Name: Andrea Reese

Hometown: Washington, D.C.

Occupation: Writer/Actress/Artist/Singer/Career Counselor

How did you break into acting? Both of my grandmothers were in the arts, so I grew up in an environment that was very supportive of my creative sides. In college, I focused on classical singing. I was a professional opera singer for 10 years in New York and Italy.

What was the inspiration for your one-woman show, Cirque Jacqueline? I auditioned for Jim Simpson, who runs The Flea Theater and is married to Sigourney Weaver. He noticed that I’d been cast as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis several times because of my natural resemblance to her, and he strongly urged me to write a one-woman play about her. At first I wasn’t interested, but then I started to read books about her and realized that she was so much more interesting than I gave her credit for.

Your résumé is packed with special skills, from opera singing to clowning. Are you utilizing any of these on the side, currently? I recently got intrigued by Italian popular songs from the 1940s and ’50s, but don’t know yet where I’ll go with that. Over the past year, I’ve taken some amazing art classes and was in an exhibit, so that’s another thing I’d like to expand on.

I hear you’re into rabbits. Is it true they don’t actually like carrots? Actually, they love carrots, but carrots aren’t good for them. Rabbits need to eat mainly Timothy hay, pellets, and greens.

What kinds of critters and people are living with you? My rabbit, Vernon Z. Shedmeister, and my boyfriend David, a theater publicist. Sadly, my hamster, Bridget, recently died from cancer.