Libby Skala - Scene Interview

SCENE MAGAZINE

London

THURSDAY, AUGUST 10, 2000

And now for something completely

different - the Fringe is coming to town!

By Patricia Black, Scene Magazine

Excerpted from a longer article:

Improvisational theatre has been the starting point for

many of the Fringe shows.

From New York, Libby Skala will bring her show about

her grandmother, Lilia!

Lilia Skala "rose from a penniless immigrant to the Oscar

nominated star of Lilies of the Field, in which she starred with

Sidney Poitier. Lilia Skala had many other film credits,

including Heartland, Flashdance and House of Games.

Lilia Skala asked Libby to write a part for her before she

died in 1994. Libby Skala says that she "began improvising

and developing the characters in 1995. What I love about

improvisation" continues Libby Skala, is "that it is writing on

your feet."

"Lilia!, a poetic memory piece, means something different

to each audience member. Although it's about my grand-

mother, it's also about our relationship and about generations

communicating with one another - the influence and impact

that one generation has on the other."

Lilia! Libby Skala's one-woman

show at the Fringe.

Skala has just returned from the Winnipeg Fringe, where

she performed to sold out audiences.

ANNA BOUDREAU

After one performance, "two teenaged women, with tattoos and body-piercings, came running up to me in the park, and said, 'We saw your show and we couldn't talk afterward because we were crying. We just loved it.' I think it speaks to a universal humanity," Skala says. "I felt that I related more to [my grandmother] than I did even to my parents. She would say things like, 'I still don't know who I am,' and I thought 'I'm a teenager and I don't know who I am, either.' We were both struggling with the same life questions."

Last Updated: 3/4/2009

LIBBY

SKALA

Performer Writer