Meet Andrew Voss

Happy Fall!  We're excited to open BROKEN AND ENTERED next weekend!  Our cast has been wonderful to us by giving some insight about their journeys in the theatre and in their roles.  We hope you enjoy Andrew's thoughts!

 
What is it like working on a brand new play? And having access to the playwright, Kurt McGinnis Brown?

Andrew Voss

Doing original work is always a fun challenge.  It's almost like getting a list of ingredients, and when you put them together  you find out it's cherry pie!  (Cherry pie is my favorite! In case any of you are at opening night...I'm just putting it out there!)  It's a unique challenge to take someones story and bring it to life for them. Having Kurt available during rehearsals gives us a wonderful and unexpected reward.  

Much like a father seeing his newborn baby for the first time, I hope that Kurt will feel that pride and relief when he watches BROKEN AND ENTERED.

What are some key characteristics of Wally? Why?

 Wally is a dreamer, he is quick to run in the face of serious emotional conflict, and he is somewhat shallow.  Throughout our story he is on a mission to rebuild himself into a new and better person.

Describe one of your favorite moments in theatre. How has it shaped who you are today?

 In college I was in a play called MILL FIRE by Sally Nemeth.  I (Champ) was dying of horrible burns and had my clothes cut off as my wife (Abby White) helplessly watched. Until that moment I didn't realize the power of live theatre. The heaviness of that moment and the impact it had on me, my fellow cast members and the audience will always be with me.

Andrew Voss and Emily Vitrano in PICNIC (2009)

If your character could spend a day in Milwaukee, where would they go and what would they do?

Wally would go to the Milwaukee Art Museum and walk around because that is where people who are "better" hang out.  Also he would stop at the Miller Brewery tour, because he loves cheap beer!

Catching up with Marti Gobel

The world premiere of BROKEN AND ENTERED is just days away!  We thought it would be great to get to know Marti a bit more in her role as Jamila. Enjoy!

Entering Jonathan Wainwright's Perspective

We're getting closer to the opening of BROKEN AND ENTERED in the Studio Theatre next Friday night with previews on Wednesday and Thursday.  One "Rebel" we will get to know through this show is Vern, played by Jonathan Wainwright.  Here's a closer look at his perspectives about the show and his character.

What is it like working on a brand new play? And having access to the playwright, Kurt McGinnis Brown?

 

Jonathan Wainwright

Working on something brand new is different from an established/often produced type piece one in that there is a lot of discussion of basics, like timelines and even what the whole point is. Not that you don't discuss those things in other productions, but sometimes with a new piece those discussions can last, well, until the end of the run sometimes. Having access to the playwright, now, can certainly help simplify the things I just mentioned.  Plot points and character motivations that seem hazy can be quickly clarified so the actor can get to the heart of the matter, so to speak, without worrying that the play is being taken to a place not intended or wanted.
 

What are some key characteristics of Vern? Why?

Vern is intense, angry, but very thoughtful at the same time. Trying to reign in the thoughts to form a cohesive plan of self improvement leads to bad things and good things, and bad things that can be good things, eventually. There are lots of why's, as there are in any of our own thoughts and actions, some more present and clear than others, some less obvious, and less dark than may be assumed.
 

Describe one of your favorite moments in theatre. How has it shaped who you are today?

As much as I love being on stage with my wife, Laura Gray, and as little as we have actually had the opportunity for that, I'd say my favorite moment in theatre has yet to happen. But I can't wait.

Jonathan Wainwright and Georgina McKee in CRIMES OF THE HEART (2011)

 If your character could spend a day in Milwaukee, where would they go and what would they do?

I think Vern would make a large list of the things you are supposedly supposed to do in Milwaukee, but end up having a burger down by the lake, enjoy it immensely, walk to the Summerfest grounds, see if there's nothing going (faulty info), try to find out how to get to the Harley Museum, but then realize the art museum is right there, but it's closed. Then he'd go to Shaker's.

An interview with Playwright Kurt McGinnis Brown

Conducted by MCT Board member Linda C. Loving


Linda Loving: There is great anticipation for this fall's world premiere production of BROKEN AND ENTERED! Trace the history of your connection to Milwaukee Chamber Theatre through Wisconsin Wrights and our Montgomery Davis Play Development Series. 


Kurt McGinnis Brown: Chamber has been berry berry good to me-and my plays. B&E was the second of my plays that MCT selected from among the Wisconsin Wrights finalists for its Montgomery Davis Play Development Series. The reading in March 2010 had the usual electric Chamber audience and went over very well. Everyone involved had a great time.
 

Linda: Who will be directing BROKEN AND ENTERED? What's it like to sit "in the house" and watch your words come to life under someone else's direction? 
 

Playwright Kurt McGinnis Brown

Kurt: I love that aspect of theatre-that someone else gets to direct. In writing a play I see so many different ways it could go when staged. I'm glad I don't have to choose. Suzan Fete, of Renaissance Theaterworks, directed the reading here in 2010, and I'm excited she's directing the full production too.
 

Linda: Our 2012-2013 season bears the title "Rebels." Your characters all seem to be in some form of rebellion against the past, against the rules, against the changing culture. How were you led to these themes and the play's context? 


Kurt: Family. My father's ambition, he told my mother after they married, was to be a hobo. His father moved his family from house to house to keep ahead of creditors and the law as he sold stocks to non-existent gold mines, organized illegal card games, and ran numbers. I'm drawn to writing about lives like these that resist socially acceptable patterns, characters that create their own rules. B&E strikes me as my most autobiographical play-not because anything that happens in the play necessarily happened to me, but because, by pushing my imagination in a certain direction, I can envision that our family might have been like Wally's and Vern's family. 

Linda: Interesting. Those brothers -Vern and Wally - are at the heart of the play, and their dance conveys universal sibling dynamics of loyalty, jealousy, shared history and hope. Talk about who these men are.


Kurt: If Vern and Wally weren't brothers, they would have nothing to do with one another. Family binds them together-even while both are trying to escape the family history. In early drafts of the play, the two weren't brothers. One day in my workroom they became brothers, and that's when the play started to vitally interest me. I just now realized where they might come from … In my extended family, there were two brothers that ended up back in their mother's house after she died. For years, one lived on the second floor and the other in the basement, and once or twice a month they might run into one another in the kitchen. One eventually died in the house and the other did not know about it until someone else found the body. I guess I've been obsessed with such a setup for some time. 
 

Linda: And another part of the "setup" for this play is the sociological context of a city in transition. A particular city?  
 

Kurt: I did have a city in mind when writing but deliberately don't say in the play, so I won't say here. People have guessed a number of industrial cities from the northeast to the Midwest, and some have even named particular neighborhoods they know.


Linda: Is it fair to say that the very house in which the brothers grew up becomes a character itself in the play?


Kurt: I think so. Just as productions after this one will have different actors who bring out different aspects of the three characters of Wally, Vern and Jamila, I think theatres will have a lot of fun playing around with the house as a character.


Linda: You mention "three characters;" I'm intrigued by the presence of additional (off stage) characters. We only know Linda through phone conversations; there are frequent references to neighbors watching - what's up with that?


Kurt: In early drafts Linda appeared on stage. She would have been only a secondary character had I allowed her stage time. That would have hurt the play-having to get her on and off, give her enough good lines. She seems more alive this way because the audience has to create her. I also like implicating audiences in playing a role, as here where they are a kind of surrogate for the silent staring neighbors that surround the characters.


Linda: Ohhh, of course! Now, am I projecting my Presbyterian heritage on to Wally when I sense undercurrents of Predestination in his wrestling with religion/ with "something bigger?"


Kurt: Ah, I think you're on to something. Wally is the romantic and struggles with bigger questions. Jamila and Vern are much more pratically inclined in their immediate battles. They want to win. Wally wants the world to be better.


Linda: And both brothers seem intent on some kind of self transformation and erasing the past, yet there is this counterpoint of longing to be a "perfect stranger?"


Kurt: If you succeed in transforming yourself and changing your past, then you will become a stranger to yourself. Vern will have to tell us if that's a good thing to wish for.


Linda: And of course an urban setting can invite estrangement. You have said that at the readings you found the play "rather hopeful in an odd way?" 


Kurt: Yes… Jamila, Vern and Wally are strivers. They're willing to go to dangerous limits to carry out their plans. They're willing to get hurt for a cause. Even Vern's plan, while logical in a kind of mad way, is focused on how to make life fairer. All three strive to break down barriers of race or class. And maybe each manages a kind of escape by the end.


Linda: And the audience? What is your hope for them at the final curtain? What is going on in the viewer's heart?


Kurt: Tough questions. I hope the audience gives the actors and director a well-deserved ovation. I hope the comedy in the play sets up a visceral emotional reaction to the ending. And I hope people forgive the brothers, even if they might have been one of their victims.


Linda: And Kurt, may you too receive a well-deserved ovation! I can't wait for opening night! Thank you for your remarkable talent and for these reflections.

Stephan Roselin as Chuckles the Chippermonk!

Hope everyone who came to opening weekend enjoyed the show! A THOUSAND CLOWNS is running through August 26.  We cannot forget about our wonderful Stephan Roselin who plays "Chuckles the Chippermonk" aka Leo Herman on stage. Here is an inside look about Stephan and his hilarious role.

What are some of your favorite moments in theatre that made you who you are today?

Growing up, my parents felt it was important to bring the family to the theater, all 6 of us.  Being in New York City, I was fortunate to see a lot of great shows.  As a kid, I knew that I either wanted to be an actor or a cowboy (looking back, I’m not sure I made the right choice).

Stephan Roselin

I was in a production of BLOOD KNOT by Athol Fugard in grad school.  The play is about two brothers (one black / one white) in the midst of apartheid in South Africa.  It was an extremely powerful theatrical experience that made me “feel” how a society’s prejudices and racial injustice can poison even the most beautiful relationship.  I remember getting physically ill during the rehearsal process because of all of the disturbing fear, hatred and pain of the piece, and I felt like I came out a different person because of my experience. 

In 1996, I had the distinct pleasure of being in Martin Sherman’s play BENT.  Not only was it a great production, it was also the seed that planted the Bialystock & Bloom Theatre Company.   Who knew that the late-night show would pave the way for an eleven-year run that would change Milwaukee Theatre forever??!!   

During the B&B years, I did the title role of THE ELEPHANT MAN (John Merrick).  To have the opportunity to step inside Mr. Merrick’s shoes and see the world through his eyes (if only through make-believe) was such an extraordinary moment in my actor life that shall be with me for a very long time.  It is never right to judge another person by their appearance, for there is much more to a human being than meets the eye.  Mr. Merrick, as I came to found out through research and performance, was an unbelievable man – full of knowledge, spirituality, depth, knowledge, sexual drive, compassion, sincerity, artistic abilities, religious association, wit, and gentleness.   You never know what lies beneath the surface of another unless you are willing to peel the onion and disregard the prejudices and negative pre-conceived notions.  That play taught me about much humanity.

Tell us about your first reactions upon reading A THOUSAND CLOWNS? 

Fu-nny!  I was on an airplane from Milwaukee to New York City and read the play from take-off to landing and couldn’t stop laughing.  Never saw the movie, never saw the play … so I came at it with fresh eyes.  What also drew me to the script when I read it was how poignant the piece is.  This play absolutely stands the test of time.  I especially love all of the animal imagery and references interwoven throughout the play.

From left to right: Thomas Kindler, Stephan Roselin, Tom Klubertanz
Photo by Mark Frohna

What’s it like playing an instrument (ukulele) you’ve never played before in front of an audience?

Well … I was put in the “special” group (of one) and instead of playing a ukulele, I am playing a … (come see the show).  

From your perspective, how would you best describe your character?   

Leo Herman is the “hardest working person in show business”.  He is a man who is full of passion that tends to wear his heart on his sleeve.  Talented, great sense of humor, charming and very good looking.  He’s a guy you’d want to have lunch with at the 2^nd Avenue Deli.  He’ll buy!! Leo is a generous man who takes care those who take care of him.  

If your character could spend a day in Milwaukee, where would they go and what would they do?

Leo Herman’s itinerary in Milwaukee:

7am: Arrive MKE Airport.  Check in at the Pfister Hotel.

8-9am: Breakfast at Benji’s for the Super Hopple Popple (no mushrooms) with Uncle Alvin and Aunt Nancy.

9-10am: Visit WTMJ-TV (local NBC affiliate) and cut promos for the show.  Take pictures with the winner of the “Why I wanna be like Chuckles” contest. 

10:30-11:30am:  Chuckles visits with kids at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.  Check presentation of $5,000 to the hospital.

12-1:30pm:  Lunch at Benji’s for the Reuben and Mish Mosh Soup with Herb Kohl.

2-3p: Visit Woodman’s Food Market for ‘Meet & Greet / Picture Taking’.  Cut commercial with Phil Woodman promoting the new Chuckle Chip’s BBQ Potato Chips.

3:30-4:30: Private Pilates Class with Master Pilates Instructor Carolyn Roselin.

5-7pm: Back to the Pfister Hotel for a Shower and Shave.

7:30 - ?:  Dinner and lots of wine at Sanford’s Restaurant with Carolyn Roselin followed by dancing … and a marriage proposal.

A little bit about Tom Klubertanz

Here's a great look inside Tom's life as a theatre professional and teacher.  Tom's character, Murray Burns, knows how to live his life to the fullest, and we believe Tom does too!  Don't forget to check out Tom and the rest of the cast on stage during A THOUSAND CLOWNS starting today and running through August 26.

Meet Matt Daniels

A THOUSAND CLOWNS starts tomorrow! Today we hear from Matt Daniels who returns to MCT after playing British icons Jeeves in JEEVES INTERVENES and Phileas Fogg in AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS.  Later this season he will reprise his role as Jeeves in JEEVES IN BLOOM (April 11-28, 2013). Matt is also a budding 'ukulele master' and a member of the Milwaukee Ukulele Club.

What are some of your favorite moments in theatre that made you who you are today?

Matt Daniels

Whew! So many. As an actor, I truly think that every experience goes toward making me who I am, but I'll try to break it down... The first play I remember seeing was a National Tour of THE KING AND I, with Yul Brynner, which come on! Yul Brynner!

I have fond memories of being in all my school plays, especially my fourth grade production of OLIVER!(I played Fagin). Other formative experiences include my first full Shakespeare play, ROMEO AND JULIET, in which I, as the youngest member of the cast, (I was in eighth grade and most of my cast mates were seniors in high school), played the oldest character, Friar Laurence. I played Bottom two years later, in A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, and I was hooked on Shakespeare.

I trained at The Juilliard School, in New York, where I studied with some masters who were truly fundamental in my growth as an artist: John Stix, Eve Shapiro, and Vanessa Redgrave were acting teachers; Ralph Zito, Elizabeth Smith and Robert Neff Williams for voice & speech, Barry Edelstein for Shakespeare, and amazing directors like Tom Hulce, Michael Kahn and Brian Mertes. Recently I've been teaching Viewpoints for First Stage Academy's Young Company, which never would have happened without my movement training at school: Moni Yakim for physical acting, Carolyn Serota for Alexander Technique, Ellen Lauren for Viewpoints, and Pierre LeFevre for mask.

After graduation I discovered the incredible world of downtown theater in New York City -- tiny, tiny storefront spaces, and great experimental and avant garde work everywhere! I was part of some great work in that downtown theater scene -- environmentally staged productions of the classics in public spaces with Gorilla Rep, and brand new verse plays by dizzying wordsmith Kirk Wood Bromley, among others.

Plus, of course, all the many, many moments that have made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end as an audience member: The Broadway premiere of Tom Stoppard's ARCADIA, Janet McTeer as Nora in A DOLL'S HOUSE, the bone chilling Broadway production of MEDEA starring Fiona Shaw. The Globe productions of CYMBELINE and CORIOLANUS, and David Cromer's revelatory OUR TOWN, and a 24 hour BALD SOPRANO at the first NY Fringe Festival. And many, many more.

Tell us about your first reaction upon reading A THOUSAND CLOWNS.

I loved that it didn't tie up in a pat little bow at the end; that it was layered, funny, poignant. Also, I was particularly pleased to find out I only appear in the first half! I'll get to spend the second act prepping for my next project (Plug alert!): 44 PLAYS FOR 44 PRESIDENTS at Forward Theater in Madison.

What’s it like being an up and coming ukulele master on stage?

Ukulele Master is overdoing it a bit, especially in light of the fact that we have a couple of true uke masters in our midst here in Milwaukee, in the persons of Lil Rev and Jon Prown. I've only been playing for a couple of years, but it has become a real passion of mine, and I have, of late, been trying to find ways to insert the uke into as many productions as possible! And now, here's one where it's actually called for, even if my character would never in a million years play. That said, it has been a blast taking my playing to the next level by arranging some tunes, and ultimately, forming a band with our own Beth Mulkerron!

From your perspective, how would you best describe your character?

Albert Amundson does everything by the book. He describes himself as "not one of the warm people," but that doesn't mean he doesn't care. He's a social worker, and cares very much for the children he's tasked with, and so he plays by the rules to ensure their safety. Sometimes this means that the other people around him get the short end of the stick, I guess, but he tries as hard as he can.

If your character could spend a day in Milwaukee, where would they go and what would they do?

He'd definitely check out the Art Museum, maybe the War Memorial. City Hall, too. Maybe a night at the Rep (or the BTC). I think he'd try to find out as much about the city as possible - one of those river tours, perhaps, or Old World Milwaukee at the Public Museum.