Intimacy

“I have had personal experiences in professional theatre … where there is a lack of understanding between the directors and the performers about intimacy and help to create a safe and a brave face that can allow this work to happen,” Zolno said. “Oftentimes people get taken advantage of, and we can create unsafe situations by a lack of knowledge about how to carefully go about building these things.”
--Bessie Zolno, Quoted in Columbia Chronicle

Acting

LA CAGE AUX FOLLES with Bay Area Musicals

"Matthew McCoy has assembled a marvelous cast for this bubbly musical . . . . Bessie Zolno gives a charming performance as Anne."
--Richard Connema, member of Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Quoted in Talkin' Broadway

"This 'La Cage Aux Folles' is Grand ..... reveals the charming, innocent love between Jean-Michel and the talented Bessie Zolno as Anne. With a warm chemistry, O’Reilly and Zolno dance a lovely pas de deux very well."
-- Vince Mediaa, member of Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle, Quoted in Vmedia Backstage

THIS IS OUR YOUTH with Marin Onstage

"This is Our Youth Shines at the Belrose :  Marin Onstage has brought together a superb cast of young actors. . . . Bessie Zolno (Jessica Goldman) perfectly portrays a jittery, stressed out character who is not sure what she wants, constantly questioning every move when not arguing furiously to claw her way into self esteem."
--Alexa Chipman, Imagination Lane Reviews, Quoted in ​Thearterstorm

"Marin Onstage Actors Make Make-Believe Real: Two of the three Bay Area actors in this Marin Onstage production at the Belrose Theater in San Rafael are only 17 yet had an uncanny ability to make it real....The second teenage thespian, Bessie Zolmo of Oakland, was outstanding as well — in the role of Jessica, a pseudo-intellectual bickerer for whom Warren has the hots. . . ."
          --Woody Weingarten, Marinscope Newspapers

"This is Our Youth:  Past and Future at Marin Onstage:  Warren’s potential girlfriend, Jessica Goldman (Bessie Zolno) slyly inserts herself into the apartment, almost like a dancer, for a non-date “date.” Zolno gives us the humor, charm, and self-consciousness of a privileged and troubled college kid. She brings all of Jessica’s family and sexual hang-ups to bear on Warren’s empathetic and gentle psyche. Their dance together in the shabby apartment offers hope and possibilities, as they engage in brilliantly funny and awkward sexual repartee. They create a chemistry onstage that reveals hidden depths in the play. The stakes are high for this clumsy couple and they do the script justice, bringing its nuances to life."
--Barry David Horwitz, forallevents, Quoted in forallevents

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF with Novato Theater Company

"Fiddler Soars in Novato:  Highlights include:  The three daughters ...All Excellent.  I especially liked Zolno, that rare performer who can act, sing and dance ("triple threat")."
--Clark Miller, forallevents, Quoted in forallevents

"NTC's Fiddler Rich with Joy and Chutzpah:  ... a duet by Hodel and Chava is lovely."
          --Barry Willis, Marin Independent Journal, Quoted in Marin Independent Journal

"Novato Theater Company Stages Beloved Musical, Fiddler on the Roof:  Catching Fiddler at the Novato Theater Company has been a sheer joy ... The daughters  ...are all excellent."
--Evan Almdale, Joint Forces Journal, Quoted in Joint Forces Journal