Lydia Kalmen Interview by Jen Bush

Fresh off the heels of the film, The Dark Offerings, Lydia Kalmen is ready to sock it to us in a brand-new production, Socky Tells All.  She is an experienced actress with a bevy of genres in her sock drawer.  She likes to play flawed characters who possess a healthy helping of chutzpah.  “I’m an actress for theatre, film, and TV. I have experience in Shakespeare, sketch comedy, horror, and heavy drama.  I love to play characters that I would describe as spirited porcelain dolls who are broken inside. The fragile waif with a dash of sass on the outside.” 

The lamppost up ahead lit Lydia’s way to this production.  She will serve man and woman well in this role.  “What drew me to this play is that it was modeled and inspired by The Twilight Zone. I’m a huge fan!! I grew up in the same hometown as Rod Serling and have been immersed in all things Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone from an early age.” 

           

Writers such as Rod Serling and Rollin Jewett embed deep messages into their morbid material.  The reasoning is open to interpretation.  “I’m not sure why writers like Rod and Rollin Jewett bury deep messages in macabre works, but I know for me personally the moral of the story of Twilight Zone episodes will always stick deep in my bones because of the shock of the macabre twist. And there was always truth in there about human nature.”

In a controlled situation like a professional haunted house or watching a horror movie snuggled under a blanket clinging to a partner, being scared can be lots of fun and Ms. Kalmen agrees.  “I think it’s fun being scared when it’s a movie or play or haunted house,etc, because the adrenaline rush is there, but subconsciously you know you’re still safe.” 

           

Ms. Kalmen approaches all the roles that she plays like the consummate professional that she is.  She doesn’t feel the need to change her acting style to meet the needs of the character.  She uses her broad skills to embody each character and makes them believable to audiences.  “Every role presents a unique character I’m not sure that I really do anything different. If I’m playing the more “damsel in distress” type I just let the fear adrenaline take over. I let myself be scared the way I would in a haunted house or something like that. If I’m the villain, I just let myself have fun creeping everyone else out haha.”

           

Ms. Kalmen has a little time to breathe right now.  “At the moment there’s nothing planned, but that could change as fast as 5 minutes from now. Looking forward to the next adventure, but enjoying this moment while I’m here.”  The phone will surely ring again with offers and Ms. Kalmen will take us on another journey into a wondrous land of imagination.