Wearing a conservative black pantsuit, black boots, a touch of makeup and spare jewelry, the widely smiling woman speaking on the Louis Theater stage seemed beyond feeling insecure.
But for the last three years renowned stage and screen actress Cherry Jones has been grappling with what she calls “a crash of confidence.”
Straight-backed in her chair, the 2003 Hope Abelson artist-in-residence described to more than 100 people the nightly panic attacks that started while working on the play “A Moon for the Misbegotten” in 2000.
“Every time I went on stage, it was as though I had suddenly low blood pressure, like a veil came over me and covered my heart. I couldn’t feel anything,” she said Wednesday evening in a lecture and discussion. “I was going through a deep depression on stage.”
Jones is at Northwestern for a week as part of the Hope Abelson Artist-in-Residence Program, an endowment that brings major performing artists to the School of Communication. While here Jones has observed and facilitated several theatre classes.
“I love listening to, talking with and watching students,” Jones said. “But I’m not a teacher. I would love each and every scene that I saw.”
Jones, who participated in NU’s National High School Institute’s theatre-arts division 30 years ago, also ate lunch early Wednesday afternoon with a small group of theatre majors, who were impressed by Jones’ caring attitude toward students.
“She was interested in having a dialogue with us, not just talking about her accomplishments,” said Liz Bangs, a Communication senior. “She’s interested in what we’re doing, what our plans are, what our political views are. She’s curious about the mindset of actors our age getting ready to enter the world she’s been living in.”
But Jones, a Tennessee native, also had time to talk about her experiences in drama.
Jones said that in “A Moon for the Misbegotten,” she was given more managerial responsibilities than in previous shows, but she disliked some of her new job’s pressures. Jones also had a disagreement with a friend in the show and said it “broke (her) heart in two” when their relationship ended. Overall, Jones said, she felt trapped.
“They had built the show for me,” Jones said. “I couldn’t quit and they weren’t going to fire me.”
Despite the internal hardships, Jones’ performance in the show earned her a Tony nomination for best actress.
She didn’t make it on Broadway right away, spending time as a co-founder of the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Mass., before heading to New York. There Jones performed in numerous Broadway productions, eventually winning a Tony award in 1995 for “The Heiress.”
Jones also has worked in television and film, appearing in movies such as “Cradle Will Rock,” “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” and as the local cop in “Signs.” Jones most recently appeared in the play “Imaginary Friends” with Swoosie Kurtz and is working on a production of an adaptation of Michael Cunningham’s novel “Flesh and Blood” for the New York Theatre Workshop.
Catie Campbell, a Communication junior, said she admires Jones’ wide range of work.
“(Jones) is such a strong actress, both theatrically and in film,” Campbell said. “But she has a strong base on stage, which is something I really admire and strive for.”
Jones said she always will prefer theater to the silver screen.
“In film you walk in the door, they take one look at you and then decide if they want you,” Jones said. “But in the theater you can just keep building, no matter how many months you keep doing it.”
