Welcome to Part 2 of our interviews with 2009 Helen Hayes nominees featuring
Deborah Wicks La Puma, Chris Lee, Konstantine Lortipanidze, David Loud, Ariella Tepper Madover, Jennifer Mendenhall, Matthew M. Nielson, Christiane Nolle, Jill Paice, Daniel Pelzig, Andy Prosky for Robert Prosky, Marc Ramirez, Ari Roth, Kimberly Schraf, Scott Schwartz, Mark Shunock, Chris Sizemore, Nilaja Sun, Teller, Irina Tsikurishvili, Paata Tsikurishvili
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Deborah Wicks La Puma – Outstanding New Play or Musical,
Chasing George Washington: A White House Adventure . Kennedy Center
The inspiration …
Karen Zacarias was commissioned by the Kennedy Center and the White House Historical Association, and she decided to spread the love and invite me in to the process, along with DC school kids, to create a piece about what the White House and its history has to say to kids today.
Biggest surprise …
Given the parameters of theme (White House history), how much drama and fun we were able to create! For an “assignment” we had a fantastic time!
When did you finish the play?
We are still working on it (it goes out on national tour this Fall) – with the election of Barak Obama, one of the main theme’s of kids hoping to someday “belong in the White House” (meaning they would see portraits of people of color on the walls) has actually been realized!
Biggest challenge …
Working within the confines of White House history – there would have been a huge amount of interesting (and fictional) tangents we could have taken, but we needed to keep to task. As often happens though, your biggest challenge becomes your greatest inspiration.
Which scene in the DC production did you most like?
I loved the scene and song where the kids come upon Lincoln in the middle of a personal and national crisis – he’s fighting with his wife, his son is witnessing the family distress, and he has the emancipation proclamation waiting to be signed on his desk. The song “Pen and Ink” was sung by Felicia Curry, as a kid from the present witnessing all that was sacrificed so that she could have a better life today, and she sings to Lincoln to give him the courage to sign the document. Felicia rocked the house musically of course, but the coming together of all the elements – projections, storytelling, costumes, lights, music – created one of those magical moments in musical theatre that we are creators live for.
Next?
Three musicals being produced locally: Ferdinand the Bull (also written with Karen Zacarias) will be mounted at Imagination Stage this Fall, and the national tour of Chasing George Washington and Nobody’s Perfect (written with Doug Cooney, based on the book by himself and Marlee Matlin) will go out from the Kennedy Center.
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Chris Lee – Outstanding Lighting Design, Resident Musical
Kiss of the Spider Woman . Signature Theatre
Greatest challenge …
The biggest challenge was the lack of hang positions but ultimately became the biggest opportunity.It informed how light should work within the space.
Your most important contribution …
Others can decide that.
What new technology in the last few years has contributed the most to your art?
Vectorworks.
Dream project?
An original with Jerry Mitchell.
Next?
Peepshow Las Vegas: An original show by Jerry Mitchell
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Konstantine Lortkipanidze – Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production
Host and Guest . Synetic Theater
Why this show?
The fact that it’s a very famous, iconic story from my home country, Georgia.
Greatest challenge…
Since Host and Guest is the only show I’ve done where I didn’t compose the original music, most of my work involved reproducing and reshaping music by the Georgian composers Vato Kakhidze and Gia Kancheli. And I would say this Nomination belongs to them.
Your best contribution …
The new experience of remixing Georgian folk music, something that is very familiar to me, but very new at the same time.
If you could work with anyone in the theatre …
I would stick with Paata because there is something about the way we work that makes me both hear and actually “see” my music as I work on it.
Is there a particular work of art you would like to see turned into a musical and why?
A great Georgian play called Pakula’s Pigs.
Next?
A silent version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, May 28-June 14, 2009 at the Kennedy Center.
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Konstantine Lortkipanidze – Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production
Romeo and Juliet . Synetic Theater
Greatest challenge ….
Finding the right tone, sound and “color” of the music.
Your most important contribution ….
Composing all 90 minutes of the original music for the show.
What new technology in the last few years has contributed the most to your art?–
Korg’s last generation keyboard, LogicPro Mac software, FL-Pro software.
Dream project …
A production where I can work with a live orchestra.
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David Loud – Outstanding Musical Direction, Resident Production
The Visit . Signature Theatre
Why this show?
I have had the great good fortune to have worked on every incarnation of The Visit — the first reading (with Angela Lansbury and Philip Bosco), the Goodman Theatre production (with Chita Rivera and John McMartin) and finally the Signature Theatre production (with Chita Rivera and George Hearn). It isn’t often that you get to develop a piece as thoroughly as this, and the chance to work with Frank Galati and Ann Reinking again was too good to pass up. We all knew, after the Goodman production, that the show needed another push, and Signature seemed like an ideal place to continue working. John Kander’s score, is, I think, a revelatory masterpiece: tuneful and romantic and heartbreaking and funny. Add in Fred Ebb’s darkly ironic lyrics and Terrence McNally’s daring adaptation … of course I said yes!
Greatest challenge …
Creating the Vocal Arrangements meant working in a very specific set of styles. The town of Brachen sings in an operetta-inspired European tradition, and I wanted their choral work to have a classical, Old World flavor. Claire Zachanassian and her entourage sing in their own distinct idiom — one closer to early Kurt Weill — and their material included writing for two male sopranos. That was a first for me. And I don’t often get to do Dance Arrangements, but when Ann Reinking and I were working on the number “I Would Never Leave You,” I suggested that we develop a dance with a limp written into it, since Claire has a wooden leg; this became the “One-Legged Tango” that Chita stopped the show with every night.
Your best contribution …
We hired the most dedicated, inspired ensemble I’ve ever worked with — they sang every show as if their lives depended on it. What an amazing group of artists.
If you could work with anyone in the theatre …
“Act One” is the book that made me think about a life in the theatre, so I’d have to say Moss Hart. Maybe he would have let me play rehearsal piano for My Fair Lady or something …
Next?
James Lapine and I are developing a multi-media look at the work of Stephen Sondheim … Susan Stroman and I are working on the final Kander & Ebb musical The Scottsboro Boys … and I’ve recently done workshops of two very promising pieces: Laughing Matters by Iris Dart, Mike Stoller and Artie Butler, and My Man Godfrey by Rupert Holmes and Mark Hollmann. Which basically means I’m currently unemployed. We’ll see …
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Arielle Tepper Madover . Outstanding Nonresident Production
Frost/Nixon . The Kennedy Center
Why this play?
I loved how Morgan took a very important time in American history and turned it into a very entertaining, thoughtful and momentous play.
How did you first learn of the play?
When it was originally given to our director Michael Grandage.
Greatest challenge …
The thing that was the most challenging was to have the proper actors most suited to play the roles and to achieve the vision of our writer and director. I believe that we achieved that tenfold with Stacey Keach and Alan Cox.
What about this production makes you the most proud?
I am most proud that we achieved the vision of both the writer and director and that audiences saw exactly what we wanted to portray.
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Jennifer Mendenhall – Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play
Lady Vanity in Measure for Pleasure . Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
JM: Lady Vanity was a neglected wife with a secret child she gave away because her husband doesn’t love her.
Creating the role …
Wounded pride finding solace in alcohol: what’s not to connect to? We’ve all had days like that; hers just go on for years.
Biggest surprise …
Watching Kim Schraf handle the dildo.
Favorite moment …
Putting my mules on in a drunken stupor while Doug Brown berated me (sorry Doug; stealing focus, I know).
This year’s favorite performances …
Lieutenant of Inishmore, Drunk Enough to Say I love You, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Stunning, Argonautika, Kim Gilbert in K of D.
Next?
Solas Nua: Woman and Scarecrow, with Brian Hemmingsen, Nanna Ingvarsson, Rena Cherry Brown, directed by Des Kennedy.
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Matthew M. Nielson – Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production
1981 . Catalyst Theater Company
Greatest challenge …
Trying to keep up with the rest of the design team, especially Michael D’Addario, our Projections designer. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do for the show until I saw some of the videos he put together.
Your best contribution.
Not getting in the way of the process.
What new technology in the last few years has contributed the most to your art?
The overall constant and continuous evolution of digital audio hardware and software.
Dream project …
Any project that I could compose for, that would compensate me well enough that I could afford to only work on one production at a time…
Next?
The Faithkiller with Taffety Punk at CHAW, Antebellum at Woolly Mammoth.
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Christiane Noll – Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Musical
Ruth in Ace: The New Musical Adventure . Signature Theatre
CN: Ruth is a strong woman, wife and Mother. Dutiful, devoted and opinionated — a real survivor. She is widowed when her husband is shot down in battle during WWI. Her pride and sense of duty is transferred to her Son. Years later, bereft and alone, she is left wondering if her choices were the right ones. The audience gets to see her from early twenties into her fifties!
Creating the role …
I loved Ruth. I found her incredibly familiar. A prideful southern woman with a lot of spunk who was not afraid to speak her mind or get what she wanted. She reminded me in part of many of the woman in my family. I really felt like I knew and understood this woman and the choices that she made.
Biggest surprise …
I was pregnant and watched my waste line disappear. Surprisingly we didn’t have to take my costumes out. They were loose at the start of the run — and… well… thankfully we closed when we did. Made it to 21 weeks by the time we closed. Then I popped – whew!
Favorite moment …
I loved the last moment in the play for my character. Incredible to play. She was older… empty… after a lifetime of not apologizing for her behavior she expresses remorse and self doubt. It is a humanizing moment. The music was so incredible to sing. And I was all over the staff. So rewarding.
This year’s favorite performance …
I think watching my husband embrace the role of ‘new father’ has been my favorite thing ever!!!
Next?
I’m playing Mother (of all things) in Ragtime at the Kennedy Center. I’m sensing a new trend in the parts that I am getting to play and I am happy and grateful!!
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Jill Paice – Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical
Elizabeth Lucas . Ace: The New Musical Adventure . Signature Theatre
JP: My character was Elizabeth Lucas who, after a suicide attempt, has had her 10 year old son taken from her by child services. She is unmotivated to live until she realizes she has to regain custody of her son and also tell him about his father who was an Ace fighter pilot killed in World War II. She’s never told Danny about his father because she is terrified he will follow in his father’s footsteps. Eventually, Elizabeth realizes that Danny needs to know who his father was and why his death has affected her so. She also realizes she needs to let Danny fly and follow his dreams, whatever they may be.
Creating the role …
In a most nerd-like fashion, I visited The Air and Space Smithsonian because they had a great exhibit on the Flying Tigers which is the company that Ace flew with. Richard Oberacker and Rob Taylor wrote such a beautiful arc for Elizabeth that it wasn’t difficult to breathe with her, to feel and understand her despair and then to rise from it and reclaim her son.
Biggest surprise …
The most surprising moment was the day we came in for rehearsal before our first preview and the character of Ace, played by Matt Scott, had been, at his suggestion, written out of the first act. This meant that I had to pick up all the bits of narration and melodies now left vacant. At the performance that night, I did some ‘creative’ rewriting when I couldn’t come up with the new lyrics. It was terrifying and I could hardly breathe…but I do think I managed to make it all rhyme in the end!
Favorite moments …
I loved reconnecting with Dalton Harrod who played Danny every night at the end of the show. I also really enjoyed the scene where Elizabeth and Ace, played by Matt Scott, met every night. Both my ‘leading men’ made my show what it was and I looked forward to seeing them on stage every night. The entire cast made this experience so wonderful. Between Dalton and Angelina Kelly, Jim Stanek and Christiane Noll, Duke Lafoon and Emily Skinner and Flo Lacey, we all seemed to pass the story around and take our turn at presenting a piece of this epic tale.
This year’s favorite performances …
Because I live in New York, my favorite performances are all New York based. I really enjoyed Kelli O’Hara in South Pacific and Gregory Jbara in Billy Elliot. I also really enjoyed Candide at the English National Opera.
Next?
I most recently played Anne in A Little Night Music at the Roundabout. I’m also doing a lot of developmental work right now. There are many new projects which are trying to gain momentum and I am fortunate to be working on a few different shows. I’ve also been doing some concert work and I’ve recently been summoned for jury duty.
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Daniel Pelzig – Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production
Romeo and Juliet . Shakespeare Theatre Company
Why this project?
The play, the director and the theatre.
Greatest challenge …
Making the play flow and making the transitions seamless.
Favorite moment …
The transition into the Ball.
Your last performance as a dancer was …
Twenty years ago.
If you could choreograph for anyone …
Vanessa Redgrave, because of her power, her weight, her politics and as a kid I fell in love with her in Camelot and Isadora.
Dream dance assignment …
Anything commercial that will bank royalties for years and years.
Next?
War Music at ACT and The Bartered Bride for Opera Boston
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Robert Prosky – Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production
Solomon in The Price . Theater J.
(Mr. Prosky’s son Andy Prosky is responding for his father.)
Dad loved the role of Solomon and never stopped working on the performance. He did 5 different productions of The Price, (one at The Gate Theatre in Dublin, Ireland) and won a Helen Hayes Award for his first production at Arena Stage. At the time of his death, he was booked to perform the play in three more theatres: The English Theatre of Vienna, Austria (where he was to direct the play as well), The Old Globe in San Diego and The Orlando Shakespeare Festival.) Yet and still, he was working on the role all the time. Always finding new things and keeping the performance fresh. He had a wonderful way with Arthur Miller’s plays. Solomon is a role of a lifetime and Dad was born to play that part. I feel sad for anyone who did not see him perform the role.
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Marco Ramirez – Outstanding New Play or Musical
Mermaids, Monsters, and the World Painted Purple . Kennedy Center
The inspiration …
I think a couple different elements. First and foremost, Junot Diaz’ “Drown” was a huge influence. He wrote this collection of short stories before he wrote “The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao” (which won him a Pulitzer), and when I first read it, what struck me the most was that he’d written this “ethnic-kid” story entirely from the inside out, without apologizing for his use of spanglish, and without feeling the need to romanticize his ethnicity. The stories were deeply affecting (to me) not only because they were well-written, but because they came from a post-ethnicity perspective. His literature was never wholly ABOUT being hispanic, it was just part of the landscape.
Another element that came into play was “the competition” for the young audience attention. I’m pretty young myself, so I didn’t have to dig TOO deep, but I basically tried to incorporate the most mature of Nickelodeon sensibilities and the most visually interesting video-game imagery I could find.
I never wanted them to feel like they were watching “a play for kids”, or “a play for Hispanic kids” I wanted them to just feel like they were watching “a play”.
Biggest surprise …
The biggest surprise was how the kids reacted to one story, “Lupe and the F-Train Monster”. In it, a girl fights off an evil subway monster that steals kids, using only skills she’s learned from her portable Nintendo DS. I always thought it would be a cute showcase for lights and costumes and other spectacle elements, but in one performance, the kids were cheering quite loudly, like they were at a real boxing match or something. It was a nice surprise – everyone loves a fight scene – but it’s also a testament to the costumes, lights, and the fantastic performance from Jenna Sokolowski, who played “Lupe”.
When did you finish the play?
We opened in October, I probably finished the final draft in early August. The piece was written as a commission. The Kennedy Center put out a call to specific playwrights they were interested in producing a piece for “young hispanic audiences”. I was lucky enough to get it.
Biggest challenge …
Figuring out HOW to keep the attention of 400 kids at once was pretty hard. I realized kids have like a 10-minute refresh-rate. They get bored easily, thanks to TV. So the hardest part was overcoming that. We decided we’d tell 5 stories, each about 10-13 minutes long, and therefore keep the kids on their toes, ’cause they’d have to keep re-learning the world of the plays every 10 minutes. Of course, the technical challenge was then “Marco, we now have to create 5 entirely different worlds. Thanks.”
Did you see the DC production?
Yes. Gregg Henry directed. It was gorgeous. The lights were astounding. One of the plays, “I am not Batman”, had these lighting effects that Bon Jovi would envy. It was SO cool.
Which scene or moment did you most especially like?
Dawn Ursula was “The Narrator” for one of the pieces. She has a voice I could listen to for days. The kids could’ve, too. The second she spoke, it was like they were all called to attention.
Next?
I’m having a short play produced at the Humana Festival in April. Other than that, I’m still in grad school at Juilliard.
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Ari Roth – Outstanding Non-Resident Production
The Price . Theater J
Why this play?
The play is a wrenching portrait of estranged siblings–brothers who used to be close until history had its way with their father’s livelihood and cast entirely different trajectories for each young man. The play reflects profoundly on the impact that an economic implosion can have upon a family. Like Miller’s finest plays, it exposes something of the myth of how we think of ourselves as Americans–exposing the very personal fiction that each brother has created for himself to make sense of his respective path. The play reaches a climax with perhaps one of the finest, most trenchantly observed lines Miller has ever written: “We invent ourselves to wipe out what we know.” Go ponder that. In fact, audiences did, and were bowled over.
How did you first learn of the play?
I read it in college. I was so pleased when Bob Prosky came up to me two years ago and asked me if I wanted to mount a revival of it with him and his sons in it. I thought about for about 12 seconds, and we were then off to the races!
Greatest challenge …
As wonderful Andy Prosky puts it, we labored to get the “cheese steak” out of the production. Meaning, the show, which originated at the Cape May Playhouse, then traveled to the huge Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia. There it labored to be heard by a somewhat unfocussed audience more used to Broadway musical fare and always in a rush to get to the parking lot even if it meant leaving during the curtain call. In short, Andy’s policeman, who’s on stage from beginning to end, essentially, had to labor hard to keep the attention of the 900 assembled audience members every minute. In a big house like that, there were some very big gestures being made to indicate certain moments, or to elicit certain laughs. Coming to the much more intimate Goldman Theater at Theater J, the actors learned quickly to adjust, to scale back, to find smaller and more precise ways of living out the moments. Bob, of course, led the way in refining the adjustments. Once again, the result was gold.
What about this production makes you most proud?
The spirit of family extended beyond the filial bonds — everyone within the Prosky radius was brought in and made to feel a part of a very unique enterprise. This was Robert Prosky’s last show. He took a tumble on the sidewalk in front of his house about 5 hours before opening night. He broke a rib and needed stitches. There were questions as to whether he’d be able to go on. Victor Shargai was given a script and told he might be Bob’s understudy, replacing him if Bob couldn’t make it through the first act. Victor gave the script to me and told me I was the new understudy. I didn’t really sweat it. I knew Bob would make it through. He did, with aplomb. He brought the house down. Every night was a joy. But opening night–that was a drama!
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Kimberly Schraf – Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Production
Dame Stickle in Measure for Pleasure . Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
KS: Dame Stickle is a crusading Puritan in Restoration England, charged with the care of a sister’s child, hell-bent on raising the “hussy” with ram-rod straight moral virtues in a world teeming with lurid temptations whose allures she herself has fiercely repressed.
Creating the role …
Two things helped me immeasurably: designer Helen Hwang’s inspired costumes (a swirling, asymmetrical woven headpiece and a high-collared black cassock over combat boots and elbow-length fingerless gloves, which evolved to black, clawed-off Frederick’s of Hollywood foundation garments) AND director Howard Shalwitz’s green light to employ a Scottish dialect that served to unlock for me both the character’s fanatical extremity and her fundamental grounding and beliefs.
Biggest surprise …
The playwright, David Grimm, showed up for opening (unbeknownst to the cast until post-performance) and seemed to endorse how we had had our way with his delicious, bracing text.
Favorite moment …
It would have to be the deflowering of Dame Stickle, a late-show entrance, with all the strictures that had bound her gleefully undone, and the means of her liberation lovingly in hand. The horrified and nauseated expressions on my cast members’ faces is something I relished every night.
This year’s favorite performances …
I was pretty darn taken with Tana Hicken and Holly Twyford in The Road to Mecca. I understudied Sarah Marshall in The Book Club Play and thought she was virtuosic. And an actor whose name I cannot recall made me weep as the young man in Rabbit Hole.
Next?
I am theatrically unemployed at the moment, but ever-hopeful that that will be but temporary!
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Scott Schwartz – Outstanding Director, Resident Musical
ROOMS a Rock Romance . MetroStage
Why this show?
I’ve been working on ROOMS a rock romance for six years, so it’s been a long attraction for me! I remember that Paul Scott Goodman called me one day, out of the blue, and invited me to his office at the Helen Hayes Theater in New York City. We had only met once before, but he said he wanted to do a two person musical based on his experiences as a young man in Scotland pursuing a rock music career and did I want to work with him on it. Then he took out his guitar and played a few songs. And that was it, I was in love. A two person rock musical, all written on guitar? It seemed so cool, I was hooked. Also, the idea of directing a musical with only two actors, where you get to know the characters and relationship deeply and intimately in a way that is more often associated with a play than a musical, this attracted me too.
Most challenging scene …
I think the most challenging scene for me was the opening scene of the show. In it, the audience meets Monica and Ian for the first time, but they are seeing each other after a three year absence. The scene is all about the history that they share, and what is NOT said. Finding the balance of energy, humor and pace to start the show, combined with a troubled and turbulent emotional history for the two characters… that was a real challenge.
Favorite moments …
There are many moments that I love. One that jumps out is the very simple moment of Ian and Monica sitting together and writing a song for the first time called “I Love You for All Time.” Seeing the birth of a song, the creative conception, and the purity with which the actors played this moment was always a pleasure for me to watch.
How did the final run of the show compare to what you had in mind at the start of rehearsals?
I had workshopped ROOMS in a festival production back in 2005, so I had a sense of what structure the staging and and production would have. But seeing the two brilliant performers take command of their roles, and of the theater itself, and hearing that great rock score blow the roof off of MetroStage, it was a thrill. It was more exciting than I could have possibly imagined.
If you could work with anyone …
Jerome Robbins. His staging was so brilliant, so revolutionary. His storytelling through movement and his ability to conceptualize a song, or for that matter a full musical, are still unparalleled. To work with Robbins would have been an unparalleled education.
Next?
ROOMS just opened off-Broadway at New World Stages in New York. I am also currently directing Teresa Rebeck’s excellent dark comedy Mauritius at the Alley Theater in Houston where I am an Associate Artist.
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Mark Shunock – Outstanding Supporting Performer, Non-Resident Production
Timon in The Lion King . Kennedy Center
MS: I play the “Timon”….and get to sing the best song in the show….”Hakuna Matata”! Timon is a New York wisecracking, know it all, has an answer to everything, meercat.
Creating the role …
Well, to put it literally, I connect to the character in three places. My head is attached to his head, my pelvis to his ass, and my feet to his feet. He is 4 feet tall and I love him to bunches.
Biggest surprise …
There is always something to look forward to at work, but the most surprising thing that happened during my run was when our resident director told me to not f*** the puppet.
Favorite moment …
My favorite moment has to be when I hear the audience “oooo and ahhh” during the circle of life. I’m sitting in makeup at that moment and it gets me pumped to get out there and bring it! Doing a little number called “Hakuna Matata” isn’t that bad eigther.
This year’s favorite performances …
When I get to take a day or two to get to see other things, I usually do things that Disney doesn’t need to know about…but my favorite shows right now are the guys in Jersey Boys…I get painted green and those guys get Armani suits. Whatever. Billy Elliot is simply amazing. I did the boxing thing as a kid and I guess I should have danced a little.
Next?
I leave The Lion King in July after 27 months on the road … so I’m working on finding the next gig. Anyone? Someone call Jersey Boys for me.
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Chris Sizemore – Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical
Enjorals in Les Misérables . Signature Theatre
CS: Enjorals is the student leader of the revolution. He took over leading the students into battle after General Lamarque died and led the revolt against the national guard.
Creating the role …
Enjorals is a very passionate character with strong values, beliefs and nobility. He is also a very loyal guy. My connection with him was not too hard, I try to live my personal life in much of the same manner. He was also always there for his friends and I live the same way. I appreciated the honesty and passion of the role.
Biggest surprise …
There was a moment in the show where Enjorals hands a gun to Jean Val Jean, which is a live gun, and Jean Val Jean uses it duing the upcoming scene. So when I went to grab the gun as I sing “Take this and use it well” there was no gun on stage, so I had to hand him the fake gun and we all on stage had to improvise during the scene. I love stuff like that because it always keeps you on your toes.
Favorite moment …
My favorite moment in the play was when I died because I was wearing a squib vest and when I got shot it exploded. It was the little boy coming out in me because I got shot in a show and got bloody. I loved it.
This year’s favorite performances …
I obviously enjoyed everyone’s performance in the Les Mis cast. I also enjoyed Harry Winter, and Tom Simpson in 1776 as well as Barbara Walsh in Grey Gardens.
Next?
I am currently in The Civil War at Ford’s Theatre.
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Nilaja Sun – Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Non-Resident Production
No Child … Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
NS: I performed No Child… as a solo piece. There are 16 characters in the play ranging from 8 students, to a principal, a security guard, three teachers and a teaching artist (cleverly named Ms. Sun).
Creating the roles …
This play was inspired by the work I had done for eight years teaching theatre in the inner city public high schools of New York City. Each character written had already held such a special place in my heart that it was not difficult to have the empathy I needed to allow their unique voices to be heard.
Biggest surprise …
I was amazed at how quickly the run sold out after a review in the Washington Post. It was as if my audiences mainly consisted of those lucky enough to have read the paper that specific day and consequently make a reservation.
Favorite moment …
One of the students slotted to play a big role in “Our Country’s Good” which was the play that was being taught by Ms. Sun misses out because he has to babysit his siblings. After the school play is done, Jerome bursts through the auditorium doors and realizes he has missed everything.
This year’s favorite performance …
I loved In the Heights.
Next?
I have published and licensed No Child… There have been over 10 productions of it nationally. I have seen many of them and am so thrilled that the story is still being told. I also had a small role in “The International” and “30 Rock”.
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Teller – Outstanding (Co-) Director, Resident Play
Macbeth . Folger Theatre and Two Rivers Theater Company
Why this show?
Macbeth is the best written supernatural horror thriller of all time. I thought somebody should present it that way.
Most challenging scene …
The appearance of Banquo’s ghost at Macbeth’s party. We wanted to create for the audience the terrifying experience that Macbeth himself was undergoing — that of a phantom being there suddenly, then suddenly gone. We decided to do this with nothing more than choreography and attention control.
The audience would, for example, discover the ghost in Macbeth’s chair at the very instant Macbeth saw it. Then their attention would be drawn away (just as Macbeth’s attention was being drawn) for just an instant, and when they looked back, the ghost would be gone. No special effects, scrims, or smoke; just psychology and attention control
This had to be accomplished four times during the scene and was incredibly startling — a perfect representation of the kind of hallucination Macbeth was suffering.
Favorite moments …
I have three: “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow.” Ian Peakes as Macbeth spoke these lines to a fifteen year old page, a grown man telling a callow youth the worst truths of life. It was heartbreaking.
– Kate Eastwood Norris as Lady Macbeth turning to face the audience — suddenly and startlingly drenched with spectral blood — and saying, “What’s done cannot be undone,” like a confused little girl.
– Eric Hissom as The Porter looking and sounding like a half-naked drunken fiend from hell and updating that scene to make the audience scream with dark, cynical laughter.
Final run vs. vision …
The show was everything that I’d hoped for, and there were performances that just stunned me. In addition to the actors, the sound design and live percussion accompaniment, the lighting, the fight choreography, and the costume and set designs were, for me, breathtaking.
If you could work with anyone …
I’d be interested to work with Tommy Lee Jones in the live theater.
Next?
The Tempest in about 2011.
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Teller – Outstanding Resident Play
Macbeth . Folger Theatre and Two River Theater Company
Why this play?
I’ve been in love with this play since I was 12 and felt the supernatural/hallucinator elements should be brought to life.
How did you learn of the play?
My grandfather sent my family a set of Shakespeare’s works when I was a kid and my father pointed out Act IV Scene I, the Weird Sisters cauldron incantation. I memorized it and still know it by heart.
Greatest challenge …
The biggest challenge of Macbeth is the latter quarter of the play. I suspect some pretty severe cuts were made in the text that’s survived, and for the end of the play to have power, we need to (a) follow Macbeth’s motives in becoming a terrorist tyrant (he’s on a vain quest for safety — not part of the human condition) and (b) care about Macduff and his family more than the text invites us to. If these problems of focus and balance are not carefully attended to, the play falls apart after Lady Macbeth’s bloody nightmare.
What about this production makes you most proud?
I love that this production seems to have made sense both to the public and the scholars. We were out to serve Shakespeare, not overshadow him with stunts.
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Irina Tsikurishvili – Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production
Carmen . Synetic Theater
Why this project?
The character of Carmen herself, her contradictions attracted me. . She has a complete lack of fear combined with a total awareness of what’s going to happen, that her own death is coming and is unavoidable. The challenge of trying to convey that contradiction through movement and dance was a very intriguing one.
Greatest challenge …
As always, to both act in and choreograph a production at the same time.
Favorite moment …
Probably the moment where Carmen interacts with the violinist, who, at that moment, symbolizes her death. There was a very eerie but somehow seductive quality about it. She almost seems to be welcoming and enjoying it, while trying to pull away at the same time.
If you could choreograph for anyone …
Well, maybe I’m a little biased, but I would stick with Paata, because his ability as a director, his vision, artistic vocabulary, energy, and endless creativity always makes me to do my best, as an actress, dancer, and choreographer. He’s constantly challenging me, finding new ways to explore and mold the style we’ve developed over the years.
Dream dance assignment …
For the moment, I have enough! There’s been so much going on lately, so I can’t even think of anything else I’d like to do right now, even hypothetically!
Next?–
Lysistrata with Georgetown University has just opened, and a silent version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, May 28-June 14, 2009 at the Kennedy Center.
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Irina Tsikurishvili – Outstanding Choreography, Resident Production
Romeo and Juliet . Synetic Theater
Why this project?
Romeo and Juliet has always been one of my favorite plays and it’s always been a dream of mine to try to apply our “art of silence” to that particular text. The challenge of trying to express all that beautiful imagery without using the words was incredibly exciting.
Greatest challenge …
Definitely the Capulet’s Ball, where Romeo and Juliet meet. Trying to choreograph a massive, sexually-charged dance involving several people, while still preserving these small, intimate, touching moments for the two central characters was very difficult.
Favorite moment …
Romeo and Juliet’s silhouetted love scene. It sums up so much of the play for me because, in that scene, they almost seem like ghosts, embodying this passionate love affair that’s very fleeting and untouchable, as powerful as it feels in the moment.
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Paata Tsikurishvili – Outstanding Director, Resident Play
Romeo and Juliet . Synetic Theater
What attracted you to this project?–
For a long time now, it’s been a dream of mine to tackle Romeo and Juliet, to try to apply our “Silent Shakespeare” to the legendary imagery of this play. But I knew that no matter what ideas or inspiration I came up with for this adaptation, it wouldn’t be a true success without the right actors in the lead roles. Luckily, Courtney Pauroso and Ben Cunis joined the company at exactly the right time. They made an ideal onstage couple, both having the qualities and chemistry that made them exact fits for the Romeo and Juliet I’d always envisioned.
Most challenging scene …
There really wasn’t one scene or sequence that stands out for me as being particularly difficult. I’d say the whole show was a huge challenge! Not only did I feel the need to top my last silent production, Macbeth, which won several awards, but an even greater challenge, of course, was how to translate this famous, iconic poetry into our language – the language of silence – without deadening the heat, power, and action of the original text.
Favorite moment ….
The death of Romeo and Juliet, the “sweet sorrow” of that. As often as the play is done, it remains, for me, one of the most sadly beautiful climaxes in all of drama.
How did the final run of the show compare to what you had in mind at the start of rehearsals?
The silent shows, especially, are constantly evolving. We start off in one place and usually end up in an entirely different one by the time we open. What I didn’t know was that this would be my favorite of all our shows, or that it would be a hit, one of our most popular and financially successful.
If you could work with anyone in the theatre …
Living: Irina, of course. She’s been my wife for nearly 20 years and is a part of me. She’s gifted, smart, and her creativity has no bottom. Her energy, dedication, and resilience; her extraordinary ability to teach, act, and choreograph makes her the only one for me.
Dead: Charlie Chaplin. Even in his physical comedy, he was deeply sentimental and touching, but never cheap or manipulative, because he meant it all – every onscreen sentiment he tried to convey he really seemed to feel from his heart. And, perhaps most amazingly of all, he was able to say it all without saying anything, without using words. He’s also one of the very few performers who is recognizable just from his shadow.
Next?
A silent version of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, May 28-June 14, 2009 at the Kennedy Center.
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Paata Tsikurishvili, Outstanding Resident Play
Romeo and Juliet . Synetic Theater
Why this play?
Very simply, it’s the most iconic love story of all time.
How did you first learn of the play?
Like most people, I read it high school, back in Georgia.
Greatest challenge …
The most difficult job comes at the beginning, before rehearsals even start – to find just the right artistic team in terms of acting, adapting, composing, set and costume design, original score, etc.
What about this production makes you most proud?
That it was a world premier of a wordless adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, something that had never been attempted before, at least not as anything other than a straight dance piece. That it was a hit. That it was a chance to make history!
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Have you met the nominees in sections 1 & 3?
(Section 1) David Adjmi, Che Ayende, Colin K. Bills, Michael J. Bobbitt, Andrew Call, Karma Camp, Will Chase, Andrew Cissna, Marianne Custer, Natascia Diaz, Sofia Jean Gomez, Paul Scott Goodman, Miriam Gordon, Carolyn Griffin, Marc Jacoby, Irakli Kavsadzki, Angelina Kelly, Karl Kenzler, Adam Koch, Doug Kreeger
(section 3) Ted van Greythuysen, John Vreeke, Jeremy Webb, Kenny Wollesen, Chris Youstra, Karen Zacharias, Stefanie Zadravec. Ensembles: Carmen, Goodnight Moon, In the Heart of America, Les Miserables, Measure for Pleasure, Resurrection, Romeo and Juliet, The History Boys, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot and Constellation Theatre, recipient of Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company.
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