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Been here, done that: Annie Potts By Carrie Moreland
In 1973 Annie graduated from Stephens College where she had starred in many productions, including Measure by Measure and Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss. Annie’s on-screen success kicked off when she landed the role of Janine Melnitz, the secretary in both of the Ghostbusters films (1984, 1989). Beginning in 1986, Annie starred on the sitcom Designing Women for seven years as Mary Jo Shively. Although she never won, Annie was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award in 1999 and 2000 for her performance as Mary Elizabeth O’Brien Sims in Lifetime’s Any Day Now (1998-2002). She also did the voiceover for Little Bo Peep in the movies Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 2 (1999). Annie now lives in L.A., but she has temporarily taken residence in Columbia, where she will be starring in the Stephens College production of Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, which runs from Dec. 5 through Dec. 7 and Dec. 10 through Dec. 13. Inside the Macklanburg Playhouse at Stephens College, in a lounge Annie said was off-limits to her as a student, Vox had the chance to chat with Annie about her return to Columbia. Entering the room in a long black sweater and dark sunglasses, Annie looked the part of a celebrity. The absence of make-up artists and frantic assistants, however, made it clear that this Tinseltown actor could step outside Hollywood and right back into the Midwest. Among the photographs of other actors who graced the stage at Stephens, Annie sat on a couch with her legs crossed and spoke in her Southern accent, faded by years away from the South. We caught up with the actress as she reminisced about her time in Columbia and on the stage where it all began. Q: What brought you to Columbia in the first place? A: My mother and my sister went here (Stephens), but it wasn’t just about that. It is one of the oldest actor-apprentice programs in the country. It was the great theater program. I don’t remember attending a single class when I was here, not to say that I didn’t go. All I remember is the theater. I watched every performance. Q: Is it a love for Stephens that has brought you back? A: Let’s put it this way: I’ve left my small children at holiday time to come here and do a play for no money. What do you call that? Q: Has the town changed much? A: It doesn’t seem to have changed much. They now have those covered walkways to keep the sleety-slushy stuff off of you. We could have used those back then. Q: Where did you live in Columbia? A: Oh, I slept around … I lived in Dearing and Lela Raney Wood (Stephens College dorms) and then, as a senior, I moved off campus into this big old clapboard house. I wasn’t really off campus, though. I lived right across the street from the administrative building. I liked dorm life. I feel that hasn’t changed. My house now seems like a dorm. Q: What were your favorites places in Columbia? A: I didn’t have a car when I was here, so this (Stephens) was pretty much the center of my universe. Now that I am experiencing Columbia as a grown-up with my own car, I am experiencing Columbia all new. Q: Were you a rebel? A: It was the early ’70s. I stole a picture of George C. Scott out of the theater. I hate to tell that story because I hate the idea of stealing something, but he was here and then went and really did something. I felt like I needed to take that with me. I still have that picture. I am getting ready to move and will find it and send it back. Q: While you’re in Columbia, any plans to do anything crazy, like streaking? A: I think I am too old to run naked. I don’t even think I could run anymore. Back to News and Events |
