and that's not including, like, if I accidentally forget to fill up my water bottle and I have to go downstairs or if I need to go and visit someone else in their dressing room, if I need to go to pt, which is on the sixth floor, and I'm on the third floor. So it is quite the uphill, no pun intended, battle of the stairs in the show. So, yes, I do cherish my rest time.
- [03:50]
A
No doubt. Well, I'm glad to hear that there's also physical therapy going on there for you.
- [03:54]
B
Absolutely.
- [03:56]
A
Now, the Play of Horse began in London and it's directed by Sam Mendez. How did the audition come about for you and what was the process like?
- [04:06]
B
Well, I was. I auditioned for this show in June while I was on vacation in Texas from a self tape that I actually forgot that I needed to film. So I actually filmed this audition with a friend who had a self tape, you know, set up in her childhood home because we were visiting her parents in Texas. And we had spent the whole day by the pool, you know, eating hot dogs and drinking sodas. And I said, oh my gosh, I forgot to do the self tape. So she said, I'm never going to be able to do it in time. And she said, no, no, no, no, no. Here, just. Let's just go through my mom's closet. I'm sure you can find something to wear. So on the top half it was all business. On the bottom half it was all bathing suit. And we got the tape done and then I came back to New York City and had a couple of callbacks and dialect sessions in New York City. And then I got the part on July 1st.
- [05:04]
A
Congratulations.
- [05:05]
B
Thank you.
- [05:06]
A
And the fact that your friend's mother had this all set up in a closet, which might have been leftover from the pandemic, but very good to have.
- [05:14]
B
Yes, very good to have.
- [05:16]
A
Now, the fact that the play did originate in London, are there influences that came into the rehearsal room for you in New York that either enhanced or disturbed or.
- [05:29]
B
Well, I wouldn't so much say that there were influences, but there were some times where once we got to London in rehearsal, you know, there were. The majority of the actors are British and Irish. And so when we were in Rehearsal. I was one of the handful of American actors, and there would be a couple of times when Sam or somebody else would turn around and say, do you guys say that in America? Regarding certain terms and phrases. And so I became the unofficial sort of, is this American terea? You know, like, asking me what I thought of certain things. And so there were a couple of things that we needed to change, but for the most part, everything sort of, you know, once you tap into any sort of accent when you're watching a play, you know, if you don't really understand everything that's going on, if you sit with it for a little while, context clues will really help you out. So for the most part, we didn't have to change too much.
- [06:27]
A
Right, right. And the writer, my goodness, the prolific Jez Butterworth. Now, was Jez in the rehearsal room with you? Very much.
- [06:37]
B
He was in the rehearsal room sometimes. Because I don't know if you know this or not, but this play was a huge success on the West End, and it was. It played for many, many weeks, months. And during the time in between it closing and us starting rehearsals, Jazz wrote a completely new Act 3. And so it's completely different from how the play ended before. So if you think you've seen it and you saw it in Weston, please come and see it again, because it is completely different. So he was in the rehearsal room to listen to the new ending quite a bit.
- [07:15]
A
That's great. Well, he's also married to lead actor Laura Donnelly. What's that like for you, as a fellow actor?
- [07:24]
B
Well, it doesn't interfere at all. She's the most professional person I've ever worked with, and it doesn't interfere at all. She's really, really great. Such a beautiful actress, and this part is wonderfully written. I wouldn't say it's written for her, but they do collaborate with each other. So, you know, she's doing an excellent job. All of the women, I feel so lucky to be able to go to work every day. And, you know, most people say, oh, I have to do this play, but I get to do this play, and I get to witness an absurd amount of talent on stage every night. It's like having a masterclass of acting every night with these four women. And the younger women, too. They're just. But the women that I get to work with are incredible.
- [08:16]
A
With these gentlemen at the top. Jez and Sam Mendez have frequently worked together. What's it like to be part of the Jazz SEM Players?
- [08:25]
B
Well, here's the thing. I wish that there was such a thing as the jazz players. Because I say this all the time to the people in the cast. You know, we only have about four and a half more weeks left and I say, you guys, I can't imagine that we won't start another play in six weeks. And that will just be a troop of actors that get to work together because I'm so spoiled and whatever it is that I work on again, I hope we have the same kind of tight bond that we have in this play because there was a bond that was created obviously by the performers that had already done the play before, but they just welcomed all of the new players in with open arms and no expectations of trying to be like anybody else that had come before. So I feel so lucky and I wish that, you know, the next play that I get to do, we could just have all the same people again and do another play.
- [09:14]
A
Oh, no doubt. Well, separate from the hills of California, you have a bond, I'm guessing, with the award winning choir Broadway inspirational voices.
- [09:26]
B
I do, I do. I've been with that choir for about 15 years and we are in our 30th year, celebrating our 30th year with a very special concert on December 16th at the Skirball. But I am a member of the choir. I'm also the stylist for the choir. So I work really closely with all of the people in the choir as well as the leaders of the choir. And it just brings me so much joy. So I feel very honored and blessed to be able to participate in that choir because we don't just sing, we're also an outreach ministries, so we do a lot of things for the community and works of service for people.
- [10:03]
A
So I'm super blessed and incredibly generous and I'm so grateful. This has been a real treat. Thank you, Terea.
- [10:14]
B
Thank you so much, Lauren. It's been my pleasure.
- [10:17]
A
I'm Lauren Klaus Schneider with Terea Campbell playing biddy and Penny in the hills of California at the Broadhurst theater.
- [10:24]
B
Thank you.