We spoke to Lauren Patten about her work in The Goree All-Girl String Band playing at NYMF.

Can you talk about your character in the show and what the rehearsal process has been like?

I play Reable Childs who is kind of the leader of The Goree Girls, since this is based on a true story there was information available about her since she was the face of the band, she was sent to prison, had a huge, flashy trial. She was having an affair and the guy shot her husband, so she’s sent to prison as a co-conspirator. She’s been in prison for a while and she has this idea of getting The Goree Girls on the radio to have something positive to do with their lives. She’s a fierce leader type.

It sounds like Chicago.

It’s kind of like Texas 1930s’ Chicago. We have our own version of “Cell Block Tango” but it’s country, so it’s awesome.

Why did you want to play Reable?

I was fascinated by the true story and by these women who didn’t know music, they were not musicians, but they got together and decided to learn music, learn how to sing and form this hugely popular band to get away from these horrible circumstances they were in. They weren’t criminals, they were humans who made bad decisions. I’m fascinated by strong women who take their lives in their own hands, Reable is really funny and flirty, but she also looks out for her own, she has an enormous heart and that drew me to her.

You also play your own instruments, did you have to pick up a new instrument?

I’ve played the guitar for years, but it was always a “me alone in my room” kinda context, so it has been a really great challenge to learn how to play in a band. I’d never been asked to do specific things as part of the orchestration of a musical, and that’s been so cool.

Do you see yourself starting your own band in the future?

I sort of have that rock star dream. So, maybe? (laughs)

What’s the strangest thing you’ve had to learn to play a part?

I haven’t had any really crazy things I’ve had to learn, but I’m on a bit of a string of having to use special skills for shows. The show I did before this was The Wolves, and we did warmups and drills for 75% of the show, it was wild to train for that. Jumping into this a few months later was intense too, both plays involve bringing a group of people and having them use special skills to tell a story.

It was crazy to see you dribble and reciting your lines in The Wolves. I can barely multitask.

It’s funny, in Goree Girls, there’s some songs with complicated rhythms and fast lyrics, and we’re playing guitar and throwing in movement. It’s a trip.

Is there a skill you wish you had that’s kept you from getting parts?

I’m in the mover category of dancers. I love people who can dance, who are also actors and singers, but who can dance their face off. You’ll never see me auditioning for A Chorus Line ever!

Going from Fun Home to The Wolves to this, do you feel a commitment to shows that have something to say about society, rather than just shows that entertain people?

I do feel a commitment to that, I also feel there’s a place and joy in doing shows that are just fun. The flipside of that is I’m attracted to shows that have something relevant to say about society, I’m socially engaged so when I see material that speaks to that I’m all in. I’ve been lucky in having the opportunity to do shows like that. I’m not interested in female roles on the sidelines of men’s stories, we want female characters who have to deal with more than just the men in their lives. That happens to be a political statement in itself unfortunately, I wish we could be at a point where that was just the standard. It’s the material I want to be working on anyway.

Are you interested in writing your own pieces?

Yeah, I’m at the New School, so I do some writing, but dude, writing a play is hard! I think playwriting is the hardest thing to do because you have to be a master of dialogue and also you can’t rely on the visual elements films do. I’ve thought about it and I’m very interested in writing, directing and producing, not because that’s a way to create roles for myself but for other women. I’m interested in promoting women storytelling.

Why is it important for you to do a NYMF show?

It’s important to me as a working actor to receive material that is exciting to me, I can find that anywhere, I don’t feel limited as to where I can find the material. S long as something excited and inspires me I want to do it.

Is The Wolves' group chat still going on?

100%, it also sounds so much more interesting than it actually is. It’s just a ton of hilarious rambling and various photographs shared. It’s a group of sisters.

What Stephen Sondheim roles and songs are on your bucket list?

There’s so many! I’m not one of those actors who think about their dream roles often, but down the line I’d love to play the Witch in Into the Woods. That’s just such an amazing character, I sang “Anyone Can Whistle” as a kind of youngish kid and it still holds a special place in my heart. Also I wanna play Dot in Sunday in the Park, but who doesn’t?

For more information and tickets to The Goree All-Girl String Band click here.