The Little Theatre of Alexandria

What do you find appealing about your character? Gary Colema’s character appealed to me because he’s one of the only humans in the show. There’s something really surreal about interacting with puppets and I always loved how when watching Sesame Street, the humans made the puppets seem real because they spoke and interacted with them like they were. Gary is the celebrity guest, but in true Avenue Q fashion, he’s a washed up celebrity instead of a big star.  I had never seen Different Strokes before being cast in this role.  Part of my homework was watching episodes and I have to say, I really enjoyed the show.  It was truly entertaining to watch and see how Gary Coleman rose to fame.  As far as how that impacted me, well I have to admit, I developed a lot more respect for the character I'm playing.  I was able to get a better understanding of why the creators put him in this show.  I feel like the creators wanted the audience to experience a little firsthand schadenfreude by hav

What is appealing about playing your character? My wife says I do nervous befuddlement very well. That’s comfortable for me.  What do you find appealing about this show? Working with this talented cast and crew is enjoyable!!!     It is fun to do comedies involving stereotypical theater people!!!   In those roles, it is very difficult to go “over the top” or take yourself too seriously.   My character is a theater wanna-be but the motivations are the same.  How did you get involved with LTA? One day in 2002 I told my friend John Kirby I was auditioning for Arsenic and Old Lace at LTA. John was a not only a co-worker and but he and I had acted together in To Kill A Mockingbird at Tapestry Theater.   John asked if he could join me for the audition.    I was interested in the part of Teddy Brewster, a man who lives under the illusion that he was Teddy Roosevelt.    (I have always been fascinated by Roosevelt.) That evening at auditions, John met a lovely and talen

What made you want to do the role of Oscar Jaffe? I wasn’t sure I did want to do the role of Oscar Jaffe. Did you not like the role? No. To be honest I was afraid of the role.  This rings true for all the roles in Twentieth Century, but it is exemplified in the role of Oscar. In order for any actor to do more than just bring his character to life, they must be willing to take risks. Go a little beyond their comfort level. Comedy demands this more than anything.   An actor’s first responsibility in a performance is always believability. In reading the script, I thought it to be, for me anyway, an almost impossible task to bring Oscar to life without making him a cartoon. I did not think I could do this level of comedy. I lacked the experience in this comedic genre. When an actor creates a role he must make definite choices and he must commit himself to them 100 percent. When the choices are so insanely broad, to put it mildly, as they are in the role of Oscar, any l