Actress Julia Stiles in the Studio Theatre at Squires Student Center.

Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech assistant professor Bob McGrath and actress Julia Stiles meet with students, alumni and staff Monday in the Studio Theatre at Squires Student Center. The actress will play the lead role in "Persephone," a show directed by McGrath, when it opens next month in New York.

BLACKSBURG -- Actress Julia Stiles spoke to a group of students, alumni and staff Monday at Virginia Tech, taking questions about her career in film, onstage and in television.

Stiles will play the lead role in "Persephone," a show directed by Virginia Tech assistant professor Bob McGrath when the show opens in New York in October.

"For the department, and the Virginia Tech campus at large, I think it says something about us when someone like Julia takes time from her very busy schedule to come here, to work on a show," said Michael Anthony Williams, actor and instructor in the Department of Theatre & Cinema at Virginia Tech.

Stiles, known for her roles in the Jason Bourne movie series and "Save the Last Dance," "10 Things I Hate About You" and "Mona Lisa Smile," was scheduled to play the lead role in the play's premiere at Tech on Sept. 29. She pulled out when she was offered a recurring role in the television show "Dexter," which is shot in Los Angeles. Virginia Tech student Kara Drechsel will play Persephone during the show's Blacksburg run.

"Persephone" is an adaptation of the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone featuring music and visual projections and is set "as if it were being performed in 1895," McGrath has said.

Making the jump from stage and film to her first television role on "Dexter" was one of the topics Stiles discussed during Monday's informal question-and-answer session in Squires Studio Theatre at Virginia Tech.

"On a movie, you shoot three to four [script] pages a day," Stiles said. "On 'Dexter,' and maybe all TV shows are like this, you might shoot 10 pages a day."

Onstage work, such as her role in last year's "Oleanna" in New York, or "Persephone," requires different types of rehearsal and preparation than movie or television scripts, she said. Most stage shows have more rehearsal time, and require the actor's voice to be stronger and body movements larger, she said.

"For film and TV, it's somewhat intuitive," Stiles said. "You have to become smaller and act more with your face than your entire body like onstage."

The short amount of rehearsal time -- less than a week -- the cast of "Persephone" will have to rehearse with Stiles in New York in October also came up. The Virginia Tech cast and crew will prepare for the New York show, and Stiles will prepare with the cast in Blacksburg when her schedule allows.

"Thanks for reminding me. I'm terrified about that," Stiles said of the show, drawing one of many laughs from the crowd. "Luckily, I've known Bob and the crew of Ridge Theater for years, so we'll at least have that leg up."

Stiles got her start with McGrath in his theater company, the Ridge Theater, in New York when she was about 9 years old, and worked steadily with the theater group throughout her teens.

Williams, who will play Hades in "Persephone," said he isn't concerned about the short time the cast will have to work with Stiles before the Brooklyn run of the show.

"I know how anxious they are, but I'm not worried about her, and I'm not worried about them," Williams said. "All of the students, not just the ones involved in the production, can really learn from her."

Students in the crowd echoed Williams' excitement about having the chance to hear about the realities of acting from Stiles.

"Having Julia Stiles here is a wonderful opportunity for the department," said Jon Catherwood-Ginn, a first-year master's student in fine arts at Tech. "Hearing firsthand from a successful actress is really great for students."

It also helped students get a chance to see the human side of a professional actor, rather than just the public persona, said Meghan Beardsley, a senior in the communication department.

"She's more artistic than I imagined," Beardsley said. "She really puts a lot of thought and effort into things."