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Ayo Edebiri revealed the physical toll of performing in Broadway’s Proof during a post-show talkback attended by PEOPLE
She shared how the emotionally demanding role caused headaches and weight loss early in the show’s run
Edebiri also reflected on the significance of starring in a revival with a predominantly Black cast and inspiring young theatergoer
Ayo Edebiri is getting candid about the unexpected physical toll of starring in Broadway’s Proof
During a post-show talkback with mental health nonprofit Project Healthy Minds following the Tuesday, July 7 performance of the acclaimed revival at the Booth Theatre, the Emmy winner revealed that the emotionally demanding production left her battling “pounding headaches” and weight loss early in the show’s run — until her costar, Jin Ha, helped put it in perspective
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“I was like, ‘I don’t understand why I have a pounding headache every day and also why I’m losing weight,’ ” she recalled during the conversation, which PEOPLE attended. “And he’s like, ‘Well, you’re sort of grieving for work.’ “
In Proof, Edebiri stars as Catherine, a young woman reeling from the death of her brilliant but mentally ill father, Robert (Don Cheadle), while fearing she may have inherited his illness. David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play follows Catherine as her sister, Claire (Adrienne Warren), and her father’s former student, Hal (Jin Ha), question her claim that she authored a groundbreaking mathematical proof discovered among Robert’s papers
Of course, Edebiri, 30, is no stranger to tackling heavy material on screen. But performing the role live eight shows a week, she said, has challenged her in an entirely different way. “A lot of this experience, I’ve been thinking about my physical body versus my emotional body,” she said. “There’s just such an athleticism to stage acting.”
Unlike film and television, where scenes are shot in pieces, Edebiri said theater demands a different kind of endurance — one that changes every night depending on the audience. “I had to finish a show and then sit with myself and let my body really intake all of this physical information,” she said. “Each show is so different because who is in the space and sharing space with us and giving us energy is so different.”
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She added that rehearsing the play for roughly 10 hours a day made her realize just how deeply the role was affecting her physically. “It’s like, ‘Oh,’ ” she said, before quoting Dr. Bessel van der Kolk’s book. “The body keeps the score.”
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Cheadle echoed Edebiri’s comments, noting he has experienced something similar while playing Robert. The Oscar nominee explained to audiences that an actor’s body doesn’t distinguish between fiction and reality
“Sometimes you get off stage, you’re like, ‘Why do I feel like this?’ ” Cheadle, 61, said. “It’s like, oh, because you’ve been going through this pretend torture every night, but it’s like your endocrine system was doing the same thing.”
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“I think that’s what I was talking about,” Edebiri interjected
Proof first debuted on Broadway in 2000, starring Mary-Louise Parker, Larry Bryggman, Johanna Day and Ben Shenkman. The current production, which opened in April and wraps its limited run on July 19, is the first time the play has been revived on Broadway. Thomas Kail directs
During the post-show discussion, Edebiri reflected on what it has meant to star in a revival of Proof led by a predominantly Black cast — something she said she never imagined when studying theater
“I went to school and this is a play where it’s like, I wouldn’t even bother learning these monologues because these are not for us,” she said. “These are for the white girls to do and to cry and do a great job and get an A.”
Now, she said, seeing young theatergoers of color connect with the production has been among the most meaningful parts of the experience
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“All I want to do is create space for people,” Edebiri said. “If that means that I fall on my face and bust my ass, that’s cool. If that means that someone else doesn’t have to, then that’s dope.”
Project Healthy Minds helps reduce barriers to care by making support options for mental health services easily accessible to those in need. The organization also has a partnership this season with another Broadway show that tackles mental health issues, Every Brilliant Thing
Tickets forProof are on sale now
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