Having graduated from Marquette with plenty of stage experience, Julia Gilling has also acted in a number of plays on bigger stages in Milwaukee. She's appeared in productions at Theater X, Milwaukee Chamber Theater and Boulevard Theater Ensemble, to name a few, and is now appearing in Boulevard's "Twelfth Night" (through Jan. 9). She spoke with OnMilwaukee.com about life, the stage and her feelings as a departing Milwaukee resident.

OMC: "Twelfth Night," at the Boulevard Theater, for some of us is like doing Shakespeare in a closet. What's it like performing just a few inches from the nearest audience member?

JG: I think that's probably the most difficult part. Because they're in you're space. Their legs are out here and they don't really think about the fact that you're trying to create this world. And there's a fourth wall, but yet there's not really a fourth wall because they're constantly giving you so much.

OMC: Does that change the way you conceive the character?

JG: I think so. As a character, then, you have to be much more open and susceptible to the energy that's given to you. But at the same time, you can't be too susceptible, because otherwise you're just reacting to them and not creating anything specifically to yourself.

OMC: You've performed modern and Shakespeare, other people's stuff and your own stuff. What's the difference between doing someone else's material and stuff that you've written yourself?

JG: Performance-wise, I think it's almost easier to do your own stuff because you know the motivation behind it. You know why it was created. I have to say that I really enjoy the creation part, but I don't know if I really enjoy acting my own creation.

OMC: And exactly why is that?

JG: When you put it on somebody else, you can see where your flaws are. When you put it on yourself, it's much more difficult to be like, "OK, what am I not getting? What needs to be fleshed out? What needs to be kind of ... fluffed, excessed, stressed?" It's that larger picture that you really can't see because it's your baby. And plus, it's you -- yourself acting, you don't want to think, "I suck, what am I doing?"

OMC: As far as the actual performance goes, what's the connection with the audience like? How is it different from doing someone else's stuff?

JG: When it's your own stuff, I don't feel a problem changing it. So, when I change it, it's like, "What am I really doing here? What is the purpose of this?" But when it's somebody else's stuff, it's that respect you have for the other person NOT to change something, and so you really have to figure out the intentions of why you're doing it.

OMC: Have you done improv before?

JG: Yeah, in college I was part of the "Studio 13 Refugees." It was a comedy improv group. We performed once every two months. We had this two-hour show and it was really fun. And it was good to work on your feet that way. And I think that's probably where I get the ease with changing things. But I don't think that that is always the best option.