Rumors- meet cast member Kirk Lambert!

What do you find appealing about your character and this show? My character, Glenn Cooper, is a departure from my usual roles as someone typically more likeable and positive, but that is what makes it both challenging and fun.  Glenn is such an interesting mix of character traits.  He is self-important, a little dim, not particularly loyal, and he is a politician who manipulates the truth to his advantage (Gee, what a surprise!)  Besides a good script and a great story, actors want to work with a brilliant director, talented, unselfish actors, and a great crew—Rumors has it all!  We are so lucky. What I like about the show is quite simple:  It is a Neil Simon farce, and no one does it better.

What have you learned about yourself in playing the role of Glenn Cooper? My first reaction was, “I don’t like being the outsider among all of the characters, the person no one likes, the one who is a Debbie Downer.”  But as the rehearsal process moves forward, I have discovered I like playing Glen for those exact reasons.

What do you want the audience to experience/take away from this show? I want the audience to laugh and to hear the voice of the Emcee in Cabaret saying:  Leave your troubles outside! So - life is disappointing? Forget it!  We have no troubles here! Here life is beautiful...Welcome back to live theater!!!

How does this show differ from other shows you have worked on? What is it like being back in the theater after the long Covid-19 hiatus? Did you do any theater during the Covid-19 shutdown? Being back in the theater is such a mixed bag of emotions:  joy, excitement, happiness, relief, disbelief, hope, nostalgia, and all of it being wrapped in a sense of being a bit surreal. During COVID, and while I had COVID, I performed “It’s a Wonderful Life” which was a recorded Zoom presentation. I was also invited by fellow “Rumors” castmate, Janice Rivera, to be a part of two Between Acts podcasts which were taped on the LTA stage  (see photo below).

How long have you been acting and what made you get involved in theatre? How did you get involved with LTA? I have been acting about 20 years.  Opera is what got me involved in theater.  My wife’s coworker was a supernumerary at the Washington National Opera, and he invited me to an audition.  During the course of some 60 performances at the Kennedy Center and having a front row seat to some spectacular music and voices, I was bitten by the bug and knew unequivocally that I wanted to be an actor and on stage.  At that point, I began training and spent five years studying the Meisner technique with the brilliant Robert Epstein. I got involved with LTA when I auditioned for To Kill a Mockingbird, one of my favorite works.  I was so impressed with the theater, the staff, and the other actors I met that I subsequently returned to audition again, eventually being cast in The Audience and Dracula in 2018, among others.  Contacts I made at LTA have also led to work in other venues as well.

What advice would you give others who are interested in working in theatre? Train, act, repeat.  LTA offers a wide range of opportunities to train and to participate in all aspects of theater, both on stage, behind the scenes, and in the booth.  I highly recommend just jumping in.