Many people know rising star Katie Lowes (‘99) as an actress from the show Scandal. But what most people do not know about her is that she attended Schreiber. While at Schreiber, Lowes was part of a production of Anything Goes, which the school is currently rehearsing.
Rachel Ellerson: What is the most challenging role you have ever played and what made it so challenging?
Katie Lowes: I think the most challenging role I ever played was a character named Veronica in a play called Accidental Blonde with my LA based theatre company called IAMA Theatre Company. It was a world premiere play and she was incredibly dark, complex, bitter, and most likely bi-polar or manic. For the life of me I couldn’t figure her out. A month of rehearsals and I still felt like I was missing pieces of her. Sometimes that just happens though. Sometimes you try your best and it’s not enough. It’s one of the reasons I love acting, the show must go on right?
RE: In what ways is acting for TV different than acting on the stage?
KL: The camera is like a microscope. It catches every little thing. So acting for the camera is small, honest, mostly behind the eyes and laser focused. Acting for the stage is all about the fact that you have to reach the person in the back row. Which means you have to use your voice, your body, and your breath in a much larger capacity so the entire audience can see and feel the story you’re telling.
RE: Which do you prefer and why?
KL: I love them both for different reasons. And I think both are incredibly important to practice all the time.
RE: What is your favorite episode of Scandal and why do you like it?
KL: Hmm, I think my favorite Scandal episode was in the second season called “752.” It’s when Huck loses his mind and keeps repeating “752” over and over again and all the Gladiators in Olivia Pope and Associates have to perform a monologue to Huck to try and get him to snap out of it. We got the scripts the night before at 8 p.m. and I was the first monologue up at 8 a.m. the next day. I was in a panic to cram the lines in. We have to be word perfect on Scandal and speak at an incredibly fast pace so you can imagine how stressed I was and didn’t sleep a wink. We all worked so hard that day and rallied around each other. The whole cast and I were running lines with each other and that day something just clicked for me. I learned that we are a family and a true ensemble and we are all only as strong as our most exhausted link so everyone came to support me and it ROCKED!
RE: Do you watch Scandal or is it weird to watch yourself acting?
KL: I watch it every week so I can live tweet with the fans! I hate watching myself act on screen. I watch it once and then that’s it.
RE: Do you find anything about Quinn relatable?
KL: Quinn season 1 was relatable to me. She was the newbie, the rookie, the youngest, and a bright eyed girl. And that’s how I felt at the time. Now that she has evolved so much, she’s tougher and stronger and does some pretty crazy things, however, I still think she wakes up a hopeful person and that is something she and I have in common.
RE: If you could give Quinn some advice, what would it be?
KL: I would tell her to go find a normal dude to date. Unfortunately, I know that’s way too boring for Quinn!
RE: What was your Schreiber experience like?
KL: Schreiber was wonderful! I was able to flourish there and participate in so many things that shaped who I am today. I had access to artistic outlets that were so important in those formative years. I was in chorus, chamber chorus, women’s choir, band. I got to participate in many musicals, and plays, and drama club, and Shakespeare Day… IT WAS AWESOME!
RE: What was your favorite Schreiber theater production to be a part of? Who did you play? Why did you like it so much?
KL: Equus was HUGE for me. I played a horse in the background. I don’t think I even had any lines. It was the first straight play I had ever done. Before then I had always only done the musicals and loved it, but this was my first drama. I was 14 and didn’t know plays like this existed and I was HOOKED.
RE: Schreiber is currently putting on Anything Goes like you did when you went to Schreiber. What if any advice do you have for the current cast and crew?
KL: YES! I love that musical! My advice would be to commit 100 percent; practice, practice, practice and HAVE FUN UP THERE! If you’re having fun so will the audience!