Karron Graves

Karron Graves

Karron Graves is an American actress best known for playing Mary Warren in Arthur Miller’s 1996 screen adaptation of The Crucible, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and distributed by 20th Century Fox.^[1] In tandem with her performance credits, she teaches acting at NYU Tisch and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.^[2]

Personal Life and Education

Graves was born in Janesville, Wisconsin and spent her childhood in both Sarasota, Florida and New York City. As a young child, Karron was a competitive swimmer and a 2-time Junior Olympics competitor.^[3] While in New York, she attended the Professional Children’s School and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Princeton University^[4] and her Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama.^[5]

Childhood career

As a child, Graves began her career in musical theatre and with The Metropolitan Opera, where she performed for six seasons. On stage, she originated the role of Clara in the world premiere of Arthur Miller’s 1987 Danger:Memory! at Lincoln Center Theater, directed by Gregory Mosher.^[6] In 1988, she toured internationally with The Sound of Music, directed by James Hammerstein and starring Debbie Boone, David Cryer, and Mary Beth Peil. Her additional early stage roles included Ginya in Leslie Ayvazian’s Nine Armenians at Manhattan Theatre Club.^[7]

She made her television debut on Saturday Night Live in 1986 as “The Girl Scout” opposite Phil Hartman.^[8] She also starred in the PBS/Wonderworks Series The Fig Tree with Doris Roberts and Teresa Wright^[9] and performed in Peter Benchley’s CBS prime time pilot Dolphin Cove as Katie Larson.^[10]

Adult Stage, Film, and Television Roles

Graves is best known for playing Mary Warren in 20th Century Fox’s film The Crucible, starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Joan Allen, Paul Scofield, and Winona Ryder. It was adapted for the screen by the original playwright Arthur Miller, directed by Nicholas Hytner, and produced by Robert Miller and David V. Picker.^[11] Other film and television appearances include NBC’s Law & Order,^[12] CBS’s Guiding Light,^[13][14] USA’s Monk,^[12] Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd,^[15] Michael Goorjian's 5 Wishes ,^[16] Adrian Garcia Bogliano’s Late Phases,^[17] and She Dreams of Fireflies (announced 2015).^[18]

Graves' stage credits include Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Regional Theatre productions. While at Yale, she originated the roles of Dora Hand in Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s The Muckle Man, Lizzie Booth in Trip Cullman’s Absolutely True, Sara in A. Rey Pamatmat’s Deviant, and Blanche Verse in Marcus Gardley’s ...And Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi^[19] She received paid training with the SITI Company to star in the 2005 world premiere of Intimations for Saxophone, directed by Anne Bogart at Arena Stage,^[20] and she starred opposite James Whitmore in both 2006's Trying at Ford’s Theatre and the 70th Anniversary Celebration of Our Town in 2008.^[21][22] Graves also played Isobel Ashbrook on Broadway in 2007's Tony Award-nominated Coram Boy, directed by Melly Still,^[23] and in 2012 starred Off-Broadway in The Philanderer at the New York City Center with the Pearl Theatre. ^[24] In 2013 she appeared in the NYTimes Critics’ Pick Two Point Oh at 59E59.^[25]

For the 2015-2016 season at the Roundabout Theatre Company, Karron will play Mamie Gummer’s sister in the world premiere of Lindsey Ferrentino’s Ugly Lies the Bone, directed by Patricia McGregor.^[26]

References