What's It Like to Play George Washington?

Actor Gregory Jones shares his thoughts about playing a historical character...

"I'm playing George Washington in Yorktown. A few thoughts occur to me about playing the most famous American...

My first thought was, Fantastic! What a great challenge to bring a legend like that to life. I've had recent experience doing that, with football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant in a world premiere bio-play at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and with Senator Henry Cabot Lodge in a play about Theodore Roosevelt's invasion of the Philippines at NYC's Metropolitan Playhouse.

My second thought was, I'm doomed! How can I possibly satisfy the audience's outsized expectations of George Washington? Indeed, in the script the other characters describe him with such hyperbole, I wonder how anyone could possibly live up to that Mount Rushmore figure.

My third, and current, thought is, reverse the process. Stop thinking about how I can be like him, and start thinking about how George Washington is like me. When have I inspired people? When have I had to lead? What is it like to carry a huge burden on my shoulders? ...and many other actor-centric questions. When I think about it that way, it's no different than playing one of the great Shakespeare roles. I can never BECOME Henry V, but I can unearth the deep truths in myself that Henry may have felt, the universal truths that an audience can relate to."

--Gregory Jones

Meet the Cast: Tom O'Neill

When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

I knew I wanted to be an actor by the age of 6, when I was impersonating Michael Flatly of River Dance at a fundraiser for a local food pantry my parents held every summer at our house. I wore only red spandex that were much too small for me, and kept pouring water on my chest to simulate sweat. I recall making everyone laugh, and it felt good, so the following years I had a permanent act at the annual fundraiser over the summer. But it wasn't enough, I craved the 'laughter' so I started doing school productions on the off season.

How did you come to work on this production?

Last spring Jodi Collins called me in to audition for Eric for a reading of YORKTOWN to read for 'Brek.' I was pleasantly surprised to find out that same day, that he wanted to work with me. We did the reading at St. Luke's Theatre, and a year later I ran into Andrew who told me Eric was trying to produce a world premiere... I reached out to Eric asking if I could possibly come back in for him and read for 'Brek,' as I really love this character, and Eric wrote back simply, 'you have the role.' It was the easiest audition and one of the most gratifying. Thank You, Eric!!

List three adjectives that describe your character.

Clownish, Scavenging, Determined

How are you 18th Century? What in the 21st century could you not live without?

I think the thing about me that is most is '18th Century,' is that I like to wear a lot of layers, almost unnecessarily so... Also, I much prefer the hand written letter to the electronic email. I would find it very difficult to live without the accessibility to a vast plethora of knowledge, news, books, music and entertainment we can easily get to with our technology today. However, I think I could live without it. Bottled water is good too, though. I would miss that.

What is your heritage?

I am Irish-Lebanese.

If you could have lunch with an important historical figure, who would it be? Why?

I would have lunch with Fidel Castro. I wrote a thesis on him in school, for a Revolutions class and I have always been fascinated by his ability as a leader. Quite erratic and violent, yes, but extremely intelligent, powerful, and strangely enough, revered. He often held public speeches that lasted more than 24 hours! I was always very intrigued by the fact that the US never really was able to beat him out.

What is your favorite part of the rehearsal process?

My favorite part of the rehearsal process, is trying new things, playing, taking chances, having fun with my character, and being able to step back and say 'oh, that just didn't work at all.'

If you could make any fictional character real, who would it be? Why?

Well today, as I think this may change frequently, I would choose, Ignatius J. Reilly, fromA Confederacy Of Dunces By John Kennedy Toole. Because he is absolutely ridiculous, and I think I could learn a lot from his physicality and mannerisms, that would create years of material for me to use as an actor.

Meet the Cast: Tommy Nelms

When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

The first time I stepped into a rehearsal room, as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz, I fell in love with the theatre. I continued acting, but didn’t consider it seriously as a profession until I spent a summer at the Missouri Fine Arts Academy. When I met working actors, I knew I could, and would, be one myself.

How did you come to work on this production?

I met Eric Dente working on a production of Caryl Churchill’s Fen, and he offered me a role in the staged reading. From there, I was offered a role in the full production.

List three adjectives that describe your character.

Dependant, Naïve, Puritanical

How are you 18th century? What about the 21st century could you not live without?

I could live a very Spartan lifestyle if it came down to it, but the internet has undoubtedly changed my life forever. Thanks, Al!

What is your heritage?

Scottish, Irish, Dutch… I’m a mutt, and my father’s family has been in America since the 1600s, so I guess that makes me, simply, American.

If you could have lunch with an important historical figure, who would it be? Why?

Harry S Truman. He is from my home state, and had to make a decision that has shaped international relations for the past 75 years. He also did a lot for civil rights. Fun Fact: His middle initial, S, is not an abbreviation. S is his middle name, hence the lack of a period.

What is your favorite part of the rehearsal process?

When the scripts get dropped, fun things really start to happen. Getting props and costumes is always a thrill as well.

If you could make any fictional character real, who would it be? Why?

Albus Dumbledore. Duh.

Meet the Cast: Jason Gray

JASON GRAY

When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

I would say it was during a summer camp production of Oklahoma!, when I got to play the brooding loner, Jud Fry. I got so wrapped up in the part that I began to isolate myself from fellow cast members. I would stalk around backstage in all my Jud Fry meanness, staring kids down. I realized that acting enabled me to do, say, and feel things that real life wouldn't allow.

How did you come to work on this production?

Eric was directing me in a production of The Cripple of Inishmaan at the Stella Adler Studio. One day he told me about this project, Yorktown, that he was putting together and asked if I wanted to be a part of it.

List three adjectives that describe your character.

Earnest, dutiful, courteous...a 'mench' in other words.

How are you 18th century? What about the 21st century could you not live without?

Freedom.

What is your heritage?

African-American, with a splash of Native American.

If you could have lunch with an important historical figure, who would it be? Why?

Picasso. Mainly because we share the same birthday, and from what I've read about him, we share certain strengths and weaknesses when it comes to creating art. Not that I'm saying I'm Picasso reincarnated or anything...that would be silly...

What is your favorite part of the rehearsal process?

Getting into costume for the first time. Playing dress-up will never get old.

If you could make any fictional character real, who would it be? Why?

Belize from Angels in America for reasons of obvious badassness. That's the kind of person I'd love to tell everyone I was friends with...like 'Have you met my boy, Belize? He is a TRIP."

Meet the Cast: Jenny Strassburg

JENNY STRASSBURG

When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

I was in 2nd grade and I played Roo in aelementary school production of Winnie the Pooh. I liked making the kids laugh...looking back I think I was not nearly as funny as I thought I was! And I also really liked the kangaroo costume....

How did you come to work on this production?

I auditioned and got the part! Thanks Eric!!

List three adjectives that describe your character.

Impish, Crafty, Passionate

How are you 18th century?

I love history and doing period pieces is absolutely my favorite thing to do as an actor. I'm from Charleston SC and my mother is from Norfolk, Virginia, not too far from Yorktown. I grew up surrounded by Revolutionary War history. I remember going to visit colonial Williamsburg as a kid and wanting to live there.

What about the 21st century could you not live without?

My iPhone.

What is your heritage?

I grew up in Charleston, SC. My ancestors are German and French---I'm related to Davy Crockett somehow on my mother's side.

If you could have lunch with an important historical figure, who would it be? Why?

Catherine Greene! I'd ask her for some pointers on being her!....and if she had any secrets...

What is your favorite part of the rehearsal process?

I love the collaboration that goes on between actors and the director. I like bouncing my ideas off of others and seeing if they agree with me! Most of all, I love taking a piece of text and opening it up, finding out what makes it tick.

If you could make any fictional character real, who would it be? Why?

I'd chose the character of Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. She's feisty and always says the right thing.

Meet the Cast: James Knight

Get to know the actors behind the Yorktown characters in the "Meet the Cast" series. Come back soon for more updates!

JAMES KNIGHT

When did you know you wanted to be an actor?

"In the third grade I played "the Man" in a production of Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree". After walking onstage, I immediately saw my parents sitting in the audience and was thrown into a spasm of uncontrollable laughter. The full auditorium started laughing with me and from that moment on, my fate was sealed."

How did you come to work on this production?

"My good friend Christine Marie Brown gave my name to the director."

List three adjectives that describe your character.

"Driven, Torn, Devoted"

How are you 18th century?

"I am trying to give myself a good foundation of classic texts and am currently reading Plato's 'Republic'. Next up Thomas Paine's, 'Common Sense'.

What about the 21st century could you not live without?

"I love my iPhone. Being able to answer almost any question, including "where am I going and how do I get there" has changed my life."

What is your heritage?

"German with a good mix of Scottish and Irish - although the direct patriarchal line of my family is English, hence my last name, 'Knight'."

If you could have lunch with an important historical figure, who would it be? Why?

"Thomas Jefferson. He is one of the most exciting thinkers of the Enlightenment - his ideas about freedom and religion are exciting and almost frighteningly relevant. He is also a true renaissance man, so I know there would be no lack of things to talk about.

First Runner-up: Mark Twain. Whip crack smart and hilarious. In fact, I'd love to sit at a table with Jefferson, Twain, and Lenny Bruce."

What is your favorite part of the rehearsal process?

"When the scripts come out of our hands and we can truly play with each other."

If you could make any fictional character real, who would it be? Why?

"Superman. I would feel a lot more comfortable if Superman were real. There are a lot of things to be scared about in the modern world. Superman would take care of that."

Robert Manns Meets Alan Schneider

Robert Manns moved to New York as a young man to pursue his passion for playwriting. He had long since been aware of the great Alan Schneider, the director responsible for the American premiere of Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot and Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf, among others. Manns had always dreamed of meeting Schneider. Little did he know his dream would become a reality...

"I left my home in Detroit to seek out a career as playwright. I had studiously read back in Detroit issue after issue of Theatre Arts magazine with articles by Alan Schneider on American plays and theater in general. This man was the man I would like to meet if ever I should go to New York. I was a young, filled with dreams, but mostly, young. I packed my belongings, slim as they were, and made my way.

After an enriching experience working as an audio consultant two years at Sam Goody’s on 49^th Street, I had spent a few months at Hudson Radio & TV on 48th when a short man mounted the mezzanine stairs.

He was looking for a music system and it was my job to sell him one, which proved to be most fortuitous. We began with a series of indefinites. He was looking for a “general” system, playing all kinds of music, not “too” large, for an apartment. We listened to loud-speakers: Bozak, Wharfdale, GE, University. He seemed to prefer, if I remember correctly, the Bozak. He wanted to be able to play LP records successively, and, so, chose a Garrard changer. Then a Bogen ten watt amplifier satisfied him and I knew the system to be a simple one. I led him to the sofa with a cocktail table, bid him be seated.

On a prepared and simple form, the comfortable seating was for closing the sale. I asked his name. “A. Schneider,” he confided.

“Is that Alan Schneider?”

“Yes,” he smiled. My left pant leg, most certainly, turned dark; I was sure I looked silly. I remember mumbling something about having looked for him for two years at Goody’s.

“Well, you were in the wrong place,” he smiled. Not knowing how to proceed, I quickly returned to the matter of his music system. I noted his choices, their prices and his total. For the life of me, I don’t remember whether he gave me a check, credit card or a note calling me a damned fool, but I hurried past the obstacle of his system and blurted out:

“Mr. Schneider, I’ve read many of your articles,” telling him where, “and I’ve written three related one-acts. Would you do me the honor--?”

“Of course,” he said still smiling. And, for my life, I cannot remember the next days for my excitement--how I got the plays to him, whether I ate, slept or drew breath, but I do seem to remember that it was a meager three days when Schneider entered the store again and, waving the bound manuscript overhead, yelled from the lower main floor,

“Bob, I’ve got a production for you!!”

There was a moment of electrical shock in my body that de-volted slowly and I was told that the production was at Lucille Lortel’s White Barn in Westport and that I was to meet Audrey Wood there, Tennessee William’s agent. I was in my twenties and looking at my first production as a playwright."

Robert Manns 8/22/09