Kati Brazda
Currently: Making her New York stage debut as Sarah Schorr, the young secretary who must learn to get along with the irascible Judge Biddle played by Fritz Weaver, in Joanna McClelland Glass' Trying at the Promenade Theater. The production recently transferred from Chicago's Victory Gardens Theater with its cast intact.
Hometown: West Point, Nebraska. Brazda's father participated in community theater throughout her childhood and she took to the stage herself in high school productions, but that does not mean she always knew she wanted to act professionally. "I actually thought I was going to be a forest ranger or raise horses or fly helicopters-that kind of thing," Brazda says. But, after a year of college, she ended up working as a nanny in Glen Cove, New York out on Long Island. "I came into the city every once in a while and saw some plays. I saw a production of Orphans that Steppenwolf had brought here and that is when the light bulb went on--that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to be able to create what they were creating and help other people feel what I was feeling."
A Real Person: Trying is based on McClelland Glass' own experiences as secretary to Judge Biddle. "At first I wanted to be true to who I thought Joanna was," Brazda says of her experiences trying to play a living individual, "but she and [director] Sandy [Shinner] both made it clear that this happened so long ago and Joanna is not the same person she was then. The person before me is an adult and has gone through so many experiences, so of course that has changed her. They said I should not try to imitate what I see Joanna doing now. They really let me create the role myself."
Who is Fritz Weaver? Brazda's co-star is a small screen fixture and a Tony winner, but his name didn't really mean anything to her when she first heard it. "Fortunately or unfortunately I am really bad with names, I don't forget faces, but I don't know names. [When I heard it was him], I was like: 'Oh, great, yeah.' But when I saw his headshot I was like: 'OH MY GOD!' When we did the workshop, I was so nervous. I was like: 'Oh my god, that's him.' But we hit it off right away. He is wonderful."
Walk This Way: For two scenes of Trying, Brazda sports a fake pregnancy belly. Never having been with child herself, the tummy took a little getting used to. "When I was first learning the pregnant walk, everyone would have an opinion," she laughs. "It was all: 'No, no, no--it's more like your feet are turned out!' or 'No, no, no--it's more of a waddle!' And then even some of the crew, the men, were like, 'When my wife was pregnant, she…' I think I finally got the comfortable thing. I just kind of tilt back a bit."
Happy Trying: Brazda has been so busy with Trying, she has not even had time to explore New York City. But she's not complaining--the actress actually couldn't be more pleased with her job. "What is great about this play is, whoever you are, you can identify with having to live or work with someone Biddle's age or being Biddle's age. It's been great."