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Tailor-made for the part

by Robyn Israel

I t seems that from the time she was born, actress Daisy Eagan has always been in a hurry. It took merely an hour for her to come into the world, arriving way before the midwife, who had mistakenly gone to the wrong address, could come assist her mother.

She started acting professionally at the age of 9, appearing as young Cosette in "Les Miserables" on Broadway. Three years later, at the age of 12, Eagan became the youngest actress ever to win a Tony Award, scoring kudos for her portrayal of Mary Lennox in "The Secret Garden," a musical that co-starred opposite Mandy Patinkin.

Ten years later, Eagan still possesses a youthful visage and a spirited demeanor, qualities that have helped her score her latest role, as a 17-year-old California teenager named Laura who is learning to navigate through the pitfalls of adolescence. Stunned by her mother's sudden death, Laura finds herself having to care for her father and her younger sister. She is the protagonist of "Be Aggressive," the newest TheatreWorks production. The role is one Eagan has desperately wanted to play for more than a year.

"It's not often there are meaty parts available for younger people, especially in the theater, and this was really a play that doesn't condescend. It doesn't patronize. It looks seriously at this character and uses her as a symbol for everyone, (for) the way we deal with death and loss and things that aren't easy," Eagan said.

Seeking to fit in with her peers, Laura turns to cheerleading, and discovers a kindred spirit in Leslie, a fellow cheerleader. Immersed into this culture of artificiality and conformity, it takes some time for Laura to recognize the value and importance of individuality.

"Laura is a very smart girl, but it's not really acceptable for young women to be that smart. She becomes a cheerleader, I think, as a means of stunting that. It's her way of showing she's normal and not any different," Eagan said.

Written by Annie Weisman, "Be Aggressive" premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse last year, where it was directed by Lisa Peterson. Eagan had auditioned for the role of Laura, but was told she looked too young and was cast instead as Hannah, Laura's younger sister.

"I've aged six years, apparently, in a year," Eagan joked.

At Weisman's request, Eagan, now 22, auditioned in New York, and was cast in the role she had wanted all along. But the dialogue from the first production had stuck with her, Eagan said, and she has worked hard with director Wendy Goldberg to create her own Laura.

"She had to get the other actress' voice out of her head and had to really create her own take on the role," said Goldberg, who serves as the artistic associate at Arena Stage, a theater company in Washington, D.C.

Asked to compare both productions, Eagan said that the TheatreWorks interpretation is more comedic, but added that both directors have similar styles in terms of letting the actors shape their own characters.

"For the first few weeks, I had no idea what I was doing with Hannah, but Lisa really gave me the space to get there on my own time, and the same is true of Wendy. She has a clear image of what she wants, but she's very open and very trusting," Eagan said.

Featuring five female central characters and only one male role, "Be Aggressive" lends itself to being directed by a woman director, according to both Eagan and Goldberg.

"There are so many pieces of the play I can identify with directly," said Goldberg, who is directing her first TheatreWorks production. "I have a sensibility about that age group and know the challenges that are involved. It might take more of a leap for a male director, while for me it's more immediate."

One deep common bond between Eagan and Laura is the fact that both have struggled to cope with the loss of their mothers at a tender age. Eagan's mother, Andrea Boroff Eagan, passed away when she was 13 years old -- a loss that resulted in five years of painful grieving.

"It's ongoing. There's never a point where you say, 'Now I've dealt with it and I can put it away,'" Eagan said. "It's always there. Every major event or non-major event brings it all up again."

As alluded to in the title, the play addresses how young girls deal with their feelings of anger, and how they relate to one another. To help prepare for her role, Eagan has been reading "Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls," by Rachel Simmons, which examines how girls are brought up to be nice, and are consequently afforded no outlet for their hostility.

"The book has really reinforced my understanding that high school and junior high school are horrific, and it really made me want to go into schools and talk to kids, get them to deal better with each other, and learn anger and conflict management."

Another potential resource for Eagan is a book about female adolescence her late mother wrote in the '70s, "Why Am I So Miserable if These are the Best Years of My Life?" Eagan and her older sister, Molly, a writer, are thinking about writing an updated version of the book.

"I was told (in high school) I was too passionate by my principal, that I needed to calm down, 'cause the other students didn't know how to relate to me. I got teased, was told that I'm a lesbian, that I should go to all-girls' school.

"I think people who are nostalgic for high school have forgotten what it's like, or else they were at their prime in high school, and they're not ever going to be as productive."

As a teenager, Eagan attended a number of different schools, including the Professional Performing Arts School in Manhattan, a junior high school whose student body included Claire Danes (whom she hung out with), Alicia Keys (a vague memory) and Britney Spears.

"We didn't get along. Britney didn't like me. She thought I was a rebel," Eagan recalled. "It's funny, now she's got her thong showing in Times Square, and she thought I was a bad girl."

Still, Eagan admitted she's fascinated by the whole Spears phenomenon.

"I sort of wish I could be her for one week, to be that product. She is a living product. I watched her HBO concert and my jaw was open the whole time. I was in a state of shock."

Like Spears, Eagan succeeded early, and discovered that her Tony Award earned her a whole slew of new friends.

"That was the ultimate popularity tool," Eagan recalled. "It made me popular for a year -- until I cut my hair."

Other Broadway plays have followed, including "The Dead" (2000), in which she co-starred with Christopher Walken. Eagan also attended college, but after four semesters at New York University, she realized that her personality did not fit the world of academia. But the lack of a degree clearly doesn't bother her.

"I don't think I'd be any more intelligent with a paper in my hand, so I'm not worried about it."

Deeply committed to social justice, this "self-proclaimed woman of wonder" (the way Eagan describes herself on her business card) would love to use her fame to champion social causes, such as the poor treatment of women in India. Another interest lies in using drama therapy to help heal children who have suffered traumatic loss.

"Audrey Hepburn (who presented Eagan with her Tony in 1991) is one of my role models," Eagan said. "She used her fame to do great things in the world. I'd love to be able to do that."

Newly engaged, Eagan is also contemplating a summer 2003 wedding to Patrick, whom she met while starring in "The Countess" on Broadway (he was the show's technical director). Now dreams of domestic bliss are making the New Yorker think about her future.

"I love acting a lot, but it's a roller coaster," she said. "I just want to have my sanity. I want to raise a family and make sure it's a normal family."

Short-term plans include a move with Patrick in January to Los Angeles, where she intends to audition for next year's pilot season. And like Laura, who comes to appreciate the brevity of life, Eagan also wants to make the most of the next chapter, and thinks about slowing things down.

"There are some mornings I wake up and want to be in the world. I want to stop going so fast and know where I am."

E-mail Robyn Israel at risrael@paweekly.com

"Be Aggressive," presented by Theatreworks.
Where: the Lucie Stern Theatre, 1305 Middlefield Road in Palo Alto
When: Through Aug. 18. The show previews tonight at 8 p.m. and opens on Saturday at 8 p.m. Show times are Tuesdays at 7:30 p.m. (no show Aug. 13); Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m. (no show Aug. 4); Saturday matinee performances at 2 p.m. on July 27 and Aug. 3; and Sunday evenings at 7 p.m. on July 28; Aug. 4 and Aug. 11.
Cost: Tickets are $20 to $43, with discounts available for youth, students and seniors.
Info: Call (650) 903-6000 or visit www.theatreworks.org.