In between their busy tech rehearsals for PALLAS SISTER RISING, we caught the cast, Cara Avenia and Madelyne Leite for a quick chat!
1. If you were an animal right now, what animal would you be?
M: Barnacle.
C: I think right now I’d be a snail.
2. What was your immediate reaction upon first encountering this script?
M: I remember being so moved by the text. I love the way Grace writes dialogue, it's so poetic and borderline Shakespearean in moments but drastically realistic in others.
C: My first reaction to this script was, wow I’ve never read something like this before! It was so exciting to see such a real exploration of the intensity of female friendship and all the intricacies, conflicts and love within them.
3. What has been the most challenging part of PALLAS SISTER RISING?
M: The text deals with a lot of grief for my character, I think what's been most challenging has been discovering what that looks like and how to create a realistic depiction of what she's going through.
C: For me personally, the most challenging part of this show was to create Pallas. I wanted to uncover who she was by understanding how she perceived herself, disregarding Athena’s opinion. She’s such a unique character, and every rehearsal I was discovering new things about her that helped me piece together this mosaic of who she is.
4. Why should audiences come and see the show?
M: I love the way the show examines female relationships and it's unlike anything I've ever seen. I just want people to experience it.
C: Because this play is a story I think a lot of people can relate to, particularly female-presenting people. It’s a play about toxicity in relationships and I think anyone who has felt misused in a friendship will understand this story, just like I did.
5. Summarise your deepest thoughts about PALLAS in three words.
M: Crushing, folding, freeing.
C: MISUNDERSTOOD. HURTING. INFLAMED
6. Favourite line from the show?
M: "For now, I'll wait, I'll muse, and I'll mourn."
C: My favourite line has got to be “canapés, we need lots!”
