Emily Ellet
Emily Ellet
The 12 Dates of Christmas
DECEMBER 3 — DECEMBER 26
So you’re an audiobook narrator? What’s that like and how did you get started doing that?
Sometimes it's hard to believe that my lifetime of being a bookworm, grammar nerd, and theatre lover resulted in an actual career, but I am thrilled. Don't be fooled - it is really hard work to sit in a booth alone for 7 hours a day, bringing a book (and its many characters!) to life in a dark closet while sitting completely still. But I love both the joy of storytelling and the artistry required to do it well. Getting here has taken eleven years, one theatre degree, thousands of dollars in additional training and equipment, some lucky breaks in the form of a couple of supportive mentors, and some serious chutzpah (which did not come naturally to me), but it's very much been worth it. I started by narrating for the Library of Congress's Books for the Blind program, reading any and every kind of book you can imagine. It was exhausting and relentless (I was recording for 35-40 hours a week, which is about double what most narrators do), but I saw it as an opportunity to grow as an actor and narrator every time I stepped into that booth. 300 books later, when the time came for me to audition for publishers, I was ready!
Can you tell us about The 12 Dates of Christmas?
This play is so delightful. I fell in love with it just in the audition! In some ways, it feels like an audiobook come to life: just me, on stage, playing myself and all these different characters, but with other people in the room for once, haha. Mary is in NYC, where I lived for ten years, and so in many ways it feels like coming home. There's also so much about the show that I relate to - a brutal breakup, trying to put yourself out there and date different guys, a loving but complicated relationship with your family...I mean, I think just about anyone can relate!
We’re so excited for the show! What does it feel like having to prepare for a one-person show? Is the process different in preparing for any other show?
This process has been very different for me from my one-woman cabaret shows. Memorizing 75 minutes of material is a lot easier when it's mostly sung! So the memorization process has been a whole new frontier for me, and I love that I'm growing as a professional. I'm also LOVING the opportunity to collaborate so closely with my director (Margaret is wonderful) and other folks. Usually it's just me coming.
What is it about The 12 Dates of Christmas that excites you?
Well, when I got the offer to do this show (which literally shocked me - I was mostly auditioning to practice my audition muscles!), the idea of doing the show scared me so much that I realized I had to do it. So that's exciting to me - that I'm doing something so new and fresh and terrifying to me. I haven't done straight theatre in ten years, either! So it's exciting to take all my audiobook skills and apply them to a live theatre format. I really can't wait for an audience - I think it's a really fresh Christmas show that people are going to love as much as I do.
I would assume it’s a little nerve-wracking not only leading but having to carry a show. What’s your biggest challenge in this role?
Right now? The memorizing! I know that it will all come together in time (it always, always does), but there's a little kernel of panic inside me that I'm trying to calm down on a daily basis. :)
Can you tell us a bit about how you started performing?
Well, I always longed to perform as a kid, but in high school I was too scared to audition for anything, and so I was actually a band nerd! (Piccolo is my first love, haha.) But when I got to college, I finally auditioned for a musical and booked the lead role! So then I started training for the first time as an actor, a singer, and a dancer. That being said, if you watch my family's home movies, it's pretty apparent that I was "performing" from a very, very young age.
Why do you still perform?
Oh man, that is a great question! It's a combination of reasons, I think. One, I've invested so much time and money in my craft that it seems silly not to find ways to express those artistic skills. Two, it's like there's a voice inside me just crying out for expression, and especially now that I've got so many fun characters from years of doing audiobooks, they all want to come out and play too! Three, which might sound weird, acting is (and always has been) really hard for me, and I have found in my career that the bigger the challenge, the more satisfying the job. And, I suppose, four - there is no more wonderful feeling than uplifting or transporting others for an evening. I have been so moved and so touched by theatre so many times in my life that I deeply want to pass that on to others, whether it's an escape or respite from a tough week or an inspiration to look deeper at one's own relationships and reevaluate them. That's the possibility of art, and I so very much want to share that with my community.
What’s your dream role, and what do you feel you would bring to it?
Ironically (if you come see the show!), I'm intrigued by the idea of Lady Macbeth. I may or may not have had a husband once that caused me to understand Lady Macbeth's plight on an intensely personal level, and I'm curious to see what that might translate to in an actual show. My actual dream role, though, is to be the headliner in one of those orchestra pops holiday concerts that happen around the country around this time. They are magical to me, and being the singer in one would be a dream come true! (If anyone from the Colorado Symphony is reading this...call me!)
What’s a fun fact people may not know about you?
When I lived in NYC, I used to rollerblade as many of my commutes as possible during the good weather months. People always worried about my safety around the cars, but they were perfectly safe; it was the state of the roads that was the true danger!
Why should people come and see The 12 Dates of Christmas?
The play is basically a rom-com for Christmas - funny, occasionally heartrending, and ultimately, unexpectedly touching. I can't think of anything more perfect for the holidays - especially this year - than an evening full of those emotions. We need connection and community so desperately right now, as a city, as a country, as a world. Let's show up for each other this year - which is the true meaning of the original Christmas.
Follow Emily Ellet
Instagram: @emilyellet
Website: www.emilyellet.com
