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Julia Stiles has already proven she's not just another Hollywood starlet. Her beauty, cool intelligence and quiet depth have earned her fame and respect in the film world. Now she's arriving on Broadway, where she'll star with Bill Pullman in David Mamet's “Oleanna,” an explosive professor/student death-struggle set on a college campus in the 1990s.
You're famous as a movie star, but you started off in theater.
In high school I was part of a theater company called the Ridge Theater. It was very experimental, we did shows at La MaMa and the Kitchen and One Dream Theater, which isn't there anymore. And then I did some Shakespeare in the Park and a play Off-Broadway. And then I did “Oleanna” in London. So I've never done a Broadway show. It is a childhood dream come true!
What's the show about?
People generally think, “It's about sexual harassment, that's the main theme.” But the play goes beyond that. These two characters make mistakes. They don't think about their actions because they're propped up by a group. He's supported by the university and later she's supported by a campus group. So we've been exploring other aspects of the play.
Like what?
We've been focusing on the emotions, especially the anger. And there certainly a lot of emotion, a lot of anger and sadness that comes out. Carol is kind of coaxing this repressed man to let his anger out. But she's angry too. So we're dealing with how taboo anger is, especially when it comes from a young woman. That's what I like about David Mamet's work: he's willing to explore taboo subjects and make audiences uncomfortable.
Tell me a little about your character.
I play Carol, a college student who comes to see her professor because she's failing his class. But it's not that she's stupid or she doesn't get the material. She forces him to be straight with her, instead of masking that he's not really saying anything with these big words. Ultimately she usurps power because she files a complaint against him and tries to not let him get tenure. And it escalates from there.
Why is Mamet so popular?
Well, I love the way he writes dialogue: it's very stylized and memorable. His people stutter and don't complete their sentences, they interrupt each other and they self-edit. And it's all very deliberate, almost like reading a musical score.
It's just you and Bill Pullman onstage. How do you sustain that energy?
Because it's just the two of us and we're so attuned to each other, you never really know what to expect. Also, I think the audience is like a third character. They bring something new to it every night. We hear audible reactions, gasps or whatever, which subtly affects our performances. So I think it's never going to get stale.
“Oleanna” begins previews on September 29 at the Golden Theatre (located at 252 West 45th Street). Performances will be Tuesday at 7 p.m., Wednesday through Saturday at 8 p.m., Wednesday and Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting www.telecharge.com or calling (212) 239-6200.
