Addison Williams

COL ’14
Age: 21
Hometown: Brookline, Mass.
Major: Government
Minor: Spanish and Theater

Do you feel obliged to be busy at Georgetown?
I transferred here. I went to Bates College my first year. I liked it, but I was very comfortable and in no way pushed me out of my comfort zone. I understood how to work through that classroom environment, I understood how to work through that social environment. It just made sense and I felt myself getting stuck in a rut. So I came here and I knew I was going to have a culture shift of being around very motivated and oriented people. I knew that would sweep me up in that flow, so in ways, yes, I feel obligated, but I also enjoy it. It’s maybe an obligation, but it’s one that I wanted.

What do you do on campus?
It’s kind of changed through my three years here. I do a lot of theater. I work at Vittles. I was a pretty big part of Outdoor Ed for a while, but then stopped doing that for the most part. I go to class, occasionally. Theater and Vittles, especially this year, have been what I’ve fallen into.

What’s your favorite play that you’ve done here?
“Hamlet.” It’s hard to say, but it was “Hamlet.”

What motivated you to get involved with theater?
I had done a good amount of theater in high school, but I balanced it with sports. But then I got here, and D[ivision] I sports is different and JT III is not knocking on my door asking me to play for him, so I had more time so I decided to do more theater.

How do you get into a character’s mind when you’re acting?
It’s a long process. I remember the first time we sat down and read [“Hamlet”]. I had done Shakespeare once before so I was stumbling through my words, so I think the first move was understanding the lexicon of the character, and then what he was saying. It kind of just happens. As soon as you understand what he’s saying and why he’s saying that, all of that just penetrates you and you get it. The character makes sense. 

Do you plan to continue with theater after Georgetown?
Yeah. It took me a long time to convince myself of that. It still scares the s— out of me. It took a long time to convince myself that it was an appropriate and achievable goal to pursue. I applied to some residency programs at different theaters all over the country, and had some good feedback, some bad feedback, waiting on a couple others. So I don’t know exactly what I’m doing, but hopefully one of those or a show in D.C. or a show in Boston. I’m kind of auditioning and trying to figure things out.

Do you want to stick to theater or are you interested in TV and movie work as well?
I would do whatever somebody asked me to do at this point. I think I like the theater more, but I’ve done some students films here and stuff, and I did a commercial when I was home. The commercial was so easy and I made a shit ton of money. I would absolutely do that. It’s easier, but it’s not as fulfilling as taking three months and learning a character and making a piece of art on the stage.

What does fitting in at Georgetown mean to you?
Bates is 1,700 people. I felt very comfortable and I felt connected there, but when I got here, it’s a little bigger and because of that, actually, there are smaller groups of people that you can become more intimate with. I used to think everyone was a pastel-wearing bro and being able to find the subgroups beneath that facade — which I don’t think is true now. I think Georgetown is a radically diverse school — but it just hits you in the face, that first day. I do feel more community here than I did at Bates, and I do feel more diversity here as well.

What’s your favorite class that you’ve taken here?
I’m very influenced by the professor. James Vreeland’s class on International Organizations was the best government class I ever took. Michael Ryan’s “Fundamentals of Finance” was the most practical class I’ve ever taken. The best acting class I ever took was probably Acting I. The best Spanish class I ever took was “Hispanic Cinema.” 

What’s your greatest fear?
Death. I think anyone who answers differently is wrong.

Interview by Kim Bussing