"To Kill a Mockingbird" cast profile: Jan Cohen

I'm Jan Cohen, playing Stephanie Crawford, the town gossip. Actually many of my lines are spoken by Scout's Aunt Alexandra in the book, but our two characters got combined, if you will, for the purposes of condensing a long novel into a play.

I like drama better than comedy, even though I will be directing what I think is a really funny farce that goes on at GCP in May. (this is a plug--it is called "Funny Money"!) So, I was keen to audition for "Mockingbird" for that reason. But I also have been very disturbed by what I can only term as "hate talk" flooding our country recently. Since when is it OK for the hatred of someone, anyone, to cause you to wish your own country to fail? And how can anyone but a Bob Ewell (our play's villain) want to hurt a child? The image of a seemingly middle class father's face at the Oncology Desk in Shands Hospital when he was told he owed $2,000-plus dollars that day for his child's bill will not leave me--the little one stood beside him bald, so you know what that means. Nobody wants to be in the cancer treatment center, but it sure makes it a bit easier with only a $20 co-pay. So, yes, I felt extremely energized to get the message of this play--"Walk in someone else's shoes for a bit before you judge them"--to our audiences. Atticus Finch's message still seems incredibly relevant to me and, sadly, probably always will be.
But working on this play had a bonus benefit. This is an ensemble piece and Rhonda managed to select a dream ensemble. Everyone is totally committed, from the person with the most lines to the one with the fewest. "Professionalism is an attitude" was the sign on the stage door at a theatre I used to work for, and this group is professional in every way.

Thanks, Jan! Don't miss your chance to see this show, everyone!

xo xo GCP Girl