Melanie Jeffcoat likes making people laugh, whether it’s as a star of “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” at Terrific New Theatre through March 9 or as co-founder of Birmingham’s Chaotic Good Improv. She moved to Birmingham with stellar regional theater roles to her credit, and she’s working as a director and actor in film and TV both in Birmingham and Atlanta. She answered some questions about her busy career and the TNT show.
Tell me a little about yourself, just basic biographical information.
I was born in Los Angeles and then eventually moved to Vegas where I spent most of my childhood until college. My dad is Dutch and came to America as a young adult, so I am the proud daughter of an immigrant who went on to get several degrees and teach mythology, Latin and comparative literature, which is where my love of good stories comes from. Mom was a nurse and consumer advocate. Both of my parents have fought hard to make the world better than they found it, which has inspired me. I was way too shy to do theater even though I had wanted to be an actor since creating plays in my backyard as a kid. It was college and then especially graduate school at the University of Washington School of Drama (MFA in acting) that I really dug deep into the craft if acting. Jack Clay was my teacher (he also taught Kathy Bates!) and I credit him for everything I know about acting.
What happened from there?
I was classically trained, and after my MFA I traveled and worked in regional theater like South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, as well as Utah and Oregon Shakespeare Festivals. I’ve been fortunate to play most of the leading ladies in Shakespeare’s canon, which has been a life goal! After going back and forth from NY to LA, I stayed in LA to co-found the critically acclaimed Circle X Theatre Co., which is still producing groundbreaking theater in Los Angeles. After moving to Alabama with my hard-won SAG and AEA union cards, I took a break from theater and focused on producing, writing and directing films. I produced the award-winning documentary “Gip,” about the legendary juke joint owner. The film can now be found on YouTube. I just completed a short film called “Lockdown,” which I wrote and directed and was loosely based on my own experience of a school shooting when I was in high school. I also work in Atlanta in film and TV, most recently in the film adaptation of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” and on shows like “Will Trent,” “Dynasty “and the new “The Wonder Years.”
What’s your first memory of being on stage?
I created a play in my backyard. I hung a sheet on the clothesline and put a lamp behind me and played a surgeon and made a “patient” lie on the table (probably my little brother) while the audience (my family and poor neighbors who were coerced) watched my shadow pull crazy things out of the patient like a toaster and whatever else I stole from our house. It was a one-night-only performance that probably went on WAY too long. I think I was maybe 8 years old.
What’s your favorite role you’ve played or show you’ve been in?
Playing Juliet at the Utah Shakespeare festival. I had attended the festival with my mom when I was younger and had long dreamed of performing on that stage, which is an exact replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. To finally be cast in “Romeo and Juliet” and play that balcony scene in that gorgeous theater with an incredible cast was a career highlight for sure.
What’s a performance (on stage or screen) that sticks out to you as an audience member?
Roger Rees as Hamlet and Alan Rickman as Jaques in “As You Like It.” Both at the Royal Shakespeare Company in London. Both unforgettable performances.
What is a role you wish you will or could have played?
Hamlet or Joan of Arc.
Any great advice you’ve been given by a director or anyone else about being on stage?
Always remember that there is someone out there in that audience who doesn’t know what will happen next. It may be your 50th show, but for them it’s the first. Make it special.
Do you have any pre-performance rituals?
I always do a physical and vocal warm up. I speak through my lines if there are a lot of them. And I try to meditate and breathe so that I can be fully present and in the moment with my fellow actors.
Tell me about a time something went wrong on stage.
Oh, jeez. I have so many stories….This is why I love live theater so much. Something always goes wrong, but theater people should run the world because we can fix something quickly in front of an audience without missing a beat. One time, I was playing Portia in “The Merchant of Venice,” and a young handmaiden had a monologue filled with necessary information and she went blank and ran offstage. I was left on stage and had to improvise a brief speech that gave the audience what they needed—but try to make it sound like iambic pentameter. I’m sure it was terrible!
Tell me something people might be surprised to know about you.
I am a huge fan of the band Rush and played bass because of Geddy Lee and was in rock bands in high school. Even though I was also a total nerd. Picture lots of black eyeliner but also wearing big glasses and braces…with rubber bands.
Let’s talk about “POTUS.” Tell me about his production and the character you play.
This play is an absolute blast! The cast is perfection. In fact, that is the one consistent note I get from people is that it is perfectly cast with strong funny women (thank you, director Bethe Ensey!). It is about seven women in the White House who have to put out a lot of fires started by POTUS. I play Harriet, the chief of staff who has to manage EVERYONE ALL THE TIME. High-stress job. It is one of the most physical roles I have played in a long time, but it I absolutely love every second on stage with these badass women!
How did you get involved? Was it an audition?
I met Tam DeBolt early in the pandemic when we were both volunteering with InToto Arts and I was so impressed with her commitment to our community and her vision for this theater company. When she said she was doing “POTUS,” I jumped at the chance to audition.
Is it particularly relevant right now?
I think it is relevant in that politics is a big topic of conversation. As we have seen women’s rights stripped from us in the last few years and are in a precarious place for the future of women and girls, I think this play is a great reminder that women are fully capable of running things. Also, it’s funny, and we all need some laughter right now as the world is a little dark.
What do you hope audiences will come away with after seeing the show?
That women are freaking funny! That an entire female cast can entertain for two hours. That live theater is critical and that laughter in a room together is cathartic and necessary.
What’s next for you?
I cofounded Chaotic Good Improv (CGI) here in Birmingham, and we do shows every other Wednesday night at Sidewalk Cinema and on the first Saturday of the month at Cala Coffee. I love improv, and it is such a great company, and it’s the best exercise for my brain to keep it sharp and to stay present in life. I hope to screen my film at festivals and continue to work as an actor and director.
“POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” directed by Bethe Ensey and starring Flannery Whaley, Jennifer Price, Julie Meadows, Meagan Oliver, Melanie Jeffcoat, Sherwanna Wheeler and Talia Lin. At Terrific New Theatre through March 9.
