"Dial M" for Magnetic: An Inside Look at Everyman Theatre's Dynamic Collaboration

Megan Anderson (L) and Beth Hylton (R) in "DIAL M FOR MURDER" - Courtesy of Teresa Castracane Photography

By Frankie Kujawa
The transformative performances that Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre has a reputation for staging have become beloved by all of Charm City’s audiences.  Their Resident Company boasts some of the highest-quality performers within the mid-Atlantic region.   Two of those performers, Beth Hylton and Megan Anderson, are currently showcasing their dramatic magnetism in DIAL M FOR MURDER.  With an extended run now through Sunday, January 7th, Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of the Frederick Knott classic murder mystery is a heart-pounding tale of deception and betrayal. Hylton and Anderson recently chatted about the current production, the magic of being an Everyman Resident Company member, and the relationship they have forged as both cast-mates and real-life friends. 

Do you recall the first Everyman Theatre production that you worked on together?
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Beth Hylton: My first show at Everyman was AND A NIGHTINGALE SANG [Directed by Founding Artistic Director, Vincent M. Lancisi] in 2007. So...16 years? Megan Anderson was my sister! It was a sweet play that was first made famous in the United States by Steppenwolf Theatre and was very much an ensemble piece. Megan and I had a few scenes together (one very funny), and I remember being absolutely knocked out by her as an actor. I felt very lucky to be cast alongside her.

​Megan Anderson: I remember Beth coming in to audition for NIGHTINGALE and I thought, "Good lord, who IS this woman?? She's amazing!" When we worked on it together, I was in awe of Beth's availability and intelligence and nuance. She was the beating heart of that play.​

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Could you describe your collaborative process when working together?

Beth Hylton: Since that first show we have worked together in many, many productions. We have played sisters numerous times, best friends, enemies, frenemies, and fellow warriors (of a sort) in THE REVOLUTIONISTS. We were delighted to get to be in love with each other as Margot and Maxine in DIAL M FOR MURDER--the only incarnation of relationship we had yet to get to do! I would say we are both instinctive actors, but also use the map of the play--a bit like detectives. Always looking for clues. The great thing about having so much history as actors together is that we get to dive right into the meat of the play on rehearsal one. It is a real gift. Our fellow company member Helen Hedman described watching us like watching two dogs who know each other well at a dog park--so much of the communication between us is nonverbal. We are in week 4 of the run of DIAL M FOR MURDER and I know every night we are both discovering more and digging deeper.​

Megan Anderson:  Yes!! What Beth said! I love building plays and relationships with Beth. She has the most collaborative spirit and she's so intuitive and smart. She's also super generous. We're always talking about the work and trying out new things. Just tonight, with only 10 more performances to go, Beth discovered something she wanted to try and we did it and it played beautifully. It's like collaborating on a painting and you keep adding shades and colors. I know when Beth and I are cast together that we're going to mine the work for everything we can and it's the most rewarding thing! ​

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What would you say is the other’s best strength that helps you to play off of when performing in front of an audience? 

Beth Hylton: Megan is, I think, the most present actor I know.  I said the first time I worked with her--and still believe--I could just sit with her and look at her and say the words in the right order and feel we are telling a layered, nuanced story. 

Megan Anderson: Beth is so good at sharing the story with the audience. She takes all that inner work and calibrates it JUST SO, so that everyone can see and feel it. As her scene partner, I get the front seat, but the person in the back row will also have that access and it still feels intimate and personal.

Megan Anderson (L) and Beth Hylton (R) in "DIAL M FOR MURDER" - Courtesy of Teresa Castracane Photography

Why is it important for artists to establish a positive working relationship in regard to working as part of a cast? 

Beth Hylton: We are called on as actors to do very delicate things and live inside difficult circumstances often.  While we understand we are making pretend, if we do our jobs correctly, inside of the work our bodies and minds and spirits get to feel they are living in those imagined circumstances.  It is utterly imperative to have a safe--and in fact, sacred--place to work and build. It allows for nano-moments of truth - things the audience may never see, but which make the stage life look real and believable. So, to have that kind of safety, trust, honesty in discourse BUILT IN to all we do at Everyman is utterly unique in my experience. I, myself, feel very blessed.

Megan Anderson: I feel so incredibly blessed, as well. It’s awesome to know that no matter where your character has to go emotionally and physically, your teammates/friends/co-creators are there to lift you up and envelope you.

Beth Hylton (L) and Megan Anderson (R) in "CRY IT OUT" - Courtesy of Julia Junghans

How does Everyman Theatre foster performers in a manner that allows them to build community amongst each other as castmates?

Beth Hylton: I think the mere fact of our working with each other in such dynamic ways builds community.  We aren't typecast the way so many actors complain of being, and as a result we encourage each other to grow as artists.  And I think for the audience it allows them to invest their own imaginations. They get to forget who we are in a way because they become part of the creative process. They see us perform together in so many ways, in so many roles. 
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Megan Anderson: Again-what Beth said! And, because we are cast opposite each other again and again, we get to explore so many different kinds of relationships, and that requires great trust and investment in each other.  We also love and respect each other as friends. So, we try and take extra good care of each other in the work as well as in life.

Megan Anderson (L) and Beth Hylton (R) in "STEEL MAGNOLIAS" - Courtesy of Teresa Castracane Photography

As both of you are key players in Everyman’s Resident Company, you have each run the gamut in regard to performances ranging from comedy to drama. The Resident Company of artists support each other in so many amazing ways. In your own opinion, could you name one performance or role that the other has done that you feel best showcases their talent?

Beth Hylton: Oh, my goodness it is so hard to name just one! I loved watching Megan play Meg in CRIMES OF THE HEART up close and getting to share her real birthday on stage on the character's birthday at the end of the play.  I was gobsmacked by her rapid-fire transformations in ALL OF THOSE ROLES last winter in Ken Ludwig’s BASKERVILLE: A SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY. However, recently, I was equally gobsmacked by her heart and commitment to Nora in A DOLLS HOUSE. There is such a great immediacy to her work as an actor. 

Megan Anderson: That's a hard one because there have been so many awesome performances! I loved her in TIME STANDS STILL, her Blanche in STREETCAR was dazzling and raw, her Marie Antoinette in THE REVOLUTIONISTS was hilarious and heartbreaking. OUTSIDE MULLINGAR where she was so fierce and funny.

For more information on DIAL M FOR MURDER, please visit: everymantheatre.org/event/dial-m/