Walking In Their Footsteps
After taking a break from acting for a few years, stepping back into rehearsal has been both exciting and challenging in the best way. Documentary Theater is a new experience for me and I’ve been enjoying the process of dusting off my actor tool belt and shaping these stories alongside an incredible team.
Pictured: A snapshot of In Their Footsteps rehearsal. NYC, September 2025.
I have the honor of playing Ann Kelsey, a brave and intelligent woman who served in Vietnam as an Army librarian. I keep reminding myself that she will actually be in the audience seeing her story told onstage. That feels like such a privilege, to know the person you are portraying is present and trusting you with their memories. You always want to do your character’s justice and tell their stories to the best of your abilities, but this just raises the stakes and makes the experience all the more special.
Ash’s script captures these histories in such a vivid, human way. One of our main challenges as the actors is exploring the shifts between the younger and older versions of the characters and figuring out how to move between those transitions as authentically as possible. On top of that, we get to step in and out of each other’s stories playing a wide range of people from soldiers to snarky teenagers. It’s definitely keeping us on our toes!
When reading through the play for the first time, I was shocked by how much I did not know about the many ways women were involved in the Vietnam War. Learning their histories alongside my cast members has been eye opening, and I’m looking forward to sharing what we’ve learned and created with an audience. What’s also stood out to me is how, even though these women share certain common experiences, the way their pasts have shaped them is completely individual.
Pictured: Ann Kelsey in Vietnam, 1969.
Pictured: Amanda Corbett in NYC, 2025.
Each person’s story is unique and shaped by their own circumstances, choices, and how they made sense of what they lived through. I know I’ll never fully understand everything Ann went through, but I try to approach her story with as much care and honesty as I can. I look for the parts that feel real to me and then do my best to recreate them as truthfully as possible on stage.
This process has reminded me why I love theater and acting. After some time away, I was anxious and unsure of what to expect. But it’s been incredibly meaningful telling real stories, working with generous collaborators, and finding my way back to something I’ve missed very much.
