Artist Spotlight: Shelby Alayne Antel

There are many different ways that a play’s cast can be seen.  Some shows have ensemble casts.  Some shows are very individual based.  Some shows are somewhere in the middle.  And some shows have some elements of it all.  Giovanni’s Room was one of those plays, where all the lead characters were dynamic personalities.  Hella, played by Shelby Alayne Antel was a strong woman in a cast primarily made up of men.  In this role, she brought so much to the table.

Antel has a lot of insight to Hella.  It’s clear that she really explored this character, both on her own, with her fellow cast members, and with the crew of Giovanni’s Room.  I absolutely loved thinking up questions for her, and her answers were thoughtful and insightful.  I feel like I learned a lot about her, about Hella, and about the show.  I can’t imagine it was easy, but her performance was flawless, as far as I’m concerned.

I know a lot of people probably think of Hella as the bad guy in the show.  The role of her character is extremely interesting, and I think Antel really spoke to a lot of that.  Her beautiful thoughts and intrigue are absolutely inspiring, and I think a lot of it made me understand Hella a lot more.  Honestly, I think it made me like her a lot more.  Antel’s perspective on her character is invaluable, and I’m so glad she gave us these views!

Hella tries very hard to be an independent, modern woman, but she really just wants to be a housewife.  How do you feel like the time this show takes place in influences her?

This is a question I’ve been thinking of since day one of rehearsals: how much does Hella actually want the life she says she does? I think where I’ve landed is that Hella is an independent, modern woman. She travels to Spain by herself, she moved to Paris to study painting by herself – but she, like David, has a family back in the States that has expectations of her. She’s from a country that, amidst the post-war boom, is pushing rigid ideas for the family and particularly for women; she is not impervious to this programming. Despite living in a foreign country, these attempts to be a good woman are also her attempts at being a good American – of finding some degree of solid ground, of being able to “find herself”.

I think that Hella’s at a point in her young life where she realizes that options for women are limited, and she concludes that the “freedom” she’s looking for – freedom from her family’s nagging, financial freedom, sexual freedom – will come from marrying a man. She lives in a world that recognizes women in terms of their relationships to men. And in a lot of ways, David is a great partner for her. He gives her space when she wants to go away to think, they have fun together, she can broach the topic of gender roles with him – they’re actually friends – and she’s thinking that if she has to be married in order to live the life of freedom that she wants, then David is her best option. And, though she was at first hesitant to agree to marriage (she goes away to Spain for 5 months to “think it over”) David’s official proposal back in Paris ignites in her a genuine excitement and not just a strategic victory– she begins allowing herself to take their future together seriously.

I feel like Hella doesn’t always look outside of herself. Do you think Hella is oblivious to David’s sexuality?

I think that Hella has an intimation of David’s sexuality, but the idea of him acting upon it is inconceivable to her, and she tends to see what she wants to see– until the encounter with Jacques and Giovanni outside of the bookstore. After that scene she interrogates David; she’s on the trail and gives him every opportunity to open up to her about his sexuality. One thing our director Paul Oakley Stovall and I talked about was how Hella may have reacted had David been forthright with her; Hella is open-minded, she’s modern, she’s playful. I want to believe that if David had opened up to her about his sexuality, she would’ve been understanding and curious. She may have been willing to explore what a mutually beneficial marriage could look like for them. 

In a show of dynamic characters, what do you think Hella brings to the table?

Hella first appears after this beautiful flirtation and sexual encounter between David and Giovanni; at this point, we’re all kind of in love with Giovanni and rooting for the two of them, and my job is to make a grand entrance and be like “Hey, remember me??” I feel like the third wheel that the audience doesn’t really want there, lol. Once Hella makes her entrance, a timer is set for David and Giovanni’s relationship.

Even so, she’s someone David enjoys being around, who challenges and questions him, who is smart and spirited and vivacious and complex – someone he could have a life with. She represents the American Woman, but she’s also deeply struggling with what is being asked of her within those confines. In this show, I think the internal tug-of-war between American programming and personal truth is what makes Hella so fascinating.

You play both Sue and Hella, two very different women who David has sex with.  What is it like separating those two characters and their own thoughts and emotions, especially when it comes to David?

I loved creating the contrast between these two women. From a physicality standpoint, I worked Hella into this confident, chest-out posture, and Sue is the opposite of that; she’s contracted, she’s inside of herself. For me, the simple shift in body language that I found in rehearsal helps to unlock internal contrasts between the two women as well. The world is Hella’s playground – she moves with sexuality and entitlement; Sue is someone less sure of herself, she’s cautious, she’s observant. Hella fools herself, and Sue does not. Hella and Sue are very different women, but the thread between them is that they’re both people whom David uses to perform and prove his heterosexuality. 

What was your personal experience in a show that was very male heavy?

It’s great! I chill for 30min before my first entrance, and then I get to hang in the dressing room eating Sour Patch Kids and using a foam roller between scenes. I believe someone in rehearsal called it a Princess Track? I certainly feel like a princess.

In all seriousness, I felt that because the show is centered primarily on the men, I wanted to be extra protective of the women in it. From our first table read, I noted how women are talked about in the text. They’re spoken of as “soft-headed,” “little girls,” “silly,” “trouble,” “absurd… full of ideas and nonsense,”. Though the story centers on David & Giovanni, I wanted to be conscious of what Baldwin was saying about how men talk about and treat women, and how it reinforces these rigid gender roles.

I felt supported by Paul and our cast to share pitches, ideas, musings – the temperature in the room was very warm & collaborative. I also feel great sisterhood in the dressing room with my ladies, E Ashley Izard, Midge Nease, and Anna Caccavaro. Ashley, in particular, was a great help to me while I struggled in rehearsals with some of Hella’s final speeches. She reminded me that Hella’s attempts to give up parts of herself to find her place in the world is, “maybe not admirable - but it is painfully human.”

What comes next?

I'll be heading back to NYC where I work as a headshot photographer for Yellowbelly and an event photographer for Lincoln Center. I'm currently in post-production for a short film I wrote & directed called Flechettes, and I hope to start submitting it to film festivals very soon. I'm also devising a theatre piece with two artist friends, Sarah Goeke and Audrey Rose Arnold-- right now we're calling it Untitled Girl Project and we're still discovering what it's about. Other than that, it's back to the audition grind! I've also got my fingers and toes crossed that there will be future opportunities to return to Giovanni's Room-- this project has been such a blessing.

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An actor’s insight into their character can really make or break the character.  I think Shelby Alayne Antel totally blew it out of the water.  The understanding she had of this character brought Hella to life even after I saw Giovanni’s Room.  I’m so grateful that she was so willing to share all of this with me, and with everyone else in turn.  I really loved getting to be a part of this journey, and I’m very excited for where Antel is going.  I do hope I get to see her again!