The cast for MCC Theater’s “Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties” could give any in New York a run for its money. Depicting five women, each named Betty, the Jen Silverman-penned comedy (through Oct. 7 at the Lucille Lortel) stars Lea DeLaria, Dana Delany, Ana Villafañe, Adina Verson, and “newcomer” Chaunté Wayans.
Though she is making her stage acting debut, make no mistake: Wayans is a veteran of the stage. Best known for her standup comedy, the talent is equal parts thrilled and amazed to be onstage as an actor, a feat she discussed with Backstage—along with advice for fellow comics to do the same.
Tell us about “Collective Rage.”
“Collective Rage” is basically five different women meeting together, and they pretty much promote each other to put on a play and let out their rage and follow a journey of actually becoming who they always were—or who they were afraid to be.
Since you’re primarily known for standup, how did you end up in this show?
The crazy thing is, I actually did a [standup] show and I connected with the headliner of the show who then connected me to this audition. I went in and I felt like [the character] was similar to me, and I just did it and here we are. It’s my first play, and I never thought about being on this journey, but it's pretty freakin’ awesome.
READ: How to Become a Standup Comedian
What made you want to transition from standup to stage acting?
I think it’s the challenge of being onstage. It's funny because I recently started incorporating characters into my standup, trying to challenge myself like that because doing that onstage is just different. Doing this play is still in that same form, except you have the story, you're not making it up [through] improv yourself as you go.
How different is performing standup from performing in a play?
Through standup, I'm able to do storytelling, but you don't really get to see a journey of a complete change. You have to tell a story in such a short time. It's more like, “You have to get me right now.” With the play, you actually get to see some growth of the character.
Does your experience in comedy provide a good foundation for stage acting?
I think so, because a lot of it is just you being in front of people. It’s funny because offstage, I'm kind of quiet. When I get onstage, everybody would probably think I'm cool with everybody, but I'm a different person onstage. The beauty of being in a play is you have other people onstage to help you. With this play, all of the cast, the whole production, the staff, the writer, director—they're all very calm and motivating and fun. People are going to see it and think we're having fun. We actually are!
Do you have any advice for performers who want to make a similar leap from standup to acting?
Here's what's crazy: For me, it was just about believing my talent should be shown somewhere. I wasn’t thinking about theater. My advice would be, when you feel like telling yourself, “I don't want to,” go do it. Unless it really messes with who you are, you should be there, because that's what happened to me. I was in the midst of sacrificing money and touring because I felt like I was losing my originality. Believe in yourself, stay true to who you are, and don't be afraid to challenge yourself. Once you get over that challenge, it's very, very rewarding.
Ready to make your stage debut? Check out Backstage's theater audition listings!