by Abram Yarbro, dramaturg
See How They Run opens TONIGHT (Friday, November 7). Before one of our final rehearsals, I sat down with each member of the cast and asked them to introduce themselves, talk about their character, the show, and if they had any fun bloopers they wanted to share.
Interview with Noelle Houston
Abram Yarbro: Tell me about yourself.
Noelle Houston: I’m in the BFA Acting program. I’m a senior and this is my senior project actually. I’m from New York City, born and raised in Manhattan because my Dad was a professional Ballet dancer. I’ve actually never been in a farce and my mom and dad love farces and when I found out this was a farce I was like, “Oh my gosh, I need to be in it so I can be in a farce!”
AY: Tell me about Ida.
NH: Ida is the maid. She is cockney. She is actually the youngest in the play, she is 18, and she came from a poor class family. She is younger, lower class, and thinks it’s a scream to be with this American actress housewife. She loves American movies and Americans and everything like that so it is the most wonderful thing to work for them (Lionel and Penelope). She worships Penelope and because she works in a vicarage she feels that she is part of a bigger thing.
AY: What is your favorite part about the show?
NH: I think my favorite part about this show is the third act when everything has gone berserk and poor Humphrey comes in and gets rushed into it all. He has no clue what is happening. I think it is hilarious how everything unfolds.
AY: Are there any bloopers you want to share?
NH: There is a line that one time I accidentally said in a Scottish accent. I don’t know where it came from, it just came out. I still, to this day, consciously focus on how I say that line. I probably say it more with an American accent than anything else to keep from falling back into that Scottish accent.
Interview with Ali Kinkade
Abram Yarbro: Ali, tell me about yourself.
Ali Kinkade: I’m a senior in the BFA Acting program here at BYU. I’m originally from Oregon. Most of my time is spent acting, in acting classes, or teaching people how to act but when I don’t do that I love eating and making good food. I love hiking. I love music but I’m really bad at making music so I just listen to it.
AY: Tell me about Penelope
AK: I love Penelope! She is so much fun to play. She is an American living in England so she is quite the fish out of water. I think in this play she comes into her own because everyone becomes fish out of water so by the end she feels a little more secure. She always marches to the beat of her own drum because she is an American actress who is over the top, living in this vicarage so she just does what she wants. She is really free and content with the way she is.
AY: What is your favorite part of the show.
AK: I love working with these people and I love doing a comedy. I typically do really dark, period pieces so this has been a really great break. Rehearsals for this show started when there were still two weekends left of A Streetcar Named Desire, I played Blanch. If it had been any other show, I would not have been able to handle it but this show is so fun I laugh until I cry in rehearsal every day. The people I work with are so fun. The fact that it is a comedy and the fact that this cast is so amazing make it super memorable for me.
AY: Are there any bloopers you would like to share?
AK: The other night we were running the show. Jordan Nicholes is going to be the death of me because every time he tries something new it makes me laugh because he is really funny. He did something that he hadn’t done before but it was so funny that I completely broke and I was laughing. Then he started laughing and we were squeaking out our lines and I started crying because I was laughing so hard.
Interview with Alex Dias
Abram Yarbro: Tell me about yourself.
Alex Diaz: I’m in the BFA Acting program and I’ve been here (at BYU) for two years. I went on a mission to the Philippines San Pablo mission. I was there for two years like most missionaries do and got back two years ago.
AY: Tell me about your character
AD: Clive is great. Clive, well, he is an American soldier and former actor. The most important thing to him is his relationships. He is an soldier and he takes it pretty seriously but he still has that actor’s side of him come out all the time. He naturally impersonates other people.
AY: What is your favorite part of the show
AD: I just love the scene when Clive is introduced to Humphrey and Humphrey thinks I am Lionel and I think he is someone else. Its a big confusion – I just love it. And then I love it when I know who everyone is and no one knows who is who.
AY: Do you have any bloopers you want to tell?
AD: I always think of the note Barta (the director) gives us that I need to be more downstage for a scene with a lot of movement and fighting. One time in a dress rehearsal I was on the floor too far upstage and had to improvise some lines and scoot myself downstage to be in the correct position.
