‘She was absolutely right’: Actor Virginia Gay on her mother’s valuable advice – Sydney Morning Herald

October 26, 2022 News Editor

Of course, Cyrano is not pretty and only has words. So this thing I was taught, my greatest downfall, is something I can make a show about. That you get to retell these narratives is important as a feminist writer. I’ve done a lot of work to value and celebrate the joys of this f…ing phenomenal, tall, 50-per-cent-hair body. I’ve been watching Savage River – where I wore almost no make-up – and was sitting in the realism of that grim little town. And instead of being repulsed, I was proud of myself! Proud of my face, all bare and honest. Proud of my courage in doing it. Proud of leaving my vanity behind.

How do you stay on top of your physical wellbeing during a production’s season? By doing as much Pilates as I possibly can. I can’t do yoga because I’m hyper-mobile and competitive, which means that I f… myself up every time I do it.

You’ve made yoga competitive? Fascinating. High-functioning Virgo here says, “Everything is a competition if you try hard enough.”

Cyrano was a production that infamously had its opening night cancelled three hours before Melbourne went back into lockdown … for the sixth time. What does something like that do to your mental health? It was extraordinary. I remember thinking, “I don’t know who’s writing this episode of my life, but I have notes. This metaphor is a little heavy handed.” The show is about longing and the courage it takes to get out of isolation and to reach for another human being. It was written specifically for Melbourne – about the fact that Melbourne had had the longest, hardest lockdown in the world – and we thought we were through it. I remember going home with a back seat full of opening-night flowers to my very small, one-bedroom apartment. Then watching them become mausoleum flowers as they rotted over the next month. Again! Such an obvious metaphor! I get it!

RELIGION

Do you have any pre-show rituals or superstitions? A strong vocal warm-up. And I knock on all the wood whenever anybody’s talking about something good or bad happening. And I don’t talk about a job until the contract is signed. There are too many “almosts” in this world.

What are your commandments for good acting? The best acting I’ve ever felt or done is when two people are energetically impacting each other, and their energy is flowing. I don’t know how you get to that, except you work with people who also love that, and then you just let yourselves play. So: thou shalt play; thou shalt trust the other person; thou shalt – especially with the camera – just let yourself be seen. Don’t show anything; just let yourself be seen.

Complete this sentence for me. Other people go to church, or to the mosque, temple, synagogue. I go … To dinner parties. With wonderful, creative, sparky, different, intelligent people. That’s where I get my ideas challenged, I get my brain enlarged, and I laugh like a drain. That’s my church.