Charmian Smith talks to the Fortune Theatre's artistic director, who is treading the boards in its next production as a change from being the boss, and doing it opposite her partner, Phil Vaughan.
It took Lara Macgregor about a week to realise she only had to focus on the character she was playing instead of on the whole production: to give over, so to speak.
Instead of her usual role as director, she is acting in the New Zealand premiere of Outside Mullingar, by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Lisa Warrington, which opens at the Fortune Theatre on February 7.
''It requires a very different vulnerability to be an actor from being a director and there's the luxury of not having the stress of making sure all the components come together.
You just have to get yourself out of the way and find the character within,'' she says.
It's her first time treading the Fortune's boards, although she has been its artistic director for four years and has had an extensive career as an actor in the US and New Zealand.
Also for the first time, she is acting opposite her partner, Phil Vaughan. They met when she was directing a play he was in at the Court Theatre in Christchurch and have been together for six years.
Vaughan, who had been a radio and television presenter, came to acting about 10 years ago when asked to read, and then be in, a play at Circa Theatre in Wellington.
''Three days into rehearsals, I went home and had an epiphany and thought, 'What am I doing all this other stuff for?' This is really what I want to be doing,'' he says.
Over the next three years, he wound down his broadcasting work and built up his acting work and has been acting full time for the past seven or so years.
''It's the happiest I've ever been professionally, and the least money I've ever got in my entire life, but I'm definitely creatively fulfilled.''
His character in Outside Mullingar, Anthony, has lived on the family farm near the town of Mullingar all his life and ends up running it as his father's health declines, although it's not necessarily what he would have chosen.
He's a dreamer, sensitive, shy, attuned to nature, a loner, and considered a bit weird, Vaughan says.
Macgregor's character, Rosemary, is a stubborn, strong woman who knows what she wants and goes after it, although she also has a fear of being on her own without security.
She has grown up on the neighbouring farm and at the age of 6, when Anthony pushed her into a puddle, decided he was the man for her, she says.
Both now have elderly, declining parents, and when she finds that Anthony's father might not leave the farm to him, bequeathing it to a distant cousin in America instead, she goes into action.
However, a disputed piece of land between the two farms has major ramifications for everyone's directions and what can or cannot happen.
Vaughan and Macgregor are enjoying discovering their characters and imbibing an Irish sensibility and accent.
The Irish are warm, friendly, fun and hospitable, and on the other side, devout, religious and determinedly stoic. They have the gift of the gab and the ability to say really mean things with a smile, a sense of humour and an attractive sort of Celtic spirituality.
They also have a sort of sense of unworthiness that comes from a history of oppression, they say. Both actors are of Irish descent on the maternal side, and the other two actors in the play, Geraldine Brophy, who plays Rosemary's mother, and Simon O'Connor, who plays Anthony's father, are also Irish.
All except Macgregor are, or have been, Catholic, and are coaching her in that. They call her heathen whenever they get the chance, she says with a laugh.
Outside Mullingar, which premiered on Broadway last year and was nominated for a Tony Award, is a poetic, funny story about mortality and love.
It's a positive depiction of an Irish family, an angle that hasn't been covered for a long time. There's no drunkenness and no swearing and no incest, Macgregor says.
Vaughan says that when he first read it, he got it straight away.
''I bawled my eyes out and I laughed out loud. Normally, when I read a script, it takes me until I get on my feet in the rehearsal room to see what they are getting at. This one got into my bones quite quickly, and now we are doing it there's even more.''
The couple are enjoying spending time working together during the day, something they don't often get to do, especially as co actors.
Vaughan is often away working and when he is home, unless he's in a play at the Fortune, he is between jobs and feels like he's on holiday.
''Lara comes home with her professional work thing on and that can be an interesting adjustment. Her aura's a lot different as an actor than a director. She's a bit freer and she seems a bit happier and is nice to be around,'' he said.
An actor actor relationship is an even playing field and probably easier than an actor director relationship because of the responsibilities, she says.
Vaughan adds: ''With a director, it's like you are the boss. It's not a problem by any stretch but her persona is different.
''I suppose it's like when you are the boss you can't be as friendly. It doesn't go home, but I mean in the rehearsal room. We are quite good at being able to turn it off at home.''
See it
Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley, has its New Zealand premiere at the Fortune Theatre, Dunedin, on February 7 and runs until February 28.
Directed by Lisa Warrington, it features Geraldine Brophy, Lara Macgregor, Simon O'Connor and Phil Vaughan.
