Spending two hours with Jim Brochu, I stepped into the life of legend actor Zero Mostel.
Jim Brochu as Mostel
In the show Zero Hour, Brochu plays Mostel, a Jewish actor who survived the McCarthy Era. Mostel, famously known for his role as Tevye in the original Broadway cast of Fiddler on the Roof was revealed in his telling of his experience with the rampant segregation and exclusion of the 1950’s. The experience was not uncommon: it was a dark time for many Jewish actors when “the blacklist” sent many to prison for their communist affiliations and jeopardized their careers. Political and personal, Brochu tells the story of fame through the lens of someone who has risen, fallen and risen again.
I’m sitting with Caleb McMullen and Gaby Grice, the producers of Patrick Marber’s Closer, with the undeniably delicious scent of pad thai and spring rolls wafting through the air. While chatting and scarfing down Thai food, I can’t help but notice how extremely exhausted the two look. They managed to squeeze in time for an interview in between shopping for costumes and putting together props for their upcoming show. Though the dark circles under their eyes may be larger than the average person’s, so are their grins. Discussing this project with them still gets them excited even after hours and hours of arduous rehearsals.
Why did you want to produce Closer?
G: Well to be honest, it was a play that I completely fell in love with. I read it in third year and I immediately knew that I wanted to put it on. It’s an easier show to produce with there being only four people in the cast. It doesn’t need an extravagant set, the characters are amazing and I could think of so many actors who would be great for the roles.
C: It actually took me a while to sign on to this project. I had just finished producing Wolfboy a few months before Gaby came to me with Closer and it just seemed like a daunting task. It took me around six months to say yes.
G: I don’t remember hounding you that much.
C: Oh you did. You would come to me every few months or so asking me if I wanted to do it. Finally you said that you were going to do it with or without me and that really lit a fire under my butt.
G: I’m so happy you did. I don’t think I could have done this without you.
Caleb, what is it like being a director and a producer?
C: It’s really difficult because I wear so many hats that I’m the only resource I have to get things done. I’ll be working on a variety of things throughout the day, then I’ll light up a cigarette, sit in my directors chair at rehearsal for 4 to 5 hours, and then go back to working on whatever needs to be done. I’ve lost around 15 pounds putting this show on.
G: I hate you.
C: I treat myself as an employee of Mnemonic Theatre Productions and my hours are from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. As my own boss, I set deadlines and parameters for myself. I have this list of things that need to be accomplished before the show goes up and every day I work a little bit on every one until they are 100% complete. My last bullet on my list is “produce and direct Closer.” And on February 4th, after the curtain falls, I get to check that off my list. And that’s my reward.
Your theatrical trailer for Closer looks awesome. How did you decide to create that?
C: We wanted to market the show in a new and interesting way. We also wanted it to be professionally done so I went to my friend Alex Josselyn, who is brilliant. It took us two days to film that.
G: And we’re talking 14 hour days.
C: Yes. But it was actually a really good time on set. Everyone was so cooperative and professional. And Alex let me come in while he was editing incase I wanted to put my two cents in. And I’m so happy with how it came out.
Watch the theatrical trailer below:
What advice do you have for people who want to produce their own work?
G: You really have to love what you’re doing. You have to be willing to sweat, bleed and cry for it. If you’re not going to love the show after a month or so in, you’re fucked.
C: You’re so fucked.
G: You also need to know what you’re good at and what you’re not. Know your limitations. I knew I needed someone to compliment me and Caleb is definitely good at the things I can’t do. I knew that I was willing to put my time, money and passion into this project but I knew I couldn’t do it alone. Know your scale. Know what you’re capable of but respect what’s not possible at the time.
What do you want people to take away from the show?
G: I really think people are going to relate to the show. Patrick Marber is a genius. It doesn’t matter what experiences you’ve had. There are really bold things said and done in this play, and I know people will walk away saying that they have at least thought about doing or saying those things before. It’s really interesting because all of the actors have completely different relationship statuses. There are actors who are single, in a relationship, gay, married but it doesn’t matter. We all feel connected to the thoughts and words of these characters because they are so true. And I want the audience to feel the same way, and I think they will.
C: I want audiences to recognize that independent theatre companies are capable of producing high quality theatre. I truly believe, and am willing to say, that Closer will be an incredible production. As a producer, I strive to make a theatrical experience that cost $25 a ticket feel like it should have cost $100 a ticket. That’s why it was important to us to make a really professional trailer as well. I want people to walk away from the show with a new expectation from small, independent theatre companies.
What have you learned from being a part of this show?
G: I’ve grown so much as an actor with this show. I’m so happy I did [Hart House’s] Lysistrata when I did, but I only grew so much because I had played roles like that before. This show really took me out of my comfort zone and I had to experience a lot of new things. I learned that I can be a dramatic character. I don’t want to pigeonhole myself and I don’t want other people to pigeonhole me either.
C: I’ve learned that I want to be an artistic directer. I really feel like I want to spend the rest of my life creating new projects.
Closer runs from February 1st – 4th at the Winchester Street Theatre. For tickets and more info visit www.mnemonictheatre.com/closer
Read another interview with and about Gaby in our Actor Profiles
Nostalgia for the Present is a multimedia exhibition about the compulsion to record the everyday. In an age where social media is a daily occurrence, we become aware of the present as a potential document to be consumed by others. We begin to live life with a constant awareness of how it will be perceived as having already happen, seeing each moment as a potential photograph.
Using point-and-shoot, Polaroid and cellphone cameras, the 54 participating artists create impulsive, intuitive and often gritty impressions of the world around them. Creating fragmented, broken narratives, each of the works reflect a fleeting moment of the artist’s life. Each artist has confidence and arrogance in the lucky accident, grasping at singular frames from the infinite cinema of their existence. Some landscape, still life, and mostly portraiture, the snapshot genre blurs the line between artistic creation and personal archive.
Through an open submission process, over 150 snapshot works were selected from around the globe. Ranging from professional, gallery-represented artists to hobbyist who have never exhibited before, Nostalgia for the Present catalogues a movement in contemporary photography and image-based art.
Curated by Laid Bare: Curations and Other Concerns and held at Forgetus Collective,Nostalgia for the Presence is a joint venture between two young, Toronto-based fine art upstarts. Laid Bare is Andrea Leigh Pelletier and Kelsey Stasiak, artists and art-lovers committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive art community. Similar to a gallery but without the physical space, Laid Bare keeps busy by organizing site-specific exhibitions, publishing zines, and planning other artistic events. As the first undergoing by Laid Bare,Nostalgia for the Present fulfills our mandate to promote emerging and under-represented artists, while making art affordable and accessible to the public.
February 2nd – 11th , 2012
Opening: February 2nd, 7-11pm
Closing discussion: February 11th, 3pm
Curated by Laid Bare: Curations and Other Concerns
Showing at Forgetus Collective, 163 Sterling Rd. Unit 29, Toronto
Gallery Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 12pm – 5pm
List of artists:
Alexander Alekseenko, Pauline Beaudemont, Kyle Brohman, Timothy Burkhart, Michael Raymond Clarke, Kira Crugnale, Nathan Cyprys, Erich Deleeuw, Lisa Folkerson, Ben Freedman, Aaron Friend Lettner, Amy George, Hudson Hayden, Eriver Hijano, Abby Hutchison, Vid Ingelevics, Chelsee Ivan, Andrew Jarman, Joachim Johnson, Michael Juneau, Dimitri Karakostas, Santa Katkute, Gavin Keen, Nicole Kim, Brendan George Ko, Sasha Kurmaz, Lindsay Lauckner, Drew Lint, Elena Malkova, Fraser Mccallum , Joshua Macdonald, Andrew McGill, Ania Mokrzycka, Andrew B. Myers, Ryan Nangreaves, Katie Newman, Mark Peckmezian, Andrea Leigh Pelletier, Deanna Pizzitelli, Claudia Puchiele, Marishka Radwanski, Anne Rawn, Van Robinson, Andy Schmidt, Kelsey Stasiak, Kyle Tait, Matthew Tammaro, Michelle Louise Wilson, Kavin Wong, Aaron Wynia, Aabid Youssef and Carina Yu.
The Harbourfront Centre is calling for submissions for Fresh Ground new works. They are awarding prizes up to $20,000 to a new collaborative artistic creation incorporating more than one discipline or field. Click here to read the guidelines.
Project Leads must submit a Letter of Intent briefly but clearly outlining the core concept of the project, and how it relates to the stated focus for 2013/14 commissions. The Letter will also describe how the project will be realized and include a brief introduction to each collaborator and their contribution. The Letter of Intent shall be a maximum of two single-spaced typed pages (using 10pt font) in length, pasted as unformatted text into the field provided in the online application form.
Read what Jeremy has to say about Dancap’s American Idiot, playing until January 15th at the Toronto Centre for the Arts. Click here to read the review.
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