Many thanks to everyone for their questions and especially to my transcriber! 

Special thanks to Kate Mulgrew for answering our questions and sharing a part of herself with us!

Please feel free to share the link but do not repost the interview. 

Totally Kate:  Yes, these are from people from the website, Facebook, Twitter.

Kate Mulgrew:  Fantastic!  Start with yours. What is yours? Do you have one?

Totally Kate:  I do have one.  Do you have to go in and audition for parts, or do you just get… “we think you’d like to do this, would you like to do this”?

Kate Mulgrew:  I’m going to repeat that back so you’ll have it:  Do I have to audition for parts, or are they offered to me.  It depends.  It absolutely depends.  For television there’s almost always a meeting.  I’m in a meeting category.  They ask to meet with me, and then when I go in I usually say, ‘Let me audition for this.  Let me read it for you.’  And then sometimes I just get straight offers.   It really depends. But as you know, it’s a very competitive world so…

Totally Kate:  ‘Love, Loss, and What I Wore’ is performed in a relatively intimate setting.  The theatre is small and there’s no formal set.  How do you like working in such a setting as this – does it have a different feel to it?  And can you tell us what you like or dislike about it.

Kate Mulgrew:  It’s… I’d have to say it’s easy, but I’m not sure I like that.  I mean it’s easy to come in, sit down at a music stand and have the script in front of you, so I’m not sure I really prefer that.  I think I prefer to be doing a play. But it is what it is.  This is an event, and it shouldn’t be confused with a play. It’s a series of monologues, and for what it is, I’m enjoying myself.  Yes.  But it’s not a complete…

Totally Kate:  It’s not a character that you’re getting into.

Kate Mulgrew:  Which is always my preference – to go deeper.  You know, these are just thirty day cycles. 

Totally Kate:  Right.  Which story from ‘Love, Loss, and What I Wore’ do you relate to the most, and why?

Kate Mulgrew:  Which do I relate to the most?  That’s a good question.  Boy…!  That’s interesting!  Which do I relate to the most?  Probably Geralyn’s story… because that’s my sister, my friend… you know, I know that story very well.  And I know Lynne’s story, I know about love.  The others I… and Gingy – parts of Gingy’s life.  Right?  Her marriages.  Her sisters.  Her friend Dora, all of that.  It’s all female stuff.

Totally Kate:  How were the various scenes/stories assigned? Did you have a choice in any of the scenes? 

Kate Mulgrew:  Well, I went with Daryl Roth - I met Daryl at an event I was MCing – that’s how this all started.  She asked me if I would be interested in doing it, and I said ‘Sure’.  So she took me.  And the night I was there it was Brooke Shields, Julie Halston, Doris Roberts, Samuel Jackson’s wife, I’ve forgotten who that is.  And Julie Halston was in my seat.  Do you know who she is?  She’s very funny.  And I remember saying when it was over, ‘I want that track.  I’d like to do it, and I’d like that track.’  And I got exactly that track.  But Geralyn’s story was an addition for my character. Brooke Shields had it that night, so...  They switch it – they switch them around.   They have, as it was explained to me, a young one, an ethnic one, a funny one slash slightly heavy one – so she can do all the ‘fat stuff’, because there’s a lot of ‘fat stuff’ in this piece. A sort of elegant, ‘star’ one (that’s me), and then the older one – which is Gingy.  And of all of them, mine is probably the straight man, so… I have to really…which I’m not…

Totally Kate:  You have some zingers!

Kate Mulgrew: I have some good stuff, but it’s…

Totally Kate:  What goes through your mind when you walk out that stage door to greet your fans?  Especially in New York City!

Totally Kate:  Wonder where I’m going to eat tonight!  (much laughter from Kate) And… where are they?  And… Is this going to be a fun house?  If it’s too young, it’s not fun – they don’t get the jokes.  If it’s too old, they don’t get the jokes.  If it’s your age – middle aged women.  30!  You can’t get young girls in there.  They just don’t connect to it. 

Totally Kate:  How are you preparing for Antony & Cleopatra? (Kate will be playing Cleopatra at Hartford Stage Company - Oct. 7th to Nov. 7th) Are the preparations both mental and physical?

Kate Mulgrew:  There’s nothing I’m not doing.   I’m training three times a week – rigorously, and spending a fortune to do it!  A top-notch personal trainer. But you can’t see the difference?!

Totally Kate:  You look great!

Kate Mulgrew:  I’m on a strict diet.  I haven’t had a drink in a month. I’m reading and working all day, every day, when I’m not in this. I mean I’m consumed. (as our food comes) Look at your French fries!!

Totally Kate:  Do want to pause while we eat?

Kate Mulgrew:  No…we’ll keep going! Can we eat and talk at the same time?!  I can do it!  (laughing) I’m from Iowa. And I’ll tell you something, Connie:  getting in shape physically gets absolutely much harder.  I did it for ‘Iphigenia’, and I did it for ‘Leading Lady’, and I did it for ‘Equus’, and it’s… it’s hard.  I mean…

Totally Kate:  You look better now than I think you’ve looked in some time…

Kate Mulgrew:  Thank you.  Thank you.   I feel great.  That’s the up side.
 
Totally Kate:  What is the most interesting tidbit you learned about Cleopatra in your readings about her?

Kate Mulgrew: That she spoke fifteen languages. 

Totally Kate:  Wow!

Kate Mulgrew:  And was the only ruler of her time, or of the dynasties preceding her who did that.  The only ruler to speak fluent Egyptian, and she was the leader of Egypt.  She could converse with anyone, on their level and in their tongue. It was masterful.  Unheard of, and unprecedented.   It is debatable now – arguable, historically whether she was the product of complete incest or not.  Her mother may have been her aunt.  Incest was practiced in the Ptolemaic Dynasty. And if that’s the case, and she was, I think what it proves is that in her case it produced a kind of genius. But I think she was on the edge of a knife, Cleopatra the Seventh.   Her mood swings.  Her mind. Her strategy, her methodology.  Everything was on.  She was just fantastically smart. And extremely temperamental. And she cared about one thing more than anything else, and that was her kingdom. Look what she did:  She bedded Julius Caesar, it’s said she bedded Naius Pompey but it’s not proven.  And Antony.  She wasn’t thinking purely about sexual gratification, clearly.  She was thinking - at that time Rome was the great power of the world.  She was thinking about being protected. She was an extraordinary creature.  You know how she met Caesar, don’t you?  Well, I’m not going to go on and on and on!  What’s the next question?

Totally Kate: A Voyager question: Do you think at any point Janeway would have liked to have been able to relinquish her command, even temporarily? If she never would, do you think that's because of her need for control or her sense of responsibility?

Kate Mulgrew:  She did relinquish control a few times. She did.  Although not entirely. No, I think she was a control freak!  And that’s what you love about her, and that’s what got her in trouble, and that’s what you sometimes don’t like about her.  But she had to control it. That’s the only way she could function.  That’s what got them home.  It could be a pain but…

Totally Kate:  A Ryan’s Hope question: This person wants to say that Mary Ryan is one of the best television characters ever created, period! Do you still have any contact or relationships with your former Ryan's Hope cast mates?

Kate Mulgrew:  Well, you know, the real answer to that is Nancy Addison was my best friend, and she’s dead.  Claire Labine is one of my closest friends and I see her all the time.  That’s enough!  I love to see Michael Levin when I see him.  I just had dinner with Helen Gallagher a couple of weeks ago – it was Claire’s birthday.  I’m very happy to see them when I see them. But I have a deep and enduring friendship with Claire Labine. 

Totally Kate:  The relationship between Jack and Mary on Ryan’s Hope reminded me of the Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracey film couples. What was it like working with Michael Levin and did you like playing that relationship?

Kate Mulgrew:  I loved working with Michael Levin. You know we had a wonderful…

Totally Kate:  You fought very well!

Kate Mulgrew:  We fought very well and we made up very well!  I like him so much.  You have to like somebody like that when you’re working that closely. And obviously it captured the imagination of a very large audience, didn’t it?

Totally Kate:  Definitely.

Kate Mulgrew:  He was a good man.  A wonderful friend to have on that set.  It could be a difficult thing, working so hard.  But no, it was great, great. 

Totally Kate:  Of all your auditions and experiences, what are some of your favorite monologues/pieces to present? Or perhaps a favorite writer you enjoy presenting?

Kate Mulgrew:  Oh.  But I’ve never… I don’t need to audition… I don’t use monologues to audition. 

Totally Kate:  Okay!  When reading a script for a project are there certain aspects/characteristics within the character(s) or story line that you look for which help you decide on the project?  And if so what are they and why are they important to you?

Kate Mulgrew:  What do I look for in a character that makes me choose the project?  If it’s well written.  If the character has depth and dimension. I mean clearly – the obvious:  Someone who can make a … someone who will have an effect.  Someone bigger than… you know… what we usually see.  And a character that will let me stretch, is what I ideally would love. 

Totally Kate:  Okay… so with that:  Most of the roles you’ve played indicate a tendency toward strong, independent and confident characters. Is this intentional, or subconscious? And, what would it take to intrigue you enough to take on a role where the woman was a meek, mild mannered or dependent type?

Kate Mulgrew: I’d love to.  But I’m not offered them.  The world is without an imagination in this regard.  I’m passed in these roles because I’m like this. You know.  They weren’t going to cast a meek, funny looking person to play Captain Janeway. It wasn’t going to happen.  Or Mary Ryan.  Or Mrs. Columbo, or Cleopatra, or anybody!  It doesn’t… so to play the meek, why would they go to me?  When there is a meek actress.  When they can get, you know… so would I like to stretch, yes! But… not likely.

Totally Kate: Do you think people underestimate your comedic ability? Does comedy come naturally to you?

Kate Mulgrew:  Yes!  They do underestimate it.  Even in this.  Daryl Roth knows me very well – she gave me all straight stuff!

KM’s Assistant:  I think when ‘The Best and the Brightest’ comes out, it’ll twig some people to see that – the comedic side of you, don’t you think?

Kate Mulgrew:  I hope!  I have a very comedic side.  Once again, you get typed as a serious, dramatic actress.  Leading ladies are not usually comedians, you know?  And that’s for a variety of reasons, but I think that’s because men don’t want to … don’t really find women funny. And they don’t want to laugh at a leading lady.  They want to make love to the leading lady.  It’s just the basic stuff.  Well that doesn’t apply any more, but… now I’m the mother!

KM’s Assistant:  Which is ridiculous!

Kate Mulgrew:  I’m happy about that, actually.  Well… I wouldn’t say shouting with joy!

Totally Kate:  (Laughing) Well, here’s another question: You have been described as a character actress. What exactly does that mean to you?

Kate Mulgrew:  This is the first I’ve heard of this!  I have not been commonly known as a character actress.  I think what this person is suggesting is that I immerse myself in another character… is that I create another character, as I did with Hepburn. That’s what they mean. And that is of course the entire challenge, isn’t it?  That’s the fun.  So bring on the character work!

Totally Kate: A lot of people are asked if they use their life experiences to help convey the emotions needed to play a role. I would like to flip this around and ask, if any of the roles that Kate has taken on have helped her deal with situations that subsequently arose in her own life.

Kate Mulgrew:  Of course.  And everything that I’ve experienced goes into the work. We were talking about this yesterday – I had dinner with Kristine (Nielsen) and Jane (Houdyshell).  It’s a craft, without question.  At our age it’s a craft. Indisputably.  But it’s also catharsis - it’s also a way of letting go. Kristine’s mother just died, and her sister… so she’s letting a lot of that go in this – you can see it. I brought to Hepburn the loss of my own mother.  Absolutely.  That’s how you can endow it.  If you haven’t lived it, I think it’s very hard to make it up.

Totally Kate:  I have loved listening to the audiobooks you have read. Do you plan to do any more? And what book would you most like to make into an audiobook?

Kate Mulgrew:  I just did one yesterday.  I loved it! He asked me if I’d do more.  I just did one and I loved it.  It was about a … it was about a vineyard. If I could remember the title of it…So, I love doing them, I intend to do more. Audible Books.  Great group.

Totally Kate:  As an avid reader how do you feel about the Kindle/eBooks/Nooks? Do you think that they will eventually get rid of paper books? And do you own one?

Kate Mulgrew:  I have such a resistance to this technology. My niece pulled one out the other day – she’s a voracious reader.  She’s only twelve, but she’s… I actually got sad.  I said ‘Isabel, are you really telling me that that’s going to replace…’  She said, ‘Oh, it’s just for trips, Aunt Kate.’  I said, ‘Don’t get defensive, just tell me the truth.’  She said, ‘Well, it’s what everybody’s using.’  I said, ‘Well, what about the ritual?’ 

KM to her Assistant:  Do you have it (referring to the previously mentioned audiobook)?

KM’s Assistant:  It’s called “Water to Wine” by Mary Robinette Kowal.  It’s for Audible Books.

Kate Mulgrew:  (back to the Kindle question) It’s all about letting go of what we are familiar with.  For me, and for thousands of years, ladies, it has been the ritual of reading the book – from papyrus to binding.  It is the taking of the book, smelling of the book.  The lovely thing of being alone with the book. For me it’s very romantic about the book.  You know that’s… I was one of eight kids – that was the escape.  The book.  Not that (meaning the Reader).  I don’t know what that is, you know?

Totally Kate:  It’s nice because you can put a bunch of books on, and just carry this little thing, but you can’t share a book when you’re done. 

Kate Mulgrew:  Part of it is having a relationship.  It’s a very real thing, a relationship with a book.  The book is a living, breathing thing in my opinion.  It has a smell and a taste and a feel.  And if you’re just holding a little plastic thing, there’s no longer that dynamic. Do you feel that way too, Connie?  How do you feel?

Totally Kate:  I want to get one!

Kate Mulgrew:  You do?!  (Laughs)  Then you go get one!  And let me know what it feels like, will you?!

Totally Kate:  I will! Where do you see yourself in your career in the next five years?

Kate Mulgrew:  I think everything’s changing, Connie. I don’t want everybody to take this amiss.  First of all I’m going to say I want to do what I want to do now.  The things that make me happy.  But I’m beginning to feel very… I’m beginning to feel that I have to do something else.  I’m not even sure what it is.  What I need is… I need to give back a little bit more than I’m doing.  In a way it almost feels like this isn’t enough anymore.  Are you understanding me?  This isn’t to… I love to act, but I think there’s something else that I will be doing as well.  I think I will be writing, or I think I will be doing something.  And they’ll be neck and neck.  I will always act. Something else is coming – I just feel that.  I write a lot, you know.  And it’s getting published, and it’s being used and…

Totally Kate:  Are you going to write your…

Kate Mulgrew:   And I’m going to write my book and that’s going to take some time.  So I’ll start that pretty soon.  I used to say I was too young, but I’m not saying that any more!

Totally Kate:  If you could travel forward or backwards in time, which way would you go? Where would you see? And who would you want to meet?

Kate Mulgrew:   I’d go back, and I’d meet Christ.  I’d like to sit at that table, with Christ and the Disciples. I’d have dinner with them, and just listen to them - talk to them.  See what was going on.  And ask him, ‘Are you really the son of God?’  What do you guys think?  And don’t all go ‘Oy!’  That’s the other thing.  Christ was just around the corner from Cleopatra!  She had a serious flirtation with Herod, who you know was responsible for the death of Christ.  Everything’s now Cleopatra!  I can track her in any way!

Totally Kate:  Always turn it back to that!

Kate Mulgrew: I’ll go back to that!

Totally Kate: What do you do in your little time off? How do you unwind after a long days work? What kind of music do you like?

Kate Mulgrew:  I love classical music.  I love opera.  I like all kinds of music, really.  Except rock.  Hard…I don’t like that.  How do I relax?  I love to go out to eat and have a little wine – a great dinner.  I love to entertain.  If I’m working with this intensity, it’s all about just being alone and doing my thing.  Read, read, read, read, read. I watched a special the other night about Picasso, but that’s the only bit of television I’ve watched in a long time. I’m so riveted – fascinated by Picasso. I don’t think he had one happy moment in his life. This guy was so intense, you know?

KM’s Assistant:  Did you see the exhibit at the Met?

Kate Mulgrew: A new exhibit?  I saw this on CUNY.  I’ve got to get over there to see the Egyptian exhibit. I have to do that.

Totally Kate:  What is the best advice you have ever been given?

Kate Mulgrew:  Learn your lines, and don’t bump into the furniture.  All’s fair in love and war – which is very true!  And … my mother used to say, I don’t know how she put it, but it was always very clear – that to be… to be kind was more important than anything else. To be empathetic.  If you can put yourself in the other person’s shoes, there’s nothing that you can’t feel or understand.  So… that’s what I’d say.

Totally Kate:  Last question: Since losing your mother to Alzheimer's and educating yourself about the disease, have you found yourself making any lifestyle changes in order to reduce risk factors for yourself, and to better promote your own mental/brain health? If so, what were they and what have you learned that you might recommend to others?

Kate Mulgrew:  Yes, and I’m presently practicing all of those disciplines, which are (that) I watch my diet – very carefully.  But I have done since she got sick, I’d say.  I exercise religiously.  And I use my mind as much as I possibly can.  You know, if that organ is exercised I’d say the better chance of… of being able to rely on it later on.  So I think the discipline’s a factor.  It’s very clear – sloppiness is sloppy, and makes people unhappy anyway. It seems to me a little discipline is great.  That’s it.  Read.  Think.  Talk to interesting people. I’m more and more inclined to not want to partake of anything that’s really… stupid. I see that the clock is ticking now, very loudly and very fast.  And I don’t want to engage in stuff that is not only without substance, but is stupid… yeah, really stupid.  A lot of people do that.  I don’t want to be with a lot of dumb kids, I want to be with smart kids!  I want to be with people that I can really engage with, because it’s over.  Are you reading Christopher Hitchens?  Very interesting about him.  Hitchens is dying you know, of cancer. I love him – professed atheist, you know.  He says, “If you want to pray for me, pray for me. But if I call out the name of God at the end, it’s only because the cancer has gone to my brain!” I mean he’s an absolute – isn’t he – diehard.

KM’s Assistant:  He has like Stage 4, found it too late, never going to be able to recover…

Kate Mulgrew:  No.  He said if he lives five years it will be a miracle. I think the thing to do is to develop an ideology that not only suits you, but that you probably would die for. It’s not enough to say you’re going to die for people – we’re all going to die. Of course I’m going to take a bullet for my kids. I’d like to be able to take a bullet for a greater idea, do you know?  The more I read, and the longer I live, the more I see that that’s the way of it. You have to fashion an ideology.  And a methodology that is strong. Yeah.  

So there you have it – we whipped right through those questions!  Now, you eat your dinner!