A background actress took over the lead role for a showing of Long Beach City College’s last production of the fall semester after the lead had to call out due to her admission to the emergency room.
Sophia Zwillinger, an 18-year-old freshman who originally played two side characters with 11 lines total, was put into the lead role for Nancy Tran’s as Melanie Porter for the evening showing of LBCC’s production of “Rough Magic” on Nov. 22.
Director Eric Lauritzen found out that Tran was in urgent care the morning after the first show, showing symptoms for what he believed was appendicitis, but turned out to be from an accumulation of stress.
“We got to a point where we’re like, first things first, hopefully she’s ok, she needs to figure out what’s going on, and secondly, if she doesn’t come within 15 minutes we can’t do this matinee, she could probably show up an hour before and get ready, but if she’s been up all night long, who knows about her physical state at that point,” Lauritzen said.
By noon, the decision to cancel the matinee was made as Tran was barely sent to the ER for further evaluation at that time, and uncertainty set in for the remaining showtime later in the evening as no understudy was selected for this play, but Lauritzen had a solution in mind.
“Sophia’s been part of the production since the beginning. She has just, opened herself up to us. Whatever we’ve needed, she’s been there to assist. She even picked up a secondary role when we lost an actor and then another that had to be let go because they weren’t showing up on time, … She was such a team player and a good actress at that, so we asked her ‘hey, would you be willing to do a couple of rehearsals and go up this evening on book as this character,’ and she was super excited about it,” Lauritzen said.
Zwillinger only had about five hours to learn the entire script and put together a costume using clothes she had at home that resembled what Tran wore.
“I was terrified to be completely honest. This was my first show at LBCC. I’m fresh out of high school, and I’ve been doing theater for a long time, but never as the lead,” Zwillinger said. “It was either cancel both shows or have me read the lines, and we ultimately decided to give the audience one show that night. … Everyone was really stressed and kind of shaken, … but everyone was very reassuring and supportive. Everyone offered to help out and I appreciated it so much. Luckily for me, I was also doing sound for the show, so I saw the show over and over again,” Zwillinger said.
Zwillinger described the experience as ultimately fun, and was glad to be able to deliver a performance in the stead of Tran’s absence.
“Nancy is a fantastic actress and a total trooper. I know she would’ve been here if she was feeling up for it,” Zwillinger said.
Tran was able to return for Nov. 23’s matinee, and shared that while she was happy to showcase the character of Melanie Porter when she did, she was still devastated at not being able to perform.
“I love doing what I do, whether there’s no one in the audience or a hundred people in the audience. That was the only night that Tony Carreiro, one of our theatre professors, was going to be in the audience. I wanted to be in the lead for him to see what I can do. I know it’s not the last time he’ll ever see me, but I was bummed. I’m glad he got exposure to a new actress. I was crying when I found out he was in the audience, because I was so sad. Things happen for a reason, so I’m not too sad over it,” Tran said.
Tran mentioned that although she and Zwillinger are mostly acquaintances who share a costuming class and a passion for acting, she feels obligated to encourage and guide student actresses like Zwillinger.
“I was actually the one who encouraged her to audition. I told her please don’t make theatre the only thing you’re doing. There’s life out there, especially at your age, so please make time for life. I feel like a mentor to younger students because I am older, and a lot of characters you may portray may have experience that you might not have because you’re in the theater all the time. But, I do love her. … I wish I got to know her more, but I’m always on stage so I never get a chance to relax and get to know her like other cast mates. I haven’t seen anything yet, but I heard she was phenomenal,” Tran said.
Both actresses also auditioned on Monday for the same role for the upcoming Musical “Into the Woods”.
Looking back on the second day of production, Lauritzen described these obstacles as the “magic of theater.”
“Everyone was so scared and excited because nobody knew what was going to happen and the energy was so pungent and full and raw, but it was like, this is exactly what theater is all about. We’ve created a really beautiful show, but for the first time, everybody got to live in the unknown, … (Sophia) shined, she was gorgeous, she acted her brains out. She did a wonderful job and got a standing ovation at the end, and it almost makes me want to cry when I think about it. It was so good, it was so magical. I’m so proud of her for taking on such a scary responsibility, and not only just going through the motions, but giving it her all and hitting it out of the park. It was so impressive, and I think it’s a lifelong experience for her that she should revel in and just really take the heart for the rest of her life to know that she can do anything after doing this,” Lauritzen said.
Lauritzen also had nothing but praise for Tran’s return to the stage.
“It was just a lot of life and stress and combinations, and pushing ourselves to the limit. We have to take care of ourselves is the bottom line of this. But like a true professional, Nancy came back on Sunday and, while Sophia deserved to have another show, I’m so proud and happy that Nancy came back. She was great, and for her to be able to come back after all that and have one final performance and have it be a really awesome performance, it was really great that she could end it on a high note, because it really would have been hard for her to put all that work in and then not get to finish it and and she’s the type of person that you know wants to do everything right as well,” Lauritzen said.
Overall, LBCC’s production of “Rough Magic” had its ups and downs, but the perseverance of the team shone through for both the audience and actors to see on and off stage.
“Everybody got to see two examples of the brilliance of theater in two different performances from the magic of a human thrusting themselves into the moment and hitting it out of the park on Saturday and then seeing the main actress come back and be such a professional on Sunday and hold the show up to the freaking promise it’s supposed to be and go out with a bang, was just lessons for everybody across the board, and I’m so proud of everyone. I’m totally honored to be a part of that experience. I’m so tired and so happy that the show is done, but I am so fulfilled by the fortitude that everybody had and the love and support that everybody gave. This wasn’t a community theater show. This was an Off-Broadway show, these people were professionals, and they showed it, and everybody grew so much during that whole performance time that I am just blown away, and it made it all worth my while, that’s for sure,” Lauritzen said.
