We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Romy Turner a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Romy, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I have only been in the USA for a very short time – just over a year and a half now – but I have had the immense privilege to be in many challenging and amazing productions. Across film, theatre and musicals, I have had the chance to broaden the expectations for what characters I could play and work with some of the most promising and talented rising stars of the future as well as established award winning creatives. The two projects that stand out the most so far from a professional stand-point would have to be my recent productions of The Duchess of LES and The Frankenstein Project. The Duchess of LES, written by Denis Woychuk, directed by Randy Simon and produced by RSFWolf Entertainment LLC, tells the story of a community in Manhattan’s Lower East Side in the 1980’s, when the area was known as Little Ukraine due to the high numbers of Ukrainian immigrants who called it home. The musical focuses on the lives of five women, Simon, the love-struck romantic, who is desperately in love with Yulia, her in-and-out-of-jail brother’s wife, Miss B, Simon’s little sister, Richie, her best friend, and Mrs Torchenko, Yulia’s mother who might also be a mob boss. I played the role of principal standby for Simon.

The Frankenstein Project, written, directed and produced by William Electric Black (Ian Ellis James) retells Mary Shelley’s classic gothic story of Victor Frankenstein and the creature he creates that goes on a vengeance fueled quest to destroy the lives of not only Victor himself, but everyone whom he cares about. I played the role of the Monster, or Frankenstein’s Creature.

These productions not only afforded me my Off-Broadway debut, but they offered the opportunity to be a part of brand new, world premiere productions. It is a privileged position to be able to build a show from the ground up, knowing that the work you will be doing will form the basis for which all subsequent productions work from. Having that amount of creative freedom was such an incredible experience, and being encouraged to bring your wildest and most out there ideas about a moment or a character was such a gift. It meant that as a cast we were able to try all sorts of different things and really dig into these characters and make them as relatable and complex as people should be. They have been some of the most collaborative and fun spaces I have worked in and I think the success of the productions is testament to the creative spirit and willingness to play that these performers have. Those environments aren’t always the ones we find ourselves in, so for that to be my debut experience, I am in no doubt about how lucky I have been.

Romy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I have taken quite the crazy journey to get to where I am – and I am still nowhere near the destination! In 2021 I was living and working in Sydney, Australia, not involved in any creative or performance roles. We were in the middle of one of the longest lockdown stretches the city experienced, and I was feeling pretty despondent about my future prospects. I’d also started a new job 4 days before everything shut down. So it was an interesting time. On a whim and definitely with zero expectation, I applied for a scholarship at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. I had taken an online class with them a few weeks previously and I thought it couldn’t hurt and it gave me something to do. My best friend and I stayed up late one night writing one of the craziest essays I’ve ever written. I got reference statements from some teachers I had worked with previously, I submitted and then didn’t think much of it again. A few weeks later I was called in for an initial zoom interview which turned into another interview with more people, which turned into a zoom call with the president of the institute and an offer of a full year’s tuition. To say I was shocked was an understatement. It was 3am in Sydney, my cat was wandering around in the background of the call and I was half dressed normal, half pyjamas. It was a very strange circumstance to have such a life changing event occur but it makes me chuckle now!

Since moving here I have been the busiest I have been in a very very long time! I have been lucky enough to work on several plays, musicals and short films which have introduced me to so many extremely talented individuals who are going to be the next generation of artists and creators. As I have already mentioned, one of the major highlights was making my Off-Broadway debut at the end of last year. The Duchess of LES was such a fun show to be a part of. A world premiere, and debut at the same time! It was such a huge achievement for me and I had such an amazing time building that show from the ground up. The cast, crew, creatives, everyone was so supportive and playful and really created an environment that encouraged us to try new things and bring our best to the table. It was really the catalyst for all the projects and opportunities that I have been given since.

Something that I have really come to believe through this entire process, though, is that there is never a “too late” or “too old” when it comes to pursuing what makes you happy. Going back into a study environment a few years after completing my degree, where I have been able to travel, grow and mature as a person, has proved to be the biggest gift I could have been given. I was in a much better position to learn and try new things, as well as having more confidence in myself and trusting my gut more on what is the right thing for me. I would say to anyone, especially anyone looking at going into the performing arts or creative careers, I know there is so much pressure to succeed before a certain age, but I promise you, your time will come when it’s the right time for you. There is no time limit on when you can start building the career that makes you happy. To say I was shocked by the level of support and encouragement I have received since moving, would be an understatement. Not only have I been given the opportunity to stretch myself and the boundaries of what I thought I was capable of, but I have been able to perform in incredible productions, work with supremely talented actors, collaborate with award winning creatives, and prove to myself that I am capable of more than I ever thought possible. You can never predict what opportunities the world will put in your path. You just have to be in the right place to take advantage of them when they come around. I’m having an absolute blast and I just hope to keep getting better and better.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I am very passionate about this! I was relatively late to discover the performing arts as a career path; I was only 16 when I started taking lessons and decided that this is what I wanted to do professionally. Because of that, I tried to soak up as much information from the teachers around me as I could. And they were wonderful teachers; all these years later there are still so many lessons they taught me that I apply to what I am doing now. However, something that I came to believe through osmosis and being surrounded by working professionals and entering the industry when I did, was that as a woman in musical theatre there was a direct link between how high you could “belt” and how “good” or successful you will be. Now, this is absolute rubbish. I’d like to get that out of the way, because it has taken me many years, and stepping away from performing entirely for a time, to realise how far from the truth this mindset is.

To clarify for those who are not singers or who are not a part of the singing/musical theatre communities. According to Wikepeadia, “belting” can be described as “…(when) a singer carries their chest voice above their break or passaggio…” In layman’s terms, and how it was described to me for a very very long time, “belting” is pushing your chest voice as high as possible. I could try and explain how wrong this definition is myself, however, Emily Kristin Morris, a multi-skilled performer and founder of the EKM Vocal Studio summed it up perfectly when she broke this definition down and explained that in reality “…pulling your chest voice above your first passaggio is when you start screaming, is when you start hurting yourself…”

It has only been in the last few years that I have understood this and have had to work really really hard, with the support of some truly incredible vocal coaches, to unlearn this as both a physical way of singing, but also as a mindset; the idea that I just wasn’t good enough because I struggled to sing a section of one song, which i was trying to sing in the completely wrong way mind you, therefore, I would never be as successful as the girls I saw who could sing them with ease. This was by no means easy though, and sometimes I have to remind myself today that not only am I capable of singing that material, but that it has absolutely no influence on my worth in the industry or my self worth! It’s a lesson I wish I didn’t have to learn but in hindsight I am so glad for the it and the self-confidence I have gotten as a result. If I were to give any advice to young performers who are feeling like they are being asked to push themselves in ways that, in their gut, they know is off, I’d say; trust your instinct and find the people who are going to support and encourage you on your unique path! There is no ‘right’ or ‘correct’ way to create a career in this business, just trust yourself, surround yourself with people you trust, and don’t give up!

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

For me, I think it is a mix of two things; being able to live the lives and tell the stories of people who otherwise may have never had the opportunity to share their experiences, and to get to experience things that are so far outside my own reality. There are so many amazing and wonderful stories that exist around us every day and, at a time where you only need to watch the news for five minutes to get a pretty comprehensive idea just how tough people are doing it, being able to step out of our own lives into the reality of someone else is something I think everyone is appreciating. Personally, I love seeing characters who defy expectations and push the boundaries of what society attempts to impose on them. I love seeing multi-faceted women in particular; women who are loud and unapologetic and defiant and strong, but are also dreamers and romantics and intellectuals and introspective, who show that there are so many ways to be intelligent and who sometimes fall in a heap and make mistakes, but who are able to have a cry, pick themselves up, dust themselves off and try again. They are my favourite kind of characters to see because they remind me of the people I see everyday. They are the people who I look up to, the people I want to be like, the people who teach me how to be better, not only at my craft, but just as a human. They are the people whose stories I love to see told. They are the stories I want to be a part of telling. That’s why we all do what we do; or at least that’s why I do it. Because by stepping into the shoes of the character you are going to live with for the next three hours on a stage or for the next year on a film set, you learn so much about the world and about people and about how to make the world a kinder and more empathetic place.

The other reason why I love doing what I do is a little selfish, but it’s definitely one of the coolest things and that is you get to do things and learn skills that you would have no real reason to amass in any other career. If you ask any actor what their special skills on their resume are you will get told a list of the most random yet most incredible skills. Things you didn’t think it was possible for just one person to be able to do. Whether that’s something as simple as learning to make a latte to play a barista in the background of a tiny short film that no one will probably ever see, all the way up to learning to horse ride for a period drama, learning stunt fighting for an action film, learning to hold your breath for extended amounts of time, learning aerial acrobatics, learning to speak another language, learning how a surgical procedure happens and how to correctly use legal jargon. All these skills and experiences are things that no other profession can say it brings together. I see myself as so lucky that I get to play in this sandbox where, like I said before, I get to tell these incredible stories, but I also get to constantly be learning new skills and pushing myself to try new things. I don’t know about you, but a job that does that has to be one of the coolest in the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://romyturner24.wixsite.com/official/
• Instagram: @romy_turner
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXOAwCuUC1CoFnWdASaDAPA

Image Credits
Image 1 – Romy Turner as The Monster, Annabelle Skala as Mary Shelley, and Mario Greiner as Victor Frankenstein (Photo by Desiree Conston) | The Frankenstein Project Image 2 – Romy Turner as the Monster (Photo by Desiree Conston) | The Frankenstein Project Image 3 – Romy Turner as John Wilkes Booth and the Tommy Howard as Balladeer | Assassins Image 4 – Romy Turner as Maria | A Seagull in the Hamptons Image 5 – Romy Turner and Max Bank | Best Man Image 6 – The Cast | The Duchess of LES Image 7 – Romy Turner as The Monster, Mario Greiner as Victor Frankenstein and Kamryn Sarratt as The Bride of Frankenstein (Photo by Desiree Conston) | The Frankenstein Project Image 8 – Romy Turner as Ashley | Zero Floor