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

Lydia Kalman Interview by Jen Bush

Play and screenwriter Rollin Jewett returns to the Downtown Urban Arts Festival with a dark comedy involving breaking and entering. Lydia Kalmen & Thamer Jendoubi in OUR LITTLE SECRET with Vincent Ticali as Lt. Banks in a production directed by Jay Michaels. Premiering Friday, June 16 @ 7:30 p.m. at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater @ Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd Street, NYC, Tickets @ DUAFNYC.com.

Picture it: A lonely young girl decided to put on her sexiest nightie (just because) and sits in her apartment watching horror movies. There’s a knock on the door. On the other side of that door is a towering muscular stranger wearing all black and brandishing a gun. That’s only Page 1 of OUR LITTLE SECRET, a dark romantic comedy involving an unlikely relationship between Darlene (Lydia Kalmen) and Sam (Thamer Jendoubi) and a plot to save his son from an abusive stepparent. No crime is complete without the appearance of a clever detective (Vincent Ticali).

Theatre/Film/TV mainstay, Lydia Kalmen heads this cast. She was heard screaming and being possessed by demons in The Dark Offerings, the first horror movie to film during the pandemic (currently on Amazon).  She won high praise for her work in a recent New York revival of A Doll’s House as Nora. This is her second collaboration with Rollin Jewett and Jay Michaels as she created the role of Nurse Todd in Socky Tells All, which premiered on Theatre Row last year. She also appeared as Lucy in Dracula in New York.  It was lovely to chat with her about this production and her life as an artist.  Ms. Kalman has a BIG secret which will be revealed at the end of this interview.  For now, let’s hear what she has to say about Our Little Secret!

Being a performer is in Lydia Kalman’s DNA.  Coming from a family of artists, becoming an artist herself seemed like a logical choice.  She made her family proud by becoming a hardworking and successful performer.  “I first fell in love with storytelling at a very young age as a dancer. Performing is the family business for me, my Dad is a musician and his sister owns a dance studio. Whether through dance or acting, storytelling and creating art is definitely my calling. With every project I work on, whether on the stage or in front of a camera, I am amazed anew by the whole creative process. What starts out as words on a page ends up as a living story.” 

Whether an actor is playing a new character or an established character, it’s still a character.    Ms. Kalman knows that careful choices must be made in the crafting of these roles.  Ms. Kalman is the very first person to play this character in the new work.  Her expertise and experience will guide her into forming a fully realized compelling character.  “I don’t know that I really approach a character in a new play any different than in an established play. In a new play, it’s going to be a unique interpretation of the character because there’s no prior version to compare it to. By default, it will be unique. In an established play, I also want my performance to be unique, unlike anyone else’s. In both scenarios, I’m bringing my own unique voice and perspective and life experience to the table”.

A person with some horror under her belt should have no trouble conjuring up scares for the audience.   We were curious about the process.  “That’s a good question, I’m not really sure how to describe it. For me, I can just feel it in my bones, like a musical rhythm. Probably all my years going up dancing, I can just feel the beat of it. But it’s also a collaborative effort. I bring what I have to the table, and the other actors and the director bring what they feel for those moments to the table, and we find that rhythm together.”

Whether she’s scaring somebody or making them laugh, Ms. Kalman has her finger on the pulse of the technique to achieve the desired emotional outcome.  “Knowing when to bring the laughs or when to be serious for me is the same as building the jump scares and all that. I just feel the rhythm, it’s a gut feeling.”

The secret is out!  Of course, there are many more opportunities to perform in Ms. Kalman’s future but there is also a husband!  We wish Ms. Kalman and her intended a bounty of joy as they join their lives together.  “What’s next for me? I’m performing in a night of short plays as part of a directing class at The Barrow Group, polishing up all my branding materials working on the business side of showbiz, and….I’m getting married at the end of summer!! I’m in the home stretch of wedding planning and I’m over the moon excited to marry the love of my life.”

Go see Our Little Secret and wish her well in person!