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

Interview by Jen Bush

Carla Susan Lewis is about to star in Auditioning for Eternity.  The piece is about a ghostly encounter between two friends, one dead and one alive.  Ms. Lewis has had extensive training in her craft from some of the most sought-after scholars in the industry. She has amassed an impressive body of work on stage and screen. 

Ms. Lewis gets great enjoyment from embodying the characters she portrays.  “I adore storytelling and opportunities to “live the life” of a character as we find them within ourselves. There is always a thread between myself and what is on the page that gets triggered, sometimes subconsciously and that connection, when it is true radiates to the audience. We become one. I feel them breathe. Miss that in on-camera work.”

Ms. Lewis has a comprehensive creative process.  “I work on multiple layers using a range of tools and instincts that play out in the moment after intense script analysis and fine-tooth combing of text. I use a lot of very specific imagery, imagination, and body work as well as fictional projections to enrich the history of the character and relationships — kind of like a more visceral biography.”

Ms. Lewis was drawn to this play for the creatives involved and for the story itself.  “Coni and Dan and their brilliance, the spectacular wit, dramaturgical richness and existential answers in an absurdist framework that communicates the profound beauty and power of love.”

 When a piece has serious subject matter, sometimes artists feel an added sense of responsibility to present the material in a more sensitive manner.  Ms. Lewis feels a strong sense of responsibility to the work regardless of the topics presented.  “My sense of responsibility to playwrights is always fiercely present no matter what the subject matter. It is a privilege for me to raise the text from the page and flesh it out with as much dimensionality as I can muster.”

Though COVID is still present, Ms. Lewis is elated to be on stage again.  “It is a dream come true that we are live again on stage. That reality felt frighteningly far away in 2020. I had just signed a contract to play Susan B. Anthony when the Equity COVID protection policy pulled the plug. It was warranted of course pre-vaccine.”

Ms. Lewis has some lovely ideas for what theatre should look like post-COVID.  “More reflective, more celebrated, more treasured, more inclusive.”

When this project ends, there will be no shortage of work for this talented artist.  “My rep will hopefully have some juicy projects lined up but I would love to see this play taken to the next level. I am also enjoying the indie film festival circuit playing the mother of the protagonist. And hope to travel to another screening this Fall.”