Timessquare.com recently got a chance to catch up with the hard-working, talented, and very busy Tammy Blanchard after a performance of How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Having already racked up an impressive list of television and film credits, an Emmy for her portrayal of Judy Garland in Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, a Tony award for her work in the ’03 revival of Gypsy, and most recently a Tony nomination for her current role as the office vixen, Hedy LaRue, it would seem she’s well on her way to becoming one of the greats that grace the Great White Way. She’s a tireless actress who is respected for her body of work and in her down time was gracious enough to share with us a few words of wisdom and some musings about her future.

Times Square (TS): So, You just came from a matinee and you have another one this evening. You’re a very busy lady!

Tammy Blanchard (TB): Yep! And it’s pilot season, so I’m juggling many different things right now.

TS: That’s gotta be exhausting! And you go from such extremes too—From the tininess of on-camera to breaking out in to song?

TB:  It is exhausting… going from something like Of Two Minds (her Lifetime movie coming out March 10^th) playing a schizophrenic and then going right back into the show, it was a little bit jolting for me. But you know it’s good to be working! Any day that you have work, you get up and you do it-- You can be tired and the audience and your fellow actors and the orchestra get you through it. The energy is so alive. To me, Theater is the place where there’s no holds barred. It’s just you and your emotion and you can express it to where the back of the house has to feel it. And then of course there’s film where everything is more internal and those emotions are raging within you and, as you do in real life, you just try to hold them in.

TS: Gosh, movies, pilot season…Broadway…. You know, looking back it seems you’ve done quite a bit of bouncing back and forth between stage and film. Was that a conscious decision?

TB:  [laughs] I mean, apparently it’s unheard of in the theater to be allowed to do that? People say “Wow, you got out of a show to do something? Usually they have you on lockdown.” But our producers Niel (Meron) and Craig (Zadan) come from film and television so they understand that an actor needs to explore all things and they allow you to do whatever comes your way which is really unheard of. I’m definitely really thankful for that. It’s nice that I have the ability to go from say a project like Of Two Minds where it’s all drama and then go back to something like How to Succeed where it’s all comedy. It’s awesome to have something deep and internal to do where you can let out your frustrations and go mad.

TS: Those things seem so different. For example you’ve done things like The Good Shepherd, Bella, Deadline, The Ramen Girl, Gypsy, and now How to Succeed… You kinda bop around between cultures, societal contexts, and genres too! Is there any particular genre you’ve enjoyed more than others; film, tv, stage, or otherwise?

TB: Well actually for me it’s all about character and story. If it touches me and I can connect with it, whether it be through my own life experiences or someone I know, I just go to the character and let them speak. Film, television, theater, or whatever genre it is, they’re all great in their own ways. They each benefit the actor in different ways and they’re all thrilling to work in.

TS: So you’re sort of a “try everything” type of person?

TB: Yeah! Actually it’s funny, I’ve sort of been an actress that’s not well known in public but well known to people in the business because since seventeen years old I’ve been auditioning for and doing every kind of work: film, television, theater… doesn’t matter, I’ll go in. I mean, the casting directors here in New York have known me since I was a little girl who…well,  I don’t know if she couldn’t act for the life of me, but… luckily they just kept bringing me in because they knew I wanted it. They saw my desire to act, no matter what. Plus, I was fortunate enough to have a manager behind me since Guiding Light in ’97 that has never given up on me!  I was also lucky enough to do Gypsy in 2003 with Bernadette (Peters) and I learned SO much from just watching her every day on stage. And as I was learning and working my way up I was just trying to avoid “fame” and the public eye at all costs.

TS: [laughing] Actually, considering the things you’ve done, how have you avoided that?

TB: [laughing] You know after Judy Garland people wanted me to get a publicist and I was NOT ready at ALL. I told my manager a lot that it’s about the work for me. I don’t want to put myself out there until I feel I have a respectable body of work, and I don’t want to publicize “Tammy Blanchard”-- I just want people to see my work and I want to try my best to continue to put great work out there. And actually, I think it’s benefited me now because I feel like if ever do reach that level, I’ll be respected and people won’t be looking for “the dirt” as much-- they’ll focus on the work, like I have. You attract the attention you’re looking for, you know?

TS: Sounds like a solid plan for good Karma to me!

TB: I hope so!

TS: So last question…what’s the next move for you?

TB: Oh my goooooshhh, I don’t know… [laughs] Where’s the crystal ball?—I mean, I’m at the point where I have a 4-year-old little girl and this gypsy life is getting to be a little much. I’d just like to know where we’re gonna be, where she’s gonna go to school, where the house is gonna be; because with pilots you just never know. If the show gets picked up you could be on the East coast, West coast, Canada, North Carolina… My hope and my prayer is just to develop a really strong character on a t.v. show and spend a few years there and raise my daughter. But…you know if a Broadway play or musical comes along… I probably won’t be able to say no. [laughs] Wherever the wind blows me, I go!

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