Meet the Cast, Part 2

by Abram Yarbro, dramaturg See How They Run opened on 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. You can read part 1 of the "Meet the Cast" series here. Interview with Ann Lopez Abram Yarbro: Tell me about yourself. [caption id="attachment_3149" align="alignright" width="300"]

Ann Lopez plays Miss Skillon[/caption] Ann Lopez: I'm from Harriman, Utah. I just got back from my mission in El Salvador, Santa Ana mission. I'm a pre- acting major and this is my second year at BYU. AY: Tell me about Miss Skillon. AL: She is crazy! She is really interesting. She is not afraid to tell people what is wrong or correct people. She has a good moral code. She knows what is good and what is bad and she lets people know. A lot of time that is overbearing for other people but deep down she thinks she is doing what is actually good. That has left her incredibly alone and that has made her loved starved. She gets really drunk and that is really fun to play in the show- the first time she gets drunk in her life. AY: What is your favorite part of the show? AL: I love farces. The energy is what is what I love about the show in general and making people laugh. I think when you're doing a show, a comedy, people laugh and actors get the energy. That drives everything forward and I love that feeling. Specifically, my favorite part is the beginning of act two when I'm drunk. That is my favorite part to be in. Interview with Soren Barker Abram Yarbro: Tell me about yourself. [caption id="attachment_3150" align="alignright" width="200"]

Soren Barker plays The Reverend, Lionel Toop[/caption] Soren Barker: I am NOT an acting major- go figure. I'm a humanities major with an emphasis in theatre and I have another year before I graduate. I'm married to my wife Emily, she is a theatre teacher- that is how we met. I transferred form BYU Idaho, I did two years up there before moving down here. I'm really grateful to be in shows here because it is hard to be the new kid on the block. AY: Tell me about the Reverend Lionel Toop SB: Lionel Toop is a vicar in his 30s, recently married, under a year. He is trying to do what is right in the sight of his parishioners but it's awfully tricky when he has a wife that is... what is the right phrase... she may be a trifle more broad minded than the rest of the community. He doesn't expect any of this to happen to him and he is just trying to live a normal, quite life and suddenly get hit over the heard by a situation he can't control. AY: What is your favorite part of the show? SB: I like so many parts of the show. Act two is really where some of the fun, craziness happens. Act three is all out nuts, but act two is when some things start happening to Lionel and he gets more and more disheveled. That is a real treat for me, I love the physical comedy. AY: Do you have any bloopers you want to share? SB: My favorite blooper happened at the very end when things are finally wrapping up in the story and come to a resting point. There is one little problem that arises at the very end and someone missed their cue so the problem never got brought up. We just sort of improved and said, "Okay, I guess the show is over... yay!" Interview with Michael Abbott Abram Yarbro: Tell me about yourself. [caption id="attachment_3151" align="alignright" width="225"]

Michael Abbott plays Sergeant Towers[/caption] Michael Abbott: I'm grew up in Oregon, I've been living here in Utah since I started school. I've been at BYU three or four years and I'm currently a Biology Major. AY: Tell me about Sergeant Towers. MA: Sergeant Towers is a cockney. He always feels this need to assert himself, he needs to show that he is in charge. He is used to giving out order and used to having them followed. He is a Sergeant Major, pretty high up in the command, so he is used to people jumping when he says. He is not really used to this situation outside of military life and not used to civilians not giving him direct answers. With the confusing nature of the play, that really bothers him- he just can't seem to get a straight answer. AY: What is your favorite part of the show? MB: I love all my interactions with Humphrey. Jordan does awesome as Humphrey and I love watching him. I kinda wish I could watch the whole play from the audience but I don't get to do that. AY: Do you have any bloopers you want to share? MB: There is a part where I”m supposed to say, “Well you don't make me laugh,” but I started to laugh right after saying that and I ended up laughing while I was saying the line. Another time, Rodger is deaf in his right ear and I'm partially deaf in my left ear, and because of the way we were oriented backstage we couldn't hear our cues so we had to switch positions backstage so that we could listen with our good ears.

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[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="376"] Margaret Roper[/caption] Margaret More Roper: Scholar and Daughter by Adam White, dramaturg Thomas More was a family man; he was married twice and had four children with his first wife, Jane Colt. After being married for six years, Jane Colt More died, leaving More with four children: Margaret, Elizabeth, Cecily and John. However, More quickly remarried to the widow Dame Alice Middleton, marrying her within a month of his wife’s death. While many of his friends resisted the rapid nature of the arrangement, More went through with it. Thomas and Alice More would raise the four children Thomas More had with Jane, as well as Alice’s daughter from her previous marriage and a foster daughter. Certainly, More valued his family and the welfare of his children. More also valued the power of education. He insisted that his daughters be educated through rigorous schooling, and this was unusual in 16th-century England, as society at large believed women unfit for scholarly pursuits. Despite cultural and institutional norms, Margaret More, the eldest of the More children (and More’s favorite, some would argue), would grow to become one of the most educated people in all of England, a woman of great scholarly knowledge. Margaret More Roper was tutored at home and became well-known for her studies, particularly for her adeptness in Greek and Latin. Her skill in writing and speaking Latin would impress the clergy of England. This specialty is reflected in a scene in Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons where Margaret and King Henry VIII engage in a bit of Latin language sparring. She would also become the first woman who was not of royal birth to publish a translated book. In October 1524, Roper published an English translation of a book called ‘Precatio dominica’ written by Thomas More’s good friend Erasmus. This book was based on the Lord’s Prayer. Instead of translating the book directly from Latin to English, Roper would use her extensive knowledge of both languages to construct the themes and the meanings Erasmus had written in to the treatise with her own words. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="291"] Erasmus, Dutch humanist and good friend to Thomas More[/caption] It was Margaret who would visit the imprisoned Thomas More the most often. They were very close, writing letters to one another regularly the duration of their relationship. It was in a letter to Margaret that Thomas More confided, “I do nobody harm, I say none harm, I thinke none harm, but wish everybody good. And if this be not enough to keep a man alive, in good faith I long not to live.” We have good reason to believe that Margaret More Roper very well understood what would be her father’s fate. After Thomas More’s execution, Margaret More Roper and her husband William Roper would continue to carry on his legacy in their own ways. William Roper would write the first biography of Thomas More, a glowing and gracious document that would influence our understanding of More’s personality for hundreds of years to come. Margaret More Roper actually kept her father’s head after his beheading, pickling it to preserve it from decay. While many of us may find that historical tidbit a tad macabre, I would like to believe that Margaret More Roper had deep admiration for her father; perhaps it was out of this feeling she kept his head. Please stay tuned to the 4th Wall Dramaturgy Blog to catch clips of my interview with Mallory Gee, the actress who will portray Margaret More Roper in BYU’s A Man for All Seasons. Bibliography: Abernathy, Susan. "Margaret Roper, Daughter of Sir Thomas More." Early Modern England. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2014. Duerden, Richard. "A Man for All Seasons." Telephone interview. 31 Jan. 2014. "Margaret Roper." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 28 Sept. 2013. Web. 02 Oct. 2013. "Sir Thomas More Quotes and Quotations." Sir Thomas More Quotes and Quotations. Luminarium. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2013.

Meet the Cast, Part 2

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