Get to Know the Cast of "Much Ado About Nothing"! (from Otterbein Theatre website)

Get to know the cast of "Much Ado About Nothing"! 

Kayla Walsh is a Senior BFA Musica​l Theatre Major playing Leonata in our upcoming production of "Much Ado About Nothing". 

-What is your favorite moment in Much Ado?
"I really love the scene where Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonata are all setting up Benedick to make him think Beatrice loves him... Maybe I'm just biased, since I'm in the scene, but it's already my favorite because I'm working onstage with four of my closest friends, and all of us are doing ridiculous physical comedy and have hysterical facial expressions...I can't even articulate exactly what we do, you just have to come see the show to find out!"

-How are you most like your character? 
"Definitely the mother aspect of Leonata I relate to, and fighting for her blood line especially. Part of me has always thought that I am meant to be a mother at some point in my life, and I think Leonata has felt the same, and because of that, she is her own kind of warrior and would go to war if it meant protecting her family, and that's something I think we both take pride in. She may be wealthy and comfortable, but she would have nothing if her family was taken from her, or their name was disgraced. I take pride in the "Walsh" name and where we've all come from, and I would react similarly to Leonata if our name or reputation was compromised in any way by someone or something."

-What is the most challenging part of Much Ado? 
"Maintaining our characters' dignity." That's a motto Chris Kirk has for this show, and it's a challenge for me, personally, because I'm very much a physical actor onstage, and so it's been a lovely and wonderful opportunity to play with naturalism while still having strength and dignity, and when Leonata's life is flip-flopped, she becomes almost a completely different being, and that dignity isn't 100% there anymore, so it's been an opportunity as an actor to find that middle ground with her character. Something I've been challenging...

Otterbein Theatre Department