*Editor’s note: Below is the fourth in a series of interviews with the cast and crew of Kellogg Community College Theatre’s “Sampled Shakespeare.” The show, which opened last weekend and shows at 7:30 p.m. this Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday, includes scenes from the original “Star Wars” movies and “The Big Lebowski” set in Elizabethan English.
Jordyn Needham, a 19-year-old barista studying theatre at KCC, plays the role of Han Solo in KCC Theatre’s current run of “Sampled Shakespeare.”
We caught up with Needham to ask her about her role in the production.
THE KCC DAILY: Were you familiar with “Star Wars”/“The Big Lebowski”/Shakespeare before you chose to act in this play? What are your impressions of the original works, and how do those impressions influence you in the current KCC production?
NEEDHAM: Harrison Ford is my favorite actor and Han Solo is my favorite character in the movies. I have still not seen “The Big Lebowski,” but I am a big “Star Wars” fan
THE KCC DAILY: What are some of the roles you played in the past and how is your current role different or similar? Are there aspects of this role or the production in general that are particularly challenging as compared to your previous roles?
NEEDHAM: I have never actually never been in a large stage production before.
THE KCC DAILY: What about this performing in this role/the production in general are you particularly excited or nervous about?
NEEDHAM: I am excited and nervous about being in my first large performance.
THE KCC DAILY: Who or what influences or motivates you in this role? In your acting in general?
NEEDHAM: I tried going for the original Han Solo as much as possible in order to keep the audience members nostalgic.
For more information about theatre studies at KCC, visit www.kellogg.edu/theatre.