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Louiselle Vassallo is an actress and singer who also finds time to lecture at the university and handle her responsibilities as a manager at MediaLink. She has been acting for some years now and is a regular face on the Maltese stage. Although extremely busy she has a main role in Actinghouse Productions black comedy Dinner in which she plays a bitch-hostess. 
What inspired you to act, any family inspiration?
I guess you could call it “family inspiration” in that, from a very young age, my parents exposed me to the world of theatre in an indirect way. I remember them relating amusing anecdotes on when they were young and used to take part in productions. Also, one of my earliest memories is my mother narrating the Merchant of Venice (kids version). At age seven I honestly believed that Shylock was an incredibly fascinating character.
How do you balance your life between lecturing at university, your position at Media Link Communications and theatre?
Erm, I’m not sure if I do! I try to catch up with everything … except sleep. Then there are those days when I’m completely exhausted and have to force myself to miss out on a part of my social life (sigh!) so as to get some shuteye.
Of all the roles you have played which remain the most memorable and why?
Most recently it would have to be Sally Bowles in Cabaret. Apart from the obvious difficulty in playing such a role because of the responsibility one holds, I knew that people would have compared my performance to that of Liza Minelli, which I naturally steered away from. I can’t even start to describe at what frequency my knees were knocking before each and every performance, telling myself “why do I put myself through this? WHY?” (I go through this before each and every performance)… but all is forgotten once the performance starts.
Then there’s Toine in Piaf, which was also one of those roles I enjoyed tremendously, mainly because of the comic element involved (and because it had such a fantastic cast). Another is Nelly Forbush in South Pacific, for the unbelievable number of songs it had. On the second night, I actually sang the wrong song in one of the scenes. I have to thank Colin Zammit Lupi (what a voice!) for coming to the rescue on seeing the constipated look I gave him as soon as I realised I was warbling the wrong lyrics… and tune… I almost changed the plot! Oh, and Laura Wingfield in The Glass Menagerie, because it was one of the most difficult characters I had to personify.
Are there actors you admire?
Course there are. Local these include Jes Camilleri, Charlotte Stafrace, Kevin Drake, Isabelle Warrington, Alan Montanaro, Marylou Coppini, Chris Dingli, Stefan Cachia Zammit… I know I’ve left some out and I promise to apologise in person! Internationally, well there’s Johnny Depp, not only for aesthetic reasons (faint!), but also because of his choice of characters, Meryl Streep, John Cusack, Alberto Sordi, Ewan McGregor, Audrey Hepburn… the list is endless!
What can you tell us about your role in 'Dinner'?
I play Paige. She’s wealthy, she’s bitter and she’s a bitch, but only because she’s wounded inside (all together now … aaahhh!). I’m sure that anyone watching will feel that Paige vocalises thoughts everybody has, but can’t verbalise because they’re so brutally blunt and, at points, downright rude. In fact, playing Paige has some very liberating moments.
What is theatre adding to your life?
It’s just the thrill of the performance itself! I do have the “I have no time for this anymore,” moments, but I always end up giving in when a good part comes along.
Did you ever have to prepare for a role in ways where you had to change your physical appearance or mental state? What can you tell us about those experiences?
Well, if you mean method acting, I’m not of that school, and I guess few actors are in Malta, but when we were rehearsing for Cabaret, because of the stamina needed, all the cast had to get really fit and tony bezzina, our director, made sure that we did. Choreography sessions were like a navy seal training camp – we’d leave the premises crawling. But it paid off because, apart from being able to breathe normally whilst singing, dancing and coping with nerves (it’s not easy, honestly), I ended up with a flat stomach and no “wobble” whatsoever (girls you know what I mean).
Then there were instances where the change was cosmetic, like when I played Mrs Bumble in Oliver – I was padded all over and looked like flowered armchair on legs, or as Mrs Wobblebottom (Tarzan panto) for which I had a false set hips which made me look like the back end of an old Maltese bus! I also played an old woman with one buttock (yes, one buttock) in Candide – that made me look very lop-sided!
Any future plans?
Hmmm… theatre-wise nothing concrete, especially because I don’t really have time to take part in more than one (or maybe two) productions a year. My life in general? The list is endless: further my career, get fit, start eating healthily (though without giving up chocolate – that’s one thing I refuse to even consider), buy a house, learn Spanish, start a ceramic course, learn to play the guitar, write a film script, go to Namibia, attend a dance class… shall I go on?
If you could change three things in Malta what would they be?
Off the top of my head? If it were up to me I would definitely brainwash everyone into becoming animal lovers, so that there wouldn’t be any form animal cruelty. I would also change the driving ethic (what ethic?) on our roads – I refuse to succumb to road rage, but on some days it’s close to impossible. I mean, how hard can it be to extend a muscle when flicking the indicator on? And on a less serious note… would someone please re-design the Wardens’ uniforms? It’s bad enough that they are not what one would call… ahem… popular, but to have to walk around in that outfit! … erm, at this point I guess it would be wise to request that my photo be removed from this page?
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