Meet John Paul Odle (Will Bennett) from LTA's "Blue Stockings"

 

Tell us a little about yourself:
Hello! My name is John Paul Odle, I’ve worked with LTA since 2017 and since then I’ve been performing rather regularly. I have a theater degree from Providence College, as well as a few acting credits from Catholic University. Since starting at LTA I’ve been in just under a dozen different productions around the DMV area, from Aldersgate Community Theater to the newly founded NoVa Nightsky Theater in Falls Church. In addition I made a bit of a reputation for being a reliable stagehand in college, so I know my way around a lightboard, soundboard, and just about every wheel, pulley and rope in a theater. Among other things, I’ve been made a fight captain and fight choreographer.

How does this show differ from other shows you have worked on?
Aside from having to learn a British accent? Quite a bit actually. I always told myself that I would save villainous roles for a later date, when I feel more adept at performing, and yet in the first act, all but one of the male actors is somewhat villainous (yes, even the paramours). Seeing how they diverge in their paths through Act 2 however, is a genuine highlight, and honestly not something that I’ve seen before. All too often, motivations can be telegraphed from scene 1 of Act 1, but here not so much. There is an incredible amount of nuance in each of the characters, great and small.

What made you get involved in theatre? How did you get involved with LTA?
I had a great deal of interest in the “behind the scenes” work of film from a young age. I remember I would always rush to get the newest DVD’s of movies I had seen in theaters, not to watch the movies again, but to see all the behind the scenes interviews, the making of the movies. The actors always drew my attention though, describing how they would approach the various characters, various scenes, etc. Since then I never did anything seriously (no, the second grade musical that EVERYONE has to be in doesn’t count, sorry mom and dad) but come high school, I was sort of pulled into a show, and since then, everything was history. I just fit in, fell in, and found my niche. As for LTA, I’ve always lived in the area and never gave the theater much of a look. But finally I decided to check it out, and audition. After having finally found a decent starting role as the titular Spike in “Vanya and Sonia, Masha and Spike” in 2017. I became a member and since then, I’ve tried to perform at least once a year, if not more in whatever role I can get.

What advice would you give others who are interested in working in theatre?
Come and audition. Come and work shop, paint the set, work with the people in a theater. Do behind the scenes work if your stage fright is insurmountable (and perhaps get a few classes to deal with it) Theater is necessary in our lives, now more than ever. You lose nothing by coming to an audition. You gain a lot of experience, and even if you don’t make it the first time, there are many, many more chances, and you should take each and every one. I’d be the first to tell you that in the world of auditions, rejections outweigh casting roles by a country mile, but for each 10 roles that I’m rejected for, I’m giving a lifetime opportunity to be in a play that either highlights my skills as an actor, or helps to compliment an excellent ensemble cast (luckily, I think our director chose each and every one of us in this show on both counts) So go, do it, audition, work behind the scenes, make friends in theater, and you’ll be making friends for life.

What do you want the audience to experience/take away from this show?
It is important to understand that humanity has progressed so very far in terms of technology, ethics, medicine, ideology, etc and yet at the same time we haven’t changed much at all in terms of character. We like to think we are so progressive in the modern era and yet we turn on the news and to so many, we might as well still be in the 1800’s, the 1700’s, the middle ages. These stories we tell on stage are so incredibly necessary to understand the human condition, and the fights we’ve had to endure to progress as the human race. so many triumphs, and so many victories are swallowed whole and buried because one person’s pride was too big to be challenged. To so many, theater is an escape, as well it should be. But to some, it’s a voice, and a voice they can call their own. And it’s the voice that is heard, the voice that is seen, the voice that is felt.