We’re thrilled to continue spotlighting the creative team for The Ether with Anna LaMadrid, who plays Ana. We’re absolutely thrilled to collaborate with Anna again—she was a huge part of Flux before she moved to LA, and now that we’re a geographically dispersed company, hopefully she will be again! We asked Anna a few questions based on Corinna Schulenburg’s haunting new play, which you can learn more about here.

RSVP

Have you ever felt the boundaries between worlds grow thin? If so, please share a little about that experience.

When I was little (around age 4-5) my mom said that I claimed to see an old woman sitting in our living room. I have no recollection of this. But she said it started to make me anxious. I couldn’t sleep in my bed alone and i refused to walk around the house during the day. It got so bad that my mom sent me to live with my grandmother for a few months in Venezuela. My mom said that the land lady one day asked where I was because she had not seen me. My mom explained the situation and she said her face went blank. The woman shared with my mom that prior to us moving in the apartment it was occupied by a man and his mother. He drove trucks and would be gone for days at a time. She said that one day he returned after a trip and found that his mom had passed away in a chair in the living room. My mom moved shortly after.

Where’s a place you go when you need to go away?

The easiest place is my bed. But I really love a lush park.

What’s something meaningful you’ve learned from an elder?

Do it before you think you are ready. My mom said she watched so many people take the risks and take jobs she was too afraid to take and get ahead with their careers because they had the confidence to say yes–even when she had more experience than those people. (she’s a seamstress). It is her biggest regret in life.

What’s something meaningful you’ve learned from a younger?

That I need to rest. Someone younger than me asked me if I ever take a day off and I looked at them like they were an alien. They said they take one day a week to just stay in bed and not do anything. They watch tv and and relax and that broke my brain. But it made me think about the quality of my life and where I can be more intentional to put myself first and make sure that I’m re-filling my well before pouring into others.

Anna LaMadrid (she/hers) is most likely recognized for her role as “Fake Angela,” opposite Nathan Fielder in HBO’s groundbreaking first season of THE REHEARSAL. Recent TV credits:  Recurred as Rocio in Hulu’s THIS FOOL & recurred as Lacey Gamble in season 2 of SHINING VALE opposite Courteney Cox. LA Theatre: Pasadena Playhouse, IAMA, Echo Theatre, Antaeus, & Boston Court. MFA University of Washington.

Follow Anna:

@the_annalamadrid (Instagram)

What’s next?

I am rehearsing for Keiko Green’s play at South Coast Rep called You’re Cordially Invited to the End of the World opens April 11.