Tell me about the play you are working on for Emerging Artists Theatre. What do you love most about this play?
I play Doris in Doris Day: My Secret Love. Through her many art mediums, Doris made people feel good about themselves. She inspired and uplifted them with her craft. Many times, her roles mirrored her life, but our show shares Doris’s real-life story. I love sharing her truth and her songs with our audiences.
Can you tell us a little about your artistic process or background? How is that process being realized in your work on this play?
I keep finding myself on stage telling stories of the 1950s and 1960s and honestly, I am wild about it. In our show, I sing Doris’s songs- 14 of them- and its imperative to have such knowledge of her instrument, the nuance and specificity of it, as well as a musical understanding of the era. Before the pandemic, I toured with Million Dollar Quartet, immersed In 1950s music and before that when I was in rehearsals for Flipside: The Patti Page Story, I really learned how to technically approach for the first time someone’s else vocal stylings. Patti Page was also of Doris’s era, and I toured the country playing her. That process, thanks to writer and friend Greg White, prepped me majorly for this. I’m not big on impersonations, just information- consonants, vowels, phrasing… I study those closely at the begging of my process and eventually, it flows naturally. It’s quite liberating! Additionally, I have most enjoyed finding old interviews of Doris where she candidly talks about herself, especially while filming her movies. There is so much material. Every day I try to find a new nugget of info, which inspires the process for me.
What do you love most about the role you are playing?
I love working with this team. I love telling this story with co-star David Beck. And I really love embodying one of the greatest singer and actors that ever existed, Doris Day. It’s a tremendous gift. This is a role of a lifetime for me.
What is the most challenging aspect of the work for you?
Other than the obvious, what is most challenging for me is how to get as many people to see Doris Day: My Secret Love as possible. My mother-in-law is even inviting all of her organizations to attend, and I appreciate her enthusiasm:) Usually, I leave that to someone else, but having been so invested in this piece, and have been workshopping Doris Day: My Secret Love with Emerging Artists Theatre since 2020, I am so eager to share it with everyone I know and the NYC community! I believed in it so much. It’s all so wonderfully vulnerable.
Is there anything important or meaningful about this piece to you?
In the age of social media and assuming happiness and perfection about a person based on how they look, Doris would especially be fond of our take on this production. It’s majorly about the humanity behind America’s sweetheart, Doris Day.
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“An enjoyable indulgence in nostalgia…Ms Borelli’s strong suit is her acting chops. She shines in the scenes with her son, Terry, and her friend Rock Hudson. – High Drama
“Tiffan Borelli creates a Day to remember..” — Off Off Online
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Tiffan Borelli was seen last summer as ‘Mae’ in the reimagined, modernized Off-Broadway premiere of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. More Off-Broadway: Two By Two (The York) & the world premieres of Gorgeous (Brunstetter) & The Wager (LaBute) with Theatre Breaking Through Barriers. Nat’l Tours: Million Dollar Quartet & Flipside: The Patti Page Story. Regional Theatre: The Kennedy Center, Barter Theatre, Theatre By The Sea, Laguna Playhouse & Maine State Musical Theatre. TV/FILM: Sweetbitter, Law & Order: SVU & The Loudest Voice in the Room. She studied with the renowned Florence Birdwell for nearly 2 decades and is passionate about the power of communication, both on stage and in her teaching studio. Oklahoma City University alum.
