2016年秋季学期，演员兼歌手克里斯蒂·可可将她的才华展现在了罗布舍姆剧院的舞台之外, making her New York City debut in the off-Broadway production of ·! ——普利策奖获奖剧集，取材于传奇纽约市长菲奥雷洛·H. La Guardia – in its first revival since opening in 1959. She also appeared on the silver screen this summer in The Purge: Election Year, 这是广受欢迎的故事片三部曲中的最后一部，全球票房达7900万美元. The New Canaan, Conn., 本地的, majoring in theater arts and minoring in art history, has her sights set on a career in the performing arts.
She discussed her experiences and her aspirations in a Q&A with Rosanne Pellegrini of University Communications.
The Berkshire 剧院 Group made its NY stage debut with ·! Tell us about your work with the corps.
两年前的夏天，我开始在伯克希尔剧院集团（Berkshire 剧院 Group）当表演学徒. I performed in one of the company’s main stage shows, Bells Are Ringing, which featured a cast of Broadway veterans, took classes in musical theater, 并与导师一起工作，以掌握戏剧行业的运作方式. 我喜欢在BTG工作，并在去年夏天被邀请以全职演员的身份回归, playing Belle in Beauty and the Beast in the company’s historic, Broadway-sized theater.
The company was also producing ·! 我没有出演，但这部剧在夏天大获成功，每场演出都爆满. BTG的制片朋友注意到该剧的成功，并支持他们搬到纽约. Due to the dynamite leadership of BTG’s artistic director, BC alumna Kate Maguire [’78], and encouragement from producers, 该公司在百老汇以外的剧院安排了为期五周的演出. 8月，我在纽约参加了转会试镜，第二天就接受了邀请! [Coco played Sophie, a suffragette and factory striker and several ensemble roles, 包括一个20世纪20年代的风流女子和一个即将奔赴战场的士兵的女朋友.]
What was it like to be in a professional, off-Broadway production? Does any one moment stand out for you?
Performing in ·! was one of the best experiences in my life thus far. We learned the entire show – music, 暂存, 编舞，在我们第一次排练前的四天, so the rehearsal process was a rollercoaster of pressure, memorization, and hard work, but it was incredibly rewarding.
对我来说，特别引人注目的时刻是在开幕之夜等待我第一次登台. 我记得我看着我的演员伙伴——当时她是陌生人，但现在是我的好朋友——我热泪盈眶地握着她的手，意识到我正在完成我一生都在努力的事情. In that moment, 我感受到了我对表演的热情与我的职业完美结合的感觉.
New York theater is electric and fast-paced and addicting. 在 ·! 让我意识到，在那种环境下表演正是我想要的生活.
在这次职业比赛结束后，回到Robsham的舞台会是什么感觉? Do you plan to audition for spring productions?
While I did not act in [BC's fall production of] The Misanthrope, I helped out backstage working the soundboard. 比起表演，我对戏剧的技术元素没有那么在行, 但是获得一个新的视角和熟悉后台的职责是令人兴奋的. I am planning on auditioning for BC’s spring productions. 我真的很兴奋下学期我们有机会与几位出色的客座导演合作, 比如[2016-17年莫南戏剧艺术教授]雪莉·威尔纳和[1987年校友，SpeakEasy舞台公司创始人和制作艺术总监]保罗·戴格诺特. The department has been very generous to bring them to BC.
你在BC的戏剧学习和表演是如何为你的专业舞台做准备的?
不列颠哥伦比亚省戏剧系提供的许多课程都非常注重学术，我认为它们对我的专业工作方式产生了非常重大的影响. 他们教会了我批判性地思考文本和角色发展，并让我对语言有了深刻的理解，这对塑造全面发展至关重要, dynamic characters. 在不列颠哥伦比亚省，真正影响了我的教授是[副教授]Dr. John Houchin. I consider him a mentor. My sophomore year, he encouraged me to explore classical text, which culminated in auditioning and performing in his production of The Trojan Women 并最终在去年春天推动我去伦敦英美戏剧学院学习古典表演.
You had a brief, but memorable, role in the movie The Purge: Election Year.
[In a flashback, which is the movie’s opening scene, Coco plays Young Charlie Roan, the younger version of the lead character, 一位参议员和总统候选人，在她的家人被残忍谋杀后，她发誓要消除“净化之夜”.]
I was asked by a Boston casting agency to audition for The Purge: Election Year, but I actually didn’t know what I was auditioning for at the time. The creatives used a code name for the movie, 所以当我进去的时候，我得到的信息有限，不得不即兴发挥. My audition tape was then sent to the director, James DeMonaco, and I heard a week later that I received the part...but I still didn’t know what the movie was.
I had heard whispers that it was The Purge, so I had to ask if that was what I had just booked. It was pretty embarrassing! Being on set for The Purge 绝对教会了我电影是如何运作的，以及它与现场戏剧的不同之处. While filming, Mr. 德莫纳科让我们用几种不同的方式来做这个场景，所以我的角色的反应从来都不是一成不变的. With this experience, there was no rehearsal or table work. 我们必须依赖于我们当时得到的反馈，并愿意承担表演风险，为导演提供他所设想的产品.
你觉得你从这些专业经历中获得了新的表演视角吗?
我很感激能在职业生涯的早期就拥有如此激动人心的职业经历. While I do work incredibly hard, I also feel wildly lucky. Working on ·!, The Purge, 其他专业的地区戏剧作品加强了我对表演作为社会和文化的重要方面的看法. It is an entryway for people to gain new ways of thinking, a point of connection, or reprieve from life’s difficulties. 我最近的经历让我比以往任何时候都更加意识到我想成为一名演员. Acting makes me feel alive and incredibly fulfilled.
Which do you prefer: stage or screen?
我当然更喜欢舞台，尽管我对电影和电视非常着迷. They are wildly different mediums and fun to explore, but there is something about having a live, unpredictable audience in front of you every night. The stage will definitely always be my first love, 但我打算继续探索任何出现在我身上的表演机会.
Do you plan to pursue an acting career right after graduation?
是的, 我计划毕业后搬到纽约，追求舞台和银幕的双重表演. 我希望能在毕业前和一家经纪公司签约，这样我一毕业就能开始试镜. 我也非常热衷于艺术史，目前在麦克马伦艺术博物馆担任学生大使. 除了试镜，我想在纽约的一家博物馆工作，做博物馆管理.
今年9月，在BC电视台的《太阳城网赌平台》（Pops on the Heights）中，和波士顿老爷子（Boston Pops）一起登台是什么感觉? [Coco performed two songs from the musical 紫罗兰色的这是由百老汇复兴的指挥家约瑟夫·朱伯特（Joseph Joubert）特别安排的首演.]
Performing with the Boston Pops was a dream. The first time I met and sang for the conductor, Keith Lockhart, I was so nervous that I forgot the words to the song. And the first time I rehearsed with the full orchestra, I had to force myself not to cry out of sheer joy. So I was a bit of a mess through the rehearsal process. The night of the concert, 我所有的家人和朋友都在观众席上为我加油，并给予我支持, 流行前线, and the BC 校友 Association, I could not have asked for a better experience. It’s a memory I will cherish forever.
-Rosanne Pellegrini / University Communications