“10 Things” is a regular feature in which the Sioux Falls Stage staff answers 10 burning questions with a performing artist — this time we feature a local theatre performer, Malle Driscoll, who has played both the Orpheum and Pavilion stages, in Lights Up Productions’ Lost in Vegas and Mystery, as well as the Good Night Theatre Collective’s Salem and Sense & Sensibility.

1. What is the single-most defining moment of your arts career?

This is going to sound coerced, but truly it was being nominated for a Sioux Falls Stage Award. I lost my confidence in performing for a few years during and after college, and I stopped acting all together. It was actually Lights Up Productions where I found my footing again. Brent Grosvenor poured so much encouragement into me, and then the connections I’ve made with the Good Night Theatre Collective have returned me to myself. The pinnacle of all that has been the nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Play (Sense & Sensibility, 2024). To be seen as a valuable and effective performer by artists that I have so much admiration for… I cannot put it into words.

2. Describe the moment you knew you wanted to be a performer.

It feels less like there is one defining moment and more so that so many small moments over time added the weight that tipped the scale and became this thing that I cannot live without. But one of the heavier moments was in high school performing as Jennie Mae in Jim Leonard, Jr. 's The Diviners. We adapted it and brought it to the state One-Act Festival, and I had the final scene all to myself. We were running fairly close to the time limit usually, but in the excitement of the competition, the show ran fast for our festival performance. Before I went out for this heart-wrenching finale, my director, Melanie Sittig, pulled me aside and told me to take all the time I needed. So alone on stage in front of a packed theater, I was able to really settle into the profound grief of that character and give her time and space to mourn her little brother. There was such a visceral response from that audience that it still gives me chills almost 15 years later.

3. What’s your theatre warm-up routine?

Of course, we begin with a playlist, mostly filled with all the big, belty Broadway songs so that I can feel confident in my range for whatever show I’m in. Once I actually arrive at the theater and am getting ready, I am either reciting lines in my head or thinking through all my entrances and exits for the whole show. I derive most of my character’s personality and emotions from physicality, so I do a lot of pacing in character backstage. And finally, triple-check my props and mic and all the logistical things so I can focus on the magic, not the mechanics.

Malle Driscoll (right) performs alongside Whitney Rappana in *Sense & Sensibility* with the Good Night Theatre Collective in Spring 2024.

4. Highlight three of your proudest theatre résumé moments.

(1) Being hired as a theatre educator and director at Jefferson High School

(2) Attending my directorial training at Yale University

(3) Releasing my fifth (soon to be sixth!) audiobook narration on Audible

5. Whom do you consider your greatest performing influences?

I cannot put my finger on a major performing influence, because I find I am most impacted by the seemingly insignificant moments of performances I see. For instance, in Maddie Lukomski’s performance as Wendla in GNTC’s Spring Awakening last season, she very purposefully and in character rubbed her eye during the performance. It was so human and genuine and the way she did it communicated her youth and innocence. I just love the tick of a jaw muscle or a twitch of an eyebrow in a live performance. Seeing those tiny, detailed choices challenges me in my craft.

Malle Driscoll performs in the fall 2019 Lights Up production of *Mystery!* at the Orpheum Theater in Sioux Falls.

6. What’s your go-to post-show wrap-party menu?

No matter the season, I am always in the mood for a BLT sandwich and a sweet tea.

7. If you were banished to a deserted island and could only bring three play or musical scripts with you, which three would you select?

Monster Songs by Rob Rokicki
Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg
The Old Man and The Old Moon by PigPen Theatre Company

8. What’s your favorite non-theatre-related pastime?

I love spending time outdoors. My favorite is to road-trip to a national park and hike as many trails as possible.

9. What’s your hope for the next generation of theatre artists?

I interact with some of the next generation of theatre artists every day, and that opportunity is so incredibly precious to me. What I work to instill in them more than anything else is that it does not matter how much talent you have — if you cannot treat people well, you cannot create any story worth telling with them.

10. Give advice to fellow theatre artists in just five words.

Deep breath — do it scared.

10 Things with Malle Driscoll