No beating around the bush today, Blogfriends. We are officially LESS THAN ONE WEEK away from opening night. To say that I'm not peeing my pants right now out of excitement and nervous energy would be... well, it would be true. But emotionally, in a metaphorical way, it's definitely true. If you haven't bought your tickets yet, stop reading this right now and go to our online ticketing website and buy them right now. Seriously, now! Once you've done so, meet me below. I'll wait...
Nicely done! Glad that's out of the way, right? Right. Now onto today's cast member blog! Today's entry comes from Gareth Kelly, a fine young gent portraying the role of one Roy Marcus Cohn. Allow Gareth to take you on a blogospherical journey into his decision to audition forAngels, why you might overhear him yelling "curses!", and his lackadaisical approach to laundry.
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When my daughter was born 5 years ago, I decided to swear off theatre for a few years so that I might actually be home to help raise her. A few years later my son was born. Both the theatre and raising children require a sizable amount of dedication, and it is only now that I am comfortable attempting to take part in a project likeAngels in America.
When Sue [Kramer, Director] called me to inquire if I would be interested in auditioning for the role of Roy, my initial reaction was tepid. Unlike many of you reading this, I had only heard of Angels in America, and I wasn't sure it was the play I wanted to break back in on. Then Sue told me that Al Pacino played the role in the miniseries, and I was sold (not that I let on). Next I found out that Roy was Roy Cohn, an historical figure that I had heard of but knew absolutely nothing about. This really whet my appetite for acting, but by the end of the audition, I was chomping at the bit. I used to curse like a sailor, or at least a delinquent, but with the kids around I find myself saying things like "Dagnabbit!" or my new favorite, "Curses!" By the end of the audition, I must have dropped like 50 F bombs just reading the script. So liberating. That role was MINE. I had to have it.
Luckily, I got it.
That was the first hurdle. I arrived at the first read through full of excitement that I hope I have carried throughout most of the process, but that first night it hit me: This is college theatre. I haven't been here in about 15 years! I'm old!
Turns out I'm not the oldest member of the cast (I'll never tell who is), but the youthful energy and enthusiasm was a bit intimidating at first. In one early rehearsal we had to take our shoes off, and I hadn't had time to do laundry or trim my toenails. So, I'm wearing these holy socks (you know, the kinds angels wear) and anyway...TMI...but definitely embarrassing. I've since trimmed the toenails and retired the socks. [Not that this blogger noticed the original offense, but we thank you.]
The cast and crew have been great though. I have truly enjoyed getting to know and work with every one of them, and to say that and mean it is rare in the theatre. There's usually at least one psychopath. I hope that doesn't mean it's me.
The process has been a journey worth taking with many challenges along the path. Beginning with research on the internet as to who Roy was, what he looked like, what he did. Having Emma as a dramaturg has come in handy on a couple of occasions. Then, there's the Pulitzer Prize winning script. Beyond getting to curse a lot, there's a rhythm and purpose to the words that lend so much to the character. Memorizing the lines has become a particular challenge as a father of young children. There's nothing like testing your memorization while responding to the calls for "Daddy...!", every 5 minutes. Add to that incorporating Sue's invaluable direction into my own (overly?) analytical assessments of the character and script. Another challenge has been finding a way to embrace a character who is my polar opposite in almost every way. Plus, they cut off all my hair! And finally, there is the challenge I now face of surrendering, letting me go and Roy come in whilst not F-ing up my queues or important blocking.
So, it has been a challenging and fervent time for me, but all well worth it. I can't wait for you to see it. We're working very hard. I expect us to make this an experience the audience will remember and value. Hope you can be there.
