Timothy J. Cox
As You Like It
A nytheatre voices cyber-interview
Timothy J. Cox is an actor. He has found his niche as a character actor and for over a decade has perfomed a wide range of roles in both classic and contemporary plays. He has worked in New York and regionally.
Pictured: Tim Cox
You will be appearing in The Queens Players'/The Secret Theatre’s production of As You Like It. How does the change in time and place from the original affect the way the play will unfold and what can audiences expect when they attend?
There are two different worlds at work in the production. In one, you have the royal court, which director Greg Cicchino equates with modern life, where all the politics and backbiting take place. People live on their cell phones and blackberries and don't communicate with one another. When the play begins, a duke has just been banished by his own brother, so life is pretty bleak for all. No one is really happy there. In the other, you have the forest where, as Duke Senior says, "life is more sweet than that of painted pomp". In the forest, all the trims and trappings of the court are not important. It's not a place for cell phones, IPods and blackberries, but a place for people to get away from all of that and focus on what's really important: peace, contentment and communing with nature and your fellow man. From time to time, people forget to stop and smell the roses or spread a little sunshine. The hope with this production is to take people away from all the stresses of life for just a few hours and take them to a place that is…well, magical.
Could you give us a quick rundown on how you heard about this production, how you got to be a part of it and had you any prior experiences with the company?
I had heard of The Queens Players/The Secret Theatre for quite a while, as I am myself a resident of Queens. So of course, I had seen their posters and postcards in the neighborhood, but I myself had never worked with them before, but was certainly aware of their successes and their reputation for putting on quality work. Once a posting for this show went up, I immediately submitted, as I have always wanted to play the Dukes. Greg cast me and the rest is history.
You will be playing two roles -- Duke Senior and Duke Frederick. How do you prepare for doing this and how difficult is it to adopt two different persona within a very short time?
You trust and serve the material. William Shakespeare does a large portion of the job for you. He makes it very clear that Duke Frederick is the bad guy and that Duke Senior is the good guy. It's the best of both worlds for me. One minute, I'm playing this very volatile Duke Frederick and the next, I'm playing this very soft, gentle and kind Duke Senior. It's great fun. I get to be a part of the story from both sides. I think the key to playing a role like Duke Frederick is to not play him like a villain. He's not Iago or Richard III. He doesn't think that he's a bad guy, but he doesn't drop many hints that he's a good guy either. That's where that trust in the material comes into play. If you put your trust in Shakespeare and in the vision of the director, which I have thoroughly in the case of Greg, it makes your job as the actor so much easier.
Shakespeare’s plays often have large casts and many indie productions will cast one actor in two or more roles. Now that you have had this experience – is this a good idea? What important considerations must be thought out before deciding to do this? Is this something every actor would be comfortable with? Let us know your thoughts about this.
I think casting one actor in a number of small roles is wonderful. It's been my bread and butter for years and I think it is something that all actors should try. For one, it's a lot of fun and two it provides a nice little challenge for the actor. It's the actor's job to go out there onstage and make 5 or 10 lines feel like Hamlet. How fun is that? In my case, it helps that I have a supporting actor mentality. I like to come on, do my thing and then get the heck out of there. It all depends on the director as far as the considerations for this are concerned. I'm just thankful to the directors I have worked with who have given me the freedom to take those small characters and blow them up any way I like.
What sort of roles do you enjoy most and what will be in your immediate future?
Film director Robert Aldrich once said to actor Bruce Davison, "Be a character actor, they always work". I've followed that advice myself and it has served me pretty well so far. Character roles are richer, more interesting to play, at least to me. I'll take the role of the Gravedrigger over Hamlet any day. It's where I fit, where I belong. Yes, I was born a character actor and I'll be playing character roles until someone runs me over.
As far as other projects, I just wrapped two comedy shorts and a dramatic film, so along with As You Like It, it has been a very productive summer. I take it one day at a time as far as the next thing is concerned.
August 15, 2009
