#igotthegig...And Now I’m Bald!

Some actors say that they’re committed to their craft, but real actors LIVE it. Just ask Gemma Poole. When she saw the casting call for “Love in the time of Hitler ” last month on Hackstage, she knew that this could be a chance to put herself up against some challenging material. She submitted and got an appointment just seconds later! Although her appointment time fell in the middle of her next waitressing shift, Poole immediately quit her job in order to audition.

But the folks behind the table weren’t above throwing her a curveball. Though she nailed the sides she had prepared in the mirror earlier that day, she left the audition feeling apprehensive. “The director asked if I would be willing to ‘go all the way’ for the production” states Poole, “at first I thought he was propositioning me for sex, but then he clarified that he meant shaving my head!” Poole skated around the awkward moment and answered with relief that she would of course be willing to do whatever it took to bring authenticity to character of Olga, a Polish-Jewish woman in an unspecified concentration camp.

Gemma found out two days later that she got the gig! Before rehearsals started, she and her cast mates made a group field trip to a barbershop to have their locks shorn. “I feel so connected to Olga now,” Poole gushed enthusiastically, “I know exactly what it's like to lose something, to suffer the way she did. I have been preparing for this role since I graduated from the Meisner School of Tears!!”

As for the piece itself, Poole is excited to bring this important story to the fore, saying “A lot of people don't know this but genocide is still a problem today. We’re giving people a real gift by showing them, for three excruciatingly boring hours, how horrible the holocaust really was. And I think people will learn a lot from watching me cry through every line. ”

“Love in the Time of Hitler” is running at this Sunday May 15, and Monday May 16 in a basement in Brooklyn. Tickets are $17.00 for theater artists. $25 for the general public.