Dead Wrong
nytheatre.com q&a preview by Katherine Glover
September 20, 2012
What is your job on this show?
writer/performer.
Where were you born? Where were you raised? Where did you go to school?
I was born and raised in St. Paul, which is separated from Minneapolis (where I now live) by an artificial political boundary and, in some places, by the Mississippi river. This artificial boundary makes Minneapolis people think that St. Paul is "so far away!" even when the location in question is, in fact, much closer to the person complaining than to other places in Minneapolis, where the complaining person will willingly go. Therefore, I generally call the whole area "The Twin Cities."
I went to school at Sarah Lawrence, in Yonkers/Bronxville, and I got my masters at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in Chicago.
If you are performing in the piece you wrote, do you think another actor could also play this role?
This is a funny question. All of my previous solo shows were either personal stories or, in the case of 'Burning Brothels,' historical stories, but I was still telling them as Katherine Glover. In 'Dead Wrong,' I play Megan Shepard, and it was a completely different rehearsal process. What's funny is that initially I hated it; I found rehearsals really frustrating and I kept thinking, "Acting is hard. Next time I'm going to write plays that other people perform." Now, however, I have grown into the role, and although I absolutely think someone else could (and should!) perform this piece, the idea brings up unexpected and irrational feelings of jealousy. MINE! She's MINE!
In your own words, what do you think this show is about? What will audiences take away with them after seeing it?
I think the show is about wrongful conviction. That is the topic I set out to write about -- a wrongful conviction story told from the perspective of the crime victim. However, a lot of people (including reviewers) have discussed the show as a show about rape. Apparently that aspect jumps out for people, but to me, while it is necessarily part of the show and part of the character's experience, it's really not the issue that I'm exploring.
My favorite response was someone who, when I asked her what she thought it was about, replied, "It's about memory." Yes.
Which “S” word best describes your show: SMOOTH, SEXY, SMART, SURPRISING?
I'll go with smart. I did a LOT of research...
How important is diversity to you in the theater you see/make?
Diversity is crucial. To me, one of the main functions of art and storytelling, in whatever form, is to share our experiences, and I think it's important to explore and experience art that puts you in the shoes of other people and helps you understand their reality. If you're just hearing stories about the same sorts of people over and over again, you're not getting a full or true picture of the world around you.
