Meet the Cast of "Twelfth Night": Emma Blanton

In Twelfth Night, Viola and her twin brother Sebastian are victims of a shipwreck. It lands her on the island of Illyria--a somewhat magical place where people seem to spend most of their time falling in and out of love. Viola disguises herself as a boy, Cesario, and enters into the service of the Duke Orsino, setting in motion a complicated tangle of love interests and disinterests.

Emma Blanton (photo by Caroline V. Sturtz)

Emma Blanton plays Viola, and we want to welcome her to the TLT stage!

Tell us a little about who you are when you’re not on stage.

Well, for one, I generally wear women’s clothing. Aside from the obvious, I am very active and I’m always looking for new things to try. Some of my hobbies include scuba diving, fencing, martial arts, kayaking, and most recently, surfing. When I’m at home, I focus on my creative side – writing, drawing, reading, singing. The whole bit. I just want to experience everything God has given to us while I’m here. I think the quote by Diane Ackerman best describes my approach to life. “I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I’ve just lived the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well.”

How did you first get involved in theatre?

I think my first experience of theatre was through my church when I was 8 years old. I played the riveting role of Gillian in Fish Tales. But I love putting on a performance, and thankfully my parents nurtured that passion. 11 years later, I’m still sticking to it.

What do you love most about acting?

I love the challenge of it. I’m a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to character analysis, so I enjoy nothing more than breaking apart a character and finding out what makes them tick. After I find the motivation behind the dialogue, I love tackling the issue of portraying those emotions and the subtext in my body language and speech. By doing that, I can mold a character, like Viola, into something completely my own. That’s the beauty of acting, I think. That no matter how many different shows you go to, even with the same cast, every performance is different. It’s a totally unique experience.

What has been the most challenging aspect of this show for you?

I’d have to say the language. I’m very familiar with Shakespeare’s text, but there’s a huge difference between reading his works and performing it. My goal throughout the show has been trying to find ways to make the words make sense to the audience. While the process is ultimately the same in any play, you have to pay special attention to the rhythm and which words you emphasize, or the lines may be lost to the audience.

What would you say to encourage someone to try acting?

Don’t be discouraged if you aren’t a theatre major, or you haven’t been on the stage since you were in diapers. Just because you’ve never done a show before doesn’t mean you can’t get a role, or that it won’t be fun. One of the marvelous things about theatre, especially community theatre, is that you can be a math major and still perform. You don’t have to make acting your career to enjoy it and be involved. One of the actors in this show has never performed before in his life, but he still has done an amazing job in this production. By the end of the show, I can promise your fellow cast members will be like family. If you want a support group who encourages you and wants you to succeed, no matter if it’s passing Accounting or learning your lines, theatre is the place to find them. I can also say that there is nothing quite as rewarding as seeing a show go from the audition stage to the final product. When you walk off that stage after the last performance, whether you’re a member of the ensemble or a lead, you will feel pride not only for yourself, but for the people you’ve worked with. So I would encourage everyone to try acting, even if it’s for one show. It’s an experience you can take with you for the rest of your life.

Emma Blanton and Milan Alley in Twelfth Night.
(Photo by Caroline V. Sturtz)

Twelfth Night opens TONIGHT, January 17th and runs through January 27th. Tickets are on sale at the TLT Box Office today from 12-4. Just call 850-224-8474 or you can purchase tickets online at any time just by clicking here!