By Dale King
Act II of The Theatrical Life of Elizabeth Price is about to begin.
Act I started 18 years ago when Price, then 22, with a bachelor’s degree in English from Tulane University and years of stage acting experience, headed west to Los Angeles and a hoped-for career in TV, film and theater.
Three years later, “I had given up,” said Price, now a grad student at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. “I had made a lot of crappy TV and some small, independent movies. It was not going well at all.”
So she moved to Austin, in her native Texas, to try her hand at directing, writing and producing. Then, it was off to Italy to teach English for three years, then back to New Mexico for another shot at theater.
It was then she had a realization.
“I had acted since I was 7, but I did not have a master’s degree.” Her life trek then turned to South Florida where she earned a bachelor in acting diploma from Barry University. Now 40, she graduates in December from FAU with a master’s of fine arts in acting.
She has already lined up her “first post-grad school professional role” at Arts Garage in Delray Beach. But Price just completed a part she has eyed for years, giving a portrayal that may resonate on the FAU stage for years. She played Barbara, the outspoken, angry and angst-riddled daughter of Violet Weston in the FAU Festival Rep 2014 production of Tracy Letts’s August: Osage County.
Price said she saw the dark-humored stage production several years ago, well before the Meryl Streep-Julia Roberts film. “Ever since then, I wanted to do it. I love new work, and it’s ultra-contemporary. At FAU, I also got to work with some fantastic people.”
At the same time she was performing in Osage, she also had a non-singing role in Bonnie & Clyde, the Musical, the other Summer Rep production at FAU this year. Clearly, though, she said Osage triumphed in her theatrical heart. “I am completely dedicated to it.”
A three-act play running more than three hours, Osage was a challenging show, she said. “We had enough rehearsal time so that we went in really solid. But because we had two shows going at once, we had to stay on top of the lines. It took work and a tremendous amount of focus.”
She thanks director Jean-Louis Baldet for challenging her to “give more” to her role as Barbara. “He is an excellent guide. He would say, ‘No, you can still go further’ and ‘No, you can give me more.’” She did, and was drained by the end of each Osage performance.
Summer Rep at FAU gives students a chance to work with Equity actors, and Price praised professionals Wayne LeGette and Kim Ostrenko, who worked with students in both productions.
“I learned a tremendous amount from working with them, watching what they brought to rehearsal and the amount of focus, energy, versatility and dedication they had,” Price said. “On a break, or after the show, they were able to talk to us about how they survived in the business and their connections.”
The bond with Ostrenko, who played her mother in Osage, was particularly important because Mom is the main target of Barbara’s wrath. “When Kim and I were done every night, we were exhausted. I felt a little like a crazy person. After the play, we would walk off the stage after curtain call and hug — because we were each other’s support.”
To graduate, Price has to write a thesis on a significant character she has portrayed, and chose Lyubov Ranevskaya from Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. Like the Barbara character, Price also considers that role “challenging.”
Enticed into acting by her parents who “saw I had some talent,” Price admits having performed in “everything from Greek tragedy to contemporary.” She starred in Tennessee Williams’ Summer and Smoke, her first play at FAU and first time working with director Baldet. In her second year as a grad student at FAU, she was in Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, directed by Kathryn Johnston. Price performed in The Man Who Came to Dinner, directed by Baldet, during FAU’s summer rep 2013.
She’s excited about her Arts Garage debut, where she’s cast inThe How and the Why, by TV and feature film writer Sara Treem. Price will work with director Margaret Ledford, producer Lou Tyrrell and “one of the best actresses in South Florida,” Laura Turnbull. It runs from Nov. 7-30.
With a penchant for “moving and living in new places,” Price said she may relocate out of South Florida in a year or so, but “if things go well,” she’ll likely stick around.
As she makes her stage debut a second time around, she expects to be more adept at her craft . “When I went out there the first time, I thought I didn’t need acting classes or training.”
Now, with established creds, “it should go better. I have also had a lot of life experience.”
