PALAK: Like your comparison with Algernon and his relationship to food, I think Beatrice is such a fireball. All the time, she comes out fighting.

But in the last couple of rehearsals, when we were getting more into some of the emotional scenes, I realized she is such a softy. It's a little bit typical of people who are so hard outside that they have such tenderness they are protecting. So yes, my opinion has in fact changed because I realized she is as much of a person as anyone else. In fact, in a way, she is more sensitive than the other characters and picks up on things. That's why she's using everything and converting it into humor and throwing it back at people. She is a highly sensitive person.

DREW: It's a defense mechanism. The humor.

PALAK: Yeah, absolutely.

Speaking of character work, when you think back to your very first production with SVS, what stands out?

DREW: It was The Taming of the Shrew, back in 2014 at Willow Street Park. What stands out the most? I think I'm having just as much fun now as I was back then. I loved SVS as a company. And I wanted to keep working with all of these people. I still feel the same way. Twelve years later, I still want to work with SVS. I still love all these people. And I still love doing all these shows.

PALAK: That is amazing. That means something. That's a huge compliment to SVS.

DREW: I want to circle back to Much Ado.

What has surprised you most about working on the show?

PALAK: This is my first Shakespeare play. When I was cast, I immediately wondered, "Can I even do Shakespeare?" I was reading the script, but I didn't know what it meant. I thought, "I don't understand this!" I was frantically trying to make sense of everything. But I was worried that I would not remember the text. These lines will not come to me! They were so foreign to me.

In the last couple of weeks, they've been coming into my body. Especially at Sanborn, when I see people acting on our stage. I'm thinking, "This is looking like a play!" Yeah.

DREW: Yeah, I get you.

PALAK: How about your dialogue?

Is there a line of Algernon's that you wish you could get away with saying in real life?

DREW: No! [He laughs.] Algernon says some stuff about both his relatives and women in general that I would never repeat in my daily life. He's got thoughts.

But if I have to pick... oh! He's talking to Jack at one point, and he's so sassy. This is one of his examples of that. He says, "I never saw anybody take so long to dress, and with such little result." He's such a cad, right? Love.

If I could go with that line and not say it to a friend, then I would say that. But there's a lot of stuff I would not repeat to the general public.

PALAK: I love these characters because you can only do it on stage, right?

DREW: At home on stage! This is a great segue for me to ask you about your other work.

Of all the different art mediums you work in, which feels the most like home?

PALAK: Yes, I've worked in film, theatre, I have sung, and I have danced.

Something about theatre feels like home. Not right from the beginning, but it feels like we're creating a home. Definitely by the opening night or towards that, it's a full house. You're spending more time with the company, and you're spending more time at Sanborn.

I feel like it is an art, creating something with complete strangers. It is just so beautiful. It takes form in front of you, you know, every day. Brick by brick by brick. That's why it's hard, and that's why it's beautiful. So yeah, I think it's theatre.

DREW: All those things that you listed are performance art. Singing, dancing, and doing film. But there's nothing quite like doing theatre. Doing theatre is just, like you said, you have to piece it all together. And you do it as an ensemble. And there's nothing like putting something together with a whole bunch of like-minded artists.

PALAK: Exactly! I love it. I got back to theatre last year, after doing a bunch of film work. I love on-camera work, and I want to do more of it. But what invigorates me about theatre is getting to build something with the director, fellow actors, and designers over the course of 1½ to 2 months and then performing live on a stage.

This is where I belong.

DREW: Yeah. Film's fun, but I prefer theatre.

PALAK: You spend so much time helping productions come together behind the scenes. Does that change what opening night feels like for you as an actor?

DREW: Yeah, it really does. I'm in charge of the box office, audience services, and I'm the volunteer coordinator. So there's a lot of work that I do before every single night of every performance, before I even think about being an actor.

If I'm an actor, I can't be at our concessions and box office. So, I'm always backstage, slightly stressing about how the front of house is going. I know that they know what they're doing. But there's always that voice in your head wondering, "What if something goes wrong?"

It's not until everything's set up and I'm actually walking towards the trailers and putting on makeup that I flip that switch and say, "Okay. Now I can be an actor." But it takes two or more hours of preparation before I can even get to that point.

Now that you and everyone reading this know what's happening in my head backstage, I want to know what you're thinking about on stage. Is there a moment in Much Ado you look forward to the most?

PALAK: I'm so attracted to the sadness. There's a sad monologue. I think that's a difficult piece, between Benedick and me. It's very genuine and real. That sad conflict of Beatrice and Benedick, love and madness.

DREW: It's the moments of weakness and trying to be strong. Those are the moments that have the most impact.

PALAK: Right! Exactly.

OK, last question, I promise. So we see all the work that you do in rehearsal, in front of your director, and with your co-actors. What work do you put in behind the scenes at home as an actor to prepare yourself to bring whatever you can onto the stage and at rehearsal?

DREW: Whenever I'm looking at my lines, I'm always thinking, "How can I interact with these people? What do these lines mean?" A lot of the discovery happens as I'm learning the lines. And as you learn the lines, you realize, "Oh! That's what this line means. What can I do with that?"

I'll plan to do something interesting here, and I'll write down notes there, or a reminder to make some particular motion here. Then I practice it in rehearsal. You try it out, and the director either keeps it or not. You never know.

PALAK: I did that yesterday! I called Benedick with an idea. "When I'm doing this, you can physically stop me." He agreed to it, so we're trying it.

DREW: It's like a shower thought. You're washing your hair, and your mind wanders. "Oh, what if...?"

PALAK: Totally. In that moment, it's a brilliant idea. It's come to me. Yeah.

Okay, that's it! I can't wait to see Earnest.

DREW: This was great. I'm looking forward to Much Ado and seeing what you do as Beatrice! I'm excited for you and Heren. I think it's going to be great.