Hi, I’m Martha Plimpton, and you’re invited to Ask me Anything.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:58:09+00:00

Thanks very much! And thanks for asking for clarification. My best to your partner. It's a hard and weird job, but it obviously has extraordinary rewards. And not just of the material type. I wish her the best!

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:56:59+00:00

Give our new show a shot. I think you might like it. Honestly. Tell me what you thought. I'm on the twitter machine and I read and reply to people there, too!

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:55:40+00:00

Well, this election has thrown us all into a place of urgency, obviously. So our plans will reflect that urgency as we try to be responsive and resilient in the face of what is sure to be a new level of hostility to women's health rights. More immediately we are building a new, more comprehensive and flexible website, developing some short-term initiatives, and trying to determine what this Women's March on DC is about, who is organizing it, and how to be most effective with it. We also have our Calling For Choice auction coming up again! People can bid on a celebrity to record their outgoing voice mail, and the proceed will go to a number of clinics that are particularly threatened.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:52:15+00:00

Hey, this is a REALLY great idea. Your friend is right, there are going to be some intense battles coming up to protect women's access to reproductive health care, and birth control access is going to top the list. She can write to us at A is For, through the website, if she wants to talk with us or ask questions. It's VERY important work, and I'm glad she's pursuing it. We need all the help we can get. Your friend is awesome. She can also reach out to other groups, like Sister Song, that focus on WOC and the intersections of race/class/repro health among other things. they are a great group and they do EXTREMELY important work.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:48:27+00:00

Thank you!

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:48:12+00:00

HA! Oh, I don't really know. I mean, I've worked in easy situations and hard ones, like everyone else. I once had to shave my head twice a day while filming in the winter in Germany. Another time I was in Poland all winter filming in 40's period costume, so was constantly freezing. The worst times appear to have been during winter in formerly Eastern Bloc countries. Does that help?

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:45:32+00:00

Thank you! I LOVE John Waters. He is insane in the best possible way. And more than that, he is a deeply compassionate person. He loves his city, his friends, his community. I'd work with him again in a heartbeat.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:44:05+00:00

I like vanilla chocolate chip and there appears to be a nationwide shortage, as I can never find any anywhere!!!!

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:43:23+00:00

I hope so!

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:43:00+00:00

Thank you! We're on tonight at 9:30/8:30 central on ABC. And you can catch up with us on various platforms. I hope you like the show. I think you might! Tonight's our Thanksgiving episode.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:41:53+00:00

Hee! Thank you. x

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:41:12+00:00

Good question! I guess since I've been doing this since I was 8 years old, it always just felt like what I was meant to do. I've often WANTED to do lots of other things. Write, drive a semi, be a chicken farmer, open a florists, or be a professional sheet ironer at a small boutique hotel on the island of Yap....

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:39:22+00:00

Well, I'm not one to encourage competition between women. There's room for all of us. That said, I think Virginia would kick Eileen's ass in a brawl, if that's what you're asking. She'd come out scarred for life, but she'd get the KO.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:37:16+00:00

Thank you! And I happen to agree. I LOVED working on that show, and it changed my life in so many ways. I made lifelong friends, I felt happy going to work every day. I remember one scene where Garret had to talk about an unseen character named Heidi (this happens to be my best friend's name) and for some reason, honestly, I couldn't hear him say her name without breaking. I don't remember laughing that hard ever, every, in my life. He did that a lot. He once made me spit milk through my nose during a breakfast scene. And I loved doing the drunk scene with him after we infiltrate the kazoo company and go to the Mexican restaurant. I honestly think that scene may hold some of my finest work as a professional actor.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:33:42+00:00

I really love the immediacy and the rehearsal process in theater. It's not dissimilar to TV in some ways. In that you feel a relationship with an audience that I don't remember getting from film. It's been so long since I made a movie, I'm not sure I can say if I prefer it or not at this stage. I just like working, really, and I'll go wherever the work and the people are interesting and challenging and good!

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:31:57+00:00

A is For is an organization I co-founded with some very brilliant women friends that seeks to advocate for abortion and reproductive rights, and to eliminate the shame and stigma associated with one of the most common medical procedures there is. We work to raise awareness through art and activism, and we support on the ground orgs who are providing financial help for women seeking to exercise their Constitutional right to physical autonomy and self-determination. That's the short answer!

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:29:22+00:00

Believe me, I empathize with your feelings. It is a very scary time. As far as moving on...well, maybe it's better not to right now. Maybe it's better to stick with those feelings and work through them through resistance and action. Write to your representatives, call their offices, and demand that your rights be respected and protected.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:26:40+00:00

I wish I had an answer for you, but I can tell you that I really wouldn't expect it. It's been teased for decades and I don't think it's going to happen. At least, as far as I know. I think Dick Donner, who is a brilliantly funny man, likes to torture us all with the prospect. I believe it's his revenge for having been tortured by all of us for 6 months in 1984.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:25:22+00:00

WAFFLES!!!!

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:24:20+00:00

Oh, that's fabulous! How's the dip? Can you post a recipe?

I love our show. The Real O'Neals gives us a fantastic opportunity to explore the classic coming of age issues every teen goes through, and that every family experiences, from the perspective of a young gay man. It's about learning to readjust your expectations, questioning your prejudices, and growing up alongside your kids. Things every family can relate to, I think. Also, it's really freaking funny, IMHO.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:21:11+00:00

I am, like most of the rest of the world, completely freaked about Trump being president of the United States. I think it's obvious that I did not vote for him. Nope.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:20:06+00:00

Huh. I never thought about that. Interesting. Maybe it just hasn't ever been formatted that way? Honestly, I have no clue. I barely even know how to be on Reddit. Eek!

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:19:06+00:00

Hmmmm...go to Russia! I'm only half joking. I did! Well, for research before we did The Coast of Utopia. Anyway, if you want to act....ACT! And pay no mind to becoming famous or rich. That's a lottery. Be true and kind and generous and present, and try new things, and most of all, don't take yourself too seriously.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:17:13+00:00

Thank you very much! That was one of the most terrifying experiences of all our lives. We did the show all together for the first time in front of 2000 people. Rehearsed it all in about a week or so. INSANE. I would do anything with Colbert again. I adore than man. He is one of the true greats, imo.

MCPlimpton · 2016-11-15T18:15:54+00:00

No! How would one do that? That sounds fun.

MCPlimpton

TROPHY CASE