MEET THE CAST: Jackie Lamptey

So...it's time to meet....THE CAST! Up close and personal! For the next 6 entries, I will be introducing you to each of the people going on the FALL tour...and telling you all a little bit about them - from what I have gathered in the first 2 1/2 weeks we've been together! And for the fans of Gillian out there - NEVER FEAR - when she meets up with us in January, she will have her OWN 'MEET THE CAST' spotlight. Phew.

AND NOW....it is with real pleasure that I introduce you to the first member of our cast - JACKIE LAMPTEY! Jackie plays Violet Beauregard in the show, and it is my honor and privilege to play her mother (the puppet). We have a REAL chemistry in that scene that I think other members of the cast only DREAM of! I mean - Mrs. Beauregard has ONE line...but she delivers it with such FERVOR, you think she is Lady MacBeth! And then, JACKIE takes her cue and runs...and chomps...and chews...and BLOWS everyone away! (Bad gum puns intended.)
She also voices/maneuvers Grandma Georgina and Grandpa George...SOMETIMES at the same time. And then, her love of the show, she also plays a pesky Oompa Loompa!

Outside the show, Jackie is a lover of music from the 1980's! And she was nice enough to act excited when I told her that I downloaded 'We're Not Gonna Take It' as her ringtone on my phone...even after she wrinkled her nose and said, 'I don't really like the metal bands.' BUT - she was still excited about her RING!

And if there is credit to be paid to anyone in the cast for helping bring us all together in the shortest amount of time, it has to be Jackie...and her introduction of the "WAH! wah!" sound effect to our rehearsals. (It tickles me so much, I laughed even when I just typed it! HAHA!)
It's more of a locational thing (you have to be there to understand the use) - but trust me in saying we all do it now, and it's all thanks to Jackie!

Jackie is thoughtful, patient and DAMN funny! Jackie went to school somewhere in Richmond (I HAVE been gathering details...but sometimes, not specifics) - she loves Napoleon Dynamite and Chipotle - she misses her long lunches in Georgetown - and she can sprint from the Foggy Bottom Metro to the Kennedy Center Theatre Lab in 8 minutes flat. She has a hearing problem - but only in the sense that she chooses NOT to hear me when she is walking away from me out in the halls of the Kennedy Center while I am SHOUTING her name. I like to think of it as a fun little game that we play!

So without any further ado, please welcome the coiner of the phrase, 'That's just how I am. I'm a professional.' - JACKIE!