Regina Steffen says ‘The Secret Garden‘ ‘is for anyone who has ever lost love, or yearned for love, or believes in hope.’ Playing through May 28.


MEET REGINA FERNANDEZ STEFFEN
Ayah in The Secret Garden, the classic story of the 10-year-old orphan girl doomed to a life of isolation with her uncle in England until she uncovers the key to her late aunt’s long-lost garden. It plays through May 28 in the Stage Theatre.

At the Theatre Company: Debut. At Colorado Springs TheatreWorks: Antony and Cleopatra (Charmian). At the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center: The Drowsy Chaperone (Trix). At Theatre Aspen: Avenue Q (Christmas Eve). At Creede Repertory Theatre: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Marcy Park), This Day and Age (Joy). At Merry Go Round Playhouse: Miss Saigon (Yvette). At Seaside Music Theatre: The Mystery of Edwin Drood (Helena US/ Ensemble).

• Hometown: Boca Raton, Fla.
• Home now: Denver
• Training: BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Central Florida Conservatory Program
• What was the role that changed your life? When I was 5, a cousin was babysitting me while I was visiting family in California. I always was a pretty morbid and morose child – eternally interested in ghost stories and death. Knowing this, my cousin put on the original Broadway cast recording of Les Misérables. The soaring score, the epic story and the escape into different characters’ lives spoke to me, even as a child. I’d stand in my living room and belt out “On My Own” time and time again. Even now, as an adult, whenever I put on the recording of Les Miz, I’m transported back to being that little girl playing Eponine in my living room. I was hooked from then on.
• Why are you an actor? I believe in art and in the art of storytelling. There’s nothing quite as magical for me than two or more people coming together to share stories. I think it’s amazing how you can be a complete stranger to a person but after exchanging stories, a connection is made. As actors, we have this huge privilege to continue this tradition time and time again.
• What do you be doing if you were not an actor? If I am not at the theatre, you’ll most likely find me sitting with a blanket and a really good book. I am a huge fan of English Literature and, in another life, I would like to be an English Literature professor. In high school, I shadowed my senior year English teacher, and she let me grade a couple of papers … I loved it.
• Who is your ideal scene partner? Viola Davis! Have you seen Fences? She is a force. Or Audra McDonald. She is a true artist in every sense of the word. And she’s won six Tony Awards. … Six!
• Why does The Secret Garden matter? This story is for anyone who has ever lost love, or yearned for love, or believes in hope. It’s a story about two broken people and the choice of “coming back to life” after experiencing loss. For Mary, it’s her family and everyone she knew back in India. For Archibald, it’s the love of his life. It’s that feeling you get when you lose something so precious and so dear to you and you sort of feel stuck. You don’t know what to do. It’s grief. It’s struggle. It’s rebirth. The Secret Garden is a story of hope, and who couldn’t use a little bit of hope nowadays?
• What do you hope the audience gets out of this play? I hope they can look at the characters and say to themselves, “Yeah. I’ve felt that way.” Or like they’ve opened up their copies of The Secret Garden and the story is right there, next to their heart.
• Finish this sentence: “All I want is …”
  ” … human connection.” It’s so easy for us to disconnect – to find reasons for derision. It may sound naïve, but in my heart, I wish we could look across the table and see the human sitting across from us and say, “I see you, and you see me. We are different in these ways. And that’s OK.”

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter

The Secret Garden: Ticket information
The beloved classic blossoms anew in this enchanting musical full of beautiful melodies. When young Mary uncovers the key to her late aunt’s long-lost garden, she becomes determined to revive the beauty that once flourished.
Book and lyrics by Marsha Norman; music by Lucy Simon;
based on the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

Through May 28
Stage Theatre
Denver Performing Arts Complex
303-893-4100 or BUY ONLINE

Previous coverage of The Secret Garden:
Photos: Marsha Norman visits DCPA’s The Secret Garden
Denver Post review: A worthy, family-friendly and satisfying theatrical experience
Video: How does our Secret Garden grow?
Photos, video: Your first look at The Secret Garden
Five things we learned at first rehearsal
Five things we learned at Perspectives
2016-17 season: Nine shows, two world premieres, return to classics

Regina Steffen as Xmas Eve in ‘Avenue Q’ for Theatre Aspen in 2012.

More 2016-17 ‘Meet the Cast’ profiles:
Vandit Bhatt, Disgraced
Steven J. Burge, An Act of God
Liam Craig, The Book of Will
Aubrey Deeker, The Glass Menagerie
Thaddeus Fitzpatrick, Frankenstein
Meridith C. Grundei, Frankenstein
Steven Cole Hughes, An Act of God
Sullivan Jones, Frankenstein
Mark Junek, Frankenstein
Dorien Makhloghi, Disgraced
Charlie Korman, Frankenstein
Jennifer Le Blanc, The Book of Will
Cajardo Lindsey, The Christians
Rodney Lizcano, The Book of Will
Wesley Mann, The Book of Will
Zoe Manarel, The Secret Garden
Robert Montano, Two Degrees
Amelia Pedlow, The Glass Menagerie
Benjamin Pelteson, Disgraced
Jessica Robblee, Frankenstein
Erik Sandvold, An Act of God
John Skelley, The Glass Menagerie
Kim Staunton, Two Degrees

More Colorado theatre coverage on the DCPA NewsCenter