Clyde’s In DC

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Chicago-based actor Dee Dee Batteast (above) plays the title role in Lynn Nottage’s Clyde’s at the Studio Theatre in Washington DC and she discusses the wild tonal swing between this role and her previous role as Scrooge’s niece in the Goodman Theatre‘s A Christmas Carol. Dee Dee shares how much she loves monsters (both watching them and playing them); how she’s doing the devil’s work; how she navigates dizzying extremes; the possibilities of redemption; how freedom looks different for different characters; some strange lobby encounters; insightful mob boss comparisons; the power of playing elemental forces and the fun of playing a badass; and the differences – and surprising similarities – between Clyde’s and A Christmas Carol. (Length 21:43) (To hear about the Goodman Theatre production of Clyde’s, listen to our podcast conversation with lighting designer Chris Akerlind HERE.) (PICTURED BELOW: Lamont Thompson as Montrellous and Kashayna Johnson as Letitia in Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage, directed by Candis C. Jones, at Washington DC’s Studio Theatre. Photo by Margot Schulman.)

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