The Balancing Act

The famous line, “All the world’s a stage” -- from William Shakespeare's “As You Like It” -- describes Laura Gayvert’s busy life. She has many real-life roles -- wife, mother, real estate agent -- as well as her acting roles.

The Crofton thespian was nominated for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play by the Washington Association of Theatre Community Honors for her performance in the play “Frozen.” Performances were held at Colonial  Players Theatre in Annapolis last February.

“My character, Agnetha, is a forensic psychiatrist who studies serial killers. My character was based off a real life person. She was the last person to interview serial killer Ted Bundy,” Gayvert said. “The other two characters were the mother of a child who was found murdered and the other character was a pedophile (and) serial killer. The play revolves around how these three characters come together.”

Gayvert said she is excited and honored to receive the WATCH Awards nomination. 

“It makes me feel so happy that I can’t even describe it," she said. "The best thing about (it) is that all three actors in the play were nominated and our director. Plus, it was nominated for Best Overall. I think that’s why it was such a fantastic experience because everyone was at the top of their game.”

Gayvert said the play was the biggest challenge in acting that she has experienced.

“It was a very heavy play. It’s so very well written. Our director really understood the piece and it was done tastefully,” she said. “It was kind of hard thinking about the show and the storyline.  When you are rehearsing and performing a show it does take up space in your head.”

Interestingly, Gayvert began acting at her high school in south Florida but she stopped acting for about 10 years.

“I thought about majoring in acting in college, but I just couldn’t give the theatre department the amount of hours needed because I was working. I finished college and I went to the (U.S. Army). After I got out, there was a local community theatre and they were doing a play and I though well, ‘I’m just going to go and audition.’ So I did and the acting bug just hit me all over again.”

So, how does Gayvert balance her family life, job and acting career? She said the support of her husband David makes it all possible.

“The kind of deal my husband and I made is this: If I do a show, I only do one show a year because it gets to be too much. It makes me focus. I will only audition for a show that I’m really excited about because it takes away time from family to do something that is trivial.”

 Gayvert doesn’t have any upcoming performances scheduled, but she plans to begin auditioning for future plays.

“I hope to be on stage before this year is out,” she said.