BY
LUCIA MAURO
 Laura Lamson |
 Louise Lamson |
There is a tendency for individuals who are exceptionally close to finish each other’s sentences. But actor-sisters Laura and Louise Lamson exhibit a profoundly connected inner rhythm that extends beyond entwined speech patterns. At the same time, they are not carbon copies. Although they could almost pass for twins, they have distinct personalities, motivations and energies. Both work constantly throughout Chicago. Yet they rarely, if ever, compete for the same roles or a specific theatrical style.
Nevertheless, since children growing up in Des Moines, Iowa, they have led parallel lives. Laura and Louise were truly born into the theatre. Their parents–who met through their involvement with Drake University’s drama department–both teach creative dramatics at a Des Moines high school, where their father directs the stage productions. Since elementary school, the Lamson sisters have never been very far from the gleam of the footlights. They are also veterans of the Des Moines Community Playhouse. Apart from Louise’s brief aspiration to be a ballerina, both artists regard theatre as natural as breathing.
"Theatre is in our blood," exclaims Louise, 26. "It’s who we are."
"I was initially shy and very bookish," says Laura, 29. "But I felt most confident on the stage."
Louise’s earliest memory is being cast in the title role of Mother Goose while in the second grade; Laura cites portraying the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. Together they would record songs and stories into a tape recorder. They took acting, dance and clarinet classes and performed in high school plays. Laura and Louise both hold degrees in performance studies from Northwestern University. Except for the two years Laura spent studying the Suzuki Method in Massachusetts–where she performed at StageWest, then did off-off-off Broadway work in New York–the siblings have maintained very close ties. They currently share an apartment in Chicago.
One can only wonder if they ever feel threatened by each other or if they worry about forging unique identities.
"It’s hard when one of us is working and the other isn’t," acknowledges Laura. Whereupon Louise continues, "But we really support each other and make a happy balance at home."
Both women sport naturally curly medium-blonde hair and blue eyes. Laura finds herself frequently cast in ingenue roles. She is now cast as demure debutante Sunny in The Last Night of Ballyhoo at the Mercury Theatre. Louise, who’s about four inches taller than her sister, has more of a quirky, comedic edge. She recently concluded a national tour with Lookingglass Theatre of Mary Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses. Stops included Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre and L.A.’s Mark Taper Forum.
Although both exhibit such similarities in personalities and training, it is clear they have embarked on divergent career paths. Laura, who has been performing in Chicago for three years (one year less than Louise due to those two years on the East Coast), made her local debut in Thirteenth Tribe’s racy, inventive staging of The Balcony. Then she got bitten by the Bard, delivering graciously subdued performances in Much Ado About Nothing, Henry V and The Comedy of Errors at Chicago Shakespeare Theater when it was still Shakespeare Rep. She subsequently got cast as Belle in the Goodman’s Christmas Carol and was part of the rotating rep ensemble for Court Theatre’s productions of La Bete and The Little Foxes. She gave an insightful performance as Elsa Barlow in Remy Bumppo’s exquisite staging of The Road to Mecca.
Other Shakespearean credits are A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest with StageWest, and Macbeth with Nebraska Shakespeare Festival.
Louise, who first appeared in Metamorphoses (when it was called Six Myths) at Northwestern University, stayed in Chicago after graduation and became associated with Lookingglass Theatre, combining heartfelt vigor with a warm accessibility in such lauded Mary Zimmerman productions as The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, The Odyssey and Metamorphoses. She also performed in Lookingglass’ The Idiot.
Other credits include the multidisciplinary ensemble of StreetSigns’ A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ophelia in StreetSign’s Hamlet, Roadworks’ The Planets, and as the gangly titular hermaphrodite in Next Theatre’s The Adventures of Herculina as well as Great Jones Theatre’s Boy’s Life in Edinburgh. Louise also has performed frequently at ImprovOlympic.
Even as they were growing up, the sisters did not perform together on stage. They don’t even count a high school production of Our Town because they were not in the same scenes. They do, however, favor straight plays over musical theatre.
While both artists vigorously oppose typecasting, they understand it’s a natural part of the business. Laura was particularly thrilled when she was cast as the Wicked Queen in StageWest’s "Grimmer" version of Snow White. And Louise got to try her hand at iambic pentameter as Ophelia. Looking back, they realize that certain characteristics were nurtured by their theatrical parents. They encouraged Laura’s serious side and Louise’s comedic propensities.
"I was always attracted to Shakespeare and to the classics," says Laura. "I did a lot of Greek tragedies at Northwestern."
Interjects Laura, "I was always intimidated by Shakespeare. So I would look up to Laura because she was so good at it. I also looked up to Laura because she could sing so much better than I could. To cover up my insecurities about singing, I would sing in a comic way."
Yet Laura reveals that she secretly ached to do comedy.
They are especially pleased with the "family" aura of Chicago’s theatre community. Once they settled here, Laura and Louise plunged into auditions and networking opportunities. They soon learned that one successful project led to future collaborations. While some commercial and independent film credits appear on their resumes, theatre is their main focus.
When Laura lived in New York, she grew frustrated with the isolation and just having to learn how to live there. During the Metamorphoses tour in Los Angeles, Louise got exhausted by the "hire me please" desperation of all the actors she met. They agree that it’s more affordable to present original work in Chicago. It’s also "friendlier," they note, without losing its competitive edge. Although they now would like to be making more money, they have been able to work consistently in theatre here.
Laura and Louise staunchly believe in ongoing training.
"It’s important as an actor," says Laura, "to expose yourself to as much as possible. You may not use all of those techniques directly, but you need to reap the good from them. They’re still inside of you."
Their exposure to movement has allowed them to use their entire bodies in subtle and compelling ways. "Dance also helps with stillness," notes Laura. Her Suzuki Method training–which combines grounded movement from the waist down with an airy quality to the upper body–has inspired her to root her portrayals in multidimensional physicality. "The body doesn’t lie," she adds.
Performing a variety of roles has enabled them to grow, and they hope to tackle more roles that go against type. Louise expressed an interest in playing Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire, while Laura has always wanted to portray Blanche Dubois. These characters happen to be sisters. Like Stella, Louise is practical; like Blanche, Laura considers herself "a dreamer." Louise even envisions herself as Gertrude in Hamlet, and Laura would love to plunge into works by Chekhov and Ibsen. Louise asserts, "I won’t take a role unless it’s terrifying to me. It can be daunting in a very invigorating way."
Right now, Louise is not in a show. But she is relishing the vacation time.
"At first," she says. "I was feeling guilty about taking a vacation. But I’ve realized that life experiences are as valuable as performing. It gives you perspective. And you can pour those experiences into your characters."
Laura continues the thought, "The struggle is okay, too. You have to experience all of these things in order to be a believable actor. Acting is so close to who you are, it’s important to be your own person."
It makes sense, then, that truthful performances are at the heart of their artistic goals.
"Honesty is a very big thing," says Laura. "Our dad was always drilling us about maintaining honesty in life and on stage. How you relate to people in real life is how you relate to them on stage. It’s all about how you want to make the other person feel."
Louise finds that, "when it starts to be all about me, I just have to let the ego go and tell the story."
The Lamson sisters agree that the live performance arena gives them the most fulfillment.
"At Metamorphoses," enthuses Louise, "we would hear audible gasps from the audience. People would surprise themselves and have this visceral response. Then there were others who didn’t want to leave–they wanted to stay in the world of the play."
As an audience member, Laura is deeply affected by theatre’s ability to tell beautiful and provocative stories.
"When you see actors on stage share an experience," says Laura, "it’s a live transaction. It’s an energy exchange each time you’re up there. You’re planting a seed in the brain and in the heart.
"With acting, you can explore all these other people. You’re enriching yourself as much as others. Theatre is ultimately about humanity. It addresses why we are here. It enlightens us to see things in a different way. I think you live a fuller life that way."
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