Libby Skala - Cape Cod Times Interview

CAPE COD TIMES - CAPE WEEK

FRIDAY, JULY 13 - 19, 2001

THEATER - BEHIND THE SCENES

PLAYWRIGHT PRESENTS TRIBUTE TO

OSCAR-WINNING GRANDMOTHER

BY KATHI SCRIZZI DRISCOLL

STAFF WRITER

Lilia Skala, an Oscar nominee as the

Mother Superior in "Lilies of the Field," found

few demanding roles for older women. Often,

she would ask her granddaughter, Libby, to

write her a meaty part. But Libby Skala, who

wanted to follow in her grandmother's acting

footsteps, was uncomfortable crafting

fiction - and unsure of where to begin.

After her grandmother's death, however,

she discovered she had a natural story to

tell - the tale of Lilia Skala herself. Libby Skala, above right, appears in "Lilia!" At

left, Libby Skala as a child with her famous

She has written "Lilia: An Evening with grandmother.

Lilia Skala and Her Granddaughter" as a

series of vignettes about her grandmother's long career and their relationship. She plays both generations in the one-woman show, which will be presented July 23 as a one-night event in the Cape Cod Theatre Project season.

"I find so much enjoyment sharing this story with other people," Libby says. "I was very fond of this grandmother, and I ... always thought she didn't get the proper recognition that she should have."

The play began in a Seattle improvisation workshop when Libby was asked to talk about an interesting character. She wowed teacher Gary Austin with tales of a grandmother who was the first female architect in Austria, who lost everything when she fled from the Nazis, and who bitterly resented her American factory job because it was menial labor. When Austin learned this imperious immigrant became an Oscar-nominated actress for her role in the 1963 film starring Sidney Poitier, he told Libby her grandmother's remarkable life would make a great one-woman show.

Lilia Skala was a strong force in Libby's upbringing, giving advice (sometimes unwelcome) and fierce love, and teaching lessons from her own life. Libby says Lilia Skala remained a "dynamic, regal, interesting person" until her death in 1994 at age 98, and "seemed the same as me, but in an old person's body."

Libby became interested in an acting career after her grandmother helped her to rehearse for a drama class. Libby was "blown away" by how her grandmother transformed for a role and by stories of how she often won important jobs after some sort of spiritual growth. That's what Libby wanted, too.

But she had a hard act to follow: Lilia Skala started her American career on Broadway. An agent she met through a friend remembered her acting experience in Austria when a maid at a Swiss boarding school was being cast for Broadway's "Letters to Lucerne." Excellent reviews led to theater and live TV roles, and "Call Me Madam" with Ethel Merman on Broadway and film. Skala went on to such movies as "Charly"; "Roseland" (a Golden Globe nomination); TV's "Eleanor and Franklin" (an Emmy Award nomination as Eleanor's French teacher); "House of Games"; and "Flashdance" (Jennifer Beals' mentor).

One of the reasons Libby created "Lilia" was to serve as an acting showcase, hoping it would lead to other parts. The twist: "I find people see me so much as my grandmother - it's such a unique part - that they can't see me in other parts."

Libby performed "Lilia" several times, including at Canadian theater festivals last summer, before director Gabriel Barre helped her to streamline and rearrange the vignettes for a New York show last winter. That's the version coming to Woods Hole and that she'll take to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in August.

Libby says the play is constantly being developed, and she depends a great deal on audience reaction. But what would Lilia Skala's reaction be?

"Sometimes I think she would (approve), and sometimes I think she'd have a hard time with certain parts. She'd remember things differently. It's not always a perfect picture painted of her, and she wanted the public to think she was perfect in every way," Libby says. "I think this is better ... (this shows) her very human side, I think, and that makes her more interesting."

"Lilia" will be presented July 23 at Falmouth Academy. Reservations: 508-457-4242.

* * *

- Gabriel Barre, who is directing "Lilia" on July 23 at Falmouth Academy, will bring "The Summer of '42" to Broadway this fall.

Last Updated: 3/4/2009

LIBBY

SKALA

Performer Writer