Category: Blogs

Meet The Cast! Tiny Beautiful Things: Sanam Hashemi

Tiny Beautiful Things is the LDTC’s final theatre production in our 25th Anniversary season entitled “To Be Connected…”

In this provocative, poignant and rich (NY Times) production, we explore what it means to be connected to strangers in today’s world. Now is your chance to connect with our cast of new and returning artists.

Introducing Sanam Hashemi, This is Sanam’s LDTC debut.

Can you tell us about your character(s)? 

I play a lot of them and they are all so different. It’s great to jump into a 70-year-old married man and then to an opinionated blogger. But above all, the characters are all grappling with something. That’s why we hear from them in the play. So it’s neat to see how everyone is questioning or struggling or re-evaluating something in their lives.

What does Tiny Beautiful Things mean to you? 
Celebrating being a human.

What excites you about working on Tiny Beautiful Things? 
I think the most exciting part of this play is that everyone is real. Just real people trying to get through their day and dealing with real human questions and roadblocks in life. Nothing glamorous, but extremely relatable.

What do you think will be challenging about Tiny Beautiful Things?
I think Nia Vardalos did an incredible job of shaping these letters into a narrative. She takes the audience and Sugar through hilarious, tragic, touching, and hopeful moments. As an actor, I think it’s just technically going to challenging to remember the sequencing of all of the amazing letters, but I have faith in the process and our team.

You play letter writers are there any particular questions you connect with the most? 
One of the characters I portray lends advice as part of the greater “Sugar community” on what advice they would give their younger selves. So, it’s not really a question, but more of a reminder to focus on your life and not your career. I just love it. “The useless days will add up to something.”

We are so excited to have you join the LDTC family! What excites you about coming to the Lake Dillon Theatre for the first time? 
It’s always great to work with a new group of people to create something. So that’s extremely exciting. But also, I’ve never been to Colorado, and wow! What a beautiful place this theatre calls home. I feel really lucky to be a part of it.

Meet the Cast! Tiny Beautiful Things: Kevin Minor

Tiny Beautiful Things is the LDTC’s final theatre production in our 25th Anniversary season entitled “To Be Connected…”

In this provocative, poignant and rich (NY Times) production, we explore what it means to be connected to strangers in today’s world. Now is your chance to connect with our cast of new and returning artists.

Introducing Kevin Minor, This is Kevin’s LDTC debut.

Can you tell us about your character(s)? 
What’s up! So I’m Letter Writer #3 which allows me the awesome task of playing people that are all different and unique in their own way. Each of my “letters” (I hope) have their own cadence and their own form and way they take up space in the world which is both fun and challenging all at the same time.

What does Tiny Beautiful Things mean to you? 
From the moment I was sent this script the first word that came to mind was “empathy”. Nia Vardalos’ script is so beautiful in that she is daring us as actors (and as the audience as well) to have fierce and unapologetic empathy for the experience of our fellow person. What I think is so beautiful about it artistically, and the statement it made to me, is that we aren’t all that different from each other. We’re all wondering what’s next, we’re all searching for love, we’re all wondering WTF (you’ll get that reference when you see the show), and we all just want to belong. It’s a show that isn’t going to wow you with a bunch of lights and jumping around and dancing but is instead about the thing that unites us all and that’s being human and figuring out what the hell this thing called Life is all about. I love that about this show. It’s soulful and funny and gut-wrenching and it offers something that I truly believe each and every audience member will be able to look at and say to at least one letter or part of the show: “that’s me”.

What excites you about working on Tiny Beautiful Things? 
Bringing all of these letters to life. Each of them is so unique and they each have a life entirely of their own so to be able to play and create each of these is an honor. Of course, with any show, building a family with your castmates is one of the most rewarding parts so I’m looking forward to getting into the room and getting to know them and building our version of this world together.

What do you think will be challenging about Tiny Beautiful Things?
The actor’s burden with any show is to play a set of circumstances that are different than your own and make them feel real and true. Now oftentimes we are cast because we somehow fit the character naturally but this show is different because each letter offers something totally different than the rest. Our challenge, as letter writers, is to fully embody the reality and depth of each characters’ circumstances which is scary and challenging yet rewarding. My hope is for each of these letters, and the experiences of those who wrote them, I do justice to the experience to which they are speaking.

You play letter writers are there any particular questions you connect with the most? 
It’s not necessarily a question but the statement that I couldn’t get out of my head from my first read of the script is “I chose Van Gogh”. It’s simple yet deep and it touches on the choice we make every day in how we view the world. Of course, there are things out of our control and each of our lives is significantly different. We all experience our own adversities and difficulties but it’s our perspective and how we choose to approach the world that ultimately defines our character. So the phrase “I chose Van Gogh” encapsulates that to me.

We are so excited to have you join the LDTC family! What excites you about coming to the Lake Dillon Theatre for the first time? 
I’m excited about being in Colorado! I visited with my family for a summer when I was in college and by the end of the trip I was no joke looking to try to transfer to DU (I was playing soccer so, of course, I couldn’t). Colorado is a really beautiful place and I’m excited about going outside and seeing mountains….but also, to be fully transparent, not so sure I’m excited about the snow but this isn’t an outdoor theater, right?

Meet the Cast! Tiny Beautiful Things: Sheryl McCallum

Tiny Beautiful Things is the LDTC’s final theatre production in our 25th Anniversary season entitled “To Be Connected…”

In this provocative, poignant and rich (NY Times) production, we explore what it means to be connected to strangers in today’s world. Now is your chance to connect with our cast of new and returning artists.

This is Sheryl McCallum‘s second time on the LDTC Stage. You may recognize her from her role as Mrs. Banks in Barefoot in the Park earlier this season.

Can you tell us about your character?

My character is named Sugar. The is an author, mother, and wife who says yes to a request to take over an online advice column.

What does Tiny Beautiful Things mean to you? 

Tiny beautiful things to me means that no matter what we go through in life, the highs and especially the lows, We must remember to recognize, appreciate, and accept all the small beautiful gifts that come our way.

What excites you about working on Tiny Beautiful Things?

What excites me about Tiny, is diving into the character of Sugar. What made her say yes to the request? How she answers her column in her own voice. She shows her pain, her joy, and her humor. It excites me that these are real letters. I’m excited to lift these words off the page and use my voice.

What do you think will be challenging about Tiny Beautiful Things?

What will be challenging is that there is a lot of dialogue and a short rehearsal time. Also, some of the letters are weighty. The challenge will be to let the responses to the letters, feel genuine and not presentational. But that’s why Chris is there.

You play the character Sugar. In what ways do you feel you connect with her? 

I connect most with Sugar in how she speaks about her mother who passed away. The love she has for her. I also connect with her saying, she doesn’t know it all. Odd for an advice columnist.

You Recently played Mrs. Banks in Barefoot in the Park and we are so excited to have you back, what excites you about coming back to Summit County and the LDTC? 

I am looking forward to spending some of the Holidays in Dillon. Also, it’s great to come back to a place where you were treated so well. I absolutely loved being at LDTC and look forward to a great time again. This time in the snow!!

Meet The Cast! Tiny Beautiful Things: Hugh Hysell

Tiny Beautiful Things is the LDTC’s final theatre production in our 25th Anniversary season entitled “To Be Connected…”

In this provocative, poignant and rich (NY Times) production, we explore what it means to be connected to strangers in today’s world. Now is your chance to connect with our cast of new and returning artists.

Introducing Hugh Hysell, This is Hugh’s LDTC debut.

Can you tell us about your character(s)? 

I play a lot of real-life middle-age people who ask Sugar for advice. They need help with all kinds of problems ranging from work woes to romance gone weird to parental advice. While some of the other characters in the play are quite moving, all of mine are pretty funny and I get to provide a lot of comic moments for the show until near the end of the play when there is a huge surprise.  I think this twist will be one of the most memorable theatrical moments of the show. I’m excited to take the audience on this unexpected turn.

What does Tiny Beautiful Things mean to you? 

Tiny Beautiful Things is a beautiful play which speaks to everyone. While each of us have our own individual problems, the play shows us that we have much in common with the letter writers. Everyone has issues in our lives that we have to face (some funny, some touching, some tragic), and yet, we all could use some help to get to the other side of our problems. The play reminds that if we are brave enough to ask for advice, our roads might be a little (or a lot) less rough. We are all in this together, and if we reach out to others, most things will work out for the better.

What excites you about working on Tiny Beautiful Things? 

I’m excited to work on this play for a lot of reasons. Many of my lines are funny (which is right in my wheelhouse), and I love crafting my delivery of a joke to get the biggest response from an audience. I also get to play multiple characters, all quite different (which is always exciting as an actor).

What do you think will be challenging about Tiny Beautiful Things?

All of the letters my characters write to Sugar’s advice column are real letters from real-life people, and each is intimate in its own way. Therefore, my portrayal of each letter writer has to be honest, vulnerable and extremely believable. Plus, one of my character’s letters is quite long (3 pages in the script) – which is a challenge to any actor. Whenever I have worked on a show where I have long monologues, I personally find that I need a good deal of time to learn those lines. Lucky for me, I was cast in this show months ago, and so I started working on memorizing that speech right away. It took me about a month to learn it. I think you’ll love it – I do!

You play letter writers who are sending their questions to Sugar. Are there any particular questions you connect with the most? 

I relate with all of the letter writers, but I especially connect to a letter about a father and son. While I don’t have a son, I feel deeply connected to this letter through the memory of my dad (who left us far too early). I feel his presence in those beautiful words.

We are so excited to have you join the LDTC family! What excites you about coming to the Lake Dillon Theatre for the first time? 

I have been really looking forward to spending time here in Lake Dillon. The theatre has a terrific reputation and I am excited to be working with this fine company. Plus, this town is beautiful and the views of the lake and mountains are so stunning, they seem almost magical. It feels like an adventure awaits me here.