The Road Theatre Company proudly presents Michael Perlman's At the Table at the Lankershim Arts Center May 17 through July 7. This riveting play deals with six so called liberal friends who realize on a weekend retreat that they are not as enlightened or diverse as they thought. Every week we will spotlight a member of the cast. This week the light shines on Christian Prentice.
Who do you play and what purpose does this character serve?
I play Nate, the host for the weekend and one of the "Core Four" friends. Nate is the guy that likes to have a good time. He provides the booze and the weed and the cabin. He also likes to stir the pot a little bit, he will say something or do something to get people riled up and then sit back and watch and he usually gets away with it because he is just charming or funny enough to get by. But he is also very loyal and protective of his friends and he loves them all very deeply.
Thematically he serves the purpose of the rich, straight, white male that truly believes he is an ally to minorities and marginalized groups and is doing the right things but in reality doesn't recognize how much his privilege has given him.
What are your challenges as an actor?
Wow. Um... In this show the biggest challenge is listening. There are a lot of scenes where everyone is talking at once and if someone misses a cue the whole theater can feel the energy drop. This is a show where, as an actor, you have to be "in it" the entire time because if you tune out for a second you've missed a lot and then you're playing catch up.
Also, learning when to time eating food in between lines can be tricky.
How are you preparing?
I've been drinking a lot. Smoking weed. Hanging out with the cast a lot outside of rehearsal. I think the entire cast realized early on that these friendships need to feel authentic for this play to really resonate with people and we've done a lot of work to build those relationships off stage. So hopefully that translates to the work. If not, it was still fun to party with these people.
I look over my lines a lot. This play is very naturalistic. The writing has a lot of "likes" and "ya knows" and trains of thought that jump tracks and then come back fairly quickly. It helps me because as an actor I have to finish the thought internally even if I don't say it out loud. And I have to know why it's connected to the next thing I'm saying in order for it to sound real and to maintain any emotional builds. It's challenging but it forces me to really think about what is this character thinking? What is he feeling? Why? What is the history? What has happened to these friendships in the year between Act 1 and Act 2? Which only leads to deeper, more rewarding work.
I've also been reading a lot about social justice and equal rights and racism and relationships. I read some Chekhov this play feels very Chekhovian to me. It's funny and sad and heartbreaking and absurd but very real all at once.
What is the theme or message of the play?
There are a lot of themes and issues this play addresses: privilege, equality, friendship, racism.
But I think the core of this play is what happens to lifelong friendships when people begin to grow into their truest self. Can we grow together or do we grow apart? Who am I? What is important to me now? And do the people that I surround myself with serve my journey of becoming the best version of myself or are they friendships of habit and history?
Talk about your fellow castmates and your director.
Ugh. The cast is the worst. Kidding! The cast is great. They are funny and talented and messy and complicated and giving and perfectly cast.
There was a night that the cast was out to dinner and it was right in the sweet spot of everyone was drinking and feeling loose and laughing and everyone was talking at once and it hit me that we were doing the play in real life. The rhythm, and the battle to be heard, and the teasing, and the love was all there. I saw the characters in each of us and understood why each person was cast. Credit to Judy for seeing that in us.
Judy (Moreland) is one of my favorite directors that I've every worked with. I've never trusted a director like I trust her. She is smart and funny and generous and curious and I think a lot of her strengths as a director come from her being a really good actor. She was so masterful in getting us where we needed to go as an ensemble. She gently guided us, she was patient, she asked great questions. This is a play that could become one-sided very easily and she did a great job of making sure that everyone was heard, everyone was fighting for what they believed.
The heartbreaking thing about this play is that everyone is hurting and speaking their truth and the other people in the room are having trouble hearing it. They want to help; they just don't know how. Or they are so hurt themselves that they can't see how. Judy did a great job of calibrating all the arguments so at the end of the play the audience will have a lot of things to think and talk about.
At the Table will play at the Lankershim Arts Center 5108 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, CA, opening this Friday through July 7. There is street parking but arrive early. For tickets call 818 766-8838.
No comments:
Post a Comment