This Spotlight focuses on Gina D’Acciaro, an actress in Los Angeles for over 19 years who I first met when she was a member of the Actors Co-op Theatre Company in Hollywood and appeared in their production of the Kander and Ebb musical revue World Goes Round. Gina is now a regular performer at Rockwell Table & Stage in Los Feliz, as well as the creator of many entertaining YouTube videos.
Shari Barrett (SB): What production(s) were you involved with when word went out it needed to immediately be either postponed or cancelled?
Gina D’Acciaro (Gina): I was fresh off a 2019 Broadway World win for “Best Cabaret – Female – Intimate Space.” I was actually set to remount my one woman show “Gina D’Acciaro is… Famous Adjacent” in NYC when the theater world closed down.
(SB): How was the shutdown communicated with the cast and production team?
(Gina): We found a cabaret space that we liked best, and our creative team was juuusssst about to announce a performance date in late April 2020. So thankfully for myself, my director, Robert Marra, and my musical director, Andy Arena, no flights had been reserved yet!
(SB): Are plans in place to present that production at a future date, or is the cancellation permanent?
(Gina): No way! The show must go on! As soon as cabaret spaces are open to the public again, we will pick up right where we left off.
(SB): That’s great news! But what other future productions on your schedule are also affected by the shutdown?
(Gina): Mounting my show was mission number one while in NYC, but so was finally auditioning for Broadway. And as it turned out, Friday, March 13th was the last Equity audition I had scheduled, which was, sadly, cancelled. This is the first time in my life that I left LA to try to audition my face off and book a Broadway show. Guess I picked a fantastic time to give it a try, huh??
(SB): As they say, timing is everything! So now that we are “safer at home,” how are you keeping the Arts alive while using social media or other online sites?
(Gina): I spent the first month of quarantine in disbelief, shock, sadness, even depression. Then I decided to limit my news intake and created a virtual variety show with a group of actors in NYC. It’s called “The Corona Clubhouse” and is a weekly LIVE show featuring sketch comedy via Zoom calls. It’s a silly “kid show for adults” and it’s been great to have the chance to get the funny, creative juices flowing as a writer / performer. I’ve been writing/filming a script and a parody song every week with my writing-partner-in-comedy-crime, Jordan Goodsell, another LA actor / singer / friend finding himself in a Broadway-less NYC.
(SB): Here are links to Gina’s latest YouTube videos:
“Quarantine Dating Sucks [Love Is An Open Door Parody]”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwKCSGJQAkY
“Nobody Wants This Subscription Service”
(SB): What thoughts would you like to share with the rest of the L.A. Theatre community while we are all leaving the Ghostlight on and promising to return back to the stage soon?
(Gina): Friends! Feel all the feels. And keep hope alive. Don’t feel pressure to create. But don’t forget who you are. An ARTIST. Artists are always essential. And the Arts might be the last thing to come back, but that’s because they always save the best for last.
(SB): And with that wonderful tribute to the Arts to end the interview, I invite you to follow Gina on Instagram @duhchairoh for funny song parodies, sketches, and clips from Famous Adjacent when you need an escape from the daily news!
This article first appeared on Broadway World.
