Star of 'Hello, Dolly!' Talks Shop

Terri Kent has been a professor at Kent State University for 20 years, the musical theater coordinator of the School of Theatre and Dance for 12 years and artistic director of Porthouse Theatre for 11 years. This week, she makes her return to the stage as Dolly Levy in Porthouse’s production of Hello, Dolly! Patch reporter Nicole Stempak sat down with Kent for a few minutes to talk Porthouse, acting and dyeing her hair red.

Nicole Stempak: How long have you been acting?

Terri Kent: (dramatic drawl) All my life. I did plays in grade school. I’ve been a member of Actor’s Equity for over 25 years. I just haven’t been on stage in 13.

NS: Have you ever played Dolly before?

TK: No.

NS: Do you remember the first time you saw Dolly?

TK: I saw a high school production a long time ago because my stepson was in the show. But I have never seen the show (professionally), which is good so I’m not copying anyone’s performance. I’m going cold with it.

NS: You haven’t been on stage for 13 years. Is this your return to the stage?

TK: I really don’t know how to answer that. Do I have any plans to run out and audition for another show? No. Do I plan on acting next summer? Probably not. Am I ever going to act again? Maybe, I don’t know. It’s just one day at a time, and this role was the right time, the right place, and I had a lot of support and encouragement. Vicky (Bussert, guest director and director of the Music Theatre Program at Baldwin Wallace University) was available to direct and so I said ‘OK.’

NS: I know you said you had support for the role but was there anything else that attracted you to Dolly?

TK: I just understand who she is and her love of life. There’s a lot of similarities between Dolly rejoining the human race and me rejoining this part, my theatrical career. I understand her, and I just wanted to do it.

NS: Was there anything you had to do to prepare for this role?

TK: I’ve done a lot to prepare for the role. I started Weight Watchers and I’ve lost 42 pounds. Not that Dolly has to be thin but to work efficiently, I needed to lose the excess weight so that I could move and function the way I needed to in the heat and the dancing. I went to the gym or walked every single day. I started preparing vocally. I started reading the script and reading The Matchmaker, (the play the musical) that it’s based on. I really feel like I started preparing on August 28th, 2010, when I knew I was doing it for sure.

I quit drinking wine and Diet Coke. Everybody who knows me knows I love my wine and my Diet Coke, but I quit drinking it, and I’ll never drink it again.

NS: You do a lot of directing for Kent State — Brigadoon, Jane Eyre and RENT. What do you think is the biggest difference between being an actor versus being a director?

TK: It’s just a whole different level of responsibility. As artistic director, I feel like I’m responsible for everything — all of the designs, taking care of the other actors, and this and that. This is very much about taking care of myself and my performance, of course, in collaboration with other people. It’s about taking direction rather than giving direction. It’s a different kind of reward.

NS: Do you have any traditions before going on stage?

TK: Pray. I learned this from my father for any important situation in my life that I step to the left and I ask my higher power to be at my right side. So that even if this is terrifying to me, I know that I’m not doing it alone.

NS: How are things going this season at Porthouse? I saw Chicago was a sellout.

TK: I think Sunshine Boys has probably sold as well as any nonmusical we’ve done, but I don’t have the statistics on that yet. The pre-sale on Dolly is really good. We have 3,350-some subscribers, so it’s an extraordinary number of subscribers and that really helps fill the house.

NS: After the final curtain call, do you have any other plans? Are you planning to go back to blonde from Dolly red?

TK: I don’t know. I know that I’m not going to gain weight back, my biggest goal. I don’t know if I’m going to leave my hair long or cut it short. I don’t think it will be as red as it is for the show, but it’s been fun being a redhead. I change my hair all the time, so it’ll depend on what’s in style in the fall. I’ll probably go and the same woman who’s done my hair has done it for 16 years will say ‘Terri, this is what we are going to do.’ And I’ll be like ‘OK.’’

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Hello, Dolly! runs from July 29 to Aug. 14 at the Porthouse Theatre at Blossom Music Center.

Curtain times are 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Picnic grounds open 90 minutes before curtain time. Tickets prices vary based on the day of the week, and discounts are available for seniors, WKSU member discounts and KSU students, faculty and staff. Tickets can be purchased at the KSU box office by calling 330-929-4416 or 90 minutes before curtain time at the theater. The theater is wheelchair accessible, and free parking is available adjacent to the theater.