An interview with G. Valmont Thomas

G. Valmont Thomas, one of our newest faculty members, has had a lively and legendary career in Northwest theatre (and beyond!) since the 1980's, and was once dubbed the "hardest-working actor in Seattle." We were lucky enough to interview him for the blog this weekend. G. Valmont Thomas will be teaching Voice Over with us this summer! Read on to learn more about him.

Freehold: Tell us a little bit about your background as a director and performer. How did you first become involved with theatre?

Well, If I go into detail about when I FIRST got involved with theatre, that story will take up too much space, so I will just say, it was in high school.
And I will name the woman who developed in me a love and a discipline for actually WORKing so that I could PLAY! Her name was Virginia Heidbrieder and she taught at Clover Park High School in Tacoma, WA. This woman saw something in me and worked to instill in me a love for this art form that hasn't been equaled by anything else since. I had the great luck to attend WWSC which is now WWU, in Bellingham, starting in 1977, the first year of teaching there for a man named Tom Ward who created a company there and taught us all that EVERYbody was needed to make theatre work. I have been extremely lucky in my career to have been part of a number of companies: The Bathhouse Theatre Company, The Seattle Group Theatre Company, The Empty Space Theatre Company, and The Oregon Shakespeare Festival Acting Company. My BA is in Theatre Arts from Western Washington University, My MFA is in Directing For The Theatre from Penn State University.

What brought you to Freehold?

Believe it or not, I have been in talks with Robin Lynn Smith for quite a few years to join this group of teaching artists! We just always discovered that our schedules either conflicted, or never matched up. Finally, it worked out for both of us!

Can you share with us a memorable onstage or backstage moment?

One indelible memory took place in Ashland, OR on September 11, 2001. As soon as everyone learned what happened in New York City, we came together as a company to discuss whether or not we should perform that day. Many of us believed that performing was not a good idea. We cancelled the matinee performances to talk and finally decided to go on for the evening shows. Libby Appel, our AD at the time, reminded us that "People have traveled a long way to be here with us. We are the closest thing many of them have to family here in Ashland." We began each performance with a silent candlelight ceremony where we walked onstage as a cast and just stood with lit candles and everyone, actors and audience, focused on what our country had just gone through. I was in the Bowmer Theatre, and in the Elizabethan Theatre was a production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE wherein the first line was spoken by Antonio, "In Sooth, I know not why I am so sad." Every line we uttered sounded different that night, than it ever had before or ever would again.

Do you have a favorite project that you've been involved with? What are you working on at the moment?

One of the favorite projects I have ever been involved with is PARTY PEOPLE by a group of artists called UNIVERSES. I have been fortunate enough to perform in it with them at two theatres, OSF and Berkekley Repertory Theatre. It deals with the Black Panther Party for Self Defense and The Young Lords. There is music, dancing, poetry, ensemble work, and incredibly poignant scene work. It is just indescribable. They are currently re-working it at Martha's Vineyard in preparation to perform it at The Public in New York. I am looking forward to a production of WATER BY THE SPOONFUL with Theatre 22 in September and October at West Of Lenin. That play takes place mostly online! Should be fun. Then in January I will be appearing in David Mamet's AMERICAN BUFFALO produced by TRUE COLORS Theatre in Atlanta, GA.

What has been your favorite voice over role?

Well, there are two, really. The first one is the "Day-O Guy" from the late, lamented Bon Marche's One Day Sale Radio and Television ads. It made folks smile a lot. The other one is one where I almost didn't accept the job. Blackstone Audio had secured the rights to O.J. Simpson's hypothetical account of the last days of the two people who were murdered at his home, called IF I DID IT and wanted me to narrate the audiobook. I decided that if I was going to do it, I would just have to "go there." It was very tough, but I have heard from people who could stomach it and people who couldn't. Either way, people got mad at the CD player while listening. I count that as a success.

What are you looking forward to teaching in your Voice Over class this summer?

Well, I am looking forward to helping each student identify their strengths and weaknesses when looking to convey emotion persuasively using only their voice. There is a certain frame of mind that one has got to discover for themselves to allow them to find success in the recording booth. Not only that, but there is a usually forgotten relationship with the engineer. As professionals, we don't often talk about it, so in this class, we are going to make a foray into the voice talent/client/engineer triangle that exists at EVERY AUDITION. Very often it is this triangle that wins or loses the job.

G. Valmont Thomas' Voice Over class starts this weekend. Sign up today!

An interview with Andre Nelson

This weekend we had a chance to chat with Andre Nelson, a new instructor who's teaching Step I: Intro to Acting this summer. You may have seen him in various shows around town, including Bunnies at Annex Theatre in April. Andre's been involved with Freehold's Engaged Theatre tour for years, but this is his first time teaching with us. Welcome, Andre!

Freehold: Tell us a little bit about your background as a performer. How did you first become involved with theatre?

AN: I've been acting since age 10, when I played Cupid in a murder mystery at a winery. I was hooked soon after and began studying theatre intensively at an arts magnet program in my high school. 

Unfortunately, I had a rotten experience in the theatre program at my first college and swore off acting forever. A few years later, however, I had an epiphany while flipping burgers as a line cook in Portland, Oregon: I couldn't escape my need to act nor would I be happy without it.

Long story short, I finished up my BFA at Cornish College of the Arts and have been working professionally in theatre since.

What brought you to Freehold?

I first worked with Freehold doing their Engaged Theatre tour of King Lear to Washington State Prisons a few years back. It was an illuminating experience, and I am grateful I had the chance to connect with easily the most attentive, appreciative audiences I've ever encountered.

Tell us about a memorable onstage or backstage moment.

One memorable moment I had as an actor was my first entrance in a scene. It was the murder mystery I mentioned, in which I played Cupid in green tights and an oversized, ruffle-sleeved white shirt to boot. I was apparently too young to be trusted to make my entrance by myself, so someone was in charge of letting me know it was time for my one and only entrance in the play. Unfortunately, no one came to tell me. One of the actors on stage had to improvise and run backstage to grab me. It was an amusing, albeit embarrassing introduction into the crazy world of theatre!

Do you have a favorite role that you've played? Which role(s) would you be interested in playing in the future, and why?

One of my more memorable roles was playing the character Louis from Virginia Woolf's The Waves, an adaptation directed by Sheila Daniels at Cornish College of the Arts. Not only did I have to learn an Australian dialect and play an uptight social outcast, but I also got the pleasure of giving life to Woolf's beautiful poetry. 

I've always wanted to act in a Chekhov play - any of them really but Cherry Orchard and The Seagull in particular. Every character he wrote is well rounded and fascinating. 

What are you looking forward to teaching in your Step I class this summer?

I'm looking forward to getting to know the students and being inspired by them. I can't wait to learn from each class in order to grow as a teacher and give them the best experience possible. 

Step I: Intro to Acting runs on Monday nights, starting July 13th. Sign up today!

An interview with Jennifer Jasper

We were lucky to have Jennifer Jasper, one of our newest faculty members, answer a few questions about herself and her work for our blog. Jennifer is a storyteller, performer and director whose most recent solo show, Bullygirl, premiered in January as part of the Radial Theater Project's Locally Grown festival. Her short play et•y•mo•lo•gy was a winner of the Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival in NYC and is set to be published in a forthcoming anthology. She also runs a monthly cabaret series, Family Affair, at the JewelBox Theatre in Belltown. Jennifer is teaching the class Telling Your Story this spring, and we're so thrilled to have her on board.

Freehold: Can you tell us a little bit about your background as a performer and storyteller? What drew you to this type of performance?

Jennifer Jasper: I began performing in Albuquerque, NM while I was working on my BA in Directing. I fell in love with improvisation and worked with a group, Phantasmagoria, which later evolved into Kings’ Elephant Theatre. We were together for a total of 10 years. I also performed with my other production company Pulp Vixens for another 10 years. I did some stand up comedy for awhile and hosted burlesque, but in the last five years my performance moved into solo work as a monologuist/storyteller. It seemed like a natural evolution.

What brought you to Seattle? How did you first hear about Freehold?

JJ: I moved here in 1986 with Kings’ Elephant Theatre. We had decided to move the company and Seattle, for many reasons won the vote. Most of us are still here and active in the theater or other performing arts and on occasion find ourselves in collaborations. I love the Seattle theater scene and feel passionate about the original work that is developed here.

I have always known about Freehold. I remember when it was in the Oddfellow’s Building on Capitol Hill. I have a lot of colleagues who have taken classes and taught over the years. Ironically, the new home of Freehold is the old Aha! and Kings’ Elephant Theatre space. I spent A LOT of hours helping to build it out into a theater space in the early 90’s. Don’t ask me how many times I’ve painted and cleaned the bathrooms! I’m excited to return to the space as a guest faculty member of the esteemed Freehold School!

How does your directing background influence your work in other aspects of theatre?

JJ: I think all disciplines work together. I can’t keep them separate if I try. As an improviser you are constantly answering the basic questions for the scene: Who? What? Where? Why? As a director you do the same, but on a larger scale. As a storyteller you are answering those same questions, but on a personal level. When I’m telling a story or creating a solo work I can’t help but see the larger picture even though most of the time I’m working on a magnified aspect of the whole. But the arc, whether as a simple story or a larger collaborative work is still essential for the piece to move the audience. It’s like a telescope that you move closer and further away depending on your role. But you always have it in your hand.

Can you share some of your favorite or most memorable onstage (or backstage) anecdotes?

JJ: Ooohh. That is a tough one. Let’s see. Well, I’d have to say audience members should always think twice about breaking the cell phone rules when I’m on stage. There have been three incidents, and folks, you never know when one of the actors is also a very quick improviser.

I was doing stand-up and a woman’s cell phone rang. I asked for her phone and answered it. I asked her daughter (who had called) if it was a 911 emergency and went on to berate her for interrupting her mother’s one night out.

I played a character who had a drinking problem in a play set in the 1940’s and during a very serious monologue a phone rang – they didn’t want to answer it. I made them and added a bit to my monologue.

In one Pulp Vixen show as I was doing the opening monologue that was important exposition I heard a man (under the influence) speaking loudly into his phone, “I’m at show! Yeah, it’s happening right now!” At which point I stopped the show, waited for him to finish, instructed the stage manager to take his phone and hold onto it and proceeded to start the entire show over from house lights and house music playing. In all cases the audiences appreciated it. That is live theater.

What inspired you to start Family Affair?

JJ: Around 2 ½ years ago, a dear friend and former Kings’ Elephant performer, Heather Hughes, lost her battle with lung cancer. She was 44. Earlier that year another friend and performer, Matthew Scott Olsen, passed away. He was 45. And then, that fall, the theater community lost Andrea Allen, 45, to breast cancer. It was a tough year for all of us who had been down in the trenches in our early years making theater happen. We pitched in when we could with meals and such, but you couldn’t help but feel helpless. Then Nancy Guppy suggested Jane Kaplan of the Jewel Box Theater and I get together. She was looking for a monthly cabaret and I was starting to get more and more into storytelling. When Jane and I met, we both cried about Heather (she had worked at the Rendezvous). Jane and I have known each other for many years. I knew I wanted to do something different and by the end of the meeting we had conceived the idea of Family Affair. A night to celebrate family through performance and help someone in our “artistic family” out during rough patches. It’s been an amazing two years now and my favorite day of the month is the 3rd Thursday, the day AFTER the event because you just FEEL good. Every month is an amazing night of sharing. Come see it.

Can you tell us a little about your most recent solo show, Bullygirl? What was your experience like developing and performing the show?

JJ: There are stories that I LOVE to tell, mainly about my family.

Then there are the stories that I NEED to tell. That’s Bullygirl. My stories revolved around my decisions during my pre-adolescent years in regards to peer pressure. I was both victim and bully during different times. I think that is a common postion teens find themselves in. It is rarely black and white. It was a hard show to do for various reasons, but the hardest emotion to overcome was my shame about some of my actions.

I wasn’t sure how it would be received. It was not hilarious. It was pretty raw. The development was harder than the other shows because I shied away from telling the story and tended to describe it. I was finally able to let myself relive it and that’s when the material really started to form. I had young people, parents and teachers approach me to tell me how much this kind of show would be helpful in schools. I recently applied to 4Culture for a project grant to collaborate with Shawn Belyea as my director to work the show into a 35 minute piece that could tour middle schools. I’m really excited about the prospect. I also finally feel freer now that I told those stories.

What are you looking forward to teaching in your storytelling class this quarter?

JJ: I am really looking forward to helping people discover their stories. I always find that the story I thought I wanted to tell is rarely the story that ends up being told.

There is such a wonderful feeling of connection that comes with sharing your experiences with an audience. You are part of a bigger picture. I think that’s what theater is at its core for me. Connection.

To learn more about Jennifer Jasper, visit her website: http://www.jenniferjasperperforms.com. You can also find her on Twitter: @JennJasper

To learn more about Jennifer's Freehold class, TELLING YOUR STORY, click here.

Interview with Playwriting Students Sue McNally and Caitlin Coey

Sue McNally and Caitlin Coey are returning Freehold Playwriting students.  We took a few minutes with them to chat about their recent Playwriting experience at Freehold and what they are looking forward to in their next Playwriting class.

What drew you to sign up for Freehold's Playwriting classes in the first place?

Sue: I’d been in a slump with my writing and saw that Freehold was offering Playwriting with Rebecca Tourino.  I’d had a fabulous experience with Freehold in the late 1990’s and I thought playwriting could be a fun adventure.  

Caitlin: I've written poetry from an early age and have some acting training.  I drifted away from acting and continued to write, but so many roads led back to theatre it was impossible to shake.  This seemed like a lovely and fulfilling way to combine both passions.  

What has surprised, excited and/or challenged you in the process of taking the Playwriting class?

Sue: I entered the class with a heavy feeling that I should be bringing an idea for a play to the first class.  But I decided to wait to see what Rebecca had in store for us.  She had a bag full of tricks – exercises that fleshed out to scenes and assignments to explore people that created characters.  It was truly like magic.  She led us into the world of our imagination and suddenly things started taking shape that surprised us all.  I have now, after part 2, nearly completed a play that I never intended to write but that just gushed out of me.  Amazing.

Caitlin: I thought that because I've always been a poet it would be foolhardy for me to try something longer, but the prompts Rebecca gave allowed us to take it one step at a time.  We started out observing people in a coffee shop and before I knew it, I had my first act sketched out! Something I realized within the first class--there isn't "one" way to write a play. It's fabulously encouraging.  

You've taken the class once and you're returning to take another Freehold Playwriting class.  What are you looking forward to as you return to take another Playwriting class here?

Sue: I am going to start the game anew.  I will follow Rebecca’s prompts and see what other plays are hiding inside of me.  It’s going to be great fun.  I could take this class over and over again forever.

Caitlin: I love having a creative space to go to every week--a lot of the joy of my writing is knowing that I get to share it with my classmates.  It keeps my imagination working and keeps me grounded in those my moments when the task seems so daunting.  

Has there been one piece of playwriting wisdom that has stood out for you?

Sue: Early in Playwriting I, Rebecca challenged us to take two or three of our characters and write a confrontation scene that was so intense that our classmates would accuse us of melodrama.  That was so liberating for me.  I think I have a tendency as a writer to hold back.  This wisdom gave me license to go for it.  And that scene became the inciting incident for my play.

Caitlin: I tend to hold back in life and in writing, but Rebecca encouraged us to write full-tilt because "you can always pull it back." I keep that in mind every time I sit down to write. 

Sue McNally works as a writer/producer/director in TV and has produced dozens of travel shows for PBS.  She’s been writing fiction on the side for years and created many of her own narrative short films.  She took a slew of Freehold acting classes and would love to combine her love of film and acting with a newfound passion for playwriting.

Caitlin Coey will graduate from Antioch University Seattle (AUS) in December with a B.A in Arts and Literature.  Recently she was the assistant editor on AUS's (late) literary mag Knock. Outside of playwriting and AUS, she is a nanny, baker, performer, and freelance writer. A former student at Cornish College of the Arts, she has a strong interest in theatre for social justice and recently traveled to Rhode Island to see The Jenin Freedom Theatre's production of The Island.

Rebecca Tourino will be teaching Playwriting I at Freehold this Fall Quarter.  For more information on this class go, here.