In the meantime.. some photos of the IN TWO crew from our shoot with Jordan Gray

  
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Dustin Freeland

What kind of Theatre have you done in the past?
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Theatre has taken me from the Jericho Arts Centre all the way to the historic town of Fort Steele. I have done comedy, musical, realistic and fantastical and each experience has been a wealth of learning.

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What excites you about this project?
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Approaching the writer’s work, that I’ve had experience with before, and seeing whats changed with my perspective on the material. Also working with the lovely and talented Anton Lipovetsky and Caitlin McCarthy.

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What would you say is the main difference between working with established professionals and your peers?

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So much less pressure! And a helpful byproduct of that is being able to get more intimate with the work and let go of any inhibitions.

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What has the rehearsal process been like thus far?
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Very productive and loads of laughs.

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Why should people come see these shows?
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They are well written and well directed plays.

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What in store for you next?
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Back to my final term at Studio 58 to remount “The Park”!

Benjamin Elliott

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What kind of Theatre have you done in the past?-
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I started off taking weekly theatre classes at Young People’s Theatre in Toronto at the age of 7, took some improv classes at Second City during high-school, and acted in couple plays in my finals years there. One was The Maderati, by  Richard Greenberg, a farce of sorts, and the other was “The Bad Seed” by Maxwell Anderson, a crazy horror thriller piece where a young girl kills off all the characters. Awesome. And my favourite during that time was acting in Chekov’s The Proposal.  Then off to Bishops University where I acted in some student written works, and a killer movement based version of Bertolt Brecht’s  Fear and Misery of the Third Reich. Once in Vancouver at Studio 58 I was able to play a whole range of styles: Musicals Bye Bye Birdie and Where’s Charley?; contemporary hot-off-the-presses-biblical-realism in James Fagan Tait and Itai Erdal’s Lot’s Wife; Shakespeare in Anita Rachon’s interpretation of The Winter’s Tale; and even some TYA (Theatre for Young Audience’s) for Carousel Theatre’s version of Munsh Alley. 

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What excites you about this project?
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There are a couple of reasons,
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One, is the fact that I get to join forces with Katie Swinwood and Jason Clift, both of whom are close friends, and exciting people to create with.
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Two, I get to play a kind of part that I really haven’t had the opportunity to do yet. Peter is a humble, well to do husband with all his ducks in a row. He takes his life seriously and is happy to sit quietly on a bench and read a book. I have never sat on a bench and read a book. Peter is basically the straight man to Jerry, a wild and eccentric guy with lots to say. I’m excited at the challenge to play a character that is far from my personality. These are the best kind of roles. Peter will allow me to explore a side of me that doesn’t get expressed very often. 

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What would you say is the main difference between working with established professionals and your peers?
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Rehearsals can get sidetracked. Conversations will go as such
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Director: Nice work guys, we really discovered something in that sce-…wow, look at the sun outside.”
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Actor 1: yeah… it sure is nice out…
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Actor 2: Maybe we should rehearse outside.
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Director: yep.
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Actor 1: Koob? (a great lawn game check it out www.getkoob.com)
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Actor 2: Great.
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whereas with professionals, well, hmm… actually I remember playing frisbee with Etai Erdal longer than we were supposed do during Lot’s Wife. Which reveals to me that between professionals and peers there isn’t a huge difference. I guess its our lack of experience, we’re all knew to putting on our own production, so we’re learning on the go and figuring out just how to get the results we want.

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What has the rehearsal process been like thus far?
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See above conversation for a glimpse. Our rehearsal spaces have also changed a lot, we’ve used a sweet room in Eric Hamber High-school through the good will of David Nicks, as well as “The Pine Room” in the Holiday Inn. We start off each rehearsal with a warm up which involves a lot of interpretive dance to Van Morrison . 

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Why should people come see these shows?
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Its a two-hander, this makes for a great opportunity to see some good ol’ realistic acting. We’re doing The Zoo Story at The Havana, an intimate theatre space, which provides an environment of immersion and intensity that is hard to do in a larger space. The audience will taste the uncomfortable feelings we all get when we are approached by a stranger as Peter encounters Jerry and they’ll be able to see the whites our eyes and the small twitches of our face as Jay and I interact on stage. Its going to be a “real” experience.   

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What’s in store for you next?
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In September I’ll be returning to my alma mater (studio 58) to be co-musical director of The Park, a musical I co-wrote with Hannah Johnson and Anton Lipovetsky (director of At Home – the other play Intwo is putting on). It’s being directed by David Hudgins. I invite you all to come and check it out!

Jay Clift

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1) What kind of theatre have you done in the past?

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I have done a variety of theatre in the past mostly involving the work of mainstream playwrights, I usually play the normal guy. However, I believe my most memorable theatre experiences were at Bard in the Himalayas, where I played Richard the third in Dharamsala and Macbeth at the base camp of Mount Everest.

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2) What excites you about this project?

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What excites me most about this project is that the people watching will have a chance to explore their fears and questions about psychologically, philosophically and personally topical subject matter in a safe environment.

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3) What would you say is the main difference between working with established professionals and your peers?

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I don’t feel like there is much difference overall. I would have to make rash generalizations about each side to find any differences, the reality is that each situation is unique, in the end, I think it really balances out.

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4) What has the rehearsal process been like thus far?

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Katie told me if I told anyone, she would get me. But seriously, Katie beats me like you wouldn’t believe, every time I screw up, Katie removes one of my toes. I don’t have any toes left. What more can I say?

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5) Why should people come see these shows?

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People should come see these shows because people will relate to the characters and feel inspired to change some facet of their personality or habits, or people may empathize with the characters and feel a sense of personal relief from the bottling of emotions in the pit of their stomachs. If nothing else, people will experience a temporary sanctum from their incessantly nagging and discursive minds. Why else do we go to theatre?

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6) What’s in store for you next?

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I’ll go wherever the wind blows me.

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- Jay

Welcome to our blog — IN TWO (The Zoo Story & At Home)

What is IN TWO?

IN TWO is a night of 2 one-acts running at Havana Theatre this July 7-11. 

The night includes The Zoo Story by Edward Albee, directed by Katherine Swinwood and featuring Benjamin Elliott and Jay Clift,

and At Home by Michael Weller, directed by Anton Lipovetsky and featuring Dustin Freeland and Caitlin McCarthy.

For ticket information, click here.

Keep checking back for updates, pictures, and more information about IN TWO!

- Anton and Katie

32 days away