Angels in
America: Interviews with the Cast
Cast members were asked the following questions:
- What is Angels in America about to you?
- How does Angels reflect on conditions of present day America?
- What do you want the audience to get out of this performance?
- What are you most excited about?
- How does your character love?
- How does it feel to be cast in Angels in America?
- How did the theatre department choose this play?
- What can the audience expect?
What is Angels in America about to
you?
[top]
Raz Finnell
(Dramaturg):
Relationships, the way we live and love. It’s about humanity. It’s about AIDS,
Mormons, homosexuals, politicians, Americans. Humanity.
Ryan Tansey (Louis): How people deal with crisis and how things don’t go the way we
want. It’s about coming to terms with living and dying. Living with yourself as
other people die.
Adam Davis (Joe): It is about life. About breaking down surface layer and looking
inside at life. On the surface it’s a play about Mormons, a guy with AIDS, but
it’s about everyone. Everyone has to deal with this.
Ellie McKay (Assitant Director): Angels in America is like a human reaction to scary times. Being
American is being questioned for all sides. All sides are experiencing fear.
It’s great because they are all having the same reaction.
eboni treco (Angel): Human life and how complex life is with all the elements of life.
Some of which we can’t help or control like who we fall in love with, but it’s a
great thing in life. Making the best out of it.
Johno Ebenger (Roy): Like most plays I think it all boils down to people. You take a
set of people, you put them in a situation, and the play is about how these
people deal with their particular set of problems/triumphs. This play is about
how people live and love, and go about their lives. How do you deal with serious
illness and your own mortality? Or the mortality of those you love? There are a
lot of different reactions in that situation, and I think Angels does a pretty
good job of covering a lot of them.
Frank Reed (Belize): I’m pretty new to this play and to me; it’s one person’s spin on
very serious issues. AIDS, the gay community... to make aware certain issues
that sometimes people aren’t necessarily comfortable with, but should know about
cause it’s not just going to go away.
Garrit Guadan (Prior): It’s a play about love. It’s also about sadness and human nature
and what it is to be human. It’s about life and death. What it means to die, but
not physically.
Geoff Proehl (Director): This play is about us. It’s about us in terms of our relationships
with people we care deeply about, especially when the going gets tough. It’s about
us trying to figure out huge questions and issues and challenges that we face as
individuals and as a community. What do we believe? What are our priorities? How
do we find a balance between personal development and communal responsibility? I
can’t think of any play written in the last fifty years that speaks more
directly to these themes and concerns.
How does
Angels reflect on conditions
of present day America?
[top]
Raz Finnell
(Dramaturg): While our
society has come relatively far since 1985, everything that happens in the play,
happens today. Not just in America, but in the world.
Jess Smith (Harper): How does it not? It’s everywhere you look. The show’s about people.
The issues are the same. The statistics just change. It’s just numbers.
Ryan Tansey (Louis): Now as well as then, people can choose to deal with the problems
that exist or ignore them. The administration then and now are ignoring the
issues. There are always problems in society. The play focus’ on how to face
them.
Ellie McKay (Assistant Director): we are currently in a very tumultuous time politically. We’re
facing and election that will change social constructs and no matter where you
stand on the spectrum of political views, your values are being questioned and
potentially jeopardized by the upcoming election. We are all feeling the same
fear, anger sadness and joy that this play is based on.
Geoff Proehl (Director): From my own perspective, the country has not felt more divided
since the days of the Vietnam War. This play examines frankly, honestly and
compassionately many of the sources of this division and creates a space in
which to think about where we go from here.
What do you want the audience to get out of
this performance?
[top]
Jess Smith (Harper): I’m
interested in the audience seeing beyond stereotypes and categorizations. They
are just people. These people (characters) are put in boxes and we have the
opportunity to show them (audience) what’s outside that box.
Ryan Tansey (Louis): I want people to see people onstage with human emotions dealing
with the biggest issues of a lifetime without labels.
Adam Davis (Joe): To feel something for people that they didn’t know they can
empathize with.
Ellie McKay (Assistant Director): I want them to leave with a sense of hope. To acknowledge that
there are these fears out there, but that we can take action and the final line
of the play is so hopeful, “The great work begins.”
eboni treco (Angel): I hope that every audience member will be able to relate to a
character and be able to relate to a character and go on the journey and that
the ride with us.
Frank Reed (Belize): I want them to come away with a respect for the AIDS epidemic. An
awareness. As people learn they become less scared. Someone might want to step
up and do something.
Garrit Guadan (Prior): I want them to leave with an overwhelming sense of re-birth. A
new sense of how the world around them is changed because this play represents
the reality of how things are in the world. To realize the world the play is
showing and for that to change them.
Geoff Proehl (Director): I recently drove to Klamath Falls from Portland and back with my
brother to attend a funeral. We talked for man hours about the kinds of issues
that this play raises and that the country is facing. I love my younger brother
dearly, but we found many areas of deep disagreement. The discussion was lively;
neither one of us felt in danger of falling asleep, and when we returned to
Portland, our positions had not much changed, but our understanding had grown.
At least we knew each other better and perhaps found some common ground that we
could go on. If nothing else, I hope this play will lead to discussions like
this.
What are you most excited about?
[top]
Raz Finnell
(Dramaturg): Learning
through this experience about everything addressed in the play.
Jess Smith (Harper): Most excited about learning
Ryan Tansey (Louis): To put on a production that could be greater than its awesome
parts. To put on a show more awesome than its text.
Adam Davis (Joe): To be working in a show with so much magnitude for all involved.
It’s a main stage! I feel like I am accomplishing something.
Ellie McKay (Assistant Director): To learn the depth of characters and the play and to define the
moments where I fall in love with each character. This is such a difficult play
with difficult characters to love. I’m excited to find the moment where I fall
in love with Roy Cohen.
eboni treco (Angel): My costume!
Garrit Guadan (Prior): The angel’s costume and her entrance!
Geoff Proehl (Director): Kushner provides wonderful opportunities for actors to explore the
power of language, thought and feeling. I’m excited to work on those challenges
with a tremendously talented group of students both onstage and behind the
scenes. And finally, to see what happens when we add the most important element
of all: an audience.
How does your character love?
[top]
Jess Smith (Harper):
Harper shows her love in patience and honesty. Her moments of absolute
vulnerability are deepest moments of love. Her deepest pain comes from her
deepest love. That is the tragedy of Harper.
Adam Davis (Joe): Hopelessly and tragically.
Ryan
Tansey (Louis):
With the path of least resistance. Rationally, but it’s not heartless. Love
without hurting them.
Johno
Ebenger (Roy):
That's a tough one (question), because part of Roy is definitely about love, but
it's not always that apparent. Roy is extremely passionate about everything that
he does. Absolutely everything. His love for his own ideals, and the people he
keeps close to himself, it's just so strong. He doesn't let anything stand
between himself and the things he loves. This is what makes him so great and yet
so horrible. He does/did terrible things to get what he wanted, but you have to
admire a man who would go to such lengths, who was so absolutely certain about
what he was doing, and the rightness of it. He was a crooked man, he lied, he
stole, he pulled strings, but he did it because he thought he was doing good.
(Maybe just good for himself, but good nonetheless.)
eboni
treco (Angel): Ella is genuinely concerned for Hannah. Her way of loving
is through concern.
Garrit
Guadan (Prior):
I think he shows it in all emotions or through humor. Prior is a very loving
person. Terrible things are happening, but he approaches it with humor and
sarcasm and love. He’s very affectionate. He loves Louis and shows it. He shows
it physically and emotionally, but mostly in humor. It shows he has great love.
How does
it feel to be cast in Angels in America?
[top]
Ryan
Tansey (Louis):
It’s really exciting and it’s frightening. It’s bigger than I am. I’m really
happy with the cast and crew. I’m happy to be reunited with people I’ve worked
with before.
Adam
Davis (Joe):
It’s exciting. I’m humbled to be working with such a great cast and crew. It’s
unbelievable.
eboni
treco (Angel):
So wonderful. It’s a difficult play and I’m so excited for the challenges and
the growth as a cast and growth personally.
Johno
Ebenger (Roy):
Getting cast felt really good. Of course on the one hand was the realization
that there goes any hope I had at actually being able to keep up with all my
work this semester, but on the other hand was the knowledge that I'd get to work
with some incredibly talented people on a fantastic show. So I was definitely
pumped when I saw the cast list, and I can't say my level of excitement has
changed much since then.
Frank Reed (Belize):
Great. I’m a History major and just discovered last semester that I liked
acting. So I’m really excited to be apart of a show that means so much to so
many people. I’m ecstatic.
Garrit Guadan (Prior):
It’s feels great. It is amazing. The play itself is amazing. Doing this show at
this school at this time is amazing. This opportunity is amazing. It’s something
that happens once in a lifetime. The risks of performing a play of this
magnitude... It’s a huge deal.
How did the
theatre department choose this play?
[top]
We meet each spring to discuss plays that the directing faculty members for the year are interested in. We each put out two or three choices and discuss, especially with Kurt Walls, our Director of Theatre Production and Scene Designer. We look for scripts that will promote knowledge, learning and discussion. Angels has been taught for many years on campus and students had been expressing a strong interest. Students expressed a very strong desire to work on this show. It seemed that the time was right.
What can the audience expect?
[top]
They can expect a great
story, fascinating characters and a chance to think about a wide range of
complex and challenging ideas. We would also like to note that this play
includes some adult themes and language.