Forum Theatre

Chasing the Moon (Again)

Continuing our series of posts from the artists behind The Illusion, our Matamore, Scott McCormick shares his thoughts on returning to the role after playing it 11 years ago...

Thanks to Mitch Hebert and my friends at Forum Theatre I am getting a rare opportunity for an actor, the chance to return to the scene of the crime. Over a decade ago I had the chance to play one of those roles that an actor dreams about, the man himself, Matamore in The Illusion.

For those of you haven’t yet experienced The Illusion, you are in for a treat that might well change the way you experience theatre. For those of you who have seen the show before, I know you are as eager I am to revisit the complicated and magical characters that people Kushner’s adaptation of Pierre Cornielle’s exploration of love and theatre.

It was 11 years and a lifetime ago the last time I played Matamore. Since that time I have lived nearly my entire DC theatrical career, made scores of friends, learned the hard lessons of heart, and eventually found my own true love.

The venue for that first Illusion would be a old carriage house that had been converted into a gallery space near what is now the DC Convention Center and the temp and humidity were both high as we took the stage in our wool costumes. Despite the heat the houses were packed for one of those unique animals in small DC theatre, a critical and popular smash hit. I can't imagine that with the comfortable air conditioned heaven that is the Roundhouse black box in Silver Spring, that we won't be beating back the crowds. The Forum cast is amazingly talented, the designers and crew have amazing vision and Mitch is getting some of the best work I have ever seen out of old friends Gwen, Brian, Nana and Joe. And the younger members of the cast remind me of how young my first cast was when we brought The Illusion to life all those years ago.

There are some roles as a performer you want to take a stab at every few years to show yourself and the world how far you have come as a performer. You get to put on a comfortable pair of shoes know that you know in your heart can help you run-faster, jump higher and just maybe get to the moon!

"Humor is reason gone mad." -Groucho Marx

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Illusions of Gwendeur: Memorization and 6 Degrees of DC Theatre

As we roll into the rehearsal process for The Illusion, we've asked our cast and production team to share a few thoughts on the process, as we go along.

Just before our "first read," actor Gwen Grastorf (@gwenigma), who plays Elicia/Lyse/Clarina, sent us this entry to kick things off:

One of the first things the cast learned was that we would be starting the rehearsal process "off-book", which means completely memorized. This is rare in non-equity theater - usually the first few weeks are spent with script in hand, slowly learning the lines as the scenes are staged. Starting off-book can be a unique challenge, as some actors find it difficult to memorize anything until they've started moving around on their feet. But if you do need to memorize - the internet has a lot of suggestions! Almost everyone highlights their lines, and spends time reading them over and over. Some people write the lines out longhand, or type them out. Some people record their lines and listen to them back, or record just the other person's lines so that they can run scenes. There are a few apps that you can download to your smartphone. But nothing beats actually running the lines out loud. Brynn and I have met a few times, first at her apartment over a glass of wine, then at Coffy Cafe so that we could go over our scenes.

One technique Brynn and I have both tried is the First Initial trick, where you copy your lines out into a kind of code where each word is represented just by the first letter. It looks insane, but it can help wean you off of needing the full text, and the initial letter sometimes helps clue you in when you're searching for the words.

Another factor in starting a new project is familiarity - both with the play and with each other. Several people involved in the production have worked on Tony Kushner's beautiful adaptation before. Scott McCormick was in a production of The Illusion with Rorschach Theatre in 2001, and Mitch directed a production of The Illusion at University of Maryland with both Mark Halpern and Aaron Bliden, who were students at the time.

Almost all of the cast have worked together before in productions around town. It's a complicated web ofconnections, made over many years in this tightly-knit DC theatre community. Scott and I met in 2006 working on Rorschach's production of Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards, and have been friends ever since. I met Joe Brack working on Constellation's 30-person epic of The Oresteia in 2008, and The Illusion will be our fourth show together. Nanna Ingvarsson (a Forum actor in many productions: The Skriker, Angels in America, One Flea Spare, and The Language Archive) and her husband Brian Hemmingsen were also in that epic production of The Oresteia, and I've also had the pleasure of working with Nanna on the The Green Bird at Constellation. The Constellation Connection continues with Mark Halpern who recently appeared in their Blood Wedding (Brack and Halpern were also both in Forum's Mad Forest together last fall) and Brynn who was in their Arms and the Man last fall. Scott and Brian are on their second Forum production together after featuring in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. Brynn is the newest to the bunch; she's worked extensively at Synetic Theater in the past few years, appearing in their King Arthur among others. Mitchell Hebert is really the glue that holds this group together, though. Nanna shared the stage with him in Forum's wonderful production of The Language Archive earlier this spring. Brack and Mitch both performed in Theater J's acclaimed production of After the Fall earlier this year, and myself, Mark Halpern, and Aaron Bliden all went through the University of Maryland's theatre program, where Mitch is a professor and director. Whew!

Everyone in the cast is very excited to start the rehearsal process. It's a beautiful script, a beautiful story, and an excellent group of people. I can't wait to see the design presentations and learn about the world our designers will be creating. We have five weeks until first dress rehearsal. It's going to be a great ride.

Better Know an Actor: Mitchell Hébert

As we enter our final weekend of performances of The Language Archive, we sat down with actor Mitchell Hébert and asked him to share a few thoughts on the show and his angle on his character.

Tell us a little bit about the character you play, George.

George is a linguist. His passion and the cause he has dedicated his life to is the saving of near extinct languages. He speaks seven languages including Esperanto.

How has this role/show been different from anything you've ever done?

That's a little hard to answer as every role is different, even the bad guys which I play a lot of. George is a very gentle soul, almost childlike at times. I find that a very a very interesting and healing energy to explore and live in.

Without giving anything away, tell us about a moment in the play that really resonates with you.

The moment when Emma asks Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto (who I also play) "At the end. When they persecuted anyone speaking Esperanto, when they singled out your children because of what you’d done—did you, at the end, regret it? Did you ever wish you’d remained nothing but an ophthalmologist and given up your dream of a universal tongue"..his response is something that moves me every time I say it.

Do you speak any foreign languages?

Nyet, non, nein, não.

What languages have you lost?

The Language of Cheesehead. I no longer sound like a Wisconsinite.

Why should everyone come see The Language Archive this weekend, before it closes?

Because our cast rocks. Because this is a wondrous provocative play. Because you will get a free Esperanto lesson!!!!