Published Spring 2024
"Disguise, I see thou art a wickedness," declares Viola in act 2, scene 2 of Twelfth Night, after realizing that in disguising herself as a page boy named Cesario, she has tangled herself into a love triangle in which the person she has been charged with delivering love letters to—Olivia—has instead fallen for her. Cast to play the role of Shakespeare's cunning protagonist in the Stratford Festival's 2024 season production of Twelfth Night is Jessica B. Hill. Unlike Viola, Hill sees the beauty in disguise—on stage for the sake of storytelling, that is.
For the actor, nothing quite compares to the moment following creating something with a company of artists—the excitement that comes with waiting for a play to meet its audience. "There's a feeling of fellowship, of purpose, of having built something larger than the sum of its parts."
Hill counts up to eight seasons at Stratford this year, a tenure that includes two honing her craft with the Festival's Birmingham Conservatory under the expert tutelage of theatre icon Martha Henry. Last seen on stage in 2022's All's Well That Ends Well and Richard III (now streaming on STRATFEST@HOME), Hill returns to take on a character beloved by Shakespeare fans, in one of the Bard's most popular plays. With anticipation at a high to see a Festival favourite star in a canon classic, Hill is staying focused on the [creative] task at hand. "Theatre is a communal, ephemeral thing. Our art form is written on the wind, it all kind of 'melts into air,'" says the actor. "But what we do have is each other. We're mosaics made up of all the people who've brought us here, people whose shoulders we stand on."
At the ready to jump into disguise, here's what Hill has to say about her craft and the inspiration anchoring it.
Q. What type of stories do you gravitate toward?
Jessica: Stories that explore what makes us similar and what unites us as people. I love stories that reach toward the myth and the mundane at once. Stories that play with paradoxes, stories that examine the many forms love can take, stories that celebrate our contradictions and complexities and can crystalize them into something disarmingly relatable and wistfully simple. I love when a story makes me think of or care about a character in a way I hadn't initially considered.
Q. How do you personally interpret the purpose of theatre?
Jessica: I think the theatre is where we go to witness our collective consciousness in action. It unites us and it expands our view of the world and each other. There's something elemental and healing about gathering together in a theatre to witness a story unfold before our eyes. Theatre helps us understand what it means to be human and to exist in the world. It can teach us something about ourselves, opens us to entirely different perspectives and manages to entertain while doing it!
Q. What inspires you?
Jessica: As actors, we're bridges between human experiences. In life, I get excited about fostering connections with people I don't know, discovering what we have in common and learning something new about the world. I think it's the same thing that ignites me on stage and has always drawn me to Shakespeare.
Q. What do you think connects an actor to the audience?
Jessica: It's hard to explain, isn't it, when something moves you on stage? I think what it is, is truth. It's when I see an actor be compellingly honest, bravely intimate and lovingly detailed in their embodiment of character and their portrayal of truth. It's a live-wire connection. The actors I admire most feel like magicians: they work exceedingly hard but radiate this compelling, magnetic ease onstage. That's where the work is. I see each performance as a cherished opportunity on that continuous search for truth, ease and connection.
Q. How did it feel the first time you fully realized the theatre was where you belonged?
Jessica: There were many moments, but I think the big one was the first time I sat in an empty theatre before a show. There's this ritual that happens in the last moments of rehearsal, the actors sit in the audience and the director takes the stage to rally their company one final time. It's the moment [right before] our private sandbox transitions into a public venue. Sitting there, my first time, I felt this shift in the space... even the seats looked different. I remember feeling so deeply moved and in awe: every artist, both on stage and off, had poured themselves into a story we were about to share. I felt humbled and bigger at once; I was home. I get those same feelings every time I sit in a theatre about to be filled. It reminds me how grateful I am to be able to do the work we do.
Q. How has your approach to acting evolved since starting?
Jessica: Acting, like life, evolves with you as you grow. It never stops, you keep learning and expanding. When I was younger, I think I was looking for some kind of goalpost, a plateau, something concrete to achieve when playing a role. The wonderful realization that came with experience was that the work never stops... we're always discovering on stage, refining, exploring, deepening. The more open you are to being in the moment, the more alive the acting. I've also had, and continue to have, cherished mentors who've profoundly shaped my approach to acting. They've made me better, braver and more open to discoveries. 