The following audience Q&A for our on-camera series Backstage Live was compiled in part by Backstage readers just like you! Follow us on Twitter (@Backstage) and Instagram (@backstagecast) to stay in the loop on upcoming takeovers and to submit your questions.
Alison Luff is just getting started. After a successful run on Broadway, playing such starring roles as Elphaba in “Wicked” and Jenna in “Waitress,” Luff has taken her talents to the screen on Starz’s new wrestling drama series “Heels,” currently airing its first season. Luff recently took over our Instagram to answer your questions on everything from audition tips, acting on stage and screen, and her work on the hit new show.
Stephen Amell and Alexander Ludwig on Their Return to TV With ‘Heels’ What would your professional wrestler name be?
I just recently discovered a folder that dates my family ancestry back from 1642, and I realized I have a great-great-great grandmother named Electa Clementine, so Electa Clementine would be my name.
How do you get over your nerves?
This is a hard one, especially because I do get really nervous. I started developing stage fright when I was playing Elphaba in “Wicked” six months in, and I think I just realized that you can’t overthink too much. You have to stay in the moment and focus on your breath. I realized something that helps if you stay in the moment and focus on listening, because if you listen then your mind can’t wander and think about, Oh god, what was I supposed to do?
Any specific things to avoid when acting?
I think something I try to stay in the habit of avoiding when I’m acting is showing the work. It’s really easy to work really hard on a script and want to show I’ve done all this work and I want to put everything in that I worked on and show all these details, but then it just looks like work and it shows the acting. You have to put in the work then throw it away and live in the circumstance genuinely and authentically.
What do you do in between projects to stay sharp?
I like to read plays; I write music myself; I just try to stay creative and try to develop and cultivate my other interests and build those up. The more well-rounded we are as human beings, the better actors we’ll be and the more experience we’ll have to portray our characters.
Any tips for a 15 year old new to acting?
Figure out what you do best. It’s really important and easy to look at other actors in the industry and think: I love them and what they do! That’s all well and good, but if you figure out what you do best, that’s something you can bring to the audition that no one else can do better than you. Figure out those strengths and how to cultivate them and your uniqueness.
What was your favorite part about working on “Heels”?
Just diving into this new medium. Film and television is a new medium for me, I’ve mainly done theater in the past. I did a short stint on “New Amsterdam,” I did a seven-episode arc on that, but it’s a very different show than “Heels” is and my character on “New Amsterdam” was more of a device. Stacy Spade is a character you invest in and get to know more. My favorite part was diving in fearlessly, and I’m lucky I had a really supportive cast and writers that trusted me and reminded me acting is acting.
What was your audition like? Any tips for getting cast?
“Heels” first came into my life the morning after I had my last show as Jenna in the Broadway musical “Waitress,” and I was bummed because my time there was shorter than I expected it to be. Mike O’Malley, the showrunner on “Heels,” reached out and texted me [asking] how “Waitress” was going, and I said it was my last show that night. He mentioned he was working on this show and thinks I’m really right for one of the parts and if I’m interested to put these scenes on tape and audition. I read the script, and within the first page of reading it, I turned to my husband and said, “This woman dwells inside me, I have to play this part, I love her so much.” It’s a Southern family drama and I’m from the South. She reminds me of all the women I aspire to be like and my mother, grandmother, and best friend. A few months later, I found I had a screen test for it and a few days later I found out it went my way. It was one of those things where the room was so warm and the producers were incredible, so my heart broke a little for the people that didn’t get it. You get told no more times than you get told yes, so I was just a lucky one.
What is your favorite type of character to perform?
I have a love for drama, I just find it super cathartic. I love comedy, as well, but I’m drawn to characters that are well rounded and written very relatable. I also love playing damaged people who are processing their business.
What is a good way to make money when you\re not booked?
Find a side hustle that you enjoy, or at least that you can do while you’re continuing to audition. I nannied for a family that was understanding when I had auditions. It’s tricky when you get a side hustle that takes up all your time and you can’t audition. I know a lot of friends who cater or are waiters.
What’s your favorite part of acting?
I just love storytelling. I like representing people and giving a voice to people who feel like they’re not being heard or don’t have a voice.
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