GCP Girl: Tell me a bit about your character.
JC: I am playing the character of George Deever in "All My Sons," brother of the character Ann Deever and son to Steve Deever, Joe Keller's imprisoned business partner (who throughout the play remains unseen). To me, George is something of a game changer -- he only appears once, for about 20 minutes, in Act II, but he's integral to advancing the action and tension. George represents the Past, the joyous past but also the darker past that must be reconciled, and this is embodied in George's ambivalence. He returns to his hometown after many years on a mission to protect his family by destroying another, but when he gets there, he's so swept up in nostalgic longing that he nearly lets this mission go.
GCP Girl: Tell me about some of your previous shows.
JC: I've discovered a passion for acting just this past year, having taken a few acting classes, but this will be my first production (if we don't count a sixth grade play).
GCP Girl: Why did you audition for "All My Sons"?
JC: I auditioned for "All My Sons" because there were several parts I thought I could play -- three young adult males, each with great depth. I'd have been happy with any of them, but I'm pretty sure George is who I'm meant to play.
GCP Girl: What is your favorite scene in the show, and why?
JC: There is one scene in which it appears the status quo for these characters may be salvaged after all, despite some shake-ups from me (George) and other forces. But then one little slip is made (I won't say what) -- it's so small, and yet the dramatic course of events that unfold afterward will seem inevitable in retrospect. You can almost imagine things going differently, if not for this little hiccup.
GCP Girl: What about this show has challenged or inspired you, as an actor and as a person?
JC: For me, a new actor, the most challenging parts of this play were simply learning to move around on stage in a way that his planned yet natural-seeming, dynamic, and in harmony with the other actors. It's also very hard to learn lines and cues when there are more than three characters on stage --- often there's no connection between one line and the next. My acting classes couldn't have prepared me for either of those challenges --- I had to be in a real production to get better at it.
GCP Girl: Why should people see "All My Sons"?
JC: People should see "All My Sons" because, while it merely takes place in a Midwestern backyard, over the course of a single day, it's a tension roller-coaster. For me, the play almost seems to have three climaxes, or even four, each successively increasing in tension though it seems impossible. Our director, Margery Pierson, feels this is Arthur Miller's greatest talent --- reaching an apex of tension and then drawing down, leaving room to rise and go just a little higher then next time. I've come to agree with her!
GCP Girl: What plays or musicals would you like to see GCP produce in an upcoming season? What is your dream role?
JC: At the moment I'm more interested in straight plays, but my dream role would be to play the Emcee in the musical Cabaret, so I'd love it if GCP did a production of that some day.
GCP Girl: Tell me something you'd like everyone to know!
JC: When I'm not at the theater, I'm a student and graduate instructor at the University of Florida, pursing my MFA in fiction writing. I love how well these two creative pursuits --- acting and fiction writing --- complement each other. My right-brain is getting a lot of exercise these days.
Thanks, Jim! Week 2 of "All My Sons" starts tonight!
xo xo GCP Girl
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