Piedmont: Actress, 12, plays Scout in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’

PIEDMONT — The cast of Berkeley Playhouse’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” took a short break from rehearsing on April 5 to enjoy some homemade brownies in honor of young cast member Charlotte Ying Levy’s birthday.

Levy, of Piedmont, will play Scout in the upcoming production, and though she just turned 12, the young performer holds her own in a rehearsal studio full of seasoned Bay Area actors. Levy is cast in the role as Scout.

“It’s been really, really fun,” Levy said. “It’s a great play, and also everybody in the cast is really nice, and we’re working with a great director.”

The play is being directed by Bay Area theater maven Daren A.C. Carollo, who is also the producing artistic director of the company.

“Charlotte embodies all of the characteristics of the young Scout, based on the novel’s author Nelle Harper Lee,” Carollo said. “She is very inquisitive, adventurous and wise beyond her years.”

This particular play necessitates a level of wisdom, especially in the young actors who have not yet been exposed to some of the acute issues the play addresses.

“Before auditions, we had to have the hard conversation around racism, rape, violence — and that’s kind of a hard conversation to have,” said Charlotte’s mom, Helga Ying. Charlotte said that she and her mom have had many serious conversations since the start of the rehearsal process, ruminating on some of the complex questions that playing Scout has prompted her to ask.

“I hope they (the audience) will really understand the message,” Charlotte said. “That you shouldn’t judge people by their race or their religion, and also I hope that they understand the experiences of Scout. The journey of a young, young girl going through a really hard experience and what that was like.”

Charlotte has taken Scout’s lessons on prejudice to heart, and brought them with her into the classroom where she wrote a short fiction piece about a young girl who befriends a singing homeless man despite the protestations of her disapproving parents. In the end, he wins everybody’s trust and respect. The story is titled “Don’t Judge a Singer by His Situation.”

Charlotte, who has worked solely in youth theater until now, said that her greatest challenge has been adjusting to being in a more professional and fast-paced rehearsal environment. The entire play was staged within the first week of rehearsal, and actors were expected to be completely “off-book” for the run through only a week after that.

“But it’s been really great,” Charlotte said. “They (the professional actors) can teach you all these things about ‘real’ acting, and it pushes all the kids to work harder and do their true best.

“I’ve learned about how when you’re acting and you’re in a character you can’t just read the script. You have to know your background and think how that character would really feel and what they would be experiencing.”

Charlotte’s family has also been working overtime to accommodate the rising star’s demanding schedule.

“Charlotte expressed from a young age that she wanted to do theater, and we’ll do whatever we need to help her achieve that passion,” said Helga Ying. “Six days a week can be challenging, but at the same time we know it’s rewarding for her. There’s a lot of complexity to this play, and it really brings the reality, from a girl’s lens, of how hard life can be, but at the same time to also believe in people- and that comes out in the end.”