bare: a pop opera is open now through Sunday! With four shows left, we asked guest actor Monica R. Harris a few questions about her life as a professional working actor.

Monica R. Harris is a professional actor based in New Orleans. She graduated with a degree in Theatre from Loyola University where she worked with Whitman’s Theater Department head Dr. Laura Hope. This is Harris’ second time in two years performing at Whitman. Having previously been in the Fall 2021 production of The Revolutionists, Harris is overjoyed to be back amongst familiar faces. She says that Whitman’s department “in a lot of ways reminds me of [Loyola’s] because it’s smaller and everyone who’s in it cares a lot about what they’re doing.” This, she says, makes the experience a very enjoyable one for her.

Harris began acting in high school, and as soon as she began working on that first production of Romeo and Juliet, she says that she never turned back. “Theatre was the one thing that made me feel like it was my true North. I had a lot of things that I liked and enjoyed and made me more disciplined, more focused. But theater, it was almost as if it took everything I liked and made it this one new and exciting thing that I had never experienced before.” She describes theatre as something that makes her feel the most challenged and joyful that she ever is: “basically, it’s a high that you don’t need any drugs for. No libations,  just theater. And a present and listening mind.”

Now having been in the professional world for over 10 years, Harris has a lot of advice for young actors who are considering continuing their work in the future. She emphasized the necessary trait of being patient and staying true to what you want. “If you audition four times and all four shows you submitted for say no, you can easily get discouraged and be like, ‘did I choose the wrong thing?’ But you really have to remind yourself of why you’re doing it in the first place. Is it just so people tell you yes, left and right all day no matter what? Or are you waiting for that opportunity that’s meant for you to where it’s worth all the no’s that you got?” Additionally, Harris says that in the long run, the most important competition is herself. “When you’re right out [of college], it’s really easy to fall victim to comparison. Because you have a lot of people around you, the same age as you, similar goals as you. It’s very easy to fall into that trap … so once I’ve done something, I’m always thinking about how I can do it better the next time, and the next time.”

As far as her work in bare, Harris says that although it was a tight turnaround, once she was sure she could give it 100%, the process was pretty straightforward. This is Harris’ first musical since the beginning of the pandemic, so preparing for it looked like “knowing the musical, understanding what it was about by reading the libretto, listening to everyone’s songs and then focusing on just mine.” Jumping into rehearsals with the cast has been a fun experience for Harris, she says that being around college students is very heartwarming for her. The “camaraderie and collaboration here in this department…really makes me think of my coming of age story too.”

There are four chances left to see Monica’s performance in bare: a pop opera! Tickets are still available HERE, and at the Harper Joy Theatre Box Office before the show. bare runs November 10-13 on the Alexander Stage.