From the Actor's Perspective: Character Interviews

"Today several cast members had a chance to be interviewed in character by the whole ensemble. Not only was it great fun and revelatory to see how each character answered often quite difficult questions (such as “What does power mean to you?”), but it was also amazing to see how quickly through-lines and motifs began to develop between characters and their backstories.

Three of our high status characters tentatively grouped as “untouchables--” played by Gabe, Bronwyn, and Adam--were interviewed early in the process. Their storylines quickly brought forth a recurring theme of souls, which was deepened through other interviews. We uncovered many different incarnations of this “soul” theme and related actions: selling souls, buying souls, stealing souls, losing a part of your soul, fragmenting souls, and so forth. I found it particularly interesting to consider the “soul” as a commodity in our capitalist system. Different characters also gave interesting perspectives on what a physicalized soul might look like. Other themes that came up were money/greed, lost loves, and what it means to give a gift.

Kat’s and Matt’s characters contrasted interestingly with the demons. They both possessed a certain innocence and child-like spirit, they are connected with confined spaces (a sandbox or a cage), and they had a fascination with things that are “above—“ the sky, birds, clouds, etc. We found out that Gabe’s character might have a tender spot for Kat’s Sandbox Boy.  

Finally, having a chance to do the interview myself was so helpful in discovering what initial character ideas stuck the most and could develop into something beyond a mere idea and have resonance for our show. Answering questions on the spot is a great way to get out of the headspace and more into the intuitive space and also try out sustained character physicality. There were certain things I just knew already about my character Nero—such as his obsession with watermelons or opera—but in the interview I discovered how these seeds might come to fruition (ie: working in a grocery store for most of his life as guy who sells melons? using music as the primary channel for his passion and connecting to his father through playing violin?). I also interestingly discovered a connection with Gabe’s character that has to do with tricking him in a money-game. There is also some mysterious connection with Gabe prior to when he “sold his soul.” Did they work together once in the grocery? I also deepened my understanding of family and the relationship with my daughter (Gwenn’s character). The idea of “soul” came up again when Nero said he lost half his soul when his wife died. Other quirks about Nero that came up were frequently forgetting things and possessing a sense of paranoia for which I have yet to fully understand the cause.  After my interview, it was interesting to see how Gwenn’s interview both built upon and added new layers to ideas I brought up as Nero.  

Overall, I feel I personally made good progress today, and perhaps more importantly the group as a collective made tremendous leaps in discovering common threads that will help us build a dynamic show.  I can’t wait for tomorrow to learn about the rest of the characters in more depth!"


- Vicky Moyer
Ensemble Member