Rebecca Moscowitz, a struggling young actor, stands onstage, reciting a carefully memorized monologue. As she goes through her audition, voices talk over her, evaluating her suitability for the part. After a few lines, she is interrupted: “Excuse me, Miss, how tall are you?” About 5-foot-8, she responds, puzzled. “Really? Hmmm. Okay, all right, thank you.” As Rebecca slinks offstage, one of the unseen auditioners mutters, “She just looks too damn

WHO IS SHE?: Brazilian-Italian beauty Morena Baccarin, the 23-year-old New Yorker (by way of Rio de Janeiro), catches eyes as Inara, a revered sex worker on Fox TV’s acclaimed new “space Western” Firefly, set 800 years in the future. The daughter of a South American stage and TV actress, Morena moved with her family to Greenwich Village when she was 10 and later attended LaGuardia High School for the Performing

It’s been a tough season for Joss Whedon when it comes to his new sci-fi series Firefly. While the series is blooming creatively, the enemy has been the anemic ratings that have threatened the show since it premiered. Firefly has battled baseball and the Death Slot, that nasty timeslot that some series have to try to survive in on Fridays at 8 p.m. Despite it all, Firefly has held on,

Can you tell me a little bit about your role in “Firefly?” I play a companion. This is in a time when prostitution is legal. There are not so many taboos to it. She’s very classy, more along the lines of a geisha. She’s very trained in the arts, in languages and the instruments – she can swordfight and everything. It’s just incredible. She’s a great character. I learn things

We sat down with 23-year-old Morena Baccarin, the sultry star of Firefly — the hot new show from Buffy and Angel creator Joss Whedon. She gave us the lowdown on the show and some hot tips for aspiring actors everywhere. How did you get into acting? My mom acts, as does my uncle, so I’ve always been around the theater — I thought that was what everybody did for a