Quick Chat: Maggie Cramer

Maggie Cramer joins us from Minneapolis, Minnesota, for her first summer at APT. We had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Maggie earlier this month as she was getting started on rehearsals for Dancing at Lughnasa, where she plays the youngest of the Mundy Sisters, Chris. You can also see Maggie in Ring Round the Moon up the Hill all season long. Read on for a look at our conversation about lessons from the woods, her exciting big screen premiere and why Love Island UK is essential appointment television.

APT: Hello, Maggie! How’s your first summer at APT been treating you?
Cramer: It’s just been really wonderful. Truly a dream. I have nothing but positive things to say and share.

APT: You’re a Midwest based actor form Minneapolis area! Would you mind sharing a little about your journey to APT and how you became interested in performing?
Cramer: I don’t think I got into acting on purpose. I started when I was seven because my sister was working at a theater camp and my parents were both working full-time, so it was just an easy way to find childcare for the summer. Then, tale as old as time, I got bit by the bug and kept doing it. But for a long time, I didn’t want to be an actor. I loved theater and I studied theater in college, but I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do. I actually really wanted to be a chef.

What first brought me to APT, though, was in 2020 I met my friend Caleb Byers who works on House Staff here and he brought me to APT to see Rough Crossing, and it was a blast! I had so much fun! I kind of thought “oh my god what is this place? I’ve never heard of this place and the work is incredible. It feels like there’s magic in the air.” Then last year, I came down to see my friend Sun Mee [Comet] in Romeo & Juliet and I remember sitting in the audience after the show thinking “I think I can work here. I really can see myself working here.” And lo and behold, there were auditions in Spring Green and I came out, got a callback, but they emailed the wrong email so I didn’t see it. Then they sent it to the right email, and I was in Jamaica for a wedding (having a good time) and I remember getting the email and just running around the beach so excited. Then I came here, did the callback, and now I’m here!

APT: You’ve opened Ring Round the Moon and now you’re moving on to Dancing at Lughnasa! Any lessons you learned from first rep that you’ll take with you into the second half of the season?
Cramer: Such a good question! I mean, yes. So many. I couldn’t have asked for a better process to kick off my time at APT with Ring Round the Moon. Every one in the room are such staunch professionals and just wonderful artists. I heard before coming here that APT was very language-based, and I didn’t really know what they meant by that. I mean, sure, Shakespeare is part of that. But really, even in the more contemporary plays, they investigate the text in a way that I’ve never experienced. There isn’t ego when it comes to the story. An actor or director will have thought of a choice or tried a bit that is smart and funny, but if it doesn’t serve the story, there’s no ego in taking it out. Because what’s important is that the storytelling is clear and that the messages come across. That’s really cool.

There were so many versions of Ring Round the Moon I can think of where it was different, even before an audience got to see it. And everyone is so in service of the story, which is a cool way to make art. It’s knowing that it’s not about you. It’s about telling the story honestly and effectively in community with these people. It’s not about the ego and not about you, and it’s just such a great reminder.

Molly Martinez-Collins & Maggie Cramer in Ring Round the Moon, 2024. Photo by Liz Lauren.

APT: It’s a busy summer for you! In addition to being in the shows here, you also traveled to attend a premiere of The Bikeriders, a film you worked on with Jodie Cramer and Austin Butler! That’s awesome! How was that experience?
Cramer: It was my first professional film shoot. I’d done student films before, but it was my first SAG contract shoot. We filmed it almost two years ago in fall 2022, so it’s just crazy that I’m finally able to talk about it because so much time has passed.

I feel really lucky. I couldn’t have asked for a better first professional film job. Everyone was so kind and so generous, and it was a lot of fun. I think I was really nervous going into it, but the second I stepped on set, it all went away. We’re all just there to do a job at the end of a day.

It’s a really good movie I think! We filmed in Cincinnati. I lived in Cincinnati after I graduated college for about three years, so I have relationships with the local casting directors there and have been called in for things there before, but this was special. And none of my scene was cut, because it’s a very pivotal scene!

APT: When you’re not working on your next project, what do you love to do in your free time?
Cramer: I will definitely be watching the Olympics this year! Growing up, I played a lot of sports because my sister and my dad are athletes. My dad coached all my teams and I had to try all the sports, but it just wasn’t my thing. But I do enjoy watching most sports (especially basketball – go Timberwolves!).

I call myself a bit of a reality TV scholar. I’m currently watching the new season of Love Island UK, with new episodes every day. That’s appointment TV. Also, the new season of The Bachelorette. Other TV I’m watching includes Below Deck, The Traders (specifically Traitors UK, but US is fine too), Survivor and Love is Blind. I watch a lot of reality TV. It feels like you’re taking your brain out of your head, giving it a little scrub and putting it back in.

And also hanging out! I love to hang out with my friends.

APT: Wild Card Question: Maggie, the readers NEED to know. What’s in and what’s out for you this summer?
Cramer: What’s in for me this summer? Basil. The color red is in for me. Like a tomato red. And true love.

On the outs? Sunburn. No way. The price of gas. And finally, Pamplemousses la Croix flavor. No disrespect to Pamplemousses la Croix. That was my go-to for a long time but I got sick of it. Those are my three outs.