The Baltimore Waltz
nytheatre.com q&a preview by David Mangiamele
October 11, 2012
What is your job on this show?
Actor.
When did you know you wanted to work in the theater, and why?
Growing up in a theatrical/ music oriented family I always knew I had a love and a penchant for performing. I would always be the first awake of my siblings on weekend and summer mornings and sit out and watch Turner Classic Movies with my mother; so from a young age, I was entranced. I didn't become serious about theatre until mid high school, but on some level my heart was always there.
Who is more important in the theater: the actor, the playwright, or the director?
It was always my belief and I was always taught that theatre by nature is a collaboration. That aspect is one of my favorite parts of working on a show. You have your creative guide: the director, the vehicles through which the story is told: your actors, and the makers and shapers of the world: the playwright and the designers. You only need one actor to make theatre, but most of us want and need the team. The actor makes the theatre, the collaboration makes the art.
How did you meet your fellow artists/collaborators on this show?
When I first moved to New York (just over a year ago) I was in a delightfully clever and cooky children's show at The Looking Glass Theatre and Jackie Honeybourne was also the director for that show. It also featured Monica O'Malley de Castillo as the "Snake Queen." This is my first time working Justin Lauro (playing The Third Man) and any of the designers.
People who like which of the following recent Broadway shows would also probably like your show: THE BOOK OF MORMON, ONCE, DEATH OF A SALESMAN, CLYBOURNE PARK?
I'd say Death of A Salesman and Clybourne Park.
How important is diversity to you in the theater you see/make?
One of the most exciting things about live theatre for me is the wealth of possibility. There are so many different forms of performance in endless variations and combinations. Given the immediacy of performing for a live audience I think it's imperative that those who create the form always seek to push its boundaries.
