"After 'Amy's View,' for the first time
I felt that ... I am an actress."
- Anne Pitoniak
Anne Pitoniak is alive and kicking at 79 years and has enjoyed the last couple of years playing Judi Dench's querulous mom in 'Amy's View,' Kathleen Chalfant's mentor in the Los Angeles production of 'Wit,' Marina in the Roundabout's 'Uncle Vanya' with Sir Derek Jacobi and now completes the cast of the incoming Broadway revival of Strinberg's 'Dance of Death' along side Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren. 'Dance of Death' will begin previews September 18th for an opening October 11th, 2001. The limited run will complete its stay at the Broadhurst Theater on January 13th, 2002.
She has felt a fresh burst of enthusiasm for acting since 'Amy's View.' "I'm so happy that there are parts like these around, because if I were not doing this, I would have to manufacture some way of keeping active and busy. This is like an aerobic exercise that helps you keep going and going and going ... "
Flashing a radiant smile, she adds, "I was very excited when I heard about this production because I'd had a wonderful experience working with Judi Dench and Samantha Bond in 'Amy's View' ... and with Derek Jacob in 'Uncle Vanya.' This seems like a continuation of that cross-pollination between British and American actors -- like being part of some kind of globalization."
Though Anne Pitoniak has appeared in a variety of movies in the last 15 years -- including the recent adventure film 'Where The Money Is,' starring Paul Neuman -- her heart remains in the theater. "I'm much better off on stage," she says. "I like film [acting], but I don't really understand it. The attraction of theater is to take a part and keep exploring and exploring and exploring." Her only regret at having postponed her career for so long is the parts she never got to play: "I'd love to have done some Moliere, or more Shakespeare. It's not that I want to do every new play that comes along, but I wish I'd done more classics."
Anne speaks most admiringly of her 'Amy's View' colleagues. "I became conscious that the British view acting as a profession and not just a craft," she reflects. "There's a classical commitment that is deeper than most of ours, I think."
"I remember going to brunch one day with Judi and her daughter and grandson, who was two years old [at that time] and has red hair. Ronnie Pickup, who was also in the play, looked at the little boy and said, 'Sam will have to be an actor, because his grandmother and grandfather and his mother are actors. And he'll do 'Richard II,' because he has Plantagenet hair!' I thought, what a refreshing affirmation of what we do -- of what a discipline it is, and yet what joy you can get from working on wonderful material with your fellow actors."
As the time drew near for her evening rehearsal, this dear lady of our American stage made a surprising confession: "I have never put 'actress' on any form of identification. I'm not trying to be coy, but I always felt that it would have been stretching things a bit to identify myself that way. BUT after 'Amy's View,' for the first time I felt that, if I had to get a passport today, I'd put it down. I'd say, I AM AN ACTRESS."
Thanks to Mike Kennedy for sending me this article.