NR: What about when you get short notice? I was here one night and Rachel (York) had walked in, but then found out she couldn't perform, and she had to leave. You did a wonderful job.

JP: Oh, yeah, I remember that day.

NR: Is that hard on REALLY short notice?

JP: You know, I think times like that is when your adrenaline kicks in. I don't remember feeling much except that I knew that I had to get the job done. It was "half hour" that I found out when I came in. It was scary. My first reaction was fear. But, there was work to be done - there was a fight call to be had, there was make-up to put on, there was a corset to get into and those things take priority. They also put you on a path toward a goal and the goal is immersing yourself in that character and any opportunity that the fear had to come in, I had to push my fear away and not allow it to come in.

NR: Does it come back to you after the performance?

JP: No, afterward is a feeling of relief and also a chance for me to look at everything as a whole unit. It's easier at that point for me to go back through the journey of the character and find places that I want to work on in the next understudy rehearsal, or that I would like to change for the following performance. It can be a hit and miss when you go on as an understudy because there's so much adrenaline, and there's so much involved in just concentrating on the mechanics that sometimes the finessing can be overlooked. So, in subsequent performances, it becomes really important to bring those things back in, bring in the detail so that you can fill out the character.

NR: Rachel talks about her Marguerite as being feisty and dramatic. How do you describe your Marguerite?

JP: I guess I would say Jessica's version of feisty and dramatic. I think, coming from the text, the character has to be that way, inherently feisty and dramatic. As each actor gets into the role, it was important for me to find elements that are specific to me, so that I could, in an honest way, contribute to that feistiness and that drama.

NR: Bryan (Batt) told me that he would try to do a few things differently from Douglas (Sills), but there were some things that just didn't really work differently and he had to do them the same. There were a few things that he was able to make his own. Do you have a similar situation?

JP: Yeah. I think it's even more limited with this character because Percy, as you know, has a lot more freedom in terms of where he can play, or the ability to play. She's much more of the constant. Of the triangle, she remains in her place as the others rotate around. That's imagery that I think applies.

NR: Do you play her differently if you're playing against a different Percy or a different Chauvelin?

JP: Yes, but those differences are so minute because of the fact that I have so few times to go on with different people. I know when I go back through my performance, I can think of those things, but they're probably not detectable because it was one performance with each different character, as opposed to having the chance to do several months' worth of performances with one person, and then watching yourself react off a different person and really be able to sense those differences. For me, when I go on, because it's new every time, then the feelings and reactions are new every time, or at least I try to make them that way. I try to make them truthful, so it's harder to tell what those differences are.

NR: What's your favorite part about Marguerite? Is there a favorite part of the show that you enjoy the most?

JP: Oh, the sword fight. Oh yeah!

NR: The sword fight? What was your reaction? Had you ever done any fencing before?

JP: No, but once I learned, I wanted to take classes.

NR: The first time they told you "By the way, you're going to fence" did you sit there and say "You're kidding me?"

JP: No, I was so excited. Yeah, I was really excited. Both my mom and my brother are black belts in karate. And while fencing is not a martial art, it was close enough to really be interesting to me because of what I know they've been through because of their experiences. I found it fascinating - the little details of how you hold your body, and where the other arm goes, the arm that is not holding the sword. All of that is fascinating to me. Of course I haven't taken class yet. (laughs) Someday I will.

NR: You could probably teach it when you're done. What's your favorite part about being in the ensemble?

JP: Hmm. That's a good question.

NR: Well, you do actually do that most of the time. (laughs)

JP: Yes, I do. I guess being in the ensemble gives you the freedom to try new things without the fear of it being in the spotlight. In other words, when I am a maid, I can make her quirky, or I can make her youthful. I can make her kind of sexy, and I can play those little things just for fun. It's probably not something anybody will notice, but I feel like it's a good exercise for me as an actor. And it also keeps it interesting.

Interview conducted and photographs by Nancy Rosati.