Interview: A Life in the Theatre

There has been a lot of Mamet going up in St Andrews over the years (Boston Marriages, Glengarry Glen Ross and the Duck Variations). How does A Life in the Theatre fit in with Mamet’s other works, and why did you choose this play of his to put on?

Andrew: Mamet has a distinct style. The way his characters speak is fast and natural. However I find this piece to have a different feel. It lacks the explosive nature that is in his more prominent plays- this might be because of the relative lack of swearing- it might also be that the themes in the play are less extreme.  The play is about the flaws of age, about how we seek to get by in theatre, and about brotherhood within the craft. It is an expression of how theatre impacts on all aspects of life.

Cole: One friend whom I told I was doing a Mamet play gave me a look of horror, as if it meant I’d suddenly become a profanity-spouting misogynist! However, A Life in the Theatre is one of Mamet’s earlier plays, and I think it has a real heart to it that not everyone sees in some of his more well-known plays. When Andrew suggested I read it, I thought, “This is a love song to the theatre.” The characters are flawed, but you recognise in them the actors you know (or the actor that you are!), and therefore you love them.

Have you seen a production of A life in the theatre that you’ve been particularly inspired by?

Andrew: I have never seen A Life in the Theatre performed but I have watched discussions about the process of the Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight production on Broadway. I was inspired to do Mamet in general by seeing Speed-the-Plow, but in particular the themes within A Life in the Theatre resonate with a student leaving university, and leaving Mermaids. It seemed fitting.

Cole: I thankfully haven’t seen another production of it, but Andrew did introduce me to the Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight production that happened on Broadway recently. Therefore, I’m stuck playing Patrick Stewart! Seriously, though, it has been a challenge knowing that I’m a 28-year-old journeyman actor, but am tasked with presenting a master craftsman who has had a decades-long career. One thing which has grounded me has been working with Andrew. I’m a few years out of drama school, and I worked as a professional actor in the U.S. before coming to St Andrews. Andrew is a talented young actor-director, just starting his career. Just that small age differential has been helpful in enabling me to get into my character Robert’s patronising father-figure mindset in regards to Andrew’s fresh, naïve John.

Have you found the process of directing yourselves?

Andrew: It’s been good and bad. I can do a lot of the things that I always want to do but don’t have the balls to do in rehearsals just because it’s only us. It seems really weird to say but I love script work and honestly lots of actors in St Andrews hate that. Another positive is that I have a bad habit of moving my actors out of the way and showing them what I want- many of you reading will know this- but this is not good directing, one should be able to express what they want through words alone. This enables actors to come up with their own interpretation, which will be more natural, organic and appealing. When you jump in as a director you stifle creativity and confidence in your actor’s ability. This all being said, as I am the actor and the director, there is no jumping in.   

Cole: Whew! Couldn’t do it without Andrew. I really trust his judgement, and I think our minds are often on the same wavelength. I’ve also enjoyed helping him with accents. Andrew drew the short straw on that one, in that we’re using more American accents than British in the plays-within-the-play. It also helped that we both find script analysis important, so we were able to spend a significant amount of time discussing the beats and objectives and tactics of the play.

How have you been getting into character?

Andrew: I’ve been getting into character by looking at the character’s intentions, and then imagining what it would be like to be in that scenario. Most of the time, I think about backstories, I think about becoming the character, about what has happened to the character before they first step on stage, and then letting the script obviously dictate the actions during the play itself. But for this, I am a young actor, so I just follow the script and analyse the lines, find out what my intentions are, and then play around with my intentions.

Cole: Besides wishing I actually were Patrick Stewart? (I always wanted to be Jean-Luc Picard when I grew up, and still do; alas, I have too much hair.) I’m an outside-in actor, so I like to find clothes and props as soon as possible, and find the activities that the character would actually be doing. It helps that a lot of this character’s world is familiar to me. I love the smell of powder and greasepaint, the hot lights and worn boards of the stage, and especially the backstage camaraderie. I’m especially a stickler for tradition, and have been known to throw actors (and even the director) out of the theatre should they utter the name of the Scottish Play. So I’ve tried to dredge up my inner insufferability, and defensiveness of Tradition, and pair it with remembering my drama school vocal warm-ups and stretches.

How do you think Mamet’s portrayal of theatre fits in with a St Andrean thespian’s
perspective?

Andrew: I think it fits fairly well, at least for a young actor, certainly any parts that are from my character, John. There are always the worries and tribulations of going up, and of reviews, and of trying to leave St Andrews and still dreaming of being an actor for many of us, and that is captured within A Life in the Theatre. I do think that Robert’s character is less accessible for a St Andrews audience, as we don’t really have the mentors that have been around theatre for 40 years. Nevertheless, in my final year, I have had many first-years that I hope I’ve helped, and I also hope that I’ve given them advice that will help them through their years in the St Andrews theatre scene.

Cole: Don’t tell Andrew this, but I actually thought about suggesting that we find a way to do it set in the Mermaids theatre scene, with the audience actually watching us in the Barron dressing room, wings, and stage. I dropped the idea, not seeing how it would actually work with the size of the space, and also because, by making the play that specific, it would actually make it less universal. I think one of the great qualities of this play is that it is universal. There’s nothing in the story itself that ties it down to a repertory theatre company in New York, or London, or L.A. It could be anywhere. And you can find these two actors anywhere. So I think that St Andrews audiences will have no problems finding it relevant. And St Andrews thesps, I think, will especially appreciate it, because it’s about us. 

A Life in the Theatre goes up in the Barron, this Saturday & Sunday at 7.30pm.