{"id":150377,"date":"2025-08-16T11:35:27","date_gmt":"2025-08-16T11:35:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/150377\/"},"modified":"2025-08-16T11:35:27","modified_gmt":"2025-08-16T11:35:27","slug":"stranger-things-star-alison-jaye-on-her-transition-from-child-to-adult-actor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/150377\/","title":{"rendered":"Stranger Things Star Alison Jaye on Her Transition From Child to Adult Actor"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been more than 15 years since Alison\u00a0Jaye made her Broadway debut as a child actor, playing Louise\u00a0in the 2008 revival of Stephen Sondheim<\/a> and James Lapine<\/a>‘s\u00a0Sunday in the Park With George.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0BAFTA nominee, who later appeared as the young daughter\u00a0Jane Banks in Disney’s\u00a0Mary Poppins<\/a>,\u00a0is currently back on Broadway playing a\u00a0high school student in the New York premiere of the London hit\u00a0Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Based on an original story by the Duffer Brothers, Jack Thorne<\/a>,
\nand Kate Trefry, the new sci-fi\u00a0drama at Broadway’s\u00a0Marquis Theatre is\u00a0set in the world of the long-running\u00a0hit Netflix series Stranger Things. Penned by Trefry with direction\u00a0by Stephen Daldry<\/a> and co-direction by Justin Martin, the play follows a young Henry Creel, who\u00a0moves to Hawkings, Indiana, in
\n1959, encountering\u00a0high school versions of\u00a0Stranger Things
\ncharacters Jim Hopper, Bob Newby, and Joyce\u00a0Maldonado,\u00a0the latter\u00a0role created on screen by Winona Ryder and on Broadway\u00a0by\u00a0Jaye.<\/p>\n

Although she hasn’t appeared on the Main Stem\u00a0in over a decade, the young artist has garnered more widespread acclaim through her work on screen.\u00a0She gained recognition playing Julia Nicolo in the tenth season of Shameless and appeared alongside Sigourney Weaver<\/a> and
\nElizabeth Banks<\/a> in Call Jane. She\u00a0recently starred in ABC\u2019s High Potential\u00a0and\u00a0earned her BAFTA nomination for her performance as\u00a0Alva in\u00a0Horizon: Forbidden West.<\/p>\n

In the interview below for the Playbill series How Did I Get
\nHere\u2014spotlighting not only actors, but directors, designers, musicians,
\nand others who work on and off the stage to create the magic that is
\nlive theatre\u2014Jaye\u00a0shares how she blended the TV Joyce with her high school version,\u00a0her admiration for actor Marin Ireland<\/a>, and\u00a0a touching memory of Stephen Sondheim.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tAlison Jaye, Juan Carlos, and Burke Swanson in Stranger Things: The First Shadow
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMatthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

Where did you train\/study?
<\/strong>Alison Jaye<\/a>:\u00a0<\/strong>I
\n truthfully believe that my training began with my first professional
\njob, which was Stephen Sondheim\u2019s Sunday in the Park With George at
\nRoundabout\u2019s Studio 54 when I was 10 years old. That company, the
\ncast, and experience opened my eyes to just about everything. At such a
\nyoung age, I was taken under the wing of these astonishing artists from
\nLondon to New York and shown the true value of work ethic, diligence,
\ncraft, trust, creativity, and passion. A practical application of the
\ncraft that I got to watch shape shift every day in the rehearsal room to
\n the stage to performance, time and time again. The most vivid of times
\nfor me, still.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That show began my career as a child actress, which led me
\n to more opportunities on Broadway working with phenomenal artists that
\ncontinued to shape who I am while showing me the ropes. When they say, \u201clife is your biggest teacher,\u201d I thoroughly believe that to be true. It
\n is all of our experience in the world that trains us and shapes us. I
\nthen continued my education in California at USC\u2019s BFA Acting program \u00a0,which had me in Los Angeles learning and working for the past 11\u00a0years. And now I am finally home, back on the stage in New York where it
\n all began for me, learning new things every single day with our family
\nover at\u00a0Stranger Things: The First Shadow. <\/p>\n

Was there a teacher who was particularly impactful\/helpful? What made this instructor stand out?
<\/strong>I
\n absolutely must give an honorable mention here to my directors, Stephen
\n Daldry and Justin Martin. Not just directors, brilliant teachers and
\nleaders. These two men have single-handedly changed who I am as an
\nartist and as a performer. With young adults in the arts, or frankly,
\nany career, I think the most impactful and vital people are those that
\nempower you to look inwards, all the while celebrating the uniqueness of
\n what you hold as an individual. When I began working on this project
\naround three years ago, back in the workshop phase in Los Angeles, I was
\n in a very different emotional place with who I was and what I believed
\nwere my limitations as an artist. We all have self-limiting beliefs, and
\n this industry certainly can convolute the truth of what you may believe
\n possible for yourself. And while I felt like I was in a period of
\nemotional transition and searching for where I belonged in this
\nindustry, phasing out of a career as a child actress and carving out new
\n space for my blooming voice as an adult, it was Stephen and Justin who
\ntook me under their wing and and celebrated me and my spirit, creating
\nthe most safe environment to explore character work and show up with all
\n of me.<\/p>\n

To recall one of the earliest days of working with Daldry in our
\n rehearsal space in Los Angeles for the workshop, he said to me, \u201cI want
\n you to bring out every color of who you are.\u201d As a young woman, to be
\ncelebrated by such legendary artists and encouraged to show up as your
\nfull self with all of your quirks is very rare. We are often told we are
\n \u201ctoo much,\u201d and these men instead shined a mirror back at me and said,
\n\u201cNothing is ever too much. It is your soul we are interested in.\u201d What
\nbigger gift is there for an artist? <\/p>\n

What was your process like trying to bring the Joyce of the series to
\nthe stage while making the character your own? Did you try to capture
\nWinona Ryder’s vocal inflections?
<\/strong>I
\n love this question because while it may seem like there must be an
\nunbelievable amount of external pressure to \u201cnail\u201d one of the most
\niconic characters in one of the largest IPs we have in the current
\nstreaming era, this process has been nothing short of utterly freeing.
\nThat \u201cpressure\u201d was nowhere to be found most days, especially while
\ncreating Joyce in the rehearsal space. Kate Trefry, our brilliant
\nwriter, has been writing for the series since season two, so to have her
\nin the room daily over all these years of working, watching the script
\ntransition in so many ways, watching my character grow, and find her
\nvoice was thrilling. Kate was a key advocate for celebrating my specific
\n voice as a young woman while also tying in the invisible thread of the
\nseries and making sure everything was in sync. The freedom felt is also
\nbecause our show takes place 30 years prior to the TV show. So as my
\nbrilliant friend and co-star Burke Swanson<\/a>, who plays Hopper, says,
\n\u201cIt\u2019s helpful to take three things from the TV show, from our characters and
\n celebrate those things.\u201d Things like certain mannerisms, vocal
\ninflections, or even the way the character walks; those are all
\nanchors. Those things were so helpful to have in my toolbox to connect
\nto Winona and her work as Joyce in the TV show so many years prior. For
\nme, a lot of the work I loved to do on this project to honor Joyce was a
\n bit of an \u201coutside in\u201d process. I am moved by Ryder\u2019s physicality and
\nhow she holds herself in the space and the way that energy is felt on
\nscreen. Even things like watching how she moves her jaw and the tension
\nheld there. For me, finding the physicality brought me toward her voice
\nand helped me marry the worlds of young Joyce and the beloved Joyce on
\nthe series.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tJuan Carlos, Alison Jaye, Burke Swanson, Louis McCartney, and Gabrielle Nevaeh
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMichaelah Reynolds<\/p>\n

There are a lot of moving parts in Stranger Things. What has been the most memorable mishap or close call?
<\/strong>While
\n all 34 cast members are working on stage every night inside one big
\nmagical machine, we then have endless more brilliant bodies and minds
\nbackstage making this thing flow smoothly. It truly takes a village, and
\n we have the best, most hard-working crew on Broadway. We work hand in
\nhand every day with technology, our other “co-star,” and we are
\nconstantly negotiating the timing of the magic mixed with the
\nchoreography of the cast. Massive set pieces moving in and out all of
\nthe time, some being flown into the ceiling while others needing to
\nphysically be pushed by crew and cast. One of my favorite “mishaps”
\noccurred early on in the production, when we had a show stop due to a
\ntechnical issue. Later, in the second act, I have a line where I say
\nthat we have to pause the (scripted) show, and in this instance I said,
\n“Ladies and gentleman, we had to pause the production again!” The
\n audience erupted. It’s those moments, where we are tasked with thinking
\n on our feet to make the magic happen when the technical aspects glitch,
\n that I love the most.<\/p>\n

Do you have a favorite moment in the show for Joyce? What makes that part particularly special?
<\/strong>There
\n is a scene we call \u201cthe house is open\u201d in Act 2, where Joyce is
\nfrantically searching for Henry trying to put on the school play, The Dark of the Moon, with only four minutes to spare. It is pure chaos. So
\n many of us are onstage at that point running around in a stunningly,
\nchaotically choreographed way. This scene constantly feels like the
\nOlympics for me out there. It is an amazing test of endurance, vocal
\nclarity, and intention. Still now, with 100+ shows under our belt, I am
\nlearning something every night about how to lock into this moment with
\neven more specificity and heart. And second to this, Kate Trefry wrote
\nHopper and Joyce a brilliant scene at the top of Act 2\u2014it’s the first
\nscene you see the two of us in together in this act\u2014that we call
\n\u201cMexico.\u201d It is without any technicality, where we negotiate our
\nrelationship, our dreams, and our fears about the future, all while
\npaying homage to young love, replete with confusion, anger, frustration,
\n and longing. To work this moment every night into a show that is so
\nmagical and larger than life, to lock into a scene where all we have is
\nsimply just one another trying to fight to see what is best in the other
\n person, is just one example of the golden nuggets Kate has given us.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tAlison Jaye, Jessica Molaskey, Drew McVety, Brynn O’Malley, Jessica Grove, Daniel Evans, Michael Cumpsty, and Jenna Russell
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tJoan Marcus<\/p>\n

You played Louise in the 2008 revival of Sunday in the Park. Do you have a favorite memory of that experience, either working with the cast or Stephen Sondheim?
<\/strong>I
\n have this visual\/memory seared into my mind, of our final performance,
\nwhere I recall holding my stage mother\u2019s hand during the finale, the
\nlegendary Jessica Molaskey<\/a>, and being unable to make sound while snot
\nand tears were running down both of our faces. This was true of the full
\n company onstage. The orchestra was playing with such heart, and it was
\nalmost like a moment of silence for this work, for this experience.
\nThrough tear-stained eyes, I remember looking out directly at Stephen
\nSondheim seeing him holding his heart with both hands, standing up in
\nthe first row, weeping. This is how much this show meant to all of us.
\nIt was one of the hardest goodbyes of my young life. <\/p>\n

Do you have any dream stage roles and\/or actors you would like to work with?
<\/strong>Endless
\n dreams, endless roles I hope to take a stab at one day. I have always
\nbeen someone who loves dark family dramas and stories that bring out all
\n of the gunk we live through over time in this large web of life. One of
\n the actresses that astounds me, and I dream to meet and work with in
\nthis capacity is Marin Ireland. Her work onstage is profoundly moving to
\n me\u2014her physicality and sense of self feels rare and singular in all
\nof the work she does. My mother has been taking me to watch her perform
\nin more shows than I can count. Marin is a magnet onstage, someone who
\nis unabashedly herself and has a way of tearing words and sentences
\napart in each role that feels like a direct gut punch of expression. Her
\n way with language touches me. There is a feralness to her artistic
\nexpression that is so inspiring for me as a woman. Her strength,
\nvulnerability, and the way it filters through her instrument takes my
\nbreath away each and every time.<\/p>\n

What advice would you give your younger self or anyone starting out?
<\/strong>Bring
\n out your weird. To not push the things down that make you, you, to fit
\ninto any box. Especially as a woman and being a young girl in this
\nindustry growing up and finding my voice, it is easy to get caught up
\nreading breakdowns and feeling you need to be more of this or less of
\nthis or different than who you are. Our job as actors is to give casting
\n a window into who we are and what our voice and perspective lend and
\nsee if with the text provided, we reach them in collaboration. How can
\nwe put our best foot forward with our most honest self if we don\u2019t dare
\nto show them? You must be brave to let people hear your perspective and
\nsee who you really are, who you are becoming. <\/p>\n

What do you wish you knew starting out that you know now?
<\/strong>That
\n it is never too late to \u201cbecome again.\u201d To try on a new hat
\n(metaphorically) and share that perspective as an artist. We all change
\nso much through the years. I think it was a huge learning lesson for me,
\n transitioning from a child actor to the actor I am now as an adult.
\nFinding that voice can be tricky and convoluted. Saying goodbye to an
\nold self and allowing a new one to come into focus while bringing all
\nthat experience with you. You have not \u201cmissed the boat\u201d or \u201cmissed your
\n chance for success.\u201d There are so many seasons of life, those in which
\nyou may be feeling more confident and in your power, those that make you
\n question every little step and decision. And with age I have begun to
\nsee time passing with or without a job as a teacher, as fodder for the
\nwork and as a crucial part of being an artist. To me, it is all about
\ntenacity, sticking it out and staying the course. In not quitting, and
\ndigging deeper to find your voice and what makes your spirit move and
\nwhat work moves you. There is no rush. The right things and people and
\nprojects will find you and you them if you are committed to the craft
\nand to showing up as your honest, blooming, curious self. <\/p>\n

In such difficult times in this country and around the world, how do
\nyou think theatre can play a positive role, either for yourself and\/or
\nthe community at large?
<\/strong>Stranger
\n Things: The First Shadow has been the perfect example of how theatre
\ncan hold us up and show us new ways to dream in such trying times. Since
\n the beginning of time, it has been storytelling that saves us, keeping
\nour imagination running and opening new doors of the mind. An escape, if
\n you will, when most needed. Thousands of people will take their seats
\nevery night and be transported to a new universe with new rules,
\nallowing them to forget about the hardships of the day, the week, the
\nmonth, the year, and become fully immersed in a story with beautiful,
\ncomplicated lessons with new neighbors by their side experiencing the
\nsame thing in real time. The gift of live theatre is invaluable.
\nEspecially in trying times, there is nothing more important than
\ncommunity, and live theatre allows this rare negotiation between
\nstrangers to all buy into the same world together, a brand-new one, and
\ndare to dream bigger. It\u2019s like the world stops for a moment in these
\nspaces. New conversations, perspectives, and dialogue is what good
\nstorytelling gives us\u2014it is through all of this that change is
\ninspired. <\/p>\n

What is your proudest achievement as an actor?
<\/strong>Without
\n a doubt, the relationships that I have built with other artists through
\n each process and experience. The people I have taken with me past the
\njourney of the project and then the sewing of the web of artists getting
\n to know one another and sharing in new ideas over the years is the
\ncherry on top for me. Moving back for this project from Los Angeles
\nafter 11 years, all I wanted was a deep sense of community that I
\ndidn\u2019t have to let go of so quickly that can often happen in the film
\nand TV world. I journaled about it daily and visualized what a strong
\ncommunity would look like\u2014this precious gift we give each other with
\nlive theatre, each show being like a new family under a circus tent
\nevery night. And I got my wish this time. My pride comes from the people
\n I get to stand next to every night. The artists that I am constantly
\nlearning from and growing alongside\u2014what a gift we can give each other
\n in this way. I am so proud of my ever-growing community and the people
\nwho have been mirrors to me to show me parts of myself that I didn\u2019t
\nknow lived within me, then allowing me to toss that same gift back to
\nthem. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t0
\n\t\t\t\tof<\/p>\n

\t\t\tPhotos: Stranger Things: The First Shadow on Broadway<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tPhotos: Stranger Things: The First Shadow on Broadway<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t19 PHOTOS<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Louis McCartney in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Company of Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Company of Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Louis McCartney and Alex Breaux in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

T.R. Knight in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Gabrielle Nevaeh and Louis McCartney in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Louis McCartney in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Gabrielle Nevaeh in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Louis McCartney in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Manuel Harlan<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Louis McCartney in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Company of Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Company of Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Louis McCartney in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Manuel Harlan<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Alex Breaux and Louis McCartney in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Louis McCartney and Gabrielle Nevaeh in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Alison Jaye, Juan Carlos, and Burke Swanson in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

T.R. Knight, Louis McCartney, and Rosie Benton in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Company of Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Stranger<\/p>\n

Louis McCartney in Stranger Things: The First Shadow<\/p>\n

Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s been more than 15 years since Alison\u00a0Jaye made her Broadway debut as a child actor, playing Louise\u00a0in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":150378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[5229,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-150377","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-new-york","10":"tag-new-york-city","11":"tag-newyork","12":"tag-newyorkcity","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-united-states","16":"tag-united-states-of-america","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","19":"tag-us","20":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115038239045482114","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}