In an exclusive interview, Flickering Myth sat down with Amy Julia Rose to talk about acting, and her role in Noises Off…
Hi Amy Julia Rose, welcome to Flickering Myth! What sets you apart from other actors?
My amazing comedic timing, my expressive face and voice, and the way I can find the truth in every situation, no matter how out-there it is. I bring my unique experiences and am influenced by everyone I meet to create unforgettable characters that speak and gesture and move in their own specific ways. I never forget a person’s voice or the facial expressions they make – I collect all these idiosyncrasies and turn them into art. I have a photographic memory and am able to learn lines and cues very quickly. I always go above and beyond and make sure to be as prepared as possible. I am punctual and reliable and easy to work with.
I am very versatile and am able to play a variety of characters. I’m currently part of an audio show called The Order of Chaos with a K, created by another Stella Adler alum. In the first season, I played eleven totally distinct characters with different voices and accents, and also composed the music. We’re between seasons right now, and I absolutely can’t wait to start recording season 2! Each character has brought me so much joy and laughter, and the director of the show loves coming up with new characters for me. The show is available on all platforms! Was it always your dream to be an actor?
Congrats on your leading role in Noises Off. Can you tell us about the project and the role you played?
This play was called the funniest farce ever written. It is about a group of actors putting on a play where everything goes wrong. The first act shows a dress rehearsal where the actors keep messing up and the director has to keep stopping the play, the second act has the set flipped around so the audience gets to see all the drama that happens backstage, and by the third act, everyone has pretty much come to terms with the fact that everything’s going wrong!
Tell us about your character.
I played Dotty Otley, an actress who plays Mrs. Clackett, an old Cockney housekeeper who tries to keep all the houseguests from discovering each other, while making lots and lots of sardines. I got to switch between accents and characters, and it was so much fun! Behind the scenes, Dotty is romantically involved with another actor, but hilarious misunderstandings lead him to believe that she’s seeing other cast members too. It was so fun to create different levels of connection with the same people – Mrs. Clackett feels a different way about the other characters than Dotty does about the actors who play them, but at certain points in the play, Dotty just has to break character! It was so fun to play her!
Can you share any fun facts from the set?
Because this play is so ridiculously funny, we couldn’t stop laughing during the rehearsals. Our director’s favorite thing to say was “See? It’s getting laughs already!” Even during the performance, we couldn’t help but smile backstage. I had six different sardine plates to work with – four of them had fake sardines glued to the plates, one had them partially glued and hanging off the plate (this was for the scene where another cast member spills them on my head backstage!) and the fifth was just an empty plate and all the sardines were loose (that one was for the top of Act 3 when I accidentally spill the sardines all over the floor and break character! The play is full of doors breaking and not opening the way we want them to, and on opening night one of the doors actually broke. The audience thought it was part of the play though! Since there’s so much staged messing up in Noises Off anyway, no one ever knew when we really messed up!
How did you get involved?
I made sure to help in many ways. Along with the other actors, I helped to paint and decorate the set, which was such a fun job, because we got to paint both the front, which looked like an English cottage; and the back, which looked like the back of a set! We painted words like “quiet backstage” and “you can be seen” on the backs of the walls. Also, I helped a lot of my castmates with their hairstyles and coached some of them on their British accents. Being in the play was such a fun and memorable experience, and it was my pleasure to get involved in as many ways as I could.
That sounds like a blast! If you had one message to give to your fans, what would it be?
Never underestimate the power of believing in your dreams. There are going to be people in your life who will tell you that certain things are a waste of time and will never happen. Surround yourself with those who support you and encourage you to do what makes you feel happiest. I never would’ve made it to Hollywood if I had given up on my dreams! Remember that there are always people out there who love you and support you. Take care of yourself, help others, and be the best version of yourself you can be. And be kind to everyone!
How can people find and follow your journey?
My work can be found on IMDb and I share on Instagram
Our thanks to Amy Julia Rose for taking the time for this interview, and to Liz Rodriguez from EMR Media for helping us with the interview.
