Ashley Park Wants to Laugh (or Cry) With You at the Theater

Ashley Park has heard the criticism of “Emily in Paris.” The costumes can be garish. (Bucket hats? In the office?!) The characters can be cartoonish. The biggest worry for Emily, the protagonist, is often whether to cut trauma bangs or what outré dress to wear next.

“Just relax. We want the show to be fun,” Park, who plays Mindy Chen, Emily’s best friend and an aspiring singer, said in a phone call from her home in Los Angeles. “You can fold your laundry to it. It’s a really easy watch.”

In Season 4 of the Netflix comedy series, whose first five episodes begin streaming on Aug. 15, the action moves temporarily to Italy, on a Roman holiday. Another change: For the first time, viewers of the show will get to see winter in Paris.

“I don’t think anyone enjoyed that — Paris winter is hard — but the fashion is to die for,” said Park, 33, who previously split her time between New York and California.

That move reflects the fact that Park, who earned a Tony nomination as Gretchen Wieners in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls,” has increasingly found herself in demand as a television and film actress.

“When John Hoffman, the showrunner of ‘Only Murders in the Building,’ calls you and says, ‘Hey, I would love for you to play this part; you do a duet with Meryl Streep,’ there’s literally zero percent, if not negative percent, hesitation,” said Park, who appeared in Season 3 of the series.

On a sunny afternoon — with her mother in the next room — Park shared why she opts for hard-copy books, why she’s never without a disposable camera and why she sends thank-you cards for everything. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.

1

Live Performance

It doesn’t even have to be Broadway or Off Broadway. I love community theater and high school theater youth groups — really any time I get to witness storytelling in its most pure and honest form. One thing I’ve found about live theater from doing a lot of screen work recently is the magic of a live audience. Even when I sit next to a stranger, we’re all laughing or crying at the same thing. That’s what builds community and is so entrancing and special.

2

Farmers’ Markets

The first thing I looked up when I moved to my neighborhood is where the farmers’ markets were. I have these wooden bowls that I got at the farmers’ market in my boyfriend’s parents’ town in the south of France that I keep all my keys in. And so whenever I go to open this door or that door, it’s nice to have a little piece of that here.

3

Books on Paper

It’s probably not good for the environment, but my brain can’t process stuff unless I’m reading a hard copy. There’s something so sacred about magazines, newspapers and books.

4

School Music Programs

I went to public schools growing up in Ann Arbor, Mich., and I remember getting to have music class once a week, and getting to pick an instrument in the fifth grade. School music programs are vital as a place for kids to put their excess energy, find themselves and take ownership over their own rhythm or melodies. I didn’t realize that other kids didn’t have access to that.

5

Refillable Water Bottles

I’m drinking out of my Stanley right now. I’m so terrified about what’s happening with our climate, mostly because so much is going on with weather and water and pollution and things that aren’t normal — did you see that orange sky in N.Y.C.? — that if the one thing I can do is not go through 24 plastic water bottles a day, that’s great.

6

Handwritten Thank-You Cards

One of the first lessons I learned in college, from one of my musical theater professors, Brent Wagner, was gratitude. Any time I’ve left a show, ever, I hand-make a thank-you card, and now I’m talking to The New York Times, which maybe says something.

7

Home-Cooked Meals

I’ve always been so scared of the kitchen. I’m really bad at cooking, but I’m never more fulfilled than when people make me something. It’s fun to see them so joyful.

8

Arts and Crafts

It’s the best therapy, whether I’m doing it freehand or following directions. I love watercolor painting specifically — there’s no wrong answer, you can just make a beautiful design with no rhyme or reason.

9

Game Nights

If you were like, “Ashley, do you want to go to this really V.I.P. club, or do you want to host a Monopoly or Settlers of Catan game night?” there would be no question — I would pay money not to do the former!

10

Disposable Cameras

Since the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve been carrying either a Fujifilm or a Kodak disposable camera at all times. If you look at any purse I’ve worn for any event, it’s always one that can fit that. In our digital age, there’s pressure to have to make something perfect, but I love having a candid moment.