Playing at motherhood

Young Chang

Wearing a fitted white tank top that reveals how toned her stomach is,

a very lean Katy Woodruff shares her secret to acting: Imagine the steps

between yourself and your character and then cross those steps.

Woodruff, who plays Molly in Orange Coast College’s production of

“Approximating Mother,” is 19 years old. Molly is 28. Woodruff is

slender. Molly is pregnant. Woodruff doesn’t have children. Molly already

has one.

“I draw a lot from my own respect for the women I’ve observed as

mothers and the [idea of] the type of mother I hope to be,” the OCC

student said.

For Woodruff, her two fellow female leads in the show and even the men

in the cast, preparing for “Approximating Mother” required not only

rehearsals and line memorization but on-the-spot crash courses in

motherhood.

The story of three women, which opened Thursday, follows one who is

having a baby, one who wants to adopt a baby and a third who is giving

her newborn up for adoption. The play examines the effects of wanting

children, having children and then raising them.

“It’s a serious comedy, a play that originally debuted at the Women’s

Project in New York,” said director John Ferzacca, who is an associate

professor of drama at OCC. “I wanted to do a story women could relate to,

especially in a season that’s more male-dominated in terms of issues and

roles.”

Costume designer Cynthia Corley, who has two children, provided

pregnancy pads for the belly effects, little snuggly front carriers,

strollers, blankets and even a doll donated by her 6-year-old daughter.

She gave tips on how to hold a baby -- you prop the head and never

just let it hang, you hold them tight when they’re in the front carriers

(often called snugglies) and you do the “new mom sway.”

“It’s just automatic, it’s something you don’t think about if you hold

a newborn a lot,” Corley said.

Anne Gray, 54 and a mother, portrays a social worker in the play. She

gave Woodruff and cast mates tips on how it feels to be pregnant, the

physical changes your body experiences and the attachments formed before

the baby is even born.

Woodruff said she learned how to walk with a belly and, as her

character gives birth during the show, she also watched videos on how to

breathe during labor.

Jessica Martinez, 20, who plays a pregnant teen in the show, learned

about the emotional effects of being pregnant.

“I guess every emotion is pumped up like 10 times,” she said.

“Everything you feel, you feel even more.”

Woodruff, who has always wanted to be a mother, said her wish still

stands despite all the pros and cons of mothering she recently learned.

“I would like to be a mom in five or six years,” she said. “It will be

the most important thing I do with my life.”

FYI

* WHAT: “Approximating Mother”

* WHEN: Through Monday; Thursday through Oct. 21. 8 p.m. Thursdays

through Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays

* WHERE: Orange Coast College’s Drama Lab Theatre, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa

* COST: $7-$10

* CALL: (714) 432-5880