Acting, for Lilia, was not a source of fun but "a matter of life and death."  She felt destined to share her humanity so as to enrich the lives of others through her art. 

__________________________________________

Wearing   a   costume   of understated  elegance  of pre-WWII vintage, Libby carves out the cadences and physical mannerisms  of  an  expansive persona with gracious ease

and  apparent  authenticity.

__________________________________________

Hers was a set of unshakable principles that forged her artistic posture and that, in some measure, set her apart from the conveniences of American pragmatism.  Her proudest achievement, she used to boast, was turning down a lucrative offer to play another nun after her stellar performance in Lilies of the Field.  At the time, she was scarcely swimming in money.  Indeed, she was working in Lost and Found at City Center when she was nominated for an Academy Award.

Buoyed by an impressive degree of relaxation and self-assurance, Libby Skala projects the lavishly ornate gestures and rhythmic intonation of a larger-than-life personality.  The elaborations of her physical mannerisms never suggest artifice but an organic extension of her grandmother's psychological, moral, and emotional make-up.  There are, to be sure, streaks of rigidity in Lilia's view of life.  Yes, they ultimately do not diminish the sense that one has been in the presence of a remarkable woman.

***

Libby succeeds in painting a portrait of rare plasticity.  The production has already garnered accolades not only in the States, but also in Canada and Europe.

Lilia

Kimball Theater

REVIEWED BY BRUNO KOCH

IT'S BEEN SAID THAT all theater needs are two barrels, a board, and an actor.  This one-woman show gives eloquent testimony that such maxim deserves more than passing notice.  In her tribute to her grandmother, Lilia Skala (a grande dame with a distinctly European flavor), playwright/actor Libby Skala conjures up two hours of riveting theater.  Two chairs and changing lights give alternate visual focus and furnish the "set."  This minimalist background suffices to convey change of place, elapse of time, transitions to different characters, and stretches of dialogue between Libby and her grandmother Lilia.  Wearing a costume of understated elegance of pre-WWII vintage, Libby carves out the cadences and physical mannerisms of an expansive persona with gracious ease and apparent authenticity.

Lilia Skala was the first female architect in Austria after graduating from the distinguished University of Dresden in Germany.  That alone would secure her a special place in social history.  Nevertheless, she soon changed professional gear by following an irresistible inner need to become an actor.  As an important member of Max Reinhardt's company -- the "demi-god" of German and Austrian theater -- she swiftly rose to the ranks of leading actors.

After Hitler's invasion of Austria in 1938 -- her husband being Jewish -- she escaped to this country a year later, penniless and without a working command of English.  Catapulted from the lofty perch of fame and social standing to obscurity and refugee status in New York City, she resolved at once to continue pursuing her career by taking night courses in English and working in a factory by day.  Her tenacity paid off by being offered a role on Broadway two years later.  It was the beginning of an enduring life on stage, television and film in this country, culminating in her nomination for an Academy Award for her nun in Lilies of the Field.

LIBBY

SKALA

Performer Writer

Port Folio Weekly

VIRGINIA - FEBRUARY 17, 2004