Gayle Worland:
Slender and smiling, Emma Geer bounces into an interview in the offices of Madison Repertory Theatre wearing jeans, wool clogs and a turtleneck sweater the same smoky color as her deep gray eyes.
The Madison eighth-grader is on a break from rehearsals for the Rep ‘s “The Diary of Anne Frank, ” in which she plays the title role. And if that job ‘s not ambitious enough for a 13-year-old, Emma also knows what a lot of audience members will have in the back of their minds when the play continues tonight at Overture Center ‘s Playhouse: That this Anne Frank is also the daughter of Richard Corley, the Rep ‘s artistic director.
When Corley hired Madison native Jennifer Uphoff Gray, a 12-year veteran of the New York theater scene, to direct “The Diary of Anne Frank, ” he told her “The casting is in your hands, ” says Gray.
So Gray contacted drama teachers across the area asking for names of talented actresses who might play Anne. She saw a slew of local spring school plays, scouting for talent. Finally she went to Chicago to find the right girl for the part, auditioning some 16-, 17- and 18-year-old actresses in the process.