Interview with Ginette Mohr (Stella)

How did you go about developing your character?

I gathered most of my character information from the novel, which vividly characterizes the family’s will to survive. I further explored Stella through improvisation and from answering character questions such as:

How does Stella change?
How does she change those around her?
What does she want? What does she need?
How far is she prepared to go to get what she needs? What is the line she will not cross? How does the narrative challenge her with that line?
What is her worst fear?

I also watched films from the era and documentaries such as ‘Shanghai Ghetto’ and ‘Port of Last Resort’.

What did you get out of the process of developing the script?

I’ve learned so much about adapting a novel since our first workshop last July, and it is a pleasure to collaborate with such a talented group of artists. Mark Cassidy is masterful in the process of sculpting a compelling piece of theatre, and I must remember to thank him for indulging our trippy Shanghai Ghetto improvisations and patiently considering our ideas. “Hey Mark, look how I can make this suitcase talk!”

I have a binder full of drafts of the play – enough material for ‘Ten Green Bottles’, the television series. Oh, today’s debate at break was who would play our characters in the movie. If you have any thoughts on this, please let us know.


What is your favourite line?

I like when Willi (played by Nathan) mentions the “fish concoction”. Nathan had fish for lunch today and then rehearsed all afternoon with greasy fingers and a fish bone in his teeth. He’s kind of a method actor.

What challenge does the production present for you as an actor?

My challenge is in serving this incredible story, in dropping into each scene cleanly with high stakes, specific relationships and immediate intentions. It’s the old acting adage: In a place, to a person, for a reason.