For the past week, we’ve been profiling the artists who’ve made Contemporary Classics‘ summer season of three musicals a success. Today, we have Ashley FitzSimmons, who’s currently playing one of the leads in the The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, playing at Ballard Underground Theatre through August 14 (tickets $15-$20). In addition to her work with CC, she’s worked extensively with the Village Theatre and also teaches at Youth Theatre Northwest.
1. Where did you grow up, and how did you end up where you are now? I grew up in Good Thunder, MN, which is a small town in the southern part of the state, on a farm. Needless to say, I didn’t have access to much theatre or arts education. After studying dance from the age of 3, I gained an interest in theatre in high school and decided to make a career of performing. I earned a BFA in Acting from Minnesota State University and moved to Seattle to find work.
2. Which performance, song, play, movie, painting, or other work of art had the biggest influence on you and why? When I was thirteen, I saw a B-squad tour of Rent in Minneapolis, MN, and was left spellbound. I promptly purchased the cast album and memorized every single song. I can still sing anything from that show on command. It was then that I began to focus more seriously on theatre and vocal work.
3. What skill, talent, or attribute do you most wish you had and why? I wish I had even a little ability to paint, draw, sculpt, or create anything visual. When I first moved to Seattle, I was bored and decided that I wanted to try painting as a hobby. I went out and bought all sorts of supplies and tried to paint a masterpiece. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even paint “happy trees” with Bob Ross. They looked like “angry blobs.” That canvas has been hidden away because I’m still a little embarrassed.
4. What do you do to make a living? Describe a normal day. A normal day for me consists of doing morning office work for a construction company and a real estate company, then teaching musical theatre classes at Youth Theatre Northwest. And, somewhere in between, some walking of my small and feisty dog, Wally.
5. Have you ever had to make a choice between work and art? What did you choose, why, and what was the outcome? I have had to make the choice between work and art in the past. I decided to quit my day job as a childcare professional and focus on film, commercial, and theatre work. Shortly after, I booked my first show at Village Theatre, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. It seemed that the universe agreed with my decision. Since then, I have been filling my time between shows with office work and classes, which has worked out quite nicely for me.
“Five Questions” was originally developed by Andy Horwitz of Culturebot.org, an NYC-based website covering contemporary performance.