A conversation with actor Andrea Weston-Smart 

Rachel Benton

The longer I have spent regularly attending performances, the more I notice our frequent actors in our area. Andrea Weston-Smart is one of those actors. 

Weston-Smart has a natural warmth, humor, and empathy that makes all her performances compelling. I am so grateful she agreed to meet with me and enjoy a conversation. I look forward to getting to know her even more in the future. 

 May this conversation not be our last. 

The conversation 

Benton: How long have you been involved in theater?   

Weston-Smart: “I have been involved in theater since high school; that is where my love of theater started. I got the bug there. Brenda Amburgy was my teacher at Timberline High School. I got to act in a few shows there, usually in the ensemble, but it was just amazing watching people act and how great they were.

“I did a couple shows after high school, and then I had kids. My focus was kids work. In 2013, I realized I was bored at work and said, ‘You know what? I’m going to audition for shows.’ I got cast in ‘Love, Lost, and What I Wore’ at Olympia Little Theatre (OLT). It was just an amazing story with a bunch of vignettes about women telling stories through their clothes. It was a lot of fun to do! I auditioned for more, then got asked to be on the board at OLT, which I served for about seven years. Then I expanded to do area theater.” 

Benton: What was it like being one of Brenda’s students? 

Weston-Smart: “Brenda helped give me the theater bug because she was just so excited about theater. That was, and still is, her passion. Usually, when someone is so excited about something, it inspires you and gets you excited.  

“Also, high school was hard. An awkward teenager, you know? I used to go to the library or sit in the hallway during lunch. I never really sat in the cafeteria. Being in theater meant I could be someone else and not be nervous about being me or wondering if people are going to judge me. 

"Seeing all the stuff Brenda did and how inclusive she was even back then, and that was a hard time to be inclusive in the late '80s and early '90s. Brenda really pushed the envelope and did these shows that high schoolers normally didn’t get to do.” 

Benton: Why do you think that the arts are so important in today’s world?  

Weston-Smart: “I think the arts can be accessible to anyone, and there are so many art forms. It’s not exclusive to certain groups of people. The arts teach us a lot about the world, help us learn about how other people think, and realize that (you might be able to relate) to a stranger more than you thought.”  

Benton: What is one of your favorite roles you have done?  

Weston-Smart: “One of my favorites is ‘As You Like It,’ because the director, Kevin McMahon, reached out to me out of the blue. I’d never met him, didn’t know anything about him. Somehow, he got my name and asked me to play Jacques. I was like, ‘Jacques, should I? Because that seems huge.’ 

“I used to hold myself back, which is easy to do being a woman and being Black. I used to think, ‘I can’t do this or that.’ My friend said to me, ‘Why are you holding yourself back? You’re good at what you do; you could do basically anything.’ Now, I try things more, even if I don’t know if I would be the perfect fit.  

“(When I got offered Jacques), I reached out to my friend who gave me that advice, and he was like, ‘Yes, do it!’ and I am so glad I did. That was a fun role to do something not typical for me personally, but also as a Black woman.” 

Benton: Coming from a place of wanting to learn, can I ask you what it is like being a Black actress in Washington state?  

Weston-Smart: “You know … it’s good and bad. The good thing is people remember you, but sometimes when people are casting, and then realize they have to have a person of color, LGBTQA, or whatever, they go to, ‘Hey, who do I know who is Black or gay? I’ll just cast you.’ I’m not saying that happens all the time; it’s very rare, but sometimes you notice it.  

“Sometimes, they cast who they don’t know because they haven’t done the work in the off season to reach out to the community to see what they might be interested in. I want people to choose a show and cast no matter what. I don’t want to be cast in the show because I fill in the Black quota. I want to be selected because I do quality work.”

Rachel is a writer, arts advocate, performing arts enthusiast, and passionate about our beloved Thurston County. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in History and Political Science and a minor in Music. You can enjoy more of Rachel's writings by visiting her website. All inquiries for Rachel can be submitted here.