Sitting in the student lounge of the Stevens Building, it’s nearing the end of the fall semester when Kaitlyn Cheng sits down for an interview. She’s very excited to talk about her work as she prepares to graduate in May. Some students at NIU are pursuing engineering, others education. Cheng’s calling is that of an actor. 

A few weeks prior to our interview in December, Cheng performed in the NIU School of Theatre and Dance’s production of “Three Sisters,” which I saw in November. I was in DeKalb waiting to watch my teaching assistant in my Introduction to Theatre course perform. When the lights went up, I was in Russia and Kaitlyn Cheng was no longer there. Instead, there was a young Russian woman dreaming of life in Moscow.

Raised in Los Angeles, Cheng grew up surrounded by the culture of her mother’s homeland Hong Kong. Cantonese was her first language and Cheng watched the films of Hong Kong movie stars Tony Leung and Jackie Chan. 

In middle school, Cheng began acting, starting with plays in middle school. One of her earliest memories involving the stage was when she was able to brandish a firearm, albeit a prop, but the real turning point was when she took part in a musical in eighth grade.

“Something inside me awakened and I knew that I had to pursue this art form,” Cheng said. 

She first gave thought to pursue acting as a career when she saw the musical “Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark” on a class field trip. Created by acclaimed auteur Julie Taymor, the web-slinging musical, with songs by Bono and The Edge, is commonly regarded as one of the most disastrous musicals in the history of Broadway. But the incredible stunts and seeing the Amazing Spider-Man swing around was exciting to a young Cheng. 

Watching a musical sparked a passion

This excitement for theater turned into love as Cheng pursued an undergraduate degree at a conservatory where she received good training. However, the program was exhausting to Cheng’s mental health. 

Now at NIU’s School of Theatre and Dance, Cheng has worked alongside several faculty at NIU, most notably Patricia Skarbinski, who was the head of NIU’s MFA acting program until 2021.

“The way (Skarbinski) taught acting was that she taught us to express ourselves,” Cheng said. “She was able to explain her motives. She was meant to teach and she taught us to method act safely.” 

In her studies, Cheng learned the craft of Stanislavski’s Method where, through physical or mental exercises, an actor embodies the character they’re portraying. 

“The most important thing as an actor is to keep your mind safe,” Cheng said. “Inhabiting a different person can be dangerous if done poorly.”

During her time at NIU, Cheng has participated in multiple productions, including “The Wolves,” The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui” and “Bike America.” Her crowning achievement was her performance as Irina Sergeyevna Prozorova in last semester’s production of “Three Sisters” by Anton Chekov.

Set in early 20th century Russia, the play follows the titular siblings, alongside their brother, as they try to find some happiness in the world that increasingly lacks it. Irina is the youngest and most hopeful sister, who lives in the Russian countryside. Her family is from Moscow and moved away with their now-deceased father. Irina and all of her siblings desperately want to move back to Moscow and all of Irina’s decisions are in pursuit of that goal.

The ability to be free in the role

Since Irina is a role that has been played for a century, there is not really a definitive performance. This results in a greater range of freedom for actors. 

“I don’t believe in (role) ownership, especially in theater,” Cheng said. “I believe that when you’re given a role, you are now the caretaker of that role. I’m looking at this as a caretaker, as an actor, and telling the story that is meant to be told.” 

After earning the role through auditions, Cheng rehearsed alongside six MFA candidates and five undergraduate students for two months. One of those undergraduates was Andrea Shapiro, a senior BFA acting major.

“Kaitlyn is one of the most professional actresses I’ve interacted with, especially in terms of actors’ consent,” Shapiro said. “Kaitlyn always asks if what she’s doing in a scene makes everyone comfortable, and she genuinely cares about the wellbeing of the professionals around her, which is a breath of fresh air.”

Throughout rehearsals of “Three Sisters,” Cheng noted that the actors’ commitment and ease to work created a warm atmosphere that actors hope for. 

“It’s easy to work with a cast when you like them,” Cheng said.

Also making for a positive working environment was Alexander Gelman’s direction. His work on the play and his willingness to give actors creative freedom resulted in what Cheng considered to be a “brilliant” vision. The spirit of theater always rested on everyone’s collective drive to make this play come to life. 

“‘Three Sisters’ wouldn’t happen without my ‘sisters,’ actors, director and techies,” Cheng said. “Theater doesn’t happen without each other.”

Throughout Cheng’s performance was a constant struggle to utilize the techniques she learned to understand her character. Playing this character, Cheng constantly asked herself, “What does Irina want?”

“She brought an insurmountable amount of joy, grief, fear, numbness, every possible feeling a character could possibly feel,” Shapiro said. “It’s so easy with text like Chekhov to make these characters so naturally depressed because, well, that’s Russian theater. But Kaitlyn made her character Irina completely dynamic and three-dimensional, all while also being a joy to work with in the ensemble. She made my role as an actor so much easier because of how talented she is. She made me want to work my hardest every day.”

Many opportunities to come

After the play’s run ended on Nov. 13, Cheng is now finishing up her MFA degree. Following graduation, she wants to move to Chicago and make her mark on the Windy City’s theater scene. With her life, Cheng wants to focus entirely on acting. She might eventually consider directing, but that is a long way in the future.

When I interviewed Cheng, I asked her who her favorite actors were and she talked about the brilliance of Rachel McAdams, Dev Patel and Carey Mulligan. The last of these stuck out because in 2020, Mulligan starred in the film “Promising Young Woman,” which is what Cheng certainly is. 

Throughout Cheng’s journey as an actor, she knows one thing about the craft: It’s not instantaneous. It takes patience, dedication and a desire to be better all the time. 

“It makes you feel alive,” Cheng said.