While I’m not as successful as some (depending on your definition), I suppose it is a bit of an ego-bump to have things scheduled through half the year. I recently achieved a day-job that will hopefully be longterm, and I just signed away a year on an apartment in my favorite area (more on all that next month).
What this means, practically, is that since I’m committed to Chicago for the next year, I can commit to finally bringing A Thousand Times Goodnight to the Windy City. Hopefully it’ll be an outdoor performance: more than any other of my verse plays, ATTG needs to be done outdoors. I’m trying to schedule a casual read next month to start some heavy cutting and streamlining, cause that fella’s a long’un, but things are… ya know… starting.
Even better, I can finally say that I get to fulfill a dream this year by playing Matamore in The Illusion. I saw this play when the Court Theatre did it like four years ago: the 1st year grad students of WIU were taking a trip to see it, and I was allowed to tag along. I thought it was a beautiful and intelligent show, and Matamore – aside from being hilarious and brief – was in many ways the essence of the play’s message in little. And now I get to do it! Go me.
Timothy Edward Kane as Matamore, with Michael Mahler as “The Son” of many names, in the Court’s 2010 production. Photo by Michael Brosilow
There is an interesting contrast between the Court’s Matamore and most, however. While typically played by an older character actor, the Court’s Matatmore was played by a young leading man type (Timothy Edward Kane), whose appearance gave the impression of strength and competence. This illusion (hah!) was quickly undercut by the lines and Matamore’s behavior, but the first impression was of a warrior. This (I think) allowed for subtler performance, and provided the vital opportunity for a depth of character perhaps not displayed in the script, and certainly not in the source material (Corneille’s L’Illusion Comique). Hopefully (hopefully) I’ll get the chance to lend a similar complexity to the RBP’s production.
Peter Bartlett as Matamore in Signature Theatre’s 2011 production. Photo by Joan Marcus
However, as shown in Signature Theatre’s Matamore (played by Peter Barlett), the more traditional presentation is an obvious blowhard, someone neither intimidating nor impressive; an overt nod to the Commedia braggarts from which Matamore was born. Being kind of a short guy, my Matamore will probably be something more in this vain, but all that really means is – at worst- I’ll be losing a second or two of magnificence before I start speaking. NB’est of Ds. The blowhard is a role at which I excel: just check out me as Mozart in The World’s Stage’s Amadeus last year! I even look a little like Bartlett!
Me as Mozart and Mack Heath as Salieri in World Stage’s Amadeus. Photo by Zach McLain
So The Illusion is a big highlight for me, and I’m magotes-excites about starting rehearsals next month. In celebration thereof, I’ve updated the Coming Soon section of my Recent Work page to include most of what I’ve got coming up this year so far. Enjoy! I know I will.
COMING SOON IN 2015
January: Unrehearsed Shakespeare opens its third full season with Twelfth Night on Twelfth Night ’15. Later in the year, look for a full production of Countess Bathory and (hopefully) an outdoor production of the Chicago premier of A Thousand Times Goodnight.
January – February: Back by popular demand, Unrehearsed Shakespeare holds its second workshop in half a year. Learn how the Elizabethans did it (maybe)! Learn how to derive character from text, to use words as tactics, to work as a team, and remove judgmental barriers. Plus, do stuff with Shakespeare!
February: I continue my work with the Shakespeare All-Stars, this time visiting the Latin School for more fast-paced fun.
March – April: At long last I return to The Right Brain Project, for a dream role in a dream play. The RBP opens its tenth season with Tony Kushner’s The Illusion, in which I will be playing the lunatic braggadocio, Matamore. Ever since I saw the Court’s production back in 2010, I have longed to be a part of this show, and I’m uncharacteristically ecstatic with anticipation.
April: I’ll be traveling up to Michigan to teach an Unrehearsed Shakespeare workshop in Midland, Michigan for the Regional Festival Conference for the American Association of Community Theatres (AACTFest).
May – June: A very hypothetical timeframe for A Thousand Times Goodnight to come to Chicago. Keep your fingers crossed!