IN THE SPOTLIGHT: THE PRINCE OF ATLANTIS & ME!

With John Kapelos in
The Prince of Atlantis

     It was in January, 2011 that I received a call from Joanne DeNaut, the casting director at South Coast Rep, asking me if I would appear in a sit-down reading of the new play, The Prince of Atlantis, as part of SCR's NewSCRipts series. The next incarnation of the piece was in April, 2011 — another reading, as part of the Pacific Playwrights Festival. Now, another year later, we are the festival's main stage production.
     Participating in the development of a new play is one of the most rewarding things that an actor can do, and the journey with Prince to this point has been very exciting. Author Steven Drukman and director Warner Shook led our company through an intense but rewarding rehearsal process. Through a generous grant from the Edgerton Foundation, we were given an extra week of rehearsal, and we spent it around a table, reading and re-reading the play, discussing, parsing, experimenting. It was amazing to have six days to explore the text with cast, playwright, director, and dramaturg; to have the luxury of time as we dove into event, circumstance, neighborhood, history, language and dialect. We had a thrilling opening night on April 6th, and audiences have been loving the show. Now, as we settle in for our run, the ride just gets better and better.
     If you're around in southern California between now and April 29th, I hope you have a chance to catch this sweet and tender comedy. And if you do, let me know you're coming. You can watch scenes from the show, check out photos and design work, or watch the SCR video blog interview with me.