In your career, I imagine you’re either offered things or offered to audition for a ton of roles. What are the big things that you look for in a role? You play a lot of really strong women.
Elizabeth Rodriguez: I look for something I understand and that impassions me. People say, “Oh, this person is in it,” or “that person is doing it.” And that’s all kind of fantastic for a second, but it’s not gonna make you want to show up, especially 8-times a week when it comes to plays.
And I guess, I try to ask questions about, which I never used to, who the players are, who the director is? Is it an actor’s director? I think ultimately, I want to do work that speaks to me and it has to be realistic. I need to feel like the people I’m surrounded with are artists and want to do it for the sake of working, not for the celebrity of things. I don’t have a lot of patience for that.
I feel like, because I’m with a theatre company, I’ve been so blessed with being surrounded by so many talented people and being directed by really talented people and being inspired by them. And so, that’s what feeds me.
I think who we are as actors, we can’t have an objective perspective. When you’re directed by someone who is incredible, they have the ability to see it and explain it and bring you to it. It’s kind of amazing. Your brain almost snaps open and you hit a different level of consciousness within the character of understanding things. And that’s what I want to strive for because I don’t think anyone can get there on their own.
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