The theatre and entertainment reporter for my city's newspaper is interviewing me this Wednesday for an article she's writing about "the ecology of theater in Jackson and how all the various elements (high school, college, community, professional, classes) do or should all work together."

I'm a tad nervous as you always hear "things" about reporters taking things you say a bit out of context to get the angle they want. Any advice? I agreed to the interview because I thought it'd be interesting and also I could plug some of my own ambitions.

As to why she chose me I'm not certain. I'm just an acting student at JCC.

Remember -- sarcasm and irony do not translate
well in print. What might sound like a casual remark
during a conversation might carry a totally different
meaning when jotted down.

Always speak positively and optimistically. Even
when faced with challenging people or situations.

Good luck!

We were interviewed by someone for a statewide Public Television program.  It was a totally positive experience.  The production staff was very professional and very friendly and did their very best to tell our story.  It was a seven minute segment on a 30 minute show.  Of course the whole point of the show is always to show the interesting and positive things going on around the state, so they aren't going to try to get anyone to slip up and say something negative...

We also were interviewed a by a writer for the largest newspaper in our state.  She, too did a fantastic job with lots of color pictures and a very well written story. 

Both experiences had a very positive impact on attendance at our theatre in a small village, bringing audience to us from up to two hours away.

You can only control so much during an interview. Think before you speak, keep your sentences short and on one subject. If the interviewer asks a question you can't answer, say so. If they ask a question you don't want answer, answer a question you do want to answer (this is a favorite technique of politicians); kind of like changing the subject... although, with this type of article, this probably won't be an issue.

The big thing is to keep your answers fairly short if possible. Long answers get edited down or paraphrased. Don't try to cram too much information into a single answer. As others have mentioned, don't be negative when talking about groups or people. "We can always do a better job of working together," sounds much better than, "Groups in this town couldn't work together to put out a fire, much less put on a show."

By the way, speaking as a former reporter, students are always good to interview on this type of a story because they tend to get around more and be more familiar with the various groups.

Have fun.