IMFourPlay

Robyn Pedretti makes a victorious return to the company of FourPlay for its second installment this year. One of the busiest actresses I know, she's worked in such diverse local venues as Universal, Jester Theatre, Winter Park Playhouse and Mad Cow Theatre, alongside her regular and well-received performances as an ensemble member on the SAK stage. I luckily managed to grab Robyn for a brief chat in the SAK greenroom between shows, where we supped on Junior Mints, discarded Tootsie rolls and raw cookie dough from the freezer. All that sugar surely stimulated an interesting conversation...

Current favorite musical: It changes all the time, but currently it's Wicked.
Current favorite improv game: Universal Sign Language (I prefer to be the interpreter)

DC: Robyn, you’ve done a lot of work around town over the last few years and just finished starring in Mad Cow’s record-breaking run of Bad Dates. Do you have a particular genre of theatre that you prefer to work in, or are you truly a Renaissance woman?

RP: Musical theater is my all-time favorite genre of theater to perform in. I usually get cast as the "second-banana-sidekick-funny-girl", never the ingenue, and that is FINE with me! I love to make audiences laugh and it seems as though the "funny girl" roles I've played are usually the most memorable ones to audiences. However, I had never performed a one-woman show prior to being cast in Bad Dates and it was truly the most difficult, challenging and rewarding project I've ever been involved with. Being the sole performer on stage, with no one else to rely or lean on, was the polar opposite of anything I'd ever done before. However, I still prefer singin' and hoofin' it on stage in a good old fashioned musical!

DC: You're sure in the right show now then!! You’re a relatively new Orlando transplant. Where were you living before you made O-Town your home, and what brought you here?

RP: I grew up as a Southern California girl. I was raised in beautiful San Diego then moved to not-so-beautiful Los Angeles and remained there for thirteen years while I pounded the pavement as an actress (me and half-a-million others just like me). Los Angeles was and is a really tough town, you have to have very thick skin to survive. I am extremely proud of the tv/film/theater projects I was a part of, but after thirteen years, my skin had gotten pretty thin! I wanted to move to an entertainment-based town with less of a competitive field (more of a supportive one), cheaper cost of living, better air and a better quality of life all around! Orlando seemed to fit that description perfectly. I truly love it here and feel that there is a huge opportunity to flourish in the arts here.

DC: We're all certainly glad you made the move! Here, have another tootsie roll. While on that crazy West Coast you appeared on some pretty high-profile shows, such as Friends and West Wing. I’m sure everybody would like to know a little bit about what those experiences were like as an actress.

RP: Yes, I played "Ginger, the Salvation Army bell-ringer who replaced Phoebe when she got fired" on the Christmas episode of Friends (1998). I had one line! It was great fun and is the project that got me my SAG card. I'm proud to include that highly successful show on my resume. Filming the show itself was a little strange. Those six amazing actors are an extremely tight-knit group and it was difficult to feel welcome or a part of their circle (very typical of Los Angeles in general). I felt very alone and nervous and took about six takes of the shot, some takes with me saying my line, some takes without...well, guess which take ended up airing??!! THE ONE WITHOUT MY LINE, OF COURSE! :) I'm still in the scene; I still got paid the same; I still get paid residuals to this day, BUT...it stinks that my "claim to fame" appearance got cut down to a couple of gestures and funny facial expressions... However, that is life in the tv & film world! Appearing on West Wing was a totally different experience. It was wonderful, warm and welcoming. Martin Sheen is a true professional and absolute sweetheart. The whole cast was amazing. My scenes were mostly with Tim Matheson, who played the Vice President on the show (I was the VP's Aide in four episodes). He was a dear to me, a truly awesome individual. Unfortunately, Tim Matheson booked a pilot during the second season of West Wing and got written off the show, as did his whole staff (which included me) so I only got to shoot four episodes, but it was an awesome experience!

DC: What a topsy-truvy industry! Although, all of that craziness might have prepared you well for our project together! You were a real audience favorite in SAK's original run of FourPlay last year. What can your fans expect from you this time around (and will you keep your signature musical motif, “My name is Robyn”)?

RP: Well, yes... a few weeks into last year's run, James Newport pointed out to me that I tend to sing the same melody a lot... Long story short, we nicknamed the melody "The Robyn Song". I never realized I did that, but after thinking about it and listening to myself, I totally did!! I repeated the same melody a lot!! Throw in the fact that I can't rhyme AT ALL, and I have to question, "WHY exactly did David cast me in this??" :) Bad melodies and non-existent rhyming aside, it's the most fun I've had on stage in a long time! FourPlay challenged me every night to raise my game. My goal for this run is to really relax, be more playful, not pee my pants on stage (a story for another blog), AND RHYME!!! I'm so excited to be a part of this again!

DC: And we couldn't be more excited to have you back. Oh dear... I think I'm about to crash from all that sugar, so if you'll forgive me, I think I'd better get immediate medical attention...

To learn more about Robyn, go here and ask around.