Meet the Cast of Walk Two Moons - Baize Buzan

This Walk Two Moons cast just keeps getting better and better! We are into week two of our “Meet the Cast” blog posts. As I mentioned before, we are super proud of this group of actors and up until opening on November 5^th, we will be posting cast interviews twice a week.  We thank them all for their hard work, and hope you enjoy getting to know a little more about them. Up now – yes this is her real name, Baize Buzan, who plays Phoebe!

ASC: Are there any proverbs or sayings that hold special meaning for you?

Baize: My mom is basically a walking encyclopedia of proverbs, idioms, sayings, etc... I grew up knowing - and still do! - that for every problem or bad day I had my mom would know exactly the right thing to say to make me feel better. One of her most recent wisdoms was "Always make new mistakes." I love that. "Tomorrow is another day." "If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you're right." And, one I learned as a kid when I read Walk Two Moons for the first time.... "In the course of a lifetime, what does it matter?" 

ASC: Which character in the story do you most associate with?

Baize:  One of the things I love most about Walk Two Moons is that I feel like I can identify with every character in the story. But right now, I think I most associate with Ben, because when I have a crush on someone all I want to do is stare at them, too. 

ASC: Did you have a wild imagination as a child like Phoebe?

Baize: I think we all have the potential to have imaginations as wild as Phoebe...if we allow them to go that far. I certainly had my fair share of tall tales and wacky stories that I created to spice things up. And, like Phoebe, I was really good at bringing other people on board, too.

ASC: What moment in the show has had the deepest impact on you?

Spoiler Alert, this response might reveal details about the end of the show!!!!

Baize: I am deeply affected by the scene in which Sal attempts to explain to Phoebe that a person might leave without an explanation. Watching Sal triumph over her sadness in an effort to help her friend, and witnessing Phoebe's complete inability to accept the idea Sal presents....I think it's such a beautiful moment, a place where their individual stories really converge. They're both trying so hard to be strong, and, for their own separate reasons, they're both clearly so confused and so sad. 

ASC: Have you ever been on a road trip? If so, tell us about it. If not, what is a road trip you’d like to take?

Baize: Yes! I have. I have actually been on a few road trips. I toured a show through the West a few summers back -- went from Colorado to Wyoming to Utah and, believe it or not, ended up in Idaho. I grew up on the East Coast -- it was totally amazing to see a part of the country I had never been to before. Especially a part of the country that is so remarkably gorgeous. When I moved to Chicago, I drove out here in a UHaul truck with my best friend by my side. That was a pretty crazy journey -- my car was hitched to our truck, so our entire caravan was over 40 feet long! And, most recently, I just completed a round-trip roadtrip visiting my family and friends on the East Coast. I had a friend who joined me on the way out, which was a blast, but on the way back to Chicago, I was by myself. I did the whole drive in one day -- stopped in Erie, PA, ate a sandwich on Lake Erie, and hit the road again. 

ASC: Did you read the novel? If so, how did the novel help you develop your character?

Baize: The reason I auditioned for this show was because Walk Two Moons was my favorite book growing up. I just reread it for the first time in many years and was reminded of how much it meant to me and how excellent a story it is. Revisiting the book thickened the world of the story for me, and also allowed me to peek further into the world of the Winterbottoms, as Sharon Creech originally intended. Unlike the Phoebe we see in the play, Phoebe has a sister in the book, and there is a lot of additional time spent in the Winterbottom household. This helped me further understand the kind of life Phoebe is used to having, before her mother disappears. 

ASC: What connection do you have to your character?

Baize: Like Phoebe, I have big blue eyes, a big imagination, admire those who are brave, and love my mother very much. 

ASC: What do you think the message of this story is?

Baize: Oh, gosh. There are so many! I think that is part of this story's power - that there are endless things to learn, and that for each person, it is probably something different. Lately, the message that sticks with me the most is something Sal says in the book -- "She was my mother, and she was part of me." 

ASC: What challenges have you faced or do you anticipate facing with this production?

Baize:  As such a fan of the book, I am curious to see how our ensemble will approach the givens in the book that are not addressed in our script - whether we can use them in our imaginations, or whether the world we create with our play will live outside of the world in the book. I think of it as less of a challenge, and more of an exciting adventure -- I have never worked on a world-premiere adaptation before!

ASC: What are you hoping someone will ask you after the show?

Baize:  Have you ever walked two moons in someone else moccasins?

Thank you Baize! We can’t wait to see you bring Phoebe to life on stage. As always, special thanks to Merissa Shunk for doing the interviewing. We’ll post another actor’s interview on Tuesday, so be sure to check back for more!