Drama Queens, a five-star arts journal focusing on female artists

Amanda Cannon Interview by Jen Bush

There is usually a lot of drama in high school.  Amanda Cannon happens to like drama.  It lead her to her current career path as an actor and  writer.  “I fell in love with theatre while doing a play for my Speech class during my senior year of high school. I went on to graduate with a BA in Theatre from Southern Arkansas University, and moved to New York right after college. I am an actor and a writer, and while I’m drawn to dramas or dramedies, I also love doing a good comedic piece as well.”

To do or not to do Shakespeare.  That is the question.  Ms. Cannon is thinking yes.  “I think it’s important to do Shakespeare. He’s obviously a huge contributor to the development of theatre, and the language is everything. It forces the actor to really think about what they’re saying, and to make sure that they’re conveying it properly to the audience.”

There are some staples of summertime like ice cream trucks, sprinklers and Shakespeare productions.  They are ubiquitous.  Ms. Cannon has a good idea as to why.    “Shakespeare’s plays lend themselves to being produced in outdoor venues, whether it’s large amphitheaters or random spots in the park.”

The reasons that Ms. Cannon was drawn to this play have to do with some F-words…FUN and FEMALE!  “Shakespeare isn’t known for creating a lot of female-driven plays, but Merry Wives very much is. I love the playfulness and the humor, and there is nothing I love more than plotting against a self-proclaimed casanova.”

It’s lovely that Ms. Cannon’s inspirations start with family.  “My inspirations are many.  My grandma. My brother. The theatre company I’m a part of. Alanis Morissette. Taylor Swift. Olivia Rodrigo. Kesha. Zendaya. Katrina Lenk. MacKenzie Scott.” 

For Ms. Cannon, the creative process begins by delving into the text.  After a solid understanding of the words, she plays around with the characterization to find the best approach to the portrayal. “My creative process varies sometimes, depending on the role. The most important thing for me is the words. So I read through the script a lot, picking up all the details that I can about who I am and why I’m doing what I’m doing. I always create a bit of a backstory, but if it’s a really emotionally-deep character, I will create a more complex backstory. And then I just try different things in rehearsal and see what sticks.” 

The pandemic changed everything including instilling a sense of fear and uncertainty into all of our lives.  Hopefully a deeper appreciation of life is a positive side effect of what the world has been going through.  Ms. Cannon discusses how the pandemic currently impacts her.  “For me, everything is different. I’m still very careful about what I do. I don’t know if I will ever shake the feeling of not knowing what the future–even the next week–holds. I will never take seeing my friends for granted, and I will always value being able to be onstage and perform after two years of not doing it. What should be different is that all of us should be holding each other’s lives in higher regard than our own individual wants and comforts.” 

Ms. Cannon said, “we’ll see!” when we asked her what’s next.   Given that she’s about to tackle Shakespeare and the fact that all the world’s a stage (I wonder who said that?), there will be many stages for her to set foot upon to share her artistic gifts with eager audiences.